Agriculture and food

For this project, commissioned by CDP, Profundo has researched Chinese financing of palm oil.

This research project aims to inform the strategic development of the new CNV Internationaal programme and on developing lobby activities in its current programme in relation to the sugar sector, by identifying market dynamics, key actors, financiers, price setting, and social and environmental issues in a selection of producing countries. Geographically, the research focusses on five in Latin American countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Peru) and three countries in Asia (Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam).

For this project, as part of the expansion of the Forests & Finance database, Profundo has analysed the forest policies of the 50 largest financiers of forest-risk sectors.

Malaysia is the world’s second largest palm oil producer, after Indonesia. Peninsular Malaysia accounts for more than 12 percent of world production and produces approximately half of Malaysia’s palm oil. It also hosts a large number of forests rich in biodiversity and large carbon stock. How are Peninsular Malaysia’s forests protected from more deforestation for oil palm? What more can main corporate players in the palm oil supply chain do to stop deforestation? This report sheds a light on deforestation monitoring in Peninsular Malaysia.

This report analyses the deforestation and GHG emission consequences of a German phasing-out of palm oil in 2022 versus a linear phasing out in 2022-2026.

The Cerrado biome, a vast, biodiverse tropical savannah in Brazil, is under threat from commodity-driven deforestation. Soy expansion and cattle ranching are direct drivers of forest loss in the Cerrado. This report presents new data on specific actors linked to Cerrado deforestation in 2020, including the quantified risk exposure of the largest soy traders, meatpackers, and retailers. Financiers with forest policies are exposed to material risks in their portfolios.

Animal welfare risks occur in different links in the soy and beef supply chains, from the farmers producing these commodities to mid- and downstream buyers in domestic and overseas markets such as China and Europe. In this research, Profundo investigated the financial involvement of European financial institutions in the international soy and beef supply chains originating in the Amazon and Cerrado regions.

China is a key market for palm oil (PO), palm kernel oil (PKO) and derivatives from Indonesia and Malaysia. This paper maps the role of the Chinese market and Chinese actors along the palm oil supply chain, from upstream production to midstream trading to downstream consumption, as well as the position of Chinese financial institutions in these different segments.

The beef and soy sectors have been two of the major drivers of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado biomes in recent years. Financial institutions with exposure to these sectors may be inadvertently contributing to climate change and biodiversity loss. As global stakeholders react to these threats, financial institutions may become increasingly more exposed to financial risks. This report, using Forests & Finance data, shows who is financing these two sectors.

Commissioned by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL), this research assesses options for a more comprehensive monitoring of the Dutch coffee sustainability status. The previous approach of measuring progress based on the market share of certified coffee is perceived as not adequately accounting for the increasingly diversified sustainability strategies chosen by sector actors. The report identifies options for and barriers to a broadened approach to monitoring progress and impacts.

This research analyses the role of Brazilian soy in the overall domestic soy use on the Dutch market, and aims to estimate the revenues and profit generated from it by a selection of key industry stakeholders at different levels of the supply chain – from import and crush to animal feed to livestock product processing and eventually retailing.

For Environmental Action Germany (Deutsche Umwelthilfe), Profundo has investigated the German market for soy from South America. The research highlights the heavy dependence of German intensive animal husbandry on soy imports, and their connection to illegal deforestation of tropical rainforests. The import of soy is therefore a dangerous fire accelerant for the destruction of species-rich habitats and forests such as the Cerrado and the Amazon rainforest. The report provides a set of criteria for comprehensive supply chain due diligence, critically reviews the role of TSD chapters in trade agreements and summarizes key recommendations for effective legislation to achieve deforestation-free commodity supply chains.