Dive Brief:
- JBS, the world’s largest beef and poultry producer, will no longer aim to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its supply chain and global operations by 2040.
- The meat giant announced the cut in its latest sustainability report released Wednesday. The company’s updated sustainability strategy also no longer includes reduction goals for scope 3 emissions, which include all the indirect GHG emissions produced in its supply chain.
- Instead, JBS will now focus on cutting scope 1 and 2 or direct emissions, which account for barely 3% of the company’s overall carbon footprint. Scope 3 emissions are responsible for the bulk of its emissions: the company generated over 184 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in scope 3 emissions last year.
Dive Insight:
In a July 8 statement accompanying the sustainability report, JBS Global Chief Sustainability Officer Jason Weller said the company was “not walking away from challenges and opportunities” presented by a changing climate, but was “sharpening its climate goals.”
The company has a near-term goal of reducing scope 1 and 2 emissions by 30% across its core operations by 2030, and a long-term goal of reducing scope 1 and 2 emissions by 70% by 2050 — both against a 2019 baseline. The company considers direct operational emissions to be those generated by energy and fuel use, refrigerants and waste across its facilities and plants globally.
Weller said in his statement that implementing JBS’ 2040 net-zero goal, which it established five years ago, came with a number of challenges.
“The further we got into execution, the clearer it became that a Net Zero goal spanning hundreds of thousands of independent agricultural producers across tens of millions of hectares in dozens of countries — each with different practices, different baselines, and no standardized measurement infrastructure — is an immense challenge,” Weller said. “Delivering a system-wide ambition at that scale depends on data, producer adoption, technology, and measurement infrastructure that are still developing across global agriculture.”
JBS’ 2040 net-zero goal and its broader emissions reduction strategy have also faced legal scrutiny in the past.
In 2024, JBS was sued by New York’s attorney general who accused the meatpacker of misleading consumers about its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and alleged JBS had “no viable plan” to meet its goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. At the time, New York AG Letitia James said the company had deceived consumers by touting its environmental commitments in major advertising campaigns.
The Brazil-based meat producer settled those claims in November 2025, with an agreement to invest $1.1 million in climate-smart agriculture in the state. Under the settlement, JBS also agreed to frame the now-retired 2040 target as a “goal,” rather than a pledge or commitment.
