Climate Activists Attempt to Block Brazilian Meat Giant JBS's IPO in the US

By Anay Mridul
Published on Aug 31, 2023

Environmental groups are urging the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to halt Brazilian meat giant JBS’s planned US IPO, citing its failure to adhere to climate and corporate governance pledges. The activists call it the “biggest climate risk IPO listing in history”, posing questions about the environmental issues of the world’s largest meat company.

The coalition of environmental groups includes Rainforest Action Network, Mighty Earth and World Animal Protection. The letter to the SEC states that there is little transparency about JBS’s 2040 net-zero plans – the company recently withdrew labelling claims about this target after an ad review board found it “aspirational”.

This isn’t the first time JBS is eyeing an IPO in the US – its previous attempts were thwarted by a corruption scandal in 2017, and then the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, climate activists are hoping to add to that list, halting a move that seeks to give up to 90% of the shareholder voting power to the founding Batista family.

“Concentrating 90% of voting power in the hands of the Batista brothers, Joesley and Wesley – both acknowledged criminals – restricts the ability of outside investors to push JBS to end deforestation or deal with its outsized emissions,” said Mighty Earth CEO Glenn Hurowitz, calling it the “single most important IPO for the climate in history”.

JBS’s well-documented controversies
JBS has a long history of greenwashing and human rights abuse. The brand acquired Spanish cultivated meat producer BioTech Foods in 2021 and is developing a large-scale cultured meat production plant, but it increased its greenhouse gas emissions by 51% between 2016 and 2021. Its total emissions were 68 times higher than what it claimed. JBS has also been found to be among the biggest drivers of deforestation in the Amazon, with its slaughterhouses in the region more than doubling between 2009 and 2020.

Earlier this year, it was involved in a child labour controversy. Allegations were made against a Wisconsin cleaning company that said it employed more than two dozen minors to clean dangerous meatpacking plants for JBS across the US. And in March, JBS was named as the worst offender in World Animal Protection’s list ranking the meat industry’s climate impact.

More:
https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/climate-activists-sec-block-brazilian-meat-giant-jbs-us-ipo/