Member AUM
$75 trillion
Standard Header

Cerrado Manifesto

In Support of Halting Deforestation and Incentivise Sustainable Land Management
Status:
Closed
Total AUM:
$7.8 trillion
Industry:
Investors



Statement Overview

Cerrado Manifesto

In September 2017, over 60 Brazilian NGOs, including WWF-Brazil, TNC, CI-Brazil, Greenpeace Brazil, IPAM (Amazon Environmental Research Institute) and Imaflora (Institute of Agricultural and Forest Management and Certification), released the Cerrado Manifesto, a call for “immediate action in defence of the Cerrado by companies that purchase soy and meat from within the biome, as well as by investors active in these sectors.”

In October 2017, 23 global brands signed the Statement of Support (“SoS”) for the objectives of the Cerrado Manifesto. The Statement recognised the need to prevent further deforestation in the Cerrado to mitigate future risks associated with climate change and agricultural resilience in this important agricultural production region. It is convened by a Steering Committee, chaired by Tesco and including Ahold Delhaize, APG, Avara Foods, CGF, FAIRR, Grieg Seafood, Nestlé, Nutreco, PRI, Robeco, Sustainable Investment Management and Unilever.

vlad-hilitanu-pt7QzB4ZLWw-unsplash

Investor Statement

We, the undersigned companies, are committed to halting forest loss associated with agricultural commodity production and to working with industry, producers, governments and civil society to protect globally important natural landscapes within a framework of good governance and land planning policy.

We recognise the critical importance of the Cerrado for its role in climate change mitigation, as a repository for biodiversity, as the source of many of Brazil’s freshwater systems, and additionally as a production region for the agricultural commodities used in our products. However, we also recognise the extent and pace of native vegetation loss resulting from cattle and soy expansion in the Cerrado poses a significant threat to these social, environmental and economic values.

The Brazilian Forest Code is designed to ensure agricultural production and environmental protection are balanced. It is an important legislative mechanism requiring, for example, land registration and compensation for historical forest loss. However, it offers little protection in the Cerrado where only 20% of each private property is required by law to be set aside for conservation.

This wide gap between tackling ‘illegal’ deforestation and achieving zero net deforestation goals is a cause for major concern. 85% of the conversion of native vegetation for soy in the Cerrado is legal under the Forest Code. So while compliance with regulation is essential, at the same time, regulation on its own is currently insufficient for the protection of the Cerrado.

Recent research indicates the availability of substantial areas of already-cleared land. Incentivising expansion into these areas rather than the further conversion of native vegetation, alongside the improvement of the cattle sector’s current low productivity (to make room for soy expansion), offers a viable and more sustainable pathway forward for agricultural production in the Cerrado. It is increasingly clear that development need not be incompatible with the protection of globally important landscapes.

The companies support the objectives defined in the Cerrado Manifesto and commit to working with local and international stakeholders to halt deforestation and native vegetation loss in the Cerrado.

Market-facing companies cannot achieve this on our own and we call on other supply chain actors, government, investors and civil society to share our goal. We seek to collaborate to develop the policies needed to steer all actors towards a more sustainable land use pathway, and the monitoring and verification systems to give us confidence that our actions are having the desired outcome of protecting the unique landscape of the Cerrado.

*Signatories decide to what extent they wish to actively participate in supporting SoS implementation activities. Please see the Terms of Reference and other details.

Investor Signatories

The Statement of Support is currently supported by 57 investor signatories, collectively representing over $7.8 trillion in assets.

To view the full list of business, corporate and investor signatories, please visit the Consumer Goods Forum.

Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility

Legal & General Investment Management

Allianz Global Investors

BNP Paribas  Asset Management

APG

Aviva Investors

Pensioenfonds ABP

Columbia Threadneedle Investments

Aegon Asset Management

NN Investment Partners

Robeco

Swedbank Robur Fonder AB

Storebrand ASA

Kempen Capital Management

Skandia

KLP

OFI Asset Management

ACTIAM

Handelsbanken

AP7

Strathclyde Pension Fund

EFG Asset Management

Länsförsäkringar AB

Seventh Generation Interfaith Inc

Boston Trust Walden

Öhman

Mirova

CommonSpirit Health

Statewide Super

NGS Super

Triodos Investment Management

Environment Agency Pension Fund

Pax World Funds

Australian Ethical Investment

Boston Common Asset Management

EdenTree Investment Management Ltd

Trillium Asset Management

Miller/Howard Investments, Inc.

Domini Impact Investments LLC

Cordiant Capital

Mercy Investment Services, Inc.

First Affirmative Financial Network

Green Century Capital Management

Northwest Coalition for Responsible Investment

Caja Ingenieros Gestion

Zevin Asset Management

The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust

Castlefield Investment Partners

Priests of the Sacred Heart, US Province

Eco Advisors

Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Capuchin Franciscan Province of Saint Joseph

Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids (MI)

JLens Investor Network

The Polden-Puckham Charitable Foundation

Karner Blue Capital, LLC.

Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes

Adrian Dominican Sisters, Portfolio Advisory Board

Congregation of St. Joseph

Daughters of Charity, Province of St. Louise

Sisters of St. Dominic/Racine Dominicans

Sustainalytics