JBS cancels net zero for the entire chain. It leaves behind 97% of its carbon footprint.
The world's largest meat producer, Brazil's JBS, withdrew its net‑zero commitment across the value chain to 2040. The new targets do not include Scope 3 — which is precisely the core of the problem.
- Scope 3 = over 184 million tonnes CO₂e per year (the overwhelming majority from livestock and feed)
- Scope 1 and 2, which the company is now focusing on, make up barely 3 % of the footprint
What remains:
- reduction of Scope 1+2 intensity by 30 % by 2030 and 70 % by 2050 (base year 2019)
- 60 % renewable electricity by 2030
The targets are based on emission intensity, not on absolute emissions. If revenues grow, total emissions may rise — and the goal will still be “met”.
Global CSO Jason Weller told the FT defending the logic by saying the company sets targets where it has operational control and wants measurable and accountable targets instead of grand ambitions. He also mentioned a bet on higher agricultural productivity as an indirect route to emission reductions. At the same time he claims that JBS has achieved the goal of eliminating deforestation among both direct and indirect suppliers in the Amazon.
A few more interesting connections:
- JBS is also abandoning the goal to invest $100 million in Scope 3 reduction research.
- Due to the missing Scope 3, SBTi lists it as "commitment removed"
- the page with the 2040 target disappeared from the company's website
- in 2024 it faced a greenwashing lawsuit, settled in 2025 for $1.1 million
It's not alone in this — net zero targets softened last year for PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, and Unilever as well.
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