A raft of retailers, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Lidl, have urged some of the biggest global food commodity companies to take immediate action to remove deforestation and conversion from soy production.
Following the EU agreeing to remove unsustainable farming practices from its supply chains, The Retail Soy Group (RSG) has called on the leaders of ADM, Bunge, Cargill, Louis Dreyfus and Viterra to address the “inadequacy” of their Agricultural Sector 1.5°C Roadmap.
The roadmap, which was announced last month during COP27, aims to stop deforestation in soy supply chains by 2025, as well as ensure supply chain action in line with the Paris Agreement’s aim to reduce global temperatures by 1.5%.
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According to the RSG, there are some “substantial gap” in the roadmap, and claims that it was clear the “necessary ambition will not occur without action by regulators”.
Some concerns the group had with the plan included that it didn’t present a cut-off date for the sector to act upon, with “inconsistencies” occurring with some of the signatories’ company policies.
Some even branded the roadmap as “insufficient” to deliver on the goals of the 1.5°C plans.
“These deficiencies in the roadmap have been articulated by both governments and civil society, yet they remain unaddressed by any new commitments or actions that meet the moment,” the RSG told agricultural CEOs.
“As this is an area you have now shown that the market is unwilling to act upon voluntarily, we are now redoubling our call for a strong regulatory response by governments.
“Such legislation is already moving its way through the EU, UK and US, and must be quickly adopted and promoted by all nations.”
