Washington, DC — On September 17, 2015, Cargill Inc. released a new policy on forests as well as a related set of action plans for its implementation across the company’s international operations.
The announcement comes just a few days from the first anniversary of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), signed by Cargill and other major multinational companies, governments, and civil society organizations on September 23, 2014.
In response to today’s announcement, Greenpeace Global Forests Campaign Leader Matt Daggett said:
“Last September, Cargill’s CEO Dave MacLennan signed the New York Declaration on Forests and committed to ‘eliminating deforestation from the production of agricultural commodities’ by no later than 2020. Today’s new policy failed to uphold this commitment by establishing a weak 2030 deadline for most commodities, giving the company another ten years to profit from forest destruction.
“If Cargill is serious about ending its role in deforestation, the company should do two things. First, it must ensure that Brazil’s soy moratorium is renewed, and then, over time, extended to cover more South American rainforests and other biomes that are threatened by the expansion of soy. Second, Cargill must work with other traders to introduce a similar initiative to protect Indonesia’s forests from palm oil and other commodities. Only then will Cargill begin to achieve the ambitious goals it has set for itself.”
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Media Contact
Rodrigo Estrada, Greenpeace USA, [email protected], 202-344-9292
