Policy measures for financial institutions – Soy-driven deforestation

The document outlines the role of major soy traders in driving deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado, critiquing current sustainability policies and certification schemes as insufficient. It recommends that financial institutions make financing contingent on traders adopting a January 2020 cut-off date, full traceability, and robust monitoring, with a timeline for suspending or ceasing services for non-compliance by 2023 and 2024.

• Soy production is a primary driver of deforestation and ecosystem conversion in the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado, with the Amazon releasing nearly 20% more carbon dioxide than it absorbed over the last decade due to these activities.
• Six major soy traders—ADM, Bunge, Cargill, Louis Dreyfus, Amaggi, and Cofco—accounted for 66% of the deforestation risk related to soy expansion in 2017, yet their policies lack essential elements like clear cut-off dates.
• Monitoring data from March 2019 to March 2021 identifies Cargill and Bunge as the worst performing traders, linked to the clearing of over 66,000 hectares and almost 60,000 hectares respectively.
• Existing soy certification systems, specifically RTRS and Proterra, are deemed insufficient because they represent only 1.5-3% of total production and often allow for large-scale monocultures and inefficient 'mass balance' or 'country material balance' modalities.
• Further soy expansion in the Cerrado could be achieved without further habitat conversion by utilizing approximately 18.5 million hectares of existing pastureland suitable for soy crops.
• Reclaim Finance recommends that financial institutions make all financing to soy traders contingent on five requirements: a commitment to cut-off dates (2008 for Amazon, no later than January 1, 2020, for other areas), a supplier engagement protocol, full traceability, robust monitoring/verification, and respect for indigenous human rights.
• The briefing proposes a strict timeline for financial institutions: publicly suspending services to traders who fail to commit to cut-off dates by the end of 2022 (starting January 2023), and ceasing services to those who fail to implement all six recommended measures by the end of 2023 (starting January 2024).

APA

Reclaim Finance (2021). Policy measures for financial institutions – Soy-driven deforestation. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/PolicyDemands_soya_JAN2020.pdf

Chicago

Reclaim Finance. Policy measures for financial institutions – Soy-driven deforestation. 2021. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/PolicyDemands_soya_JAN2020.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Reclaim Finance |title=Policy measures for financial institutions – Soy-driven deforestation |date=November 2021 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/PolicyDemands_soya_JAN2020.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{reclaimfinance2021policy, author = {{Reclaim Finance}}, title = {{Policy measures for financial institutions – Soy-driven deforestation}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2021}, month = nov, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/PolicyDemands_soya_JAN2020.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }