How committed are soy traders to a conversion-free soy industry?
© Jason Houston / WWF-US
© Alffoto
© Rogério de Castro Duarte e Silva / WWF-Brazil
© David Bebber / WWF-UK
In 2021, WWF is releasing its first Soy Traders Scorecard, looking at the 22 most influential soy trading companies, responsible for more than two-thirds of global soy exports. This scorecard explores their commitments, actions, progress, transparency and collaborations to end deforestation, conversion, and human rights abuses in soy supply chains.
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22 SOY TRADERS ASSESSED
0-100
Non-respondent
?
0-20
Non-performer
21-40
Poor
41-60
Elementary
61-80
Intermediate
81-100
Advanced
Given their influence in sourcing, processing, and trading soy, these companies can and must play a critical role in transforming the industry to be free of deforestation, conversion of natural ecosystems, and human rights abuses. This means collectively raising the ambition of commitments with strong implementation plans, and increasing transparency on progress made over time.
© Adriano Gambarini / WWF-Brazil
THE SCORECARD HIGHLIGHTS PROGRESS AND GAPS IN THE INDUSTRY
© Adriano Gambarini / WWF-Brazil
The Soy Traders Scorecard highlights progress and gaps in the industry’s transition towards halting conversion and human rights abuse. It provides a transparent way for soy users along feed and food chains, financial institutions, and policymakers to assess their exposure to risk and demand ambitious action from trading companies within and beyond their supply chains.
The Soy Traders Scorecard provides a valuable tool for all soy trading companies to identify opportunities for improvement in their own policies, operations, and reporting processes. It enables benchmarking against peers and the ability to demonstrate progress over time.
METHODOLOGY
KEY FINDINGS
7 OF THE 9 RESPONDING TRADERS
have a commitment to deforestation-free soy, but only 4 include the conversion of other natural ecosystems (such as grasslands and savannahs) in their commitment.
ONLY 3 OF THE 7 TRADERS
with deforestation-free commitments have set a target date to achieve it. These target dates range from 2025 to 2030, which fails to recognize the urgency of the issue.
NONE OF THE 9 RESPONDENTS
have a 2020 (or earlier) cutoff date for any biome except the Amazon. This includes the Cerrado, despite years of negotiations in the Cerrado Working Group (GTC).
7 of the 9 respondents commit to protecting human rights and securing the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent of Indigenous peoples and local communities in their supply chains, but none require their suppliers to have equivalent commitments for their own operations.
© Bento Viana / WWF Brazil
RECOMMENDATIONS
Across soy supply chains all stakeholders have a role to play in eliminating deforestation, conversion and human rights abuses from this industry. There are clear actions for soy traders, buyers, financiers, and policymakers in both producing and consuming countries.
