Minerva Foods achieves 100% social and environmental compliance in audit by Public Prosecutor's Office for the Amazon estate of Pará - Brazil

Organized by the Public Prosecutor's Office in partnership with the NGO Amigos da Terra - Amazônia Brasileira (Friends of the Earth - Brazilian Amazon, in English) the report assesses the results of companies committed to ESG best practices

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Minerva Foods

Oct 07, 2021, 15:29 ET

BARRETOS, Brazil, Oct. 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Minerva Foods, leader in beef exports in South America and one of the largest companies in the production and sale of fresh beef and its derivatives in the region, once again reinforces its commitment to the development of sustainable agricultural supply chain as it fully certifies compliance with the Terms of Adjustment of Conduct agreement(TAC) for cattle raising in the state of Pará, Brazil, confirmed by an audit lead by the Public Prosecutor's Office, the main and most reliable verification body of the Brazilian production chain, in partnership with the NGO Amigos da Terra – Amazônia Brasileira. The report assessed the results of companies committed to the fight against illegal deforestation in cattle production.

TAC focuses on legal, environmental and social aspects involved in the cattle raising activity. This requires that protein-producing industries verify that the properties they deal with are in compliance with social and environmental criteria and laws.

Thus, the Company contributes directly for tackling ilegal deforestation, land grabbing, slave labor; invasion of environmental protection areas, indigenous, and traditional lands (e.g. quilombola people), or without environmental or land regularization. The new achievement confirms not only Minerva Foods' good sustainability practices, but also reiterates its commitment to Sustainable Cattle Ranching and to the work being carried out throughout the sector.

"We work continuously to ensure a sustainable business model, from farm to table, while respecting the environment, people, and encouraging the development of the entire production chain. The result of the main audit on fighting illegal deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon shows that we are on the right track, contributing to sustainable cattle ranching, engaging the producers in this trajectory," highlights Taciano Custódio, Sustainability Director at Minerva Foods.

The report results are available at: http://www.mpf.mp.br/pa/sala-de-imprensa/documentos/2021/apresentacao_auditorias_cadeia_pecuaria_pa_07-10-2021.pdf/

Reference in Supplier Monitoring

The Company is the first and only in the sector to use geographic information systems for monitoring its direct supply farms with georeferenced maps in all biomes in which it operates in Brazil (Amazon, Cerrado, Pantanal and Atlantic Forest) and Paraguay. Additionally, Minerva Foods has become the first company to integrate the risk analysis tool into its monitoring system, thanks to its innovative trials with Visipec.

Currently, more than 14 million hectares are being geographically monitored in Brazil and Paraguay. Together, all monitored regions are larger than the territory of Greece.

In Brazil, 100% of purchases made by Minerva Foods in the Amazon, Cerrado, Pantanal and Atlantic Forest regions are monitored, through the use of georeferenced maps of direct supplier farms, thus ensuring compliance with strict social and environmental criteria by suppliers.

Currently, the company privately monitors more than 9,000 suppliers in the Amazon biome, comprising a total area of more than 9 million hectares, a region equivalent to the territory of Portugal. In addition, it also monitors more than 2 million hectares in the Cerrado, Pantanal, and Atlantic Forest.

Minerva Foods is also the first Company in the sector to move forward with actions to assess indirect supplying ranches. In 2020, the Company implemented Visipec, a tool developed by the University of Wisconsin (USA) in partnership with NGO National Wildlife Federation (NWF), to assess risks related to indirect suppliers' ranches in the Amazon region. Preliminary tests showed 99.8% compliance with the criteria established by the Indirect Supplier Working Group. Information on the test results is available for public consultation on our investor relations website http://ri.minervafoods.com/ . Anticipating the target announced in April in four months, the Company integrated the Visipec tool to its geographic monitoring system for the Amazon.

Recently, Minerva Foods announced its new Sustainability Strategy, with the commitment to become Carbon Neutral. It's goal is to achieve zero net emissions by 2035 – 15 years ahead of the Paris Agreement. The Company plans to invest in projects that will help reduce emissions throughout the production chain by the announced date.

The first commitment is to ensure zero illegal deforestation throughout the supply chain in South America. The company will continue with geographic monitoring in all territories in Brazil and will continue to expand to 100% of direct suppliers in Paraguay during 2021; in Colombia by 2023; in Uruguay by 2025 and other countries of South America by 2030.

Minerva Foods will also include 50% of beef suppliers in the Low Carbon Emission Program by 2030. The strategy will strengthen the partnership with leading research institutions, such as the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa); the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT/Colombia); and the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA/Uruguay).

About Minerva Foods

Minerva Foods is the leader in beef exports in South America and also operates in the processed meat segment, selling its products to more than 100 countries. In addition to Brazil, Minerva Foods is present in Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia and Chile, through its subsidiary Athena Foods, a company that was born a leader in the global beef export market from South America to the world. Minerva Foods, together with Athena Foods, operates in five continents with beef and its derivatives and currently manages 25 slaughtering and deboning facilities, 16 international offices, 14 distribution centers, and three processing plants.

SOURCE Minerva Foods