"Infamous Connections - The relationship between the French financial system and deforestation in Brazil", November 2022

...[O]ver the last decades, trees have been replaced by cattle farming as well as soy and grain crops – and this has not ceased even after grain trading companies and meatpacking companies have signed zero deforestation agreements and developed systems for raw material traceability, as evidenced by media and civil society organisations’ reports. Nevertheless, agribusinesses have received funds from financial institutions that are committed to providing credit or investing based on best social, environmental, and governance practices.

This report provides data on investments by French banks in Brazilian agribusiness companies with proven track records of deforestation in their supply chains. We detail the relationship between BNP Paribas, Europe’s largest bank, and Brazilian meatpackers, particularly Marfrig, as well as the involvement of four major French banks in a credit operation for Bunge – the transactions were made at times when the companies were in the spotlight for allegations that their suppliers had engaged in deforestation. The choice to focus on financial institutions in France was due to the country’s legislation on due diligence....

...This report has pointed out some issues in the way financial actors operate regarding environmental risks and violations, which might also be applied to other rights violations concerning their operations – after all, it is not uncommon for these violations to be connected (for instance, slave labour and deforestation). Although financial institutions seem to be concerned about these risks connected to their portfolios and clients, there is evidence pointing to operations underway regardless of the risk a company or a sector might pose to the environment...

...The European Union has taken some steps to advance this issue within its borders and in its areas of influence. Being such a prominent economic and political actor, the EU and its members have substantial leverage regarding the Global South. And considering its past shared history, European countries have a responsibility to address some of the issues they helped create...

The report authors invited BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Société Generale, Bunge, Marfrig, JBS and Minerva to comment on its content, and their full statements are available...