As Europe Roasts, the World’s Largest Meat Producer Ditches Net-Zero

“JBS argues that its business model is necessary to feed the world. We would argue that it is slowly killing the world,” writes Michelle Baxter Wickham, Head of Food Systems Strategy at World Animal Protection.

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By Michelle Baxter Wickham

Earlier this month, JBS – the world’s largest meatpacking and factory farming company – scrapped its target to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its entire operations by 2040.

The Brazilian company, which is now headquartered in the Netherlands, announced its net-zero commitment five years ago with big ambitions and even bigger statements. “Climate change is the great challenge of our time and we must act urgently to combat the negative effects of global warming,” Gilberto Tomazoni, JBS’ Global Chief Executive Officer said back in 2021. JBS was paving the way for other multinational corporations to follow, making headlines and soaking up praise as a result.

The evidence never materialized, despite numerous meetings between leading animal welfare organization World Animal Protection and JBS and despite the charity’s repeated requests for a copy of their climate action plan and roadmap.

JBS initially claimed this would be provided through the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), often seen as the gold standard for climate target setting. Validation from SBTi is an influential sign for stakeholders, including investors and consumers, to trust a company’s green credentials. However, in 2024, SBTi removed JBS’ commitment, while the meat giant again sought to provide reassurances: “While we are therefore moving forward with our environmental goals outside of the SBTi framework, such shift does not alter our climate reduction objectives.”

The following year, JBS rolled back even further on its commitment. “It was never a promise that JBS was going to make this happen,” Jason Weller, JBS’ Global Chief Sustainability Officer, told Reuters in January 2025. The company later clarified that its climate ambitions had not changed and that “any assertion otherwise is completely untrue.”

Is it therefore a surprise that JBS has finally dropped its net-zero pledge, and replaced it with a goal that completely disreards Scope 3 emissions, which account for roughly 90-97% of the company’s total greenhouse gas footprint? No, but it is absolutely reckless. 

Global agrifood systems account for approximately 29.7% of total greenhouse gas emissions, with industrial animal agriculture – factory farming as it is commonly known – playing a sizeable role. World Animal Protection previously calculated that JBS causes emissions equivalent to 14 million cars on the road each year, from chicken and pig production alone.

This situation would be concerning enough if we weren’t already seeing the devastating impacts of climate change. Western Europe was just affected by its third heatwave this year, with the UK recording its hottest June on record and July temperatures hitting 30C or more for 10 days in a row; wildfires raging in France and Spain; and thousands of excess deaths attributed to the unusually hot conditions across the region.

Extreme weather events are not a new phenomenon, of course. Global South countries have been experiencing severe heatwaves and rainfall for many years. However, the increasing frequency, intensity and geographical spread in recent decades should be a wake-up call to us all. Now is not the time to be weakening climate commitments. Quite the opposite, governments and high-polluting industries must act to strengthen their climate ambitions and halt the devastation before it gets any worse.

JBS argues that its business model is necessary to feed the world. We would argue that it is slowly killing the world. Factory farming is responsible for confining millions of farmed animals to a lifetime of suffering, habitat destruction, biodiversity loss and antimicrobial resistance, in addition to fueling the climate crisis. Continuing with business as usual is no longer an option.

Our broken food system needs radical transformation. We need to move away from the harmful status quo towards equitable, humane and sustainable production, where people, animals and our shared planet are respected. If we act now with a shared vision and concerted effort, a future where we all thrive is still entirely possible.

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About the author: Michelle Baxter Wickham is Head of Food Systems Strategy at World Animal Protection, leading the organization’s strategic direction to transform the global food system. World Animal Protection is a global animal protection organization that has been moving the world to protect animals for more than 75 years. They collaborate with local communities, the private sector, civil society, and governments to change farmed and wild animals’ lives for the better. Prior to joining World Animal Protection, Michelle worked in the private, public, and civil society sectors to positively impact the lives of both animals and humans.