Companies Collaborating for Sustainable Soy Landscapes: Progress and Transition Pathways

This report explores how and why midstream and downstream companies have taken landscape-scale action in soy production areas. The research found that these companies are collaborating in soy landscapes to prevent deforestation in the Amazon and conversion in the Cerrado biome, plan soy expansion in areas free of conversion and deforestation as well as to support suppliers to comply with Brazil’s forest code.

The study found that 15 downstream, midstream and integrated companies have taken landscape-scale action across 6 landscape and jurisdictional initiatives in soy producing areas. The majority of initiatives identified in the study as being supported by companies are in Brazil, with just one initiative located in Argentina.

Recommendations for companies are:

• Develop clear plans to transform soy production at landscape scale
• Increase company collaboration in landscape-scale action
• Engage non-private sector actors to join landscape- and jurisdictional-scale efforts
• Support incentives to prevent legal deforestation as part of landscape-scale action

This report contains two other recommendations for the wider community of landscape and jurisdictional approaches. These recommendations are drawn upon data collected through desktop research, interviews with key stakeholders in the beef sector and an analysis of company responses to CDP’s forest questionnaire in 2022. This study is a collaboration between the Tropical Forest Alliance, Proforest, and CDP.