Held on March 9th, 2022, the first “Dialogue on sustainability and traceability of the beef and leather chains” focused on “the role of due diligence in the regularization of the beef and leather value chains”. The dialogue gathered, in a virtual format, more than 40 relevant actors, representing the Brazilian public sector (at the federal and sub-federal level), the European Commission, international organizations, the beef and leather value chain (meatpackers, retailers, importers,) certification agents, the academia and civil society from Europe and Brazil. The meeting is part of a larger initiative funded by the European Union, through the AL INVEST Verde Program, in partnership with IPAM (Amazon Environmental Research Institute).
In this first technical dialogue, participants presented their understanding of the challenges and opportunities in implementing due diligence in the beef and leather value chain as a tool for improving sustainability and reducing deforestation. After an introduction on the process of due diligence and the recent regulatory developments in the EU and Brazil, participants discussed the relevance and impact of the due diligence process on these value chains and potential channels for cooperation.
The participants highlighted the relevance of the discussion for the economy linked to livestock farming and the commitments to mitigate climate change and reduce deforestation. They stressed the importance of understanding the origins and the complexity of the deforestation issue in Brazil, and the need for public-private partnerships for the implementation of traceability systems that allows tracking products from the farm all the way up to consumers. The dialogue also focused on how the due diligence tool must adapt to the specific conditions of each value chain and the importance of adopting measures that incentivize farmers to increase productivity while protecting native forests.
Stay tuned
The overall objective of this initiative is to contribute to the identification and promotion of collective practices and partnerships among key stakeholders for the sustainability of the beef and leather value chain. The next two dialogues will take place in the first half of 2022. On 20 April, the meeting will discuss the access to technology for sustainability in the beef and leather chains, and on 18 May, the participants will discuss traceability as a tool to improve sustainability in the beef and leather chains. The results of these dialogues will be presented in a final event open to the public next June.
