The conclusion came from the company’s first Scope Three GHG emissions inventory, which includes all sources of emissions not under the company’s control, such as the production of animal feed, transportation of products and other ‘outside’ sources.
Marfrig director of sustainability Clever Avila said the inventory was a “pioneering initiative” in the industry and was essential for the company to understand the true carbon footprint of its products, which will help develop emission-reducing strategies.
According to the company, the biggest challenges lie in the fact that a wide variety of its facilities, products and supply chains are located in 315 Marfrig sites spread across 22 countries and five continents. The company’s product range also extends from beef, chicken, pork, turkey, lamb, fish, vegetables and into confectionery, as well as some non-consumables. The inventory, according to the company, was extensive and covered every aspect from offices to distribution centres.
The discovery that 95% of Marfrig’s emissions come from outside sources has led the company to work on its relationship with suppliers in order to reduce GHG emissions. Avila said: “This finding allows us to focus our efforts on building a joint GHG reduction effort with our suppliers – among them grain and animal farmers, energy and packaging suppliers, and logistics operators."
Over the last two years Marfrig has also conducted Scope One (direct emissions from own sources) and Scope Two (indirect emissions from purchased power) GHG inventories, which has led to the development of a programme aiming to reduce Scope One and Two emissions by 30% by 2020.