Greenpeace has launched a legal challenge to force meat giant JBS to disclose details on its plans to invest in Nigeria.
In a statement yesterday (22 July), the environmental group said it has petitioned a Dutch court to compel JBS to hand over information about its business policies and expansion plans.
Greenpeace said access to the data is a “necessary precursor” to launching formal litigation against the livestock giant.
At the heart of the NGO's move is JBS’s proposed $2.5bn investment in industrial livestock production in Nigeria. Greenpeace said civil society groups in the country have warned the “aggressive expansion” could harm ecosystems, threaten food security and increase regional instability.
The legal action follows what Greenpeace described as JBS’s failure to publish “accurate and reliable information” on its climate, nature and human rights impacts.
The meat processor also refused a formal disclosure demand it delivered in April, Greenpeace claimed.
The NGO said it is concerned JBS is “seeking to expand unconstrained”, pointing to the company’s recent decision to ditch its target to reach net-zero emissions by 2040.
Just Food has approached JBS for comment.
Marieke Vellekoop, executive director for Greenpeace Netherlands, said: “In a month where JBS has thrown its flagship environmental commitments onto the scrap heap, JBS’s disdain for basic transparency only adds to the impression that this meat giant has something to hide and is desperate to prevent its expansion plans from going public.
“We were hoping we wouldn’t have to trouble a judge with this matter, but JBS has left us no choice but to seek our right to information through the Dutch courts.”
Greenpeace claimed there is no publicly available evidence JBS has carried out impact assessments or community consultations in Nigeria. Local efforts to obtain information via Freedom of Information requests have been “ignored”, the NGO said.
Greenpeace’s lawyers argue JBS’s business practices and expansion plans may breach a Dutch duty of care, which requires companies to act in line with international human rights law.
