In the early 2000s, deforestation accelerated in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, and global environmental groups began to raise the alarm. Greenpeace, one of the most vocal groups, published a report that placed the blame partly on the soy industry, which had grown rapidly in Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. In response, industry representatives joined with nongovernmental organizations, financial institutions, supermarkets, and others in the soy supply chain to form the Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS). Following the model of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, which worked to transform the environmentally destructive palm oil industry in Southeast Asia, the RTRS wanted to implement a supply chain certification system to help identify whether harvests came from land deforested without regard for environmental impact and nudge soy farmers into a new era of sustainable production. The roundtable participants successfully developed a standard for responsible practices, and enrolled a number of large farm enterprises. But low demand for certified soy and the high cost of becoming certified slowed progress, especially among smaller producers. As of 2017, less than 1% of soy produced in Brazil was RTRS certified, and uncertified landholders continued to convert important natural ecosystems into soy farms. Although the RTRS succeeded in bringing together key players in the soy industry to talk about sustainability for the first time, it was clear that complementary efforts were necessary to shift the soy industry as a whole toward environmentally friendly production.

In 2009, after environmental action group Greenpeace labeled cattle ranching in Brazil as the biggest cause of deforestation worldwide, the country’s giant beef industry got on the defensive. For many years, ranchers and land speculators had illegally cleared the Amazon rain forest and other important ecosystems to satisfy demand for beef. Amid calls for change, the Sustainable Agriculture Network, a global alliance of environmental organizations, created a certification system designed to encourage the adoption of sustainable ranching practices and foster a market for forest-friendly beef and leather products. After some early success—getting certified beef onto the shelves of a major supermarket chain—the initiative stalled. Few consumers and corporations cared about where the beef they bought came from, and ranchers were reluctant to change their ways in the absence of significant financial incentives. By late 2016, only a handful of ranchers, whose combined holdings represented a tiny fraction of 1% of Brazil’s pastureland, had received certification. However, the program succeeded in developing niche markets for certified beef, and proponents expressed hopes for more gains as consumers became more interested in the sustainability of food production.

Blair Cameron drafted this case study based on interviews conducted in São Paulo, in August and September 2016. The British Academy-Department for International Development Anti- Corruption Evidence (ACE) Progamme funded the development of this case study. Case published November 2016.