Carrefour : launches its sustainable farming platform

The system will monitor all purchases of fresh beef destined for national consumption. It will limit the social and environmental risks in the supply chain.

The announcement was made at an event named 'Dialogues on sustainable farming' organised by Carrefour in partnership with the Government of Mato Grosso State - the largest beef producing state in Brazil - and in the presence of Pedro Taques, Governor of Mato Grosso State, Jérôme Bédier, Chief Operating Officer of the Carrefour Group, Charles Desmartis, Chief Executive Officer of Carrefour Brazil, NGOs and representatives of entities and businesses from the farming sector.

Developed in partnership with Agrotools - the leader in georeferencing and Big Data in Brazil - the new tool crosses the data provided by beef suppliers with public criteria in order to identify any non-compliance with the five criteria that have been introduced. It will also help to prevent farms from producing meat in regions:
1. in deforested areas
2. under an environmental embargo
3. in protected areas
4. in indigenous lands
5. using illegal labour

Thanks to this tool, thousands of farms that supply Carrefour's partner producers will be strictly controlled. The progressive deployment of the platform should be completed next year.

Cattle farming is one of Brazil's main economic activities, and there is enormous export potential. One of the sector's main challenges is to improve meat quality whilst reconciling production with protecting biodiversity.

As an important link in the beef production chain, Carrefour will play an active role - particularly in the Amazon - by facilitating and stimulating initiatives to improve beef farming / production processes.

In 2010 the Carrefour Group made a commitment within the Consumer Goods Forum to move towards zero deforestation by 2020. Since then, the Group has drawn up a forest policy to implement this ambitious objective in all countries, particularly for soya, palm oil, wood and beef supplies. Rigorous 'sustainable' management of these supply chains is vital in achieving the goals that have been set.

In 2013, the forest became one of the four focus areas in Carrefour's drive to protect biodiversity.