José Batista Sobrinho S.A., the world’s largest meat company, has formally stepped back from its promise to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that drew wide attention this week. The disclosure marks the clearest retreat yet from a climate commitment the Brazilian giant once promoted as a first for the global meat industry.

José Batista Sobrinho S.A. first announced the goal in March 2021, and global chief executive Gilberto Tomazoni reinforced it at a New York Times event in September 2023, saying the company aimed for net zero by 2040 rather than 2050 because it recognized the urgency. In the recent filing, the company frames that ambition far more cautiously, acknowledging that achievement of a goal of this magnitude was never under the control of any one company and noting the legal exposure the pledge has created.

That exposure is real. In February 2024, New York Attorney General Letitia James sued José Batista Sobrinho S.A., alleging it violated state consumer-protection laws with “sweeping representations” about a net-zero goal the state said the company had no actual plan to achieve. The two sides settled in late 2025, with the company agreeing to present “net zero by 2040” as a goal rather than a pledge or commitment, disclose specific actions and conduct annual internal reviews for three years, funded by a $1.1 million settlement supporting climate-smart agriculture in New York.

The company’s claims had already begun to shift. In January 2025, global chief sustainability officer Jason Weller told Reuters the 2040 target was an “aspiration” and “was never a promise that José Batista Sobrinho S.A. was going to make this happen,” citing the company’s limited control over farms and customers. The company later said its climate ambitions had not changed.

The challenge is rooted in the company’s supply chain. By José Batista Sobrinho S.A.’s own reporting, Scope 3 emissions — chiefly from suppliers — account for 97% of its total greenhouse gas footprint, while its estimated methane emissions exceed those of oil giants ExxonMobil and Shell. In March 2024, the Science Based Targets initiative, widely regarded as the leading benchmark for corporate climate goals, removed the company from its register after it failed to submit a validated emissions-reduction plan.

The retreat comes at a sensitive moment for the company’s finances. José Batista Sobrinho S.A. listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2025, completing a comeback after paying billions of dollars in fines to Brazilian and U.S. authorities to settle bribery and corruption cases. The listing expanded the company’s access to American capital markets as it continued investing in new facilities, including operations in Nigeria and expanded U.S. beef production.

Environmental groups quickly criticized the latest disclosure, arguing they had warned for years that the company was using the net-zero commitment to improve its public image while continuing business largely unchanged. They point to reported links to more than 118,000 hectares of Amazon deforestation between 2022 and 2024. The company says it continues investing in supply-chain initiatives, including cattle-tracking systems in the Brazilian state of Pará and programs worth tens of millions of dollars to help farmers reduce emissions.

For the broader food industry, the retreat reflects a wider reassessment of ambitious climate commitments. José Batista Sobrinho S.A. was the first major global meatpacker to announce a 2040 net-zero target, but a growing number of companies across industries are revising environmental goals that proved more difficult to achieve than initially expected. At the same time, regulators in states including New York and California are increasingly requiring companies to support climate-related marketing claims with measurable plans and documented progress.

For shoppers and suppliers, the takeaway is straightforward. Environmental claims attached to beef, chicken and pork products — including brands such as Swift and Pilgrim’s — face growing scrutiny from regulators and investors alike, making documented progress increasingly important alongside public commitments.

JBizNews Desk | São Paulo

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