MBRF achieves full traceability across beef supply chain
The move covers compliance with environmental and labor standards.
BRAZIL – MBRF, one of the world’s largest food producers, has completed 100% territorial traceability of its beef supply chain, including all direct and indirect suppliers across the Brazilian biomes where its cattle are raised.
The achievement follows the company’s initial pledge at COP26 in Glasgow, which set deadlines for the Amazon by 2025 and the Cerrado by 2030, later advanced to 2025 during COP28 in Dubai.
The traceability system relies on a combination of satellite-based geomonitoring, mapping, and socio-environmental risk classification to continuously track supplier compliance.
The monitoring covers around 25 million hectares, an area comparable to the state of São Paulo or the United Kingdom, and operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
MBRF’s verification criteria include checking environmental embargoes issued by Ibama, ICMBio, and Sema, ensuring suppliers are not operating on deforested or legally protected lands, and confirming no overlap with indigenous or quilombola territories.
Labour compliance is also monitored through lists maintained by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, preventing the use of forced or child labour within the supply chain.
Suppliers who fail to meet environmental or labour standards are automatically blocked from supplying animals until the issues are resolved, ensuring ongoing adherence to the criteria.
The company applies similar monitoring to its grain supply chain, achieving 100% traceability for direct suppliers in 2023 and completing coverage of indirect suppliers in December 2024.
MBRF integrates socio-environmental criteria with indicators for biodiversity and water use to track potential adverse effects on ecosystems and guide sustainable practices.
The company emphasises a production model designed to maintain efficiency while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, conserving natural resources, and promoting animal welfare.
Through the Green+ Program, MBRF provides technical support to suppliers and develops financial incentives to encourage sustainable farming practices across all biomes.
Overall, the initiative places MBRF among the first global companies in the animal protein sector to implement a fully verifiable monitoring system that connects productivity with environmental and social responsibility.
This milestone reflects the company’s ongoing effort to align its operations with regulatory standards and market expectations while ensuring that beef production does not contribute to deforestation or human rights violations.
The traceability system allows investors and customers to access verified data on the origins and conditions of the beef used in MBRF’s production, providing transparency across the entire supply chain.
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