Whereas: More than half of global GDP ($58 trillion) is moderately or highly dependent on nature and exposed to material risk due to the declining reliability of natural ecosystems.1 The World Bank estimates that Global GDP could fall by $2.7 trillion in 2030 relative to
baseline under a partial ecosystem collapse.2 Biodiversity loss presents a global systemic risk.
Natural ecosystem conversion (“conversion”) is the loss of a natural ecosystem due to its replacement by another land use.3 Agricultural production is a leading driver of conversion in regions such as the Amazon, Cerrado and Gran Chaco. The Cerrado alone, home to 5% of all species on Earth, has lost over 70 million acres of natural savannah in recent decades.4 Conversion drives biodiversity loss, undermining critical ecosystem reliability.
Conversion is also a major source of carbon emissions, elevating the risk of disruptive effects of climate change.5
As a food company, Conagra requires reliable access to agricultural commodities for its products. The Company acknowledges that climate change presents a risk to its ability to source ingredients, stating in its 10-K that, "In the event that such climate change has a
negative eƯect on agricultural productivity, we may be subject to decreased availability or less favorable pricing for certain commodities… such as wheat, tomatoes, and a wide array of vegetables."6
Conagra has committed to eliminating deforestation from its supply chain and the Company claims that its sourcing policies align with standard-setting body the Accountability Framework Initiative (AFI).7
However, AFI requires companies to eliminate all natural ecosystem conversion from their supply chains and Conagra has made no such commitment.8
This omission leaves the Company vulnerable to accusations of greenwashing.
1 https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/news-room/press-releases/2023/pwcboosts-global-nature-and-biodiversity-capabilities.html
2 https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/fcc11682-c752-51c4-a59f-0ab5cd40dc6f
3 https://accountability-framework.org/topics/deforestation-and-conversion/
4 https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-cerrado-production-and-protection
5 https://www.landcarbonlab.org/news-updates/supply-chains-zero-land-conversionclimate?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=land+%26+carbon+lab&utm_term=11df82ec-cec6-4da8-b062-
fd764957d5e2&utm_content=&utm_campaign=cop27
6 https://www.conagrabrands.com/files/2024-annual-report
7 https://www.conagrabrands.com/our-company/corporate-social-responsibility/citizenship-reports
8 https://accountability-framework.org/the-accountability-framework/core-principles/1-protection-of-forests-andother-natural-ecosystems/ Conagra’s competitors have demonstrated superior risk mitigation by adopting policies and commitments that address conversion,9exposing Conagra to reputational and competitive risk.
Kraft-Heinz "[is] committed to respecting forests and nature and to eliminating deforestation and natural ecosystem conversion from [its] supply chains."
10 Kerry Foods "[is] committed to eliminating deforestation and conversion across our
global supply chains by 2025."
11 Hormel Foods "will work to include [ecosystem conversion] in our deforestationfree policy."
12 Conagra’s contribution to conversion exacerbates financial risk by degrading the systems upon which agricultural productivity depends. By excluding conversion from the Company’s no deforestation commitment, Conagra lags the standards of peers, investors,
and global standard-setting bodies, thereby exposing the company to systemic, competitive, and reputational risk.