The contributions are tiny for the company. It also granted money to two U.S.-based nonprofits: Forest Trends, which supports handicrafts and Brazil nut production in Indigenous territories, and the Good Food Institute, which works to research local products from Amazon fungi to tucuma, a local palm tree. The initiatives include cocoa farming integrated with trees managed fishing of pirarucu, a giant freshwater fish and support for the Forest Peoples Connection, which has been installing Starlink internet units donated by Elon Musk´s SpaceX in remote areas, including Indigenous communities. The company has pledged to commit a total of $51 million to the fund through next year. Since then, the fund has provided $15 million to 20 projects, according to its website. The goal is to finance 'innovative, long-term initiatives that build on JBS S.A.'s legacy of conservation and sustainable development in the Amazon Biome,' according to an SEC filing. In 2020, it created the JBS Fund For the Amazon. JBS has pledged to make all cattle purchases traceable by 2025 and to reach net zero, or equalize all carbon emissions, by 2040. According to court papers, the company accepted documents that showed cattle going straight to the slaughterhouse from legally protected land. In December, The Associated Press and Brazil's Agencia Publica revealed that Rondonia state is suing JBS for purchasing cattle raised illegally in a protected area damaged to the point of near total destruction. JBS, with the largest slaughter capacity in the region, buys thousands of cows raised illegally annually, according to audits by federal prosecutors. Two-thirds of Amazon deforestation results from conversion to pasture for livestock, according to the Brazilian government. The SEC has broad authority in regulating capital markets, from approving or denying company applications to get on an exchange, requiring disclosures and fining companies if they break financial laws. JBS, which applied in July, and the NYSE didn't respond to questions. The letter, signed by Democrats and Republicans, comes days after a similar one from 11 British lawmakers that said letting JBS raise capital from shareholders “contradicts global efforts of governments and businesses to take action to mitigate climate change” and to “preserve essential natural habitats.”Ī spokesperson for the SEC, which has regulatory oversight of the NYSE, said it doesn't comment on individual filings. 'The company has made repeated claims that it will eliminate deforestation but has not taken meaningful steps to do so.'

'Dozens of journalistic and NGO reports have shown that JBS is linked to more destruction of forests and other ecosystems than any other company in Brazil,' said the letter from 15 U.S.

But often they have been listed for decades, having gone public when there was much less scrutiny of ecological impacts from business operations. Many companies listed on the New York and other stock exchanges have had, or still have, questionable environmental records.

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