ESG Enforcement Tracker

The OAG filed a complaint in 2024 against JBS USA, subsidiaries of the world’s largest producer of beef products, alleging that JBS USA’s advertising campaign, asserting that it would achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 (the Net Zero Commitment), was false and misleading to consumers.

Beef production emits the most greenhouse gases of any major food commodity. In March 2021, JBS USA announced its Net Zero Commitment and advertised this commitment in various places, including, but not limited to, its website, an advertisement in the New York Times in April 2021, and an article in the Washington Post in March 2022. The OAG’s investigation however found that JBS USA had not developed a detailed plan setting out the steps to be taken between March 2021 and 2040 to achieve the Net Zero Commitment nor had it assessed whether such a commitment was economically or technologically feasible by 2040.

On 30 October 2025, JBS USA entered into a settlement agreement with the OAG, pursuant to which it will:

1. pay a monetary penalty of US$1.1 million, which is not categorised as a penalty or a fine, to fund independent science-based initiatives supporting climate goals across New York, including promoting climate-smart agriculture on New York farms;
2. correct prior statements it had made concerning the Net Zero Commitment;
3. undertake an annual comprehensive internal review of its US consumer-facing published statements that relate to the Net Zero Commitment over a period of three years; and
4. ensure that any newly published US consumer-facing statements that relate to the Net Zero Commitment will be consistent with specific guidance provided by the OAG.

JBS USA has neither accepted nor denied the allegations against it as part of the settlement.