Tyson Foods, Inc., Springdale, Ark., partnered with Proforest, UK, to conduct a deforestation risk assessment across its global agriculture supply chain.  

The assessment will help identify if there is risk in the company’s sourcing origins, focusing on commodities such as cattle, palm oil, soy, timber, pulp and paper.

Findings will inform the development of a Tyson Foods Forest Protection Policy in 2020. The assessment is also expected to inform, if necessary, the implementation of actions to mitigate or eliminate any identified deforestation risks.

In 2017, Tyson Foods partnered with an environmentally focused non-government organization to conduct a sustainable sourcing risk assessment, which classified the company’s deforestation risk as minimal to low. Since then, the company has expanded its international presence from two countries to nine, with the acquisition of Keystone Foods and additional poultry businesses in Thailand and Europe. Given the company’s expanded footprint, Tyson Foods is reassessing its supply chain to identify and classify potential risks.

“We’re committed to sustainably feeding the world. As part of that, we must operate with a high degree of certainty about sourcing in our supply chains across the globe,” says John Tyson, chief sustainability officer for Tyson Foods. “We look forward to working with Proforest to better understand potential risks and do our part on this complicated issue.”

Proforest will partner with Global Canopy, UK, and utilize Trase, a supply chain mapping platform developed by Global Canopy and the Stockholm Environment Institute, Sweden.