JBS, the world's largest meat company, is facing a landmark legal challenge in the Netherlands, where Greenpeace has petitioned a Dutch court to force the company to disclose how its $6bn global expansion plan is compatible with responsibilities to the climate, nature, and human rights. The petition, filed in the Netherlands where JBS is headquartered, seeks information on whether JBS complies with Dutch "duty of care" laws and its own public commitments. Lawyers say the case opens a new frontier in climate litigation, potentially setting a precedent for the agriculture sector, the biggest driver of deforestation and a major source of methane emissions.
Legal strategy and precedent
Richard Brown, legal counsel at Greenpeace International, said the primary objective is to challenge JBS's business and expansion model. "We have a suspicion that they're flying blind and not pulling together the information they need to understand the impacts," he said. The request for information is a preliminary step toward formal litigation. Until now, similar lawsuits have targeted only fossil fuel companies. Last month, a Paris court ruled that TotalEnergies must disclose climate risks from its oil and gas emissions but did not order specific measures. In the Netherlands, Shell faces a case by Milieudefensie and Friends of the Earth to cut CO2 by 45% by 2030, with a final ruling expected in early 2027.
Nigeria expansion at the centre
The petition focuses on JBS's lack of transparency regarding its $2.5bn plan to build six giant meat-processing plants in Nigeria, seen as a bridgehead to the fast-growing African market. Civil society groups say there is scant information about whether JBS has assessed social and environmental consequences, which could threaten smallholder farmers, domestic food security, land-use priorities, and lock in huge methane emissions. Elujulo Opeyemi, spokesperson for Youth in Agroecology and Restoration Network, said: "This is the biggest agriculture investment that I have heard of in Nigeria's history but there have been few details and no consultation for civil society. The information is not there. We want the Nigerian government to take a pause until we can make a concrete cost-benefit analysis." He noted that the Niger state government has already promised 1.2m hectares to JBS.
JBS's move to the Netherlands
JBS, founded in Brazil in 1953, moved its headquarters to the Netherlands last year as part of a strategy to list on the New York Stock Exchange, allowing it to tap international financial markets and enabling the founding Batista brothers to raise their ownership stake. But the move exposed the company to stricter transparency rules. Brown said: "We say that if you come to the Netherlands, you have to play by Dutch rules and be held to account to Dutch standards." The lawsuit reflects dismay at JBS's environmental track record in Brazil, where it has repeatedly made and then abandoned sustainability commitments. Beef production is the primary driver of Amazon deforestation, and JBS dominates the Brazilian cattle market. It promised to clean up its supply chain by the end of 2025 but broke that promise and later scrapped its "net zero by 2040" pledge. Its latest sustainability report also excluded indirect methane emissions from cows.
Civil society demands transparency
Marieke Vellekoop, executive director of Greenpeace Netherlands, said the NGO had "no choice but to seek our right to information through the Dutch courts." Opeyemi stressed that Nigeria needs transparency to calculate the full consequences for people, the environment, and the region. "Once JBS has a foothold in Nigeria, they can encroach across Africa. That's why the Nigerian government has to get this right. This court case is helpful so we can get clarity." In an email to the Guardian, JBS said it "does not comment on potential legal proceedings of which it has not been notified."
