Traceability
Denofa’s traceability program is crucial for ensuring that our soybeans are guaranteed GMO-free, deforestation-free, and sustainably certified. Every step in our supply chain is subject to strict control – from the seeds at the individual farmer’s level to the soybeans transported across the Atlantic Ocean, and to our port in Fredrikstad.”
The lowest climate footprint in the Brazilian soy business
The brazilian soybeans that Denofa imports has a climate footprint of just 0,514 kg CO2e per kg (ISO 14040/14044/14067) – about 1/5 of the average for Brazil as a whole.
Our owners AMAGGI boast in other words the absolute lowest climate footprint on the Brazilian soybean market. The reasons for that are many, but the two most important are that the soybeans are guaranteed deforestation-free and that they areproduced sustainably.
From GMO ban to deforestation-free soy.
Denofa and AMAGGI have developed over several years what is likely the most advanced tracking system in the soy industry. The background for this was that the Genetic Engineering Act (“Genteknologiloven”) in the 1990s made it illegal to import or sell genetically modified goods. This included soybeans. Since the we have had to guarantee that our soybeans are in fact non-GMO.
Denofa and AMAGGI jointly established a traceability system that has developed over time. Today we take up to 4.000 tests per shipment – from the harvest at the farm in the state of Mato Grosso, shipment on barges on the Rio Madeira, loading onto large ships at Itacoatiara travelling via the Amazon river to the Atlantic ocean, docking and unloading in Fredrikstad a few weeks later.
This way, we can guarantee that the ‘Norwegian soy’ is not contaminated by genetically modified ingredients, but we also obtain additional valuable data
A deforestation-free value chain
As awareness and consciousness around rainforest deforestation increased, Denofa consistently imposed stricter requirements to document that our beans did not contribute to deforestation. At the same time, our customers began to demand this type of documentation from us. In this regard, Norway has been a strong advocate for deforestation-free soy for the past 15-20 years.
The farms located in the southern part of Mato Grosso, from where Denofa sources non-GMO beans, are not as susceptible to deforestation as other areas. Nevertheless, it is important to be able to prove this to our customers – and ourselves!
As a responsible purchaser, we want to demonstrate that our parent company, AMAGGI, also takes responsibility for the soy they purchase from their direct suppliers and third-party suppliers in Brazil, and which they deliver to other parts of the world where the requirements may not necessarily be as stringent as in Norway.
Our close dialogue regarding deforestation over several years has significantly contributed to AMAGGI taking the issue seriously. This could pay off now, as the requirements from the EU in the first place are becoming stricter, and AMAGGI is viewed as best in class among the Brazilian suppliers:
For example, it is the only soy producer in the world with an A classification from CDP Forest, an international non-profit organization that ranks companies to promote global forest conservation. AMAGGI also ranked at the very top of the Forest 500 list from Global Canopy, which throughout 2022 assessed 350 global companies and their efforts to fight deforestation.
For more information about AMAGGI’s sustainability work, please find the latest ESG Report and Progress Report here »
ORIGINAR 2.0
In the video below, you can see how AMAGGI’s mapping tool, ORIGINAR 2.0, is used for oversight of agricultural areas in Brazil used for the cultivation of soy, cotton, and corn, as well as nearby forests and vegetation that need protection. The advanced system captures satellite images of 6 million hectares of land, thus providing updated information daily for a total of 6,000 farms.
Full traceability in the value chain
One of the many advantages is that ORIGINAR 2.0 makes it possible to get an overview of the entire area for each farm. The requirement for Brazilian soy traders today is only to provide a public address – Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) – for their supply chain. Usually, this means the location of the main farmhouse or a specific field that appears when you enter GPS coordinates. Technically, it is possible for a farmer who has deforested an area to “hide” this in the CAR system. ORIGINAR 2.0, however, goes much further in-depth, utilizing satellite images, polygonal measurements, historical data, risk analyses, and various other types of data.
The soybeans that arrive in Norway originate from AMAGGI’s farms, which are located far away from the Amazon rainforest and are also not part of the Cerrado tropical savanna. It is particularly these areas that are important to protect against deforestation.
However, AMAGGI delivers GMO soy to countries other than Norway, which is sourced from thousands of smaller farms scattered throughout Brazil. ORIGINAR 2.0 ensures that they can find updated information about all their direct suppliers, but also nearly all third-party suppliers as well. The latter has long been a challenge, as many small farmers deliver beans to local cooperatives, which then sell mixed raw materials to larger purchasers. With ORIGINAR 2.0 – combined with good dialogue with cooperatives and farmers – it is nevertheless possible to gain control over such volumes.
One of AMAGGI’s sustainability goals is to achieve full traceability throughout its supply chain to guarantee deforestation and conversion-free practices by 2025.
For more information, see AMAGGI ESG Goals and Global Actions 2023 »
EU Deforestation Regulation
The EU has passed a new law to contribute to stopping global deforestation. EU Deforestation Regulation covers a range of raw materials and products, including soy and soy-based products. All goods sold on the European market as of the 30th of December 2024, must be guaranteed deforestation-free. Therefore, producers and retailers must also ensure they have control over their value chain.
Denofa and AMAGGI should easily be able to fulfill the EU’s demands stipulated in the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
IDH European Soy Monitor 2021 (fra 2023) shows that 100 % of the soybeans on the Norwegian market are already deforestation-free and certified.
Still, the IDH report shows that only 24 % of the soy traded in Europe is guaranteed deforestation-free. That’s why the new EU legislation is important and is receiving much attention. For Denofa’s customers, however, it will likely not lead to any significant practical changes, except potentially new reporting requirements.
Contact us if you have any questions regarding Denofa’s compliance with the EU Deforestation Regulation.
Responsible sourcing
Denofa is active in several European collaborations. In 2015, we signed the Amsterdam Declaration, which is a sort of “Paris Agreement” for responsible sourcing that applies to companies in Norway and eight other European countries.
GMO Control
- Denofa’s GMO-free beans are sourced exclusively from carefully selected farmers and suppliers.
- The volumes are stored in warehouses that are exclusively used for non-genetically modified soy.
- The transportation of soybeans from the producer to the warehouse, and then to the export terminal, is subject to strict control throughout the route.
- GMO testing is conducted on every single shipment, and independent inspectors take final samples during the loading of the ship. A final GMO test is conducted on these loading samples.
- An independent third party is responsible for filling out Identity Preservation (IP) documentation for each delivery.
- Denofa itself, along with our customers, conducts frequent checks and audits of the supply chain and associated documentation.
- Denofa can present relevant IP documentation and traceability for all stages of the value chain.