UPL

Background

UPL, formerly United Phosphorus Limited, is a global provider of agricultural products and technology. The company produces agrochemicals including herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and fertilizers,¹ as well as “disease-resistant and high-yielding seed varieties with valuable traits.”²

Headquartered in India, UPL’s annual revenue exceeds $5 billion USD.³According to its website, UPL has a sales presence in over 138 countries.⁴

UPL’s European branch, UPL Europe Ltd., is headquartered in the United Kingdom.

In 2019, UPL acquired Arysta Lifescience, another provider of crop protection products, making UPL the fifth-largest company in the agricultural solutions market after Bayer, BASF, Syngenta and DuPont.⁵

Stance on Climate Change

UPL CEO Jai Shroff has said that the company will address the challenges climate change presents to its business by investing in agricultural technology.⁶

In 2019, UPL launched Open Agriculture (“OpenAg”), an initiative to “transform agriculture by creating an open agriculture network that feeds sustainable growth for all,” according to Shroff. UPL also claims to support the “true heroes of our story, the 500 million farmers who will face the challenge” of feeding the world’s population.⁷

Upon acquiring Arysta and launching OpenAg, CEO Jai Shroff said, “Farmers need technologies that help them to be more resilient and that enhance performance in light of climate change.”⁸

In May 2021, UPL signed a multi-year agreement with the non-profit Soil Health Institute (SHI), during which the SHI will “evaluate the soil health at selected UPL research and development field stations around the world.”⁹ The Soil Health Institute’s partners include major U.S. food and agribusiness companies such as General Mills and Cargill.¹⁰

On October 4, 2021, UPL joined “The Climate Pledge,” an initiative promoted by multinational technology company Amazon to become a net-zero company by 2040, 10 years ahead of the target in the Paris Agreement.¹¹ Shroff has stated that joining the initiative emphasizes UPL’s commitment to “reimagine sustainability, and transform the role of agriculture as a positive contributor to meeting the challenges presented by climate change.”¹²

On October 21, 2021, UPL Europe announced in a sponsored post on European media platform EURACTIV that it had established a new “Natural Plant Protection unit” in Spain, which the company claimed will advance the objectives of the Paris Agreement to reduce CO2 emissions from agricultural crops.¹³ However, the announcement followed the news that the biosolutions market is set to grow by $10 billion by the year 2025, compared to traditional agrochemicals, which are projected to experience single digit growth.¹⁴

According to a webpage titled “UPL 2020: 30% Environmental Footprint Reduction,” UPL had committed to a “sustainable development plan” that included reducing the environmental footprint of its manufacturing plants by 30 percent by 2020.¹⁵

In the plan, UPL stated that “Human activities are responsible for almost all of the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,” and claimed to have set itself a “bold emissions reduction target.” UPL did not specify the amount of that target, but claimed that the firm will reduce emissions through commitments including: “promot[ing] the use of renewable energy sources,” “reduc[ing] greenhouse gases during operation,” “use of eco-friendly fuels in the utility system” and “using alternating [sic] transport like rail or ship for transportation of products and goods.”¹⁶

Mancozeb Task Force

UPL has lobbied for the continued production and use of mancozeb, an agricultural fungicide specifically used on wheat, grapevines, flower bulbs, potatoes and tomatoes.¹⁷

In January 2015, in a “joint activity” with the Dutch company Indofil Industries, UPL Europe Ltd. funded the European Mancozeb Task Force to lobby for the continued production and use of mancozeb, an agricultural fungicide specifically used on wheat, grapevines, flower bulbs, potatoes and tomatoes. The European Mancozeb Task Force was registered with the EU Transparency Register.¹⁸ ¹⁹

In 2015, UPL collaborated with the British consulting company ADAS to look into the socio-economic impact that the loss of mancozeb for potato production would have in eight European countries. According to their findings, an EU Mancozeb ban would create an “additional cost for producers who have to use more expensive alternatives.”²⁰

UPL uses mancozeb as an ingredient in at least six of its products.²¹ According to Pesticides Action Network Europe, mancozeb has been identified as an endocrine disruptor, a substance which can harm human and animal health by altering the function of the body’s endocrine system, which regulates hormones.²² ²³

Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) is also regarded as one of the most serious human-made threats to biodiversity and the world’s ecosystems.²⁴

Because hormones help animals respond to environmental stressors, EDCs may interfere with animals’ ability to adapt to challenges in their environment – including those caused by climate change. Studies show that a combination of increased temperature and endocrine-disrupting pollutants can affect animals’ reproductive function and cause infertility in male mammals, which can contribute to biodiversity loss.²⁵

In 2015, UPL told the publication Farmers Guardian that “mancozeb is an endocrine disrupter less likely to pose a risk or of low regulatory concern.”²⁶

In the European Commission’s 2016 public consultation, “Criteria to identify endocrine disruptors for plant protection products,” the Mancozeb task force stated that mancozeb “does not have an adverse effect relevant for human or environmental health and therefore it is not an endocrine disruptor.” According to the task force, a mancozeb ban would cause large decreases in crop yields and increased problems with pest resistance, while providing no benefit to human health.²⁷

In 2019, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) produced an opinion determining that mancozeb is an EDC that poses high risks to birds, mammals and insects.²⁸ ²⁹ In the same year, the European Parliament’s resolution regarding extension of the approval periods of mancozeb and other active substances acknowledged that mancozeb affects aquatic life, slowing tissue development and causing reproductive harms to common fish species.³⁰ ³¹ ³²

In a 2020 interview with Dutch magazine Trouw, Jeroen Voorbraak, director of UPL Breda, stated that, “The discussion is mainly emotional and not based on science. If this substance is banned, farmers will use other substances that may be more harmful.”³³

In October 2020, EU Member States voted not to renew the license for use of mancozeb, with the ban going into effect in February, 2021.³⁴

Through its Farm to Fork Strategy, the European Union is also trying to ban the import of food farmed with pesticides, or that exceed the maximum allowed residue levels of some active substances, including mancozeb.³⁵

In October 2021, UPL Europe worked in partnership with European agrochemical businesses by participating in a pilot group to develop technologies said to facilitate agrochemical use and reduce farmers’ environmental exposure to plant protection products.³⁶ Participating companies included ADAMA, BASF, Bayer, Corteva Agriscience, FMC, Nufarm, Rovensa Group and Syngenta. The first market launch of technologies developed by the group is scheduled for Denmark and the Netherlands in 2022, followed by France, Germany and the UK in 2023.

Lobbying

According to the EU Transparency Register, ULP Ltd. Belgium spent between €50,000 – €99,999 on lobbying in 2019. Through the European Mancozeb Task Force, together with Indofil Industries, it spent between €50,000 – €99,999 in 2020.³⁷ ³⁸

UPL is also a client of lobby consultancies registered within the European Union. In 2019, UPL spent between €100,00 – €199,000 on the services of EU Focus,³⁹ and between €100,000 – €199,999 on the services of EPPA S.A. ⁴⁰

Affiliations

UPL Europe Ltd is a member of the European Crop Care Association (ECCA), a Brussels-based association of small- and medium-sized European manufacturers of “plant protection products,” including pesticides and herbicides, fungicides and growth regulators.⁴¹

UPL is also a member of CropLife Europe, alongside Adama, BASF, Bayer, Corteva, FMC and Syngenta.⁴²

UPL is part of the Animal and Plant Health Association, a representative body for manufacturers and distributors of animal health and plant health products in Ireland. Its members include Bayer, BASF, Monsanto, Barclay Chemicals, Corteva, Adama, Syngenta and Nufarm. APHA is also a member of CropLife Europe.⁴³