The value chains associated with Brazilian agribusiness are responsible for generating around 21% of the country's gross domestic product. The activity is deeply linked to the health of the environment: it depends on natural resources such as land, water, minerals and living organisms and, at the same time, affects the quantity and quality of these resources.

To promote best practices in the agri-food sector in Brazil, the project Ecosystem and Biodiversity Economics for Agriculture and Food (TEEBAgriFood) will present on July 21 and 23, during an online roundtable, the first version of a set of guidelines for assessing the natural, human and social capital that are fundamental to the national sector. The initiative, led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), will bring together representatives from the private sector, academia and civil society to gather feedback and consolidate the final version of the document.  

The roundtable is the result of a partnership between the TEEB-UNEP initiative, Capitals Coalition and the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS), with support from the European Union.

“The guidelines seek to establish practices, guide investments and support decisions that transform global food production, providing companies with the necessary tools to identify and measure the impacts and dependencies of natural, social and human capital”, explains Denise Hamú, UNEP Representative in Brazil.

The principles are based on cutting-edge scientific knowledge developed by research institutes and agri-food companies for application worldwide. Brazil is part of a group of seven countries in which the TEEBAgriFood project is being implemented, also comprising China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico and Thailand.

“A series of trends that were already happening in the food sector are being accelerated by the pandemic. The main one is the production of food for everyone, but with priority on accessibility and quality. There is still a culture of abundance in Brazil that results in the waste of 37 million tons of food per year. Rationality is also a trend that is being improved. This partnership is, therefore, an initiative that seeks to put all these transformations into practical terms”, says Marina Grossi, president of CEBDS.

The roundtable will be held over two mornings, from 8:30 am to 12 pm, with two multidisciplinary panels. The first will have as its theme “The importance of transforming food systems in Brazil”. On the second day, the work will have as its theme “Business actions based on the assessment of natural, social and human capital”.

CEBDS priority in the food sector

The partnership with the TEEBAgriFood project is part of a set of actions developed by CEBDS in the food sector, which have as their main axis the Agroclimatic Intelligence (IAC) program, launched in 2018. The initiative seeks to address a paradox in agribusiness: while it is one of the main responsible for GHG emissions in the country, it is proportionally more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

The IAC has its origins in the set of proposals of the global initiative Low Carbon Technologies Partnerships Initiative (LCTPi), developed by World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), represented in Brazil by CEBDS. Among the actions included in the initiative is the Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA), which aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50% by 2030. In addition to reducing emissions, CSA aims to increase producer productivity and resilience to climate change.

About CEBDS

The Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) is a non-profit civil association that promotes sustainable development through partnerships with governments and civil society, in addition to disseminating the most current concepts and practices on the subject. The organization brings together around 60 of the largest business groups in the country, with revenues equivalent to around 45% of GDP and responsible for over 1 million direct jobs.

CEBDS represents the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) network in Brazil, which has almost 60 national and regional councils in 36 countries and 22 industrial sectors, in addition to 200 business groups operating on all continents.

More information: https://cebds.org/inteligencia-agroclimatica-iac/

About UNEP

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the leading global authority on the environment, is the agency of the United Nations (UN) system that promotes leadership and encourages partnerships to care for the environment, inspiring, informing and empowering nations and people to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

More information: https://www.unep.org/pt-br

About TEEBAgriFood

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) is a global initiative led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) that seeks to “make the values of nature visible”. Its main goal is to integrate the values of biodiversity and ecosystem services into decision-making at all levels.

Funded by the European Union, the TEEBAgriFood project aims to protect biodiversity and contribute to a more sustainable agricultural and food sector in seven partner countries: Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico and Thailand.

More information: https://naturalcapitalcoalition.org/projects/teebagrifood/

About Capitals Coalition

The Capitals Coalition was launched in January 2020 and brings together more than 370 leading organizations with the purpose of promoting the exchange of experiences around collective challenges, from the perspective of capital for business. The organization is the result of the union between the Natural Capital Coalition and the Social & Human Capital Coalition.

Created in 2012 as TEEB For Business, the Natural Capital Coalition has become a global reference in the approach to natural capital for the private sector, with the launch of the Natural Capital Protocol in 2016. The Social & Human Capital Coalition was founded by the WBCSD in 2018 with the purpose of bringing together experts in measuring the values that individuals and society generate between themselves. In 2019, the organization launched the Social & Human Capital Protocol.

More information: https://naturalcapitalcoalition.org/