Conserving, protecting and transforming says a lot about our work at Suzano and about the future we want. We care not only about the sustainability of our business, but also about how to contribute to people's lives, offer new opportunities for inclusion and care for the environment.
Who has never wondered what the role of organizations is in contributing to a better world? Through the #PorUmMundoBelhor action, CEBDS provoked us to tell us about the actions we are developing, based on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), defined by the UN. Come with us and learn a little more about our projects:
Income Generation and Cultural Enhancement
Sustainable Extractivism
To ensure sustainable extractivism, strengthen the production of non-timber forest products, provide technical training and improve the infrastructure of local community projects, we support the creation of the Quebradeiras De Coco Babaçu Community Council in Imperatriz (MA), alongside the several coconut breakers associations existing in the region.
Women and around 50 families from the communities of Petrolina, São Felix, Olho d'Água, the Cirático Extractive Reserve and Coquelândia benefit, who share the profit from the sale of products among themselves.
Indian Thing
In partnership with the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil – APIB and with communication companies Collective 105 It is Stone Age, Coisa de Índio is aimed at valuing indigenous culture, developing audiovisual language workshops with young people from tribes close to our Imperatriz Unit (MA), so that they can become multipliers in the use of new communication technologies.
Created in September 2015, in the municipality of Amarante, the project was conceived in the indigenous land of Araribóia and, in 2016, was extended to the Krikati people, in the São José village, close to the city of Montes Altos.
All works already developed are exhibited in public schools in Maranhão and can be seen here.
Indigenous Women
The project is an initiative by indigenous women from the Krikati Indigenous Land, located in the municipality of Sítio Novo, in Maranhão. The group makes artifacts and utensils for use in parties and celebrations, with the aim of rescuing indigenous culture. Surplus products are also sold to visitors to the land, which contributes to the generation of family income and the exchange of elderly women still alive in the villages, who can transmit knowledge about the pieces used by their ancestors.
We support one of the six villages located in the Krikati Indigenous Land with donations of materials, such as beads and thread, as well as equipment, such as a sewing machine, seed hole punch, etc. And there’s still more to come!
Recovery of springs and conscious use of natural resources
As you know, eucalyptus forests are the heart of our business, but the environment is the heart of our entire existence and survival. Therefore, we seek to consciously manage natural resources, so that our efforts can be perpetuated and future generations can enjoy an even better world.
An example of this is our sustainable management, through mosaic planting (a mixture of eucalyptus and local flora), which helps preserve and recover native forests and conserves local ecosystems.
Furthermore, we have entered into a partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the largest environmental organization in the world, to restore priority areas for the conservation of the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado.
In March this year, we planted native vegetation seedlings around our Mucuri Unit (BA), marking the beginning of the project's actions Sources of the Mucuri River.
The Mucuri River brings opportunities to more than 17 municipalities where it passes and is important for the work and income generation of thousands of families. Recently, our project carried out a new planting of 6,500 seedlings of native species, in the Ladainha-MG region, affirming our responsible management and commitment to preserving the riparian forest and guaranteeing the health of the river.
Train Apprentice
It is our project created to train socially vulnerable young people in the Production Process Operator course, which takes place in our industrial units.
And, since the beginning, in 2005, we have had a partnership with Fundação Iochpe, which develops the entire pedagogical methodology and the training of our employees who work as volunteer educators.
Just to give you an idea, in 2016, of the 60 beneficiaries of the program, 45% worked in our units as employees, service providers, interns or child guards!
Susano at School
Held since 2009, in partnership with Junior Achievement, aims to awaken the entrepreneurial spirit in young people in the public education system and share knowledge and experiences for educational training, expanding the vision of the job market and the business world.
In the first half of 2017 alone, Suzano na Escola has already covered 5 schools, benefited 321 students and had around 100 volunteers, in the following regions: Imperatriz and Cidelândia – MA, Limeira – SP, Rio Verde – SP, Suzano Unit and CDR Suzano, São Mateus – ES and Itabatã – BA.
Ecofuturo Community Libraries
We support the Ecofuturo Institute, which develops socio-environmental education and reading incentive projects. Among them, we have the Project Ecofuturo Community Library, which contributes to the implementation and qualification of public reading and library policy, democratizing access to books and training new readers.
So far, 107 libraries have been established in 12 Brazilian states, serving, on average, 642 thousand people per year. Furthermore, more than 130 thousand new literature books were delivered and 4 thousand people graduated from the Library Assistant and Reading Promoter courses!
Socio-environmental Education in Parque Das Neblinas
In Parque das Neblinas, an environmental reserve managed by Ecofuturo, more than 1,200 species of biodiversity are home, and among the most emblematic are the puma, the tapir and the muriqui; in addition to the 400 sources of the Itatinga River, fully preserved through management strategies developed by the Ecofuturo.
Thus, the reserve plays an important role in conserving the natural resources of the Serra do Mar in São Paulo and the largest Atlantic Forest continuum in Brazil, the Serra do Mar State Park and the Serra de Paranapiacaba.
In the space, socio-environmental education, research, community involvement and visitation actions are carried out, with the aim of promoting environmental awareness, the valorization of forest remnants and the sustainable development of the region.
To find out more about our actions, visit www.suzanoblog.com.br.
