“For the business sector, preserving and producing is a feasible reality. The transition to a new economy is part of the companies’ objectives for the Amazon. We are talking about an agenda that is of the State and, therefore, non-partisan.”
It was with this speech that Marina Grossi, president of the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS), opened the “Webinar: The Business Sector in the Amazon”, held on September 5th – Amazon Day. The virtual event showed that the private sector is aware of its responsibility. The cases presented, of companies that are contributing to the socioeconomic development of communities living in the forest and of the forest, show that the rhetoric is a thing of the past. And, today, there are interesting examples to be shown.
“The main issue is that, despite everything that has been done in the Amazon, and we have had better and worse times, the result still represents a liability in relation to the world,” says Hugo Barreto, director of Social Investment, CEO of Fundo Vale and CEO of Instituto Cultural Vale. “That’s why we have to get involved. It’s not just a question of corporate responsibility, but also of long-term business sustainability,” says the executive.
From a practical standpoint, according to Hugo, Vale has been helping to protect the Carajás mosaic for over 35 years. Around 60% of the company's production is made using a sustainable model. The company's operating areas in Pará, for extracting ore from the world's largest open-pit mine, occupy less than 2% of the mosaic of environmental preservation areas, says Hugo.
According to the executive, despite the challenges, the company has a clear vision of sustainable development. This includes, among other things, respect for and promotion of the rights and culture of indigenous peoples and traditional communities, as well as support for combating illegal deforestation and illegal mining.
Vale, Hugo confirms, no longer holds mining rights on indigenous lands and does not mine in these territories. “The issue involves know-how. And, to achieve this, the possible paths involve leveraging the expertise of those who work in and know the region, in addition to partnerships between the various sectors,” says the mining company executive.
A similar approach was adopted by Dow in the municipality of Breu Branco (PA). The region is home to one of the company's silicon metal production operations, which uses eucalyptus wood as a raw material. “In the 45,000-hectare area, we have 20% of planted eucalyptus and another 80% of native forest,” says Ana Carolina Felix, Sustainability Director for the Americas for Dow's Consumer Solutions Business.
The executive explains that the Ybá project was set up in this native forest, in conjunction with Natura. Around 25 communities can access the forest areas to collect andiroba seeds. This starts a production chain that culminates in the use of the raw material in products for the cosmetics industry. “This is the bioeconomy model that keeps the forest standing. A study conducted by the Peabiru Institute, our partner, showed the occurrence of 17 species with commercial potential in the region. Andiroba is just the first,” says Ana Carolina.
As part of Suzano's strategy to generate socio-environmental impact, as also presented during the Webinar, the Pindowa project was created in Maranhão, on the outskirts of the company's cellulose production plant in Imperatriz.
In the company's protected areas, approximately one third of the 2 million hectares, a sustainable extraction program was created that benefits 1,880 people. The families even created a cooperative to sell soaps from the processing of babassu palm that grows in the region. “And one of the concerns, in this case, also involves keeping young people in the region,” explains Giordano Automare, executive manager of Social Development at Suzano.
The Business Movement for the Amazon
The three examples presented demonstrate the harmony that exists among the participants of the Business Movement for the Amazon, created by CEBDS in 2021. The main objective of the initiative is to build an effective agenda in defense of sustainable development, the creation of jobs and income with the forest standing and the reduction of deforestation, which represents 43% of our greenhouse gas emissions. The Movement engages leaders and companies on the topic and builds synergies between the productive sector to find convergent possibilities for action, which bring effective positive impact.
With this movement, CEBDS and its associates also seek to maintain direct dialogue with various institutions and representatives of the Three Powers to build sustainable solutions for the Amazon.
One of the most recent and important initiatives was the CEO Immersion in the Amazon. Promoted in August by CEBDS, within the Business Movement for the Amazon, it was the largest gathering of leaders from large companies to experience the reality of the forest. The experience will bring powerful inspiration towards a new way of doing business in the biome.
The full event can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/v_ANOHLXJcc.
