The forestry-based sector has an inseparable relationship with the environment. It's a sector rooted in natural capital. And that says a lot about how we view sustainability. At Suzano, sustainability is an integral part of our business strategy.
At the heart of our company lies the eucalyptus, a tree, our renewable source of raw material. Brazil has become fertile ground for the development of this tree, which is native to Australia, Tasmania, and other islands in Oceania. Since the late 1950s, commercial eucalyptus planting has been established in the country, and it was Suzano that pioneered the production of paper and pulp with 100% eucalyptus fiber on an industrial scale. It was from this pioneering spirit that Suzano Biopulp was born.
Over the years, the practices of eucalyptus planting and forest management have been continually improved, resulting in a sophisticated and robust system with plantations certified by international organizations, compliant with socio-environmental requirements. At Suzano, we treat this matter with utmost seriousness. Our sustainable forest management model is based on:
- Wood Supply Policy: We ensure that illegal deforestation is not present at anystage of our wood supply chain.
- A total land area of 2.6 million hectares (6.4 million acres), with 1.6 million (3.9 million acres) dedicated to eucalyptus planting and 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) exclusively for the conservation of native forests. Of these, over 93,000 hectares (229,636 acres) are considered High Conservation Value Areas (HCVAs). HCVAs are areas we voluntarily identify and protect due to their significant ecological, environmental, and/or social attributes, which, for instance, harbor endemic species and those threatened with extinction.
- Direct contribution to carbon removal from the atmosphere, both by eucalyptus plantations and conserved native forests.
- Eucalyptus plantations and native forests interact in the landscape as mosaics, a support mechanism for biodiversity, as verified through monitoring tools for fauna and flora species in the various biomes where we operate.
- Certification of plantations by the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).
Eucalyptus plantations need scale to supply Suzano Biopulp to customers in over 100 countries. Achieving this scalability is an operation that demands strategic planning, technological knowledge, and systematic coordination among various business areas. Sustainability is a cross-cutting theme across all these areas, materializing in our products, processes, relationships, business models, and logistics.
It is from this systemic vision that we have taken on Commitments to Renew Life, 15 long-term goals aligned with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, related to major social and environmental challenges on the planet.
Among the Commitments by 2030 are:
- Making available 10 million tons of renewable-source products that can replace plastic and other petroleum derivatives.
- Connecting, through ecological corridors, half a million hectares (1,2 million acres) of priority areas for biodiversity conservation in the Cerrado, Atlantic Forest, and Amazon.
- Lifting 200,000 people out of poverty line in our operating areas.
We believe in the potential of Suzano Biopulp to inspire and drive the world's transition to a low-carbon economy, offering an alternative to fossil-based materials while also fostering local development in over 200 Brazilian municipalities where the company operates.
We understand that achieving these ambitious commitments requires the creation of solutions different from what we have today. They must be transformational and guided by innovability, which is the pursuit of innovation through sustainability. Based on this premise, we have sought new partnerships, expanding our collaborative network with various stakeholders in our ecosystem: from civil society organizations, startups, and academia to companies from various sectors, including competitors.
We are a link connecting customers to the building of a fairer and more sustainable future for all.
To learn more about the Commitments to Renew Life and Suzano's sustainability indicators, visit our Sustainability Center.
