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June 17, 2009
Ideas that came out of the paper
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Publication: Carta Capital Magazine
Industries in the mining sector are working to make building their undertakings translate into sustainable development for local communities. The banks that finance large projects use social and environmental criteria when it comes to granting credit. Petrochemical companies are exploring new technological frontiers in their search for renewable raw materials. Packaging manufacturers analyze the complete life cycle of their products to reduce the impact on the environment. Supermarket chains invest in ecoefficient stores and spreading sustainable concepts along the whole of the supply chain. These are just some of the examples of the sustainable practices adopted by Brazilian companies with real results that go far beyond simple green marketing.
In the heart of the Amazon, 850 km from Belém, the town of Juruti has a population of 35,000, 65% of whom live in rural communities and earn most of their livelihood from growing manioc, fishing and livestock farming. With one of the biggest deposits of high quality bauxite in the world – the main raw material used in the fabrication of aluminum –, this Para State town is experiencing days of great expectation. Probably in September, when it has been fully implemented the Juruti Project, with investments in excess of R$ 2.5 billion in a complex that includes a mine, railroad, and port, will not just increase the production capacity of multinational company, Alcoa, but should convert into an example of a sustainable project in the world’s mining industry.
Since the beginning of the project various preliminary meetings and public hearings have been held with community leaders and public and private institutions in Juruti, Santarém and Belém. This dialogue led to the creation of programs that cover everything from environmental actions, such as monitoring air and water and conserving the fauna and flora, to public security initiatives, valuing local culture and supporting preparation of the municipality’s Master Plan.
The partnership with the local community became much closer in August 2008 when the Sustainable Juruti Council was set up, which comprises three representatives from Alcoa, three from the public authorities and nine from civilian society. “The council, the majority of whose members are from civilian society, is an arena for dialogue, in such a way as to construct solutions for the problems and resolve controversies. At those times when people feel that the State is absent it is an arena that helps to solve any stalemates. The more dialogue there is the more chances there are of the project keeping on the right tracks”, says Fabio Abdala, a sustainability consultant working with Alcoa.
In addition to the council, the project includes a partnership with FGV for the preparation of indicators that can measure local development and the setting up of a financial fund. The objective is to tap resources so that in the long term the town itself can administer them and establish its own priorities for their use. “The sustainability indicators that will be defined in the second half of the year will allow the region’s society to monitor local development openly and define priorities in accordance with the results”, says Abdala.
Since 2007, in line with the policy of its head office to invest more in sustainability, Tetra Pak has increased the volume of funds it injects in the environment area. In 2007 R$5 million were invested; last year it was R$8 million and in 2009 this figure should reach R$10 million, says the company’s environment director, Fernando von Zuben. The packaging manufacturer’s focus is on analyzing the whole life cycle of its products to reduce the impact of their production along the whole of the chain, from the manufacture of paper, with its socially and environmentally correct forest management seal, to the final disposal of the packaging. “Today we’re looking to operate in selective collection and recycling”, says the executive.
Packaging can be transformed into cardboard boxes, tiles and sheets for civil construction, pens and brushes. Today, more than 30 companies in Brazil are recycling Tetra Pak packaging, generating both employment and income in a recycling chain that is growing year by year. In 1998, when the project started, the volume recycled was 1000 tons; ten years on and it has already reached 53,000 tons. “Our current focus is to work on selective collection, encouraging collection cooperatives to set up and towns to have more waste separation centers.”
In 1995, 80 Brazilian towns and cities carried out selective waste collection. This number now stands at 450 and covers almost 25% of the Brazilian urban population. Tetra Pak has also been working to publicize information about recycling. At the start of 2008, it made available the first specific internet search engine for locating selective waste collection and long life packaging (cartons for milk, juice, tomato paste and other foods) recycling points. In thirteen months they have recorded 126,000 hits, with almost 10,000 people accessing it every month. “The numbers have surprised us and point to the fact there’s a need for this type of information”, comments Zuben. Starting with mapping out the recycling chain in Brazil, the company is dividing the knowledge it gains from the site with all those who are interested in the subject. This is a way of spreading the concept of selective collection and increasing the volume of post-consumption material that is recycled.
Technological innovation is also contributing towards mitigating environmental impact. As the most competitive producer of ethanol in the world, Brazil has been going through a revolution in the petro-chemical area, with companies seeking to produce green polymers. In April Braskem started building the first industrial unit in the world to use ethanol from sugar cane to produce 100% renewably-sourced ethane and polyethylene. Some R$500 million will be invested in the industrial unit located on the Triunfo Industrial Park (RS). “We expect clients will pay between 20% and 30% more on average than for the traditional resin. Some clients, like cosmetics manufacturers, may pay as much as 50% more to have this special product”, comments the company’s director of competitiveness and innovation, Antonio Queiroz. A major advantage of this innovation is that each kilo of green polyethylene produced captures and fixes up to 2.5 kg of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, thereby collaborating towards reducing the greenhouse gas effect and global warming.
Another giant in the energy and petro-chemical area that is working to reduce the impact made by its production methods is Petrobras. The year 2000 proved to be a water-shed in the state-owned company. On July 16 that year, because of a burst refinery pipeline, 4 million liters of oil were spilled into rivers in Paraná. The accident occurred a little more than six months after the oil spill in the Guanabara Bay. These episodes meant that from then on the company started reinforcing its investments in environmental management and expanded the volume of funds earmarked for environmental projects.
Between 2008 and 2012, Petrobras intends investing R$ 500 million in the initiatives in its environmental program in Brazil, the theme of which is water and climate. It is working along three general lines: management of bodies of water, species preservation and fixing carbon dioxide and avoiding emissions. In 2008, a third public selection of projects was carried out, which considered 47 of the almost 1000 proposals that were enrolled. “Just these projects alone, which should be signed in August this year, will receive R$60 million for initiatives to be developed by 2010”, says the manager for environmental programs, Rosane Aguiar.
All project indicators are evaluated and frequently monitored by Petrobras to check that they fall within the targets that have been established. “The environmental indicators were systematically established in 2008 and this year will be compiled into single database”, says the manager. Petrobras is also supporting actions for preserving the marine biodiversity of Brazil’s coastline, which has between 10% and 20% of the world’s catalogued species and environmental preservation initiatives for many of them, including marine turtles, manatees and dolphins.
Despite advances the state-owned company recently became embroiled in a controversy over the production of less pollutive diesel. A 2002 resolution by the National Council for the Environment (Conama) established that as from January 2009, diesel should be produced with a 50 ppm sulphur level, which pollutes less than the currently available diesel. A stalemate between the company, the automobile industry and public authorities meant that the Attorney General’s office had to intervene to look for a solution to the question. In October a public agreement was signed establishing that, as from this year, state refineries should gradually produce diesel with reduced levels of sulphur and that the automobile industry should begin developing technology for consuming this diesel and reducing the emission of pollutants into the air.
In the retail area the search for sustainability has also been growing. At the end of April, in the Morumbi district of São Paulo, Wal-Mart opened its second ecoefficient store in Brazil; the first was inaugurated in 2008 in Rio de Janeiro. The hypermarket, which has special lighting in the parking lot, greater use of natural light inside the store and the reuse of rainwater in its irrigation system, should consume 25% less energy and 40% less water. “The inauguration of Wal-Mart Morumbi underlines the commitment of the retail chain to sustainability and marks the beginning of a new phase: from now on all the new hypermarkets we build in Brazil will be ecoeffcient”, says Hector Nuñez, president of Wal-Mart Brazil. The retail chain also intends demanding a commitment to sustainability from its suppliers. As an example, it will not buy meat form producers who cut down the forest to expand their cattle-rearing activities.
For any company operating in the drinks sector water is a very precious commodity. In Brazil, Coca-Cola uses 2.1 liters of water for every liter of drink it produces, including the liter that goes into the bottle; this is one of the best indices of the industry in the world and well below the 5.4 liters of water per liter of drink of 12 years ago. A constant effort is going into reusing the water at various stages on the production line. Most of the companies that belong to the Coca-Cola System use a method for collecting rainwater, which represents 2.3% of the average consumption of these plants.
Fighting global warming is a concern of Natura, which in 2007 launched its greenhouse gas emission neutralization program, the objective of which is to reduce by 33% the cosmetics’ manufacturer’s emissions between 2007 and 2011, when compared to what it was in 2006. At the same time the company has launched reforestation and renewable energy use projects. In 2008, Natura hit its internal target, by eliminating 3% of its emissions, thereby reaching a 9% reduction since 2007.
The financial sector is a major funder of projects that have a wide impact on society and it, too, has looked closely at sustainable themes. One of the pioneers in this is Real Bank, which since 2002 has adopted a social and environmental risk policy for its corporate clients. The institution monitors environmental licenses, solid waste disposal, air pollution control and the treatment of liquid effluents. For the civil construction sector, which represents 40% of the gross formation of capital in the country, the bank has created a program that promotes the adoption of practices that increase economic efficiency, reduce environmental impact and favor the quality of life in the building project, construction and use phases. The challenge now is to maintain this policy in its new structure, resulting from the merger with Spanish bank, Santander. But the fact that Fábio Barbosa is remaining at the head of the group shows that the general lines of commitment to sustainability are likely to be maintained.
Itaú Unibanco is another bank that is looking to consolidate its practices in the area. In April this year the institution received the Emerging Markets Sustainable Bank of the Year prize, recognition given to the most sustainable financial institutions in emerging markets. Right after the merger of the two banks, which was announced last year and approved in April 2009, it began to draw up a new sustainability policy, based on the experiences and commitment of both banks.
But despite advances, the population still mistrusts the practices of many companies. An example of this can be seen in a recent survey by Datafolha which was commissioned by NGO Amigos da Terra [Friends of the Earth]. The survey reveals that customers of banking institutions do not believe that the banks are developing truly effective social and environmental measures. According to the survey 89% of the clients believe that banks spend more on advertising their activities than on the activities themselves.
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