Grupo BBF (Brasil BioFuels) has expanded its sustainable oil palm cultivation area by 10%, jumping from 68,000 hectares to 75,000 between 2021 and 2022. The company now generates renewable energy for more than 140,000 customers, 27% more than in the previous year. It also doubled its biodiesel production capacity to 64 million liters in the year.
The results can be found in Grupo BBF's 2022 Sustainability Report, which is aligned with the GRI(Global Reporting Initiative) standards, the world's main methodology for sustainability reporting.
"The report shows the expansion of the business and the diversification of our product portfolio. Grupo BBF was founded in 2008 and since then we have had robust and sustainable growth, within the premises of ESG(Environmental, Social and Governance), in line with the company's purpose," says Milton Steagall, CEO of Grupo BBF.
According to Steagall, the aim of the Sustainability Report is to present employees, investors, suppliers, clients and the community with Grupo BBF's trajectory, results and challenges for 2022.
Currently, Grupo BBF cultivates more than 75,000 hectares of oil palm in the states of Pará and Roraima, an area 10% larger than in 2021, when the plant was grown on 68,000 hectares.
The prospect, according to Steagall, is to expand the area of palm cultivation in the Amazon region. This is because Grupo BBF is looking to increase sustainable palm cultivation by an additional 100,000 hectares in Roraima, in the São João da Baliza region, where the company was born.
Grupo BBF has also doubled its annual biodiesel production capacity. In 2021, the capacity was 32 million liters, compared to 64 million liters in 2022.
From the environmental point of view, the company highlights the stock of 25 million tons of carbon with the sustainable cultivation of palm in the states of Pará and Roraima, besides the care taken with 60 thousand hectares of Permanent Preservation Areas (APP) and Legal Reserve (RL).
In 2022, another thermoelectric plant from Grupo BBF started operating in the state of Roraima. In all, 25 plants are in operation, with a generating capacity of 86.8 MW of energy, serving more than 140,000 residents of isolated locations in the northern region. In 2021, there were 24 plants in operation, generating 51 MW and serving more than 110,000 customers.
"Our plants remove about 106 million liters of fossil diesel from the Amazon and reduce the emission of 250,000 tons of carbon equivalent into the Amazon atmosphere," Steagall explains.
The collaboration with the communities in the regions where Grupo BBF operates goes beyond bringing clean electricity, it involves the socio-economic development of small towns by generating jobs and income, boosting the local economy and reducing the rural exodus.
The company works to promote access to quality water, by offering a structure for receiving water tanks and building artesian wells; food security, by supporting agricultural production; education and cultural tradition, with actions aimed at literacy and cultural preservation; support for productive systems to generate income and financial autonomy; as well as encouraging the practice of sports and the creation and maintenance of structures for medical care.
In Pará, in the municipalities of Tomé-Açu, Concórdia, Acará and Moju, the company continues to strengthen its work with family farmers. In 2022, 400 families were benefited, 33% more than in 2021.
The company acts in the supply of seedlings, exchange for the purchase of fertilizers with accessible prices, technical assistance with specialists in oil palm cultivation, assistance for bank credit, stimulus for continuous improvement, and guarantee of purchase of the fruits at competitive prices.
Last year alone, the partner families of the Family Farming Program delivered more than 37,000 tons of oil palm fruit, which generated revenue of more than R$30 million for the family farmers encouraged by Grupo BBF, which promoted more than 2,000 technical assistance visits to the families in the field.
Currently, Grupo BBF employs more than 6,000 people directly, with 912 women. In 2021, the company began a process to strengthen the inclusion of women in its operations, with 619 female employees on its staff. In 2022, there was a 50% increase compared to 2021, strengthening the presence of women in the company.
"We know there's still a long way to go, but inclusion is a concern for Grupo BBF. We want more women to work in all areas of the company and also in leadership positions," says Steagall.
Grupo BBF also works to develop new leaders in the company. The action consists of retraining at management level, offering courses and training for new managers.
Aware of the need to boost the professional qualifications of the working population in the states of the Northern Region, Grupo BBF strengthened its partnership with Senar (National Rural Apprenticeship Service) and Senai (National Industrial Apprenticeship Service) in 2022, and expanded the Young Apprentice, Internship and Technical Training program (Senai).
It is also worth highlighting the actions to reduce accidents and injuries to workers. In 2022, 35% fewer accidents with lost time were registered than in the previous year. The drop in the indicator is due to awareness campaigns for disease prevention and health care, as well as meetings and events with doctors and specialists who were able to talk to the company's employees about issues related to the theme.
Grupo BBF announced innovative projects such as the investment in the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), which will be produced in the country's first biorefinery under construction in the Manaus Free Trade Zone, scheduled to open in 2026.
The company inaugurated last year the first hybrid thermoelectric plant in Roraima, powered by biomass and vegetable oil. The project represents much to the sustainable legacy that the company has been building in the state.
Last year alone, 11 patents were registered in the cosmetics, cleaning, pharmaceutical, food and biofuels areas. In order to promote innovation in the sector, Grupo BBF has formed partnerships with the main university research centers in Brazil, such as UNICAMP, IPT and USP.
Grupo BBF has made progress on the Corporate Governance agenda, starting to implement the SAP project in its operations, which allows end-to-end management in the business units, strengthening governance and technological intelligence throughout the entire chain of operations.
In addition, Grupo BBF has more than R$2.2 billion invested in assets in the Amazon region.
Grupo BBF (Brasil BioFuels), a Brazilian company founded in 2008, is the largest palm oil producer in Latin America, with a cultivated area of over 75,000 hectares and a production capacity of 200,000 tons of oil per year.
The company is a pioneer in the creation of sustainable solutions for renewable energy generation in isolated systems, with thermoelectric plants powered by biofuels produced in the region. Its agricultural activity recovers areas that were degraded until 2007 in the Amazon, following the Oil Palm Agroecological Zoning (ZAE), approved by the Federal Government's Decree 7172, May 7, 2010.
Grupo BBF has created an integrated business model in which it operates from the beginning to the end of the value chain - from sustainable oil palm cultivation, crude oil extraction, biofuel production, biotechnology and renewable energy generation - with assets totaling around R$2.2 billion and activities generating more than 6,000 direct jobs in the northern region of Brazil.
Grupo BBF 's operations are located in the states of Acre, Amazonas, Rondônia, Roraima and Pará, and comprise 38 thermoelectric plants (25 in operation and 13 under implementation), 3 oil palm crushing units, a soybean extruder and a biodiesel industry.
The company is expanding its supply of biofuels and has signed partnerships for the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), also called green diesel. The new sustainable fuels will be produced as of 2026 in the country's first Biorefinery, currently under construction in the Manaus Free Trade Zone.
