Grupo BBF ( Brasil BioFuels) started growing oil palm in 2008 and today has more than 75,000 hectares planted in the states of Pará and Roraima. In Pará alone, there are over 60,000 hectares of oil palm and four agricultural production centers, located in the municipalities of Acará, Concórdia, Moju and Tomé-Açu. In addition, the company has more than 60,000 hectares of Permanent Preservation Area (APP) and Legal Reserve (RL).
Grupo BBF was born with the aim of decarbonizing the Amazon region, changing the energy matrix of isolated systems in the north of Brazil, creating jobs, generating income and reducing the cost of electricity for the population of the northern region, based on a sustainable and clean matrix, replacing the use of fossil diesel oil with biodiesel made from palm oil.
The company operates in sustainable agribusiness from palm cultivation, biotechnology, biofuel production and renewable energy generation. To meet its objectives, the Group has created an integrated and verticalized business model, dominating the entire production chain, as a way of guaranteeing the effectiveness of the proposed solutions and preserving the Amazon rainforest.
The Grupo BBF businesses are long-term assets and reinforce the company's commitment to the best environmental, social and corporate governance practices. "We believe that generating value and sustainable and social development are complementary goals. The company's principles are incorporated into all our operations and drive us to ensure that our business model is sustainable in the future, generating a positive impact for society and the environment," says Milton Steagall, CEO of Grupo BBF.
Expansion of cultivation in the Amazon region by 2030
O Grupo BBF has a clear purpose for the Amazon rainforest, for the future of generations to come and for the planet. Today, more than 11 million palm trees are planted in the Amazon, which annually capture around 729,000 tons of carbon in Pará and 71,000 tons of carbon in Roraima. In addition, it should be noted that the Legal Reserve areas protected by Grupo BBF store around 26.6 million tons of carbon in Pará and around 3.1 million tons of carbon in Roraima.
By 2030, more than 40 million palm and cocoa trees will be planted by the company in the Amazon region, in line with the company's aim to decarbonize the Amazon region. "It's a great pleasure to contribute to the environment by offering innovative solutions for decarbonizing the Amazon rainforest, as well as bringing together social development in underprivileged regions and isolated communities and generating jobs in places never seen before," says the CEO of Grupo BBF.
To make all this happen in practice, the company follows its model by adopting good environmental management practices through monitoring programs in its operations and communities.
Among Grupo BBF in Sustainable Agribusiness in the Amazon, the company will invest in the production of certified cocoa using the Agroforestry System, where cocoa and açaí are planted together in degraded areas of the Amazon rainforest, along with palm. Both cocoa and açaí are native Amazonian species with a high carbon capture capacity and their cultivation cannot be mechanized, as is the case with palm cultivation. Through the Agroforestry System, Grupo BBF will generate thousands of new jobs in the countryside, following the model of sustainable cultivation that accelerates the recovery of the Amazon biome.
Commitment to everyone
Currently Grupo BBF generates around 7,000 direct jobs and 21,000 indirect jobs, making it one of the largest employers in the north of the country. It constantly invests in infrastructure and services for the communities around its operations. Through the Ministry of Agrarian Development's Family Farming program, the company encourages more than 400 families in the state of Pará.
In order to integrate employees and communities, actions aimed at socio-environmental issues are incorporated into the company's daily routine, with a focus on training citizens to participate in improving the local reality. In 2022 alone, the Grupo BBF held Environmental Dialogues (DMA) at the company's locations in the state of Pará, with actions aimed at the internal public (campaigns and Environment Week). For communities, various environmental education talks are given in schools, communities and on partner farmers' properties.
"It's a great pleasure to contribute to the environment by offering innovative solutions for decarbonizing the Amazon rainforest, as well as bringing together social development in underprivileged regions and isolated communities and generating jobs in places never seen before," Milton Steagall concludes.
It's also worth noting that Grupo BBF currently supports more than 400 farmers in Pará and that partner families are constantly receiving technical visits to support the recovery of planting areas and improvement actions. Last year, more than 2,000 visits were made, as well as incentives to buy fertilizers, support for harvesting fresh fruit bunches, phytosanitary control and pest control.
The company has taken care of this since the beginning of its operations and has adopted management programs in its monitoring and control routine, such as the Noise Control Program, which aims to prevent and control noise emissions by taking recurring measurements, monitoring equipment over time and applying control measures. In practice, periodic actions on the level of noise emitted by equipment, machinery and vehicles at the company's projects are evaluated to the satisfaction of local residents, while also monitoring the impacts on fauna and flora.
