It has been operating for 15 years and Grupo BBF has an integrated and verticalized business model, in which it dominates the entire production chain. The company develops all its activities based on a cycle that involves socio-economic development, job creation - there are almost 7,000 direct jobs and another 21,000 indirect jobs - and environmental preservation.
Grupo BBF has more than 75,000 hectares of oil palm planted in the northern region, which is responsible for storing more than 25 million tons of carbon in the atmosphere and generates jobs and income for the region.
The company is currently the largest palm oil producer in Latin America. Grupo BBF 's palm oil production capacity is around 200,000 tons a year. The raw material is processed in its own extraction plants in Roraima and Pará, and most of the oil is currently used to produce biofuels.
The choice of this raw material to produce biofuels is based on advantages such as crop yield. Palm yields up to 10 times more than soybean in terms of oil production per hectare cultivated annually. It also has a positive balance in terms of carbon emissions and generates jobs in the field, since planting and harvesting cannot be mechanized.
Another important factor is that Brazil stands out as an example of sustainable oil palm production, contrary to what happens in other countries. Since 2010, the country has had Agroecological Zoning for Oil Palm, defined by decree 7.172 of the Federal Government. The initiative prohibits the cutting down of forest for this purpose and determines that cultivation should only take place in previously approved areas, which have been deforested by December 2007.
"As well as inhibiting new deforestation, the measure has found a solution to past mistakes. The aim is to restore the ecological balance in these areas. Palm is a perennial crop, the fruit is harvested while the adult tree remains in the ground. The company follows the best international practices for the sustainable management of oil palm, with continuous monitoring of the surrounding areas and strictly adheres to the indicators established by the National Environment Council (Conama)," Milton Steagall, CEO of Grupo BBF.
In order to draw up the Agro-ecological Zoning for Oil Palm, Brazil relied on extensive work carried out by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), which identified around 31 million hectares suitable for oil palm cultivation in the Amazon region. "I always say that where there is development, education and income generation there is preservation and care for the environment. Currently, around 30 million inhabitants live in the Amazon region and the number one priority, whether it's the state or the private sector, must be to generate jobs and socio-economic development in the region," reinforces the CEO of Grupo BBF.
A pioneer in creating sustainable solutions for generating renewable energy in the isolated systems of the Amazon region, with thermoelectric plants powered by biofuels produced in the region, Grupo BBF is helping to develop sustainable agribusiness in the lung of the Amazon. Currently, 25 thermoelectric plants are in operation in the Isolated Systems, serving more than 140,000 customers and 13 plants are under implementation.
In addition, with the aim of expanding its portfolio, the company is investing in new solutions using oil palm as the main raw material. By 2026, Grupo BBF will have added more than 100,000 hectares of oil palm to its cultivation areas.
Among Grupo BBF 's new initiatives in Sustainable Agribusiness in the Amazon, the company will be investing 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 oil palm. Both cocoa and açaí are species native to the Amazon, with a high carbon capture capacity, and their cultivation cannot be mechanized, as is the case with palm cultivation.
With this, Grupo BBF will generate thousands of new jobs in the countryside, following a sustainable cultivation model that accelerates the recovery of the Amazon biome. The Executive Commission of the Cocoa Farming Plan (CEPLAC), an agency of the Ministry of Agriculture that has the largest cocoa gene bank in the world, is a partner of Grupo BBF in this new endeavor.
Grupo BBF will offer high quality, certified cocoa, following the strictest Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards in its cultivation. Given the potential of the business and the investments allocated, the company will arrive in 2026 with the expectation of the world's largest individual cocoa production by Grupo BBF.
Like the palm, cocoa and açaí cultivation cannot be mechanized, keeping people in the countryside and generating thousands of jobs in the northern region of Brazil.
Cocoa cultivation on Grupo BBF is due to start this year. In all, 30,000 hectares are to be planted with the fruit native to the Amazon, and just like the palm, the cultivation of cocoa and açaí cannot be mechanized, keeping people in the countryside and generating thousands of jobs in the northern region of Brazil.
Grupo BBF was founded with the aim of decarbonizing the Amazon rainforest. In its 15 years of existence, the company has been studying biological systems and natural resources combined with the use of new technologies, creating more sustainable products and services.
The company invests in innovation aligned with sustainability for the development of new biofuels, biotechnology for the production of renewable inputs that replace petrochemical products and the generation of renewable energy for isolated communities in the Amazon region. This business model and expansion of Grupo BBF applies bioeconomics to large sectors that follow ecosystems where they directly affect the economy.
In addition to the Electrical, Chemical and Biofuel sectors covered by the bioeconomy, it is worth highlighting Grupo BBF 's work in the Agribusiness sector, where Brazil has a "Green Pre-Salt" with a lot of potential for speeding up the process of recovering the Amazon rainforest. In this segment, the company is pioneering the Agroforestry System concept in its operations by growing cocoa in consortium with palm and açaí.
This is an important leap for Brazil, especially in the state of Pará, the main agricultural operation of Grupo BBF. According to the Pará Federation of Agriculture and Livestock (Faepa), the state of Pará contributes an average of 21% to the GDP of its municipalities, representing the economic base of most of them and a source of employment for a substantial portion of the population, and is a leader in the national production of açaí, cocoa and palm oil.
In 2025, Belém (PA) will host Brazil at the 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP-30). Sustainable agribusiness, job creation for the northern region and more alternatives for the Amazon rainforest will be discussed, but Grupo BBF believes that this contribution goes beyond initiatives, it is a purpose for the environment and for future generations.
"Through the Agroforestry System involving cocoa, açaí and other native species will be implemented in a total area of 30 thousand hectares, distributed between the states of Roraima and Pará. We are committed to generating employment and income opportunities for the population of the Amazon region with the intention of contributing to the sustainability of the region", concludes Steagall.
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 of around 200,000 tons of oil per year. The company is a pioneer in creating sustainable solutions for generating renewable energy 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 Agroecological Zoning of Oil Palm (ZAE), approved by Decree 7.172 of the Federal Government, of 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 almost 7,000 direct jobs in the northern region of Brazil. Grupo BBF 's operations are located in the states of Acre, Amazonas, Rondônia, Roraima and Pará, comprising 38 thermoelectric plants (25 in operation and 13 under implementation), 3 palm oil 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.
