September 5 marks the commemoration of Amazon Day, a date that aims to draw attention to the biome, which includes the largest rainforest on the planet. For the CEO of Grupo BBF (Brasil BioFuels), Milton Steagall, a company with operations in five states in the North region, the date needs to bring reflection on the importance of sustainable development in the region, as a way of keeping the forest standing and bringing quality of life to the more than 29 million Amazonians.
The key to this, according to Steagall, lies in the bioeconomy, which consists of an industrial production model based on the use of biological resources and which offers solutions for the sustainability of production systems, with the aim of replacing fossil resources. According to the Brazilian Bioinnovation Association (BBI), the implementation of the bioeconomy in Brazil could generate annual revenues of US$ 284 billion per year. "It's an excellent business that combines environmental preservation, improving people's quality of life and socio-economic development," says Steagall.
The sustainable cultivation of palm, also known as dendê, in the Amazon region is an example that combines the recovery of the biome, the replacement of fossil raw materials with renewable ones, as well as the generation of jobs and income for the local population.
"From palm oil we can talk about the bioeconomy within the electricity, chemical and biofuel sectors, as well as agribusiness. Our country has the potential to be a global leader in palm oil production. The sustainable development of the Amazon region is urgent. We need to find ways to keep the forest standing, but also provide jobs, income and wealth for the population," says the executive.
Grupo BBF currently has 75,000 hectares under oil palm cultivation in the states of Pará and Roraima. The company has the capacity to produce more than 200,000 tons of palm oil annually. Grupo BBF has a vertical business model, in which it is possible to operate from the planting of oil palm to the production of biofuels, biotechnology and the generation of renewable electricity. The company generates around 7,000 direct jobs and 21,000 indirect jobs, as well as encouraging more than 400 family farmers in the state of Pará.
In the energy sector, Grupo BBF has thermoelectric plants with a total generating capacity of 238 MW, serving isolated locations in the northern region. There are 25 plants in operation with 86.8 MW of generation capacity and another 13 under implementation. All of them operate with renewable biofuels (biodiesel and vegetable oil) and biomass from oil palm. The company generates renewable energy for more than 140,000 residents of isolated locations in the Amazon.
"Sustainable oil palm cultivation is a very interesting alternative both environmentally and economically. This is because it is a plant that was cultivated in degraded areas of the Amazon until December 2007 and follows the Agroecological Zoning of Oil Palm, established by decree 7.172 of the Federal Government. It is a perennial crop that cannot be mechanized and generates thousands of jobs in the countryside," concludes Steagall.
About Grupo BBF
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 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 Oil Palm Agroecological Zoning (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 around 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 to produce Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and Renewable Diesel Oil (RD), also known as green diesel. The new sustainable fuels will be produced from 2026 at the country's first Biorefinery, which is currently under construction in the Manaus Free Trade Zone.
