Forests are fundamental to the planet's balance and therefore need to be preserved and restored. In this context, Grupo BBF (Brasil BioFuels) plays an important role in the Amazon region: with the sustainable cultivation of oil palm, the plant that gives rise to the most consumed vegetable oil in the world, it recovers areas that had been degraded and now contribute to the connectivity between natural environments, preserving the fauna. In addition, sustainable oil palm cultivation captures carbon from the atmosphere, generates jobs and income for the local population and contributes to the energy transition.
Data from the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) shows that soil degradation has a negative impact on more than 3.2 billion people in the world, which corresponds to 40% of the world's population. "The FAO stresses that reversing soil degradation is vital if we want to feed an ever-growing world population, protect biodiversity and tackle the climate crisis. And that is precisely what we are doing in the Amazon region. Areas that had been totally degraded in the past now have life," says Milton Steagall, CEO of Grupo BBF.
Grupo BBF is considered the largest palm oil producer in Latin America. The company grows oil palm, popularly known as dendê, on 75,000 hectares in Pará and Roraima.
Brazil has some of the strictest legislation in the world on the sustainable cultivation of oil palm, prohibiting the clearing of native forest for planting. Federal Government Decree 7.172 of May 2010 established that oil palm can only be grown in the Amazon in areas that were degraded before 2007. Based on extensive work carried out by Embrapa (the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation), more than 31 million hectares have been identified as suitable for oil palm cultivation in the region.
"Sustainable oil palm cultivation is synonymous with the bioeconomy. With oil palm, we have been able to recover degraded areas and generate jobs and income for people in remote parts of the Amazon, which helps to keep the forest standing. In addition, oil palm generates valuable oil for the production of biofuel, which supplies power plants in more isolated regions, and can be used for the production of so-called second-generation biofuels, such as SAF and Green Diesel," says the CEO.
Currently, Grupo BBF has 25 thermoelectric plants in operation in the North, serving locations supplied by Isolated Systems. The plants run on biofuels (biodiesel and vegetable oil) and biomass from oil palm, which contributes to decarbonizing the region. More than 140,000 residents of isolated locations in the Amazon are benefiting from this energy generated from oil palm.
Decarbonization
Reducing carbon emissions is under debate around the world, which is racing to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. In this context, Brazil, which is one of the five largest carbon emitters in the world, is working to reduce its emissions by 48% by 2025, compared to 2005, and by 53% by 2030, when it aims to reach 1.2 gigatonnes of carbon emitted. The energy transition and avoiding deforestation are fundamental to meeting the targets and also to the country's progress towards the energy transition and a low-carbon economy.
Steagall points out that the palm cultivation carried out by the company captures around 800,000 tons of carbon annually, of which 729,000 tons in Pará and 71,000 tons in Roraima. "We also protect more than 60,000 hectares of Legal Reserve Areas (RL) and Permanent Preservation Areas (APP), which annually store around 26.6 million tons of carbon in Pará and 3.1 million tons of carbon in Roraima," he says.
Preservation of more than 400 species of wild animals
In the more than 75,000 hectares cultivated by the company, around 5,000 records have already been made and more than 400 species of wild animals have been identified in the latest monitoring campaigns. These include reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals and fish, some of which are classified as rare and even threatened with extinction.
Despite the technical limitations in carrying out the studies, Grupo BBF 's sustainability team has already observed a wide diversity in the company's cultivation areas, with more than 85 species of reptiles and amphibians, 270 birds, 25 mammals and 40 fish. "We believe that this number could be much higher, considering the richness of Brazil's biomes and the benefits generated by our activities. Bioindicator species of good environmental quality were found, which attests to the effectiveness of the actions taken to preserve the environment in the company's region of influence," says Milton Steagall, CEO of Grupo BBF.
Reduction in deforestation
Another positive influence of the company's operations is the reduction in deforestation hotspots. Areas close to Grupo BBF 's operations in São João da Baliza (RR) have 85% fewer deforestation alerts than areas further away in the same region, according to a survey carried out using the "MapBiomas Alerta" monitoring platform.
According to a survey carried out in November 2023, more than 21,000 hectares with deforestation alerts were identified within a radius of 50 km from the area where Grupo BBF grows sustainable oil palm. If this radius is reduced to 15 km from the company, there is a reduction of approximately 85% of the alerts, reinforcing that where there is employment and income, there is a reduction in deforestation and protection to keep the forest standing.
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. 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 oil palm crushing units, a soybean extruder and a biodiesel industry.
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