CEO of Grupo BBF takes part in ESG event in Santos

At least 31 million hectares could be planted with the crop in Brazil, making the country a world leader in this sector

The CEO of Grupo BBF (Brasil BioFuels), Milton Steagall, took part on Tuesday (19) in the Agenda ESG 2023 event, promoted by Grupo Tribuna, in Santos (SP). Steagall was one of the speakers on the panel "Green fuels and their impact on companies' production chains". He defended the sustainable cultivation of oil palm in the Amazon region to recover degraded areas, offer biofuel and clean energy to decarbonize the Amazon and generate jobs and income for the local population.

During the panel, which included Gesner Oliveira, a partner at GO Associados, Artur Villela, from Global Forest Bond, Ricardo Esturaro, a writer, and Béatrice de Toledo Dupuy, from Santos Brasil, Steagall spoke about Brazil's potential for producing palm oil, the most consumed vegetable oil in the world.

According to the executive, Brazil has less than 2% of the world's oil palm market, growing the plant on an area of less than 300,000 hectares. The country, however, has the opportunity to excel in this sector, since 31 million hectares can be cultivated in Brazil with the crop, according to one of the strictest laws in the world, the Agroecological Zoning of Oil Palm (Decree 7.172 of the Federal Government, of May 7, 2010).

"Brazil has built a very robust legal framework to develop oil palm cultivation, which resulted in the Agroecological Zoning of Oil Palm in 2010. This legislation allows oil palm to be cultivated only in anthropized areas of the Amazon until December 2007, which means 31 million hectares. "If this area were really cultivated with oil palm, we would have a new 'green pre-salt' in the country," said Steagall, who pointed out that the company cultivates 75,000 hectares of oil palm in the states of Pará and Roraima.

Because of its characteristics, oil palm cultivation cannot be mechanized, which results in a large amount of employment. Grupo BBF employs around 7,000 people directly and generates another 21,000 indirect jobs, making it one of the companies that employs the most people in the north of the country.

During his presentation, Steagall also commented on Grupo BBF 's investments in a biorefinery to produce Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and Green Diesel. By 2026, Grupo BBF should start supplying SAF and Green Diesel to Vibra Energia (formerly BR Distribuidora) - under an offtaker contract. The raw material for the advanced biofuels will be palm oil grown by Grupo BBF in the Amazon region. Refining will take place at the first biorefinery in the country to produce the unprecedented biofuels on an industrial scale, which is scheduled to be inaugurated by Grupo BBF in early 2026. More than R$2.2 billion will be invested in the new plant, which will have the capacity to produce around 500 million liters a year of the unprecedented SAF and Green Diesel biofuels.

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 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.

BBF press office
imprensa@grupobbf.com.br

GBR Comunicação
Fernanda Domiciano / Vagner Magalhães