Grupo BBF will plant more than 40 million trees in the Amazon by 2030

The company has 11 million palm trees in degraded areas, responsible for retaining 25 million tons of CO2

Grupo BBF (Brasil BioFuels), which operates in sustainable agribusiness from palm cultivation, biotechnology, biofuel production and renewable energy generation, is committed to planting more than 40 million palm, cocoa and açaí trees in the Amazon region by 2030. Today, more than 11 million palm trees are cultivated by Grupo BBF, recovering degraded areas in the Amazon. They are responsible for storing more than 25 million tons of carbon.

The sustainable cultivation carried out by Grupo BBF is aimed at contributing to the decarbonization of the Amazon region. The company currently cultivates more than 75,000 hectares of palm in Pará and Roraima. The company's plan is to cultivate an additional 100,000 hectares of palm by 2026, representing a large increase in the number of oil palm trees planted in the region. This year, Grupo BBF also began investing in the Agroforestry System, with cocoa and açaí being planted together with oil palm. By 2030, 30,000 hectares of cocoa and açaí should be planted in Roraima and Pará, which will make the company the largest single cocoa producer in the world.

"Cocoa and açaí are species native to the Amazon, with a high carbon capture capacity. We are very pleased to be recovering degraded areas in the Amazon region, contributing to the environment, offering innovative solutions for decarbonizing the forest, as well as bringing together social development in vulnerable regions and generating jobs and income in these places," says Grupo BBF's CEO, Milton Steagall.

Growing crops in degraded areas and generating jobs and income

The sustainable cultivation of oil palm 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.

"Oil palm can only be grown in degraded areas of the Amazon until December 2007, since this crop follows the Agroecological Zoning of Oil Palm, established by decree 7.172 of the Federal Government and considered one of the strictest legislations in the world in this area. It is also a perennial crop that cannot be mechanized and generates thousands of jobs in the countryside. Cocoa and açaí, on the other hand, are plants that will be cultivated by Grupo BBF in areas where palm cannot be planted, according to the Agro-Environmental Zoning. Just like palm, these trees cannot be mechanized, which will bring great gains in terms of hiring labor in remote areas of the Amazon," Steagall concludes.

Grupo BBF has the capacity to produce more than 200,000 tons of palm oil annually and 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.

Sustainable planting in practice

For all this to happen in practice, Grupo BBF follows a model of good environmental management practices with highly efficient use in production processes. An example of this is the use of 100% natural and organic fertigation. The water from cooking the oil palm fruit, which is rich in vitamins and nutrients, is returned through fertigation to the plantation areas, as a sustainable alternative to the necessary cultivation of the palm.

The company also composts in its cultivation areas, using organic fertilizer prepared from the decomposition of empty palm bunch waste and effluents from the production process.

"In order to guarantee the lowest possible impact of our operations on the environment and the surrounding communities, we carry out a strict program of continuous monitoring, which follows indicators established by the National Environmental Council (Conama). Our operation is also in line with the best international practices for sustainable palm management," explains Steagall.

In order to fulfill its objective of playing an effective role in conserving the biodiversity of the Amazon region and recovering degraded areas, Grupo BBF monitors all areas and adopts the best alternative for the environmental rehabilitation of each site.

Among the monitoring programs, priority areas are identified for plant recovery or restoration. To this end, projects are carried out that prioritize the use of native species, considering the preparation of seedlings, the maintenance of revegetated areas, the afforestation of the agro-industrial hubs' agro-villages, the recovery of quarry areas altered by the exploitation of laterite, the survey of local and preferably family farmers for partnerships, in addition to carrying out an intense awareness program for employees and encouraging partner farmers to maintain sustainable land use, without using fire to clear the area.

The company also runs a Solid Waste Program, adopting a Solid Waste Management Plan that monitors operational procedures for segregation at source, collection, storage, transportation and final disposal.

Another differentiating factor for the plantation areas of Grupo BBF is the Water Resources Management Program, which follows the National Water Resources Policy, in the management and monitoring of water sources, encouraging conscientious consumption, respecting the limits granted for abstraction. In addition, effluent treatment is carried out and effluent is reused in its process in a cyclical manner, which is a good environmental practice, reducing dependence on mineral fertilizers and promoting the incorporation of organic matter into the soil.

"Environmental responsibility is a fundamental pillar for Grupo BBF. In addition to existing cultivation, by 2030 Grupo BBF plans to plant an additional 100,000 hectares of palm in the Amazon region, recovering more forest areas that were degraded in the past," says 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, Green Diesel (RD), also called green diesel. The new sustainable fuels will be produced from 2026 at the country's first Biorefinery, currently under construction in the Manaus Free Trade Zone.

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