Energy that mobilizes

Changing the world

Environmental preservation

Water and energy

|G4-DMA Water, G4-DMA Energy|

The rational use of water resources in agro-industrial activities is an aspect to which we have devoted attention since our founding. In the last six years, we have already allocated BRL 50 million to initiatives toward reducing consumption.

As a result of the knowledge acquired, the ReduSa program (REDução do USo da Água) (Reducing Water Use) a pioneering initiative in the sugar and energy sector, has been in place for two crop years, aimed toward reducing water consumption and generation of effluents.

ReduSa operates on two fronts. In the first, the focus is to reduce water withdrawal per ton of sugarcane crushed - one of the sugarcane industry’s main challenges, which normally consumes one cubic meter of water per ton of processed sugarcane. The second front is to decrease the use of cold water in the boilers by reusing the hot water.

As a result, we avoided withdrawing over 8 billion liters - a volume equivalent to the annual consumption of a city with a population of 135,000. In addition, in March 2017, the program helped us earn the Water Conservation and Reuse award, granted by the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP).¹

Regarding energy consumption, the largest demand is during the agro-industrial production stage. Even so, about 93% of this demand is renewable and is supplied by burning sugarcane bagasse, making the operation self-sufficient in terms of energy generation, with fossil resources only being used in specific processes.

Distribution activities still use mostly fossil fuels. We seek to minimize the impacts of this consumption with investments in diversifying modes of transport.

Click here for more information on the water and energy consumption of our operations. |G4-EN3, G4-EN4, G4-EN5, G4-EN8|

¹Source: https://www.fiesp.com.br/noticias/raizen-energia-vence-12a-edicao-do-premio-de-conservacao-e-reuso-de-agua-da-fiesp/

Air emissions

|G4-DMA Emissions, G4-DMA Public Policies|

Aware of the sugarcane industry’s potential to contribute to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG)², emissions, we maintain dialogues with industry entities and the government on policies that encourage the use of renewable energies.

In 2016/2017, this aspect returned to the government agenda and provided technical support to create the Renovabio program, a program launched by the Federal Government to encourage the expansion and production of biofuels in Brazil. This is an opportunity for recognition and promotion of ethanol as a sustainable fuel for the Brazilian energy matrix.

Annually, we quantify the emissions of our activities according to the guidelines of The Greenhouse Gas Protocol - the main international benchmark for quantifying corporate emissions – as well as its domestic version, the Brazilian GHG Protocol Program.

For the sixth consecutive year, we have disclosed our inventory, and we are committed to continually improving it. We submit the information for external assurance in order to better control performance.

Since 2016, we have obtained part of the information through automated integration between our software and the original systems where data is available. This reduces the likelihood of errors from manually managing information and the effort required to collect the data and calculate emissions.

²According to the Sugarcane Industry Union (UNICA), the sector can contribute to mitigating 1,239 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq) (2030), in a constantly expanding scenario.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions by scope, in tCO₂eq

Emissões de Gases do Efeito Estufa por escopo, em tCO2

Emissões de Gases do Efeito Estufa por escopo, em tCO2 - Legenda

Scope 1: Direct emissions arising from activities controlled by the company.
Scope 2: Indirect emissions arising from electricity acquired from the grid.
Scope 3: Other indirect emissions, especially from the supplier chain.

Practically all our direct emissions stem from agricultural-industrial activities. In this group, emissions associated with the nutrient balance of the soil remain the most representative, accounting for 48% of all our Scope 1 emissions. This is due to the emission of N₂O from the application of nitrogen to the soil, whether in the form of synthetic fertilizers or through the reuse of waste from the production process - filter cake and vignasse.

In 2016, sugarcane was responsible for the sequestration of more than 17 million tons of CO₂, which represents 12 times the volume of our Scope 1 net emissions. Burning of sugarcane bagasse to generate energy returns part of this CO₂ to the atmosphere, closing the carbon cycle and contributing to 93% of the energy consumed coming from renewable sources.

In addition to supplying our units, energy from the bagasse is added to the national electric grid thanks to the cogeneration technology installed in 13 of our 24 production units. In 2016, we exported 2.2 TWh³ surplus energy, thereby contributing to a cleaner Brazilian energy matrix.

Total Scope 1 emissions for 2016 increased by 14.9% compared with the previous year as a result of the greater addition of filter cakes in the fields. Despite the increase, the fact that we expanded the use of this type of waste from our operations avoided the emission of more than 22,000 tCO₂eq, which would result from the production of synthetic fertilizers. This total is equivalent to practically twice our annual emissions resulting from acquisition of electricity.

Click here for more information on the emissions inventory.|G4-EN15, G4-EN16, G4-EN17, G4-EN18|

At the terminals located in São Paulo (SP), Barueri (SP), Paulínia (SP), São José dos Campos (SP), and Esteio (RS), we maintain five Vapor Recovery Units (VRUs), which regenerate the vapor released during tank truck loading and send it back to the units’ fuel tanks.

³Information available at the Electric Energy Trading Chamber

Careful use of the soil

|G4-DMA Effluents and waste|

We provide guidance to dealers of service stations on best practices in the operation to mitigate fuel leakage, damage to the soil, and other environmental impacts arising from our operations.

We also have in place a rigid branding process for service stations - a process that includes an analysis of the equipment, the quality of the operation, and the history of any spills.

In logistics operations, there is a risk of leaks that may contaminate the soil. If this occurs, our units and contractor carriers are instructed to involve the local Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) teams, which seek to identify the causes, impacts, and adopt measures to correct the problem and prevent recurrence.

The indicators related to this aspect are available here. |G4-EN24|

More information on soil care is described here.

Biodiversity management

|G4-DMA Biodiversity|

In accordance with the Bonsucro and ISCC certification guidelines and the EU Renewable Energy Directive, studies on biodiversity and aspects of the wildlife and flora were carried out in the regions where our production units are located. The analyses demonstrated that the areas where we grow sugarcane meet the biodiversity requirements set out by these guidelines.

Aware of our duty to mitigate any effects of activities on local biodiversity, we carry out biological pest control in order to reduce the application of chemicals to sugarcane fields. We also invest in mechanizing field operations in order to reduce impacts on the natural diversity of flora and wildlife that used to occur during the pre-harvest burning of the sugarcane.

This commitment is reinforced by adhering to the Agro-Environmental Protocol, signed between the Government of the State of São Paulo and the São Paulo Sugarcane Industry Union (UNICA), renewed in June 2017, extending the original agreement for a further ten years. The New Protocol includes additional commitments to protecting and restoring riparian forests, updating the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR), and practices in the use of pesticides.

Click here for more information on biodiversity management. |G4-EN11, G4-EN12|

Social and economic development

Criticality and social performance

|G4-DMA Indirect Economic Impacts, G4-DMA Local Communities|

We work to promote the social and economic development of the areas surrounding our facilities. The initiatives follow the guidelines and the Social Performance Policy, which provide on our relationship with stakeholders on specific aspects, such as: donations, sponsorships, social investment, and engagement of local stakeholders.

In 2016/2017, we conducted training sessions about the policy and guidelines to a strategic audience formed by over 130 employees.

Other tools support this policy in order to improve and ensure the desired results. The Criticality Tool, for example, assesses the risks and opportunities for social action at each location. The performance of the initiatives is monitored by software that analyzes the benefits of the investment for both our business and other stakeholders. Through this governance, we harness the potential of tax incentive laws and broaden the geographical coverage of the use of resources to 46 cities including over 50 institutions. To submit your project or learn more about our guidelines for using social incentive laws, visit our Social Investment and Sponsorship Portal .

We have in place a solid governance process for the proper use of federal incentive laws. The process begins with a resource forecast carried out by our tax team, which also assesses the eligibility of the proponent and the project. Eligible projects are classified by software and evaluated by an internal committee composed of the marketing, social responsibility, and tax teams, and business representatives. In this way, we ensure that we are allocating the incentivized resources in a way that will generate the maximum shared value for us and our stakeholders.

Click here for more information on engagement programs and social investments in communities. |G4-EC7, G4-SO1, G4-SO2|

Raízen Foundation

|G4-DMA Indirect Economic Impacts, G4-DMA Local Communities|

One of our social responsibility branches, the Raízen Foundation, intensified its activities in the 2016/2017 harvest by joining the Group of Institutes, Foundations and Companies (GIFE) and the Group of Foundations and Institutes of Impact (FIIMP). The goals are to share knowledge and best practices and to expand partnerships in social initiatives.

Additionally, a group with vast experience in the area of education, the Raízen Foundation Specialists Committee was created to boost the positive impact on the communities we engage, which benefited over 1 million people in this harvest.⁴

Among the activities, a program called Mobilizando Sonhos (Mobilizing Dreams) stands out, which promotes teaching entrepreneurial skills to public school students in the school after school hours in cities with fuel distribution terminals. During the 2016/2017 harvest, the pilot version of this program was implemented in the cities of Araçatuba, São José dos Campos, and Ribeirão Preto, in the state of São Paulo.

The Raízen Foundation also proceeded with the program Viver um Conto (Live a Short Story). Carried out since 2009, the action uses culture to address educational and citizenship aspects, stimulating imagination, oral skills, socialization, and concentration in children. Day care centers and nursery schools benefitted in the municipalities of Barra Bonita, Dois Córregos, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, Jaú, Valparaiso, Piracicaba, and Ipaussu in the State of São Paulo, and in Jataí, Goiás.

In order to disseminate culture, we have in place a program called Energia em Cena (Energy on Stage), a project that includes free theatrical presentations in public schools throughout Brazil. In 2016, the itinerant play Caiu na Rede (Caught in the Net) toured. The play addresses the evolution of technology in terms of aspects such as privacy, cyberbullying, and relationships in the digital age. The show travelled through 35 cities in the states of São Paulo, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, and Minas Gerais.

Click here for more information about the Raízen Foundation.|G4-SO1|

⁴Source:https://www.fundacaoraizen.org.br/pt-br/afunda%C3%A7%C3%A3o/nossahist%C3%B3ria/materialinstitucional.aspx

Respect for Indigenous peoples

|G4-DMA Rights of Indigenous and Traditional Peoples|

We keep our positioning of not acquiring raw material from Indigenous lands and, in order to cooperate with the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) in Dourados (MS), in 2017/2018 we will donate a mobile unit whose purpose will be the multiple use in activities conducted by the entity with the Indigenous peoples in the region.

Volunteering

We encourage our employees to carry out initiatives for social transformation through Corporate Volunteering. In the 2016/2017 harvest, this program was extended to the offices in São Paulo (SP) and Rio de Janeiro (RJ), as well as the production unit and fuel distribution terminal in Araçatuba (SP).

Engaging the internal audience is fundamental to increasing the number of beneficiaries and the regional coverage of campaigns such as Winter Clothing, Christmas, Amigo Leal (Loyal Friend) drives, and others.

In Piracicaba (SP) – the cradle of the program - over one ton of food was donated to the Food Bank Program, carried out by the Municipal Department for Social Development in partnership with the Social Solidarity Fund (FUSSP) in fundraising promoted at the employee’s end of the year celebration.