Suzano, the world's leading eucalyptus pulp and paper producer and a global benchmark in the manufacture of bioproducts developed from eucalyptus, announced a new, long-term biodiversity conservation target on 25 June at its inaugural ESG Investor Presentation.
The ambitious target will connect half a million hectares of conservation areas by 2030, specifically focused on Brazil’s Cerrado, Amazon and Atlantic Forest biomes. This area covers an expanse of land the equivalent of Paris, Madrid, Moscow, Oslo and Rio de Janeiro combined.
To ensure that Suzano adheres to conservation best practice and international policies, it carried out an extensive consultation phase with over 50 domestic and international stakeholders including NGOs, public and private sector organizations and academics. This consultation assessed the opportunities and challenges associated with preserving biodiversity in Brazil’s most at-risk regions.
Suzano identified that the most impactful way to support biodiversity is to reverse the fragmentation of habitats by creating ‘biodiversity corridors’. Fragmentation is a primary threat to biomes in Brazil and by 2030, Suzano will work with local and international stakeholders to connect approximately 1,850 isolated forest fragments mitigating and where possible, eradicating, threats to biodiversity across regions.
“We have undertaken a formidable challenge, bringing together multiple players, since our mission to connect fragmented biomes will not cover land only owned by Suzano. Our ambition is to launch a collaborative, long-term movement that contributes to protecting endangered species while also improving environmental management, and to work together for the development of communities and creation of income generation opportunities,” says Pablo Machado, Executive Officer for China and Head of Sustainability at Suzano.
The biodiversity challenges that Suzano wants to address through the biodiversity target include minimizing harmful changes to the ecological makeup of the landscape, reduction of genetic variability and potential extinction caused by the isolation of species, loss of resilience to climate change, and imbalances of natural pests and diseases.
About Suzano
Suzano is a global reference in developing sustainable and innovative solutions from renewable sources, guided by its purpose of renewing life inspired by trees. It is the world’s leading eucalyptus pulp producer and one of Latin America’s largest paper producers, supplying over 2 billion people and exports to over 100 countries. Suzano’s shares are traded on stock exchanges in Brazil and New York. For more information, visit www.suzano.com.br/en.
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