In 2023 there were no significant social or environmental impacts from our operations. Bracell seeks to augment the positive effects of its operations and activities while mitigating or minimizing negative impacts.  To achieve this, we:

• Maintain an updated survey of social and environmental aspects and impacts, involving all our operations in order to identify, prevent and address any issues;
• Determine and assess social and environmental impacts before commencing operations;
• Conduct product assessments on risks related to safety, health, and the environment;
• Regularly monitor impacts to measure progress and the need to implement strategic action plans.

Practices as part of our approach to managing risks and preventing potential impacts on biodiversity

• Monitoring changes resulting from forestry operations—annually for fauna and every two years for flora (in our Bahia operations); every three years for fauna and every five years for flora (in our São Paulo operations).
• Fauna monitoring during logging and skidding operations—if any animals remain in the area and are in danger, they are scared off, rescued, or transported to the nearest reserve.
• Planting eucalyptus only in areas previously used for agricultural crops or pastures. Bracell does not convert native forests in accordance with our sustainability policy guidelines, and we have considered deforestation to be conversion of native areas since July 2008, in accordance with Law no. 12,651 (May 25, 2012), the Brazilian Forest Code.
• Monitoring of potential impacts in adjacent areas, such as protected areas and legal reserves—by field employees themselves, via satellite imagery and drones and during fauna and flora monitoring programs. No impacts have been observed so far during biodiversity monitoring, thanks to good forestry practices.
• Not introducing invasive species, pests, and pathogens, and not introducing changes in ecological processes outside the natural range of variation.
• Analyzing water quality in representative management units to monitor for any changes in physical and chemical properties and to determine whether these occurred as a result of forestry operations, aiming to prevent, minimize, and mitigate negative impacts on water bodies.
• Systematically monitoring diesel-powered vehicles and machinery which may cause air pollution, in accordance with applicable regulations.
• Handling and labeling chemicals in accordance with applicable regulations, regulatory standards, and certification standards.
• Identifying activities deemed to have the greatest potential impact on biodiversity, such as forest establishment, harvesting, and transportation, as identified in our Matrix of Environmental Aspects and Impacts (AIA).

Bracell also has a program to eradicate exotic plant species (species that do not naturally belong to the biome). Through this initiative, we remove species that have negative impacts on the natural dynamics of ecological succession of native vegetation on Company properties. We also have a Disturbed Land Rehabilitation Program in which we restore local native vegetation. To ensure successful recovery in synergy with natural ecological processes, we also incorporate—in addition to conventional planting of native seedlings—techniques such as placing organic material and nucleation, for a more efficient recovery process (learn more in GRI 3-3 Management of the material topic Biodiversity).