Tissue paper producer Sofidel has teamed up with Suzano, a leading provider of hardwood pulp, on a new initiative through which it will seek to protect biodiversity in the Amazon region.
The initiative, Together we plant the future – Developing biodiversity corridors towards a more sustainable future, is a three-year pilot project that will focus on both ecological conservation and restoration as well as socio-economic development in the region.
It will be supported by IABS, the Brazilian Institute for Development and Sustainability and Amazônia Onlus, an Italian non-profit that seeks to protect the Amazon rainforest.
'Sustainable Future'
“Today, a company committed to build a sustainable future and create value for all its stakeholders has to ensure that its suppliers share the same vision and way of operating," commented Andrea Piazzolla, chief purchasing officer at Sofidel.
"According to SDG 17, we are pleased to partner with Suzano, one of our biggest suppliers, to make a difference. They share our same values, so it came natural to make our contribution to join forces to tackle both social and environmental issues in one of the poorest regions in Brazil."
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Biodiversity Corridor
The project will also fund the creation of a 'biodiversity corridor' to protect an area of high-value rainforest, covering around 2,210 square kilometres between the Brazilian states of Maranhão and Pará.
This forms part of Suzano's goal to create biodiversity corridors that connect half a million hectares (5,000 square kilometers) of priority areas in Brazil’s Amazon, Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biomes by 2030.
“By financially empowering communities living in proximity to high ecological value areas, we can tackle poverty as a root cause of deforestation, at the same time as incentivising them to protect and restore ecosystems," said Paulo Jose de Souza Chaer Borges, managing director at Suzano's EMEA office. "We hope that this collaboration can prove the power of working together across the supply chain, to create positive changes.”
© 2023 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest packaging news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
