How A Food Company Reinforces Its Commitment to The Environment

The world is undergoing great changes, either in the way of seeing our presence as transforming agents, or in our contribution to guarantee the greatest and most effective measure of nature protection. On this World Environment Day, I share how BRF has acted to minimize risks and lead the Company towards the forefront of emissions, water and energy.

Last year, the United Nations (UN) launched the sixth Global Environmental Panorama, which showed that important measures will be necessary for the planet to follow a more sustainable development path. One of them is that the whole global scenario that we are going through can also be an opportunity to increase the well-being of citizens, while reducing the environmental footprint through improved governance, land use planning and green infrastructure. .

In 2019, we return to the stock portfolio of the Corporate Sustainability Index - B3’s ISE, stock exchange, - we are the only company in the food sector to be part of the ISE - whose purpose is to encourage the adoption of good practices and help investors to prioritize the allocation of its resources to companies that have social and environmental responsibility as operating precepts.

In addition, in 2019 BRF became a member of the Brazilian Global Compact Network, with my participation in the Brazilian Global Compact Committee in Brazil. We participate in the Action for Climate and Action for Water, in addition to other initiatives, participating in the discussion agendas through contributions in debates and the sharing of experiences.

During 2019, the Company became a partner of the Collaboration for Forests and Agriculture (CFA), which has as partners TNC, NWF, WWF and Moore Foundation, and other companies, with the objective of guiding for the best practices in sustainable management in the supply chain. Soy.

At BRF we have a great responsibility to use natural resources efficiently and responsibly and to control greenhouse gas emissions. The company maintains a planted renewable forest of 31 thousand hectares, spread over eight Brazilian states. And within the total energy consumption at BRF units, 93.2% come from renewable sources.

We are committed to achieving more than 30% of self-produced energy from clean and / or renewable sources by 2025. In addition, the BRF Operational Excellence System includes the Energy Efficiency Element, which standardizes operations regarding the use of energy, water and based on the Good Operating Practices Program.

In addition, the Company is a member of the Brazilian GHG Protocol Program, in which we follow its methodology for calculating the inventory of greenhouse gases, and recognizes the inventory with the Gold Seal, for being complete and with an audit carried out by an external company. Atmospheric and GHG emissions are subject to a management model that obeys environmental legislation and good market practices.

We recognize that water is a critical resource for our activity and for the world. For this reason, we seek to participate in Hydrographic Basin Committees in the regions where we are present, in addition to initiatives such as the implementation of the water vulnerability tool in our units, the reuse and treatment of water for return to the environment. In total, 87.5% of the water captured is returned to nature, after treatment, with notability to regulatory and quality standards.

Within our global presence, we met the levels of specific environmental legislation and throughout 2019, we invested R $ 108.6 million in projects to reduce environmental impact, according to the categories eligible for Green Bond, which gives access to company for green financial lines, considered an advantage and a global commitment.

At BRF we are confident that the celebration of World Environment Day will bring important discussion agendas for the performance of companies in the country and in the world. We are closely monitoring the importance and our responsibility with the theme. We know that we have an ambitious goal of committing ourselves to the environment as a food organization, but we work with processes on a daily basis, in order to reduce our environmental impact.

About BRF

The world’s largest global chicken exporter, BRF has iconic brands such as Sadia, Perdigão and Qualy. Its purpose is to offer quality food that is increasingly tasty and practical, to people all over the world, through the sustainable management of a living, long and complex chain, which provides a better life for everyone, from the countryside to the table. Based on fundamental commitments to safety, quality and integrity, the Company bases its strategy on a long-term vision and aims to generate value for the communities in which it operates, its employees and members, shareholders and society.

* Neil Peixoto, Vice President of Quality, R&D and Sustainability at BRF