Commitment to Renewing Life
For planet
Caring for the water
Click below to know more
8.2 %
Guaranteeing the water renewal cycle is essential for life on the planet and for our production process. Eucalyptus and native forests play an essential role in this cycle. Our forests cover more than two million hectares in Brazil, and we know that some territories are subject to a lack of water due to natural characteristics. The effort to take care of this resource is everyone's responsibility.
We mapped all the watersheds in which Suzano operates and selected three main criteria for classifying the critical ones: historical hydrological monitoring data, occurrences of complaints by the communities in the region, and the company's occupation relevance in the watershed. Forty-four critical watersheds¹ were selected, and a diagnosis was made for each one, with technical recommendations for management actions that directly impact the water balance. Among the main ones, we highlight the demobilization that foresees the closure of Suzano's operations in some areas, the application of age mosaics to reduce the pressure of water demand, and the reduction of planting density, which reduces the number of trees in the same area. In this way, the company has assumed the commitment to anticipate and apply local mitigating and/or transformative measures to prevent water restriction events.
Informations
ScopeImplementation of forest management recommendations in Suzano's planting areas, to increase the availability of water in 44 watersheds classified as critical. This totals 88,400 hectares, in which our operations are located.
In 2022, the actions implemented at Suzano units had as their main aspect changes in the arrangement of forest plantations, designed to reduce the density of trees in critical watershed areas. As a result, we achieved 8.2% of the target KPI, representing 7,084 hectares.
Furthermore, we worked during the year to guarantee the insertion of specific management premises in the company's Strategic Forestry Planning to increase water availability in the watersheds. We expanded the studies to measure the use of forest water by medium and high-resolution satellites and statistical models to define the amount of water available in critical watersheds. Despite the developments in water monitoring through this technique, more research is needed to expand the accuracy and indicators of water availability.
| KPI Follow-up: | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | Accumulated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | |
|
Percentage of Managed Areas |
0.00% |
7.30% |
0.90% |
8.20% |
In 2023, the main planned actions are:
- Implementation of age mosaic management in the areas determined by the Strategic Forestry Planning;
- Continuity of the execution of research and development (R&D) projects to increase the accuracy of tools for checking the evolution of management actions adopted (procedural modeling and satellite);
- Installation in the field ("in situ") of checkpoints watersheds for monitoring water availability in critical watersheds.
- Watersheds considered critical are subject to water unavailability due to natural characteristics (such as climate and soil type) and type of land use (such as the implementation of pastures, crops, etc.). Suzano is focusing on watersheds with significant occupation by the company (equal to or greater than 30%) so that the practices adopted by the forest management can have an effect and generate the best results to reverse the criticality of these watersheds and the consequent unavailability of water.
- Examples of forest management actions for the goal context:
i) Extend the diversity of forest ages;
ii) Reduce the density of forest plantations;
iii) Reduce the amount of forest in the watershed;
iv) Extend the forest growth cycle;
v) Extend the period for planting the new forest after the previous harvest.
Caring for the water
Increase water availability in all the critical watersheds¹ in Suzano's areas of operation by 2030 and reduce by 15% the water captured in our industrial operations...
Conserve Biodiversity
Connect half a million hectares of priority areas for biodiversity conservation in the Cerrado, Atlantic Forest, and Amazon.
Offer renewable products
Make available 10 million tons of renewable-source products that can replace plastic and other petroleum-based products by 2030.
Tackling the Climate Crisis
Remove 40 million tons of carbon from the atmosphere by 2025; Reduce by 15% the intensity of the Greenhouse Gas emissions of scopes 1 and 2, per ton of production...
87 %
Guarantee the renewal cycle of water is essential for life on the planet and also for the production process of Suzano. In the industry, we operate within the best international water use practices established by the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). We understand that reducing water consumption in our operations is fundamental to reducing the water footprint of our products and helping reduce the risk of water shortage in the regions where we operate.
Informations
ScopeSpecific water withdrawal (m³/t), total withdrawal (m³) per ton of saleable pulp and paper from all Suzano's industrial units.
In 2022, the total water withdrawal by Suzano was reduced by 3% compared to the volume captured in the previous year. As a result, we ended the year with a specific withdrawal of 25.9 m3/t, which represents an advance of 87% about the baseline.
The year was quite challenging, with six general shutdowns at the Aracruz (ES), Imperatriz (MA), Jacareí (SP), Limeira (SP), Mucuri (BA), and Três Lagoas (MS) units, which usually favor an increase in specific consumption, since we continue to use water, but without producing. In this sense, the units optimized water consumption during the general shutdowns, applying controls in the process, for example, avoiding overflow from the cooling tower. Furthermore, there was the implementation of projects aimed at optimizing water consumption that contributed directly to the indicator improvement³. We highlight the Imperatriz Unit, which reduced about 7% of water withdrawn with a project to reuse osmosis water for make-up of the cooling tower and the installation of a self-cleaning filter in the fiber line. The Suzano (SP) unit also stood out with a reduction of about 6% in the volume of withdrawn water, through the projects for using clarified water in the highlighting shower and the installation of the Water Treatment Station for the new Taiaçupeba river catchment point.
Finally, we strengthened the practices of governance and management of water use in the industrial units. The theme has gained such relevance that water withdrawal reduction targets have been linked to the variable remuneration of executive directors, the unit's direct leadership and employees. The environmental teams' proximity to the operation has been collaborating with the reduction of deviations and creating robustness for the performance indicator reporting. In this sense, we highlight the Três Lagoas unit's initiative, which, through Artificial Intelligence, sends twice a day a report on the performance of the water indicators to the key consumer areas, contributing to increasing the teams' awareness and, consequently, generating a reduction in consumption.
The search for solutions to reduce consumption is continuous, and the units mapped out the best practices and technologies. Based on this, our engineering team conducted studies on the potential of the projects mapped.
| KPI Follow-up: | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| m³/t | m³/t | m³/t | m³/t | ||
|
Amount of water captured in industrial operations (m³/t) |
29,8 |
29.40 |
28.60 |
26.30 |
25,9 |
In 2022, engineering studies were conducted for the best available technologies to be implemented in the industrial units where there are still opportunities for improvement. Based on these studies, we will define the planning for the implementation, by 2030, of technology solutions that prove to be viable.
- At the time the goal was created in 2019, we did not yet have data for the full year. As such, data from 2018 was used for its composition.
- Several positive factors, such as the increase in the pace of production, resumption of efficient operations after shutdowns, and the prioritization of synergies between the industrial units made it possible to anticipate actions and, consequently, results above those expected for the year. The Specific Water Uptake Commitment was linked to some of the company's financial operations, along with other targets, in the form of a Sustainability-Linked Loan (SLL), issued by Suzano in February 202,1 for US$ 1.57 billion; and a Sustainability-Linked Bond (SLB) issued by Suzano in June and September 2021, in US$ 1.5 billion. To learn more about these financial operations, please access our Annual Report 2021 (with a direct link in the "2021 Report").
- For more information about our water use efficiency actions, please visit: Water and wastewater management in industrial operations.
Caring for the water
Increase water availability in all the critical watersheds¹ in Suzano's areas of operation by 2030 and reduce by 15% the water captured in our industrial operations...
Conserve Biodiversity
Connect half a million hectares of priority areas for biodiversity conservation in the Cerrado, Atlantic Forest, and Amazon.
Offer renewable products
Make available 10 million tons of renewable-source products that can replace plastic and other petroleum-based products by 2030.
Tackling the Climate Crisis
Remove 40 million tons of carbon from the atmosphere by 2025; Reduce by 15% the intensity of the Greenhouse Gas emissions of scopes 1 and 2, per ton of production...