In 2021, Brazil will have reached the highest number of people living in poverty since the beginning of the historical series in 2012. The data are from the Map of New Poverty¹, a study developed by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV in Portuguese acronym). According to the document, the number of people with per capita household income of up to R$ 497 per month reached 62.9 million Brazilians in 2021. Compared to 2019, the figure grew by almost 20%. Despite being among the 15 largest economies in the world, Brazil is considered one of the most unequal countries on the planet. According to the World Inequality Report (2022)², made by the World Inequality Lab, the richest 10% in Brazil earn almost 59% of the total national income, while the poorest half has less than 1% of the country's wealth.

Suzano understands that it has a key role to play not only in supporting economic development, but also in promoting social transformation in the over 200 municipalities in which it operates. That is why, together with civil society organizations and other players in these locations, we create income generation programs and seek to influence processes and public policies, strengthening local sustainable businesses that are part of the culture of each region.

We used the global monetary poverty reference adopted by the World Bank and ratified by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), of US$ 5.50 per day or BRL 486 per month of per capita family income (2022) ³. The calculation uses the average monthly income, understood as the total income of household residents from work and other sources of income generation, divided by the number of residents.

Expand the scope¹ of our income generation programs aiming to lift people out of poverty², taking into consideration the levels of economic development and social transformation achieved in the regions where we operate.

The focus is on solutions with a direct impact on poverty reduction, guided by its multidimensionality - which affects the spheres of income, health, and education - and that can be replicated and expanded in different municipalities. The projects are within seven programs that cover regional characteristics and their socioeconomic vocations:

• Sustainable extractivism;
• Inclusive recycling;
• Women and youth entrepreneurship; 
• Supply networks; 
• Service networks; 
• Access to employment; 
• Suzano Value Chain.

With the new social strategy, the Supply Networks (Biodiverse Agriculture), Sustainable Extractivism, and Suzano Value Chain programs stood out. Regionally, the States of Bahia, Maranhão, and São Paulo exceeded their targets, leveraging the results for the year. It is worth mentioning that the Cerrado Project, in Ribas do Rio Pardo (MS), was outstanding for including a social component in the hiring of employees and service providers in the Suzano Value Chain, which contributed towards removing over 4,000 people from the poverty line.

In 2022, we doubled the number of people who benefited from social programs. In total, there were more than 47,000 beneficiaries and 18,341 people removed from the poverty line.

Additionally, we have expanded the commercialization of products/services in the local and regional (urban and rural) market, advanced the partnerships and the incubation and acceleration model for social impact businesses, and achieved the intermediate results expected by the Theory of Change.

The total cumulative number of people lifted out of poverty is 29,633 since 2020, which is 14.8 % ahead of the Commitment's target.

Also in 2022, the Theory of Change (ToC) was constructed to materialize the impact outcomes of the poverty reduction commitment. The method makes visible the path needed to achieve effective social transformation in the short term (1-2 years), medium term (5 years), and long term (10 years). The first step in applying ToC is to admit that a social problem exists. Then a purpose and a vision of impact are established.

In 2023, we will continue to work with a focus on scalable solutions that have a direct impact on reducing multidimensional poverty, and that can be replicated and expanded in different communities in partnership with companies, civil society organizations, associations and cooperatives, and public authorities, among others.  

Moving forward with the Theory of Change, the expectation is that Suzano's areas will create integrated opportunities for income generation when hiring employees and suppliers. Furthermore, we will continue to work on strengthening the Social Organizations in the territories for social participation, fund raising, and management, expanding their autonomy and scope.