Fibria, the MST and researchers discuss agroecological systems

A seminar was held in Piracicaba (São Paulo state), on January 17^th and 18^th, in regard to the Sustainable Agroecological Settlements project in the far south of the state of Bahia, in which sustainable production systems and their application in agrarian reform settlements were discussed by the 200 or so people present. This project - whereby a model settlement was developed in Bahia, involving roughly 1,200 families - is a partnership between Fibria, the MST (Landless Rural Workers Movement) and Esalq/USP (Luiz de Queiroz Agricultural College).

Certification of Três Lagoas suppliers

On January 12^th, 17 companies in Três Lagoas (Mato Grosso do Sul state) were presented with an Advanced Supplier Ratification Program (PQF Avançado) certificate. Set up with support from Fibria, the program provides training and consulting aimed at the development of suppliers located in the region. The company's Três Lagoas Unit did approximately R$ 56 million of business with local suppliers in 2011.

Environmental education project for biological reserve in Espírito Santo

On December 13^th, ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for the Conservation of Biodiversity), Fibria and other partners officially launched their project for the development of environmental awareness within communities in the vicinity of the Córrego Grande Biological Reserve, in Conceição da Barra (Espírito Santo state). Nineteen schools will participate in these environmental education activities, which include monitored visits to the reserve, which embraces 1,500 hectares of the Atlantic Rainforest.

American students visit Fibria's forests

On January 16^th, students from Washington's Johns Hopkins University (USA), visited Fibria areas in the state of Bahia that have been earmarked for Atlantic Rainforest restoration, while conducting research into the policies and practices for the conservation of this biome, on behalf of the World Resources Institute (WRI). By 2023, Fibria's restoration activities should have covered some 28,000 hectares in five Brazilian states.

Fibria and the Year of Forests

Fibria was the first company in the Brazilian forestry sector to sign up to the UN's International Year of Forests. During 2011, the company organized a variety of activities that addressed the subject and adopted the official seal on its publications. That included 50 editions of Fibria Notícias and 12 monthly editions of Fibria News, which also contained information related to the topic. The blog Valor da Floresta (Portuguese), the in-house newspaper VITAL and the environmental education publication JornalEco (Portuguese) were the other media used to spread news about the subject. Moreover, the UN initiative was the inspiration for environmental education programs for Fibria and outsourced professionals, educational activities at schools, events, photographic and ‘best phrase' competitions, cycling tours, ecological walks, donations of seedlings and collective tree-planting efforts.

Did you know...

...that Fibria's mills in Aracruz (Espírito Santo state) and Três Lagoas (Mato Grosso do Sul state) are energy self-sufficient? The energy is derived from the burning of biomass, obtained from the forests (tree logs and bark and woodchips), and waste from the wood cooking process (black liquor or liquid biomass). The Três Lagoas Unit produces an annual energy surplus of around 30 megawatts, which is fed into the national grid. The UN initiative of proclaiming 2012 the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All aims to draw attention to the importance of renewable energy sources.