CHS : New agriculture practices are preserving Brazil’s forests

Brazil's forests are shrinking every year. An estimated 13,235 square kilometers (8,224 square miles) were lost in the Brazilian Legal Amazon between August 2020 and July 2021, an uptick in deforestation of 22% from the previous year, according to the country's National Institute for Space Research.

CHS Brazil is doing something about this crisis by participating in programs that ensure soybeans and other crops are produced on agricultural land and not on land recently cleared through unlawful deforestation. These programs include the Amazon Soy Moratorium, in which grain traders agree not to purchase soybeans from land cleared in the Amazon Biome after 2008, and Green Grains from Pará, which prohibits the sale and acquisition of grains from illegally deforested areas in the state of Pará.

In 2021, CHS received a low-interest "green" loan from Bank of America for Brazil operations - the first of its kind - in recognition of these sustainable soybean sourcing practices.

CHS Brazil has joined nongovernment organizations such as SOS Mata Atlântica and Save Cerrado to preserve and restore native forests. The Brazil team also provides native seedlings to employees and their families to plant near CHS storage facilities.

"Measures like this awaken ecological and cultural understanding within the team, promote a better quality of life for local citizens and encourage continuous compliance with environmental standards," says Aline Rodrigues Cavalheire, who leads compliance and sustainability efforts for CHS Brazil.

Related stories:

• Bringing sustainability benefits to farmer-owners
• 2021 CHS Sustainability Report describes key initiatives
• Amplifying the CHS sustainability journey

Check out the full Winter 2022 issue of C magazine with this article and more.