World Environment Day: regenerative agriculture supports soil health, biodiversity and decarbonization

On June 5 we celebrate World Environment Day, an opportunity for reflection and debate on how companies in the sucroenergetic industry, for example, can adopt better agricultural and industrial practices in favor of sustainable development. In the case of BP Bunge Bioenergia, one of the national leaders in the sector and a strong player in the energy transition with cleaner and renewable sources, regenerative agriculture stands out as a market differential that is fundamental for preserving the environment.

By means of a set of procedures and techniques based on circular economy concepts, the company’s 11 units reuse sugarcane bagasse, vinasse, filter cake and other co-products of the agroindustrial process from the raw material that leaves the sugarcane fields for the production of electricity and fertilizers. Today, of the 300,000 hectares owned by BP Bunge Bioenergia, about 80% already use vinasse, which is capable of expanding longevity, increasing the productivity of the sugarcane fields, and avoiding the use of water for irrigation. The projection is to expand, by 2025, this application to 96% of the plantations.

With these measures, the company has already managed, in the 2022/23 crop year, to substitute the use of nitrogen fertilizers in 100% of the planting area by biological ones. In the same period, the standardization of composting yards for mixing filter cake and bagasse ash began and, in three years, the goal is to produce organo-mineral fertilizers from these organic materials and put an end to the use of mineral fertilizers in planting.

In this sense, technology is a strong ally in various agricultural activities, such as the use of drones and vants to assist in the biological control of sugarcane pests and in mapping the land, in order to facilitate the automation of the planting operation. Moreover, through the SmartLog logistics center, which monitors around 1,200 pieces of agricultural equipment interconnected in real time, it is possible to obtain more efficient management results and provide less impact on the environment.

“Regenerative agriculture is one of the pillars of BP Bunge Bioenergia activities. By replacing chemical inputs with integrated management, with biological inputs playing a key role, we collaborate with the rationalization of water and energy resources and in increasing the amount of organic matter in the soil, reducing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere,” says Rogério Bremm, agricultural director at BP Bunge Bioenergia.

Commitments 2030

BP Bunge Bioenergia has a strategic sustainability agenda for its first 10 years of operation, the Commitments 2030, aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and with four pillars of action – Principles of Governance, People, Planet and Prosperity – which are connected and seek, among other objectives, to ensure that sustainability is present in all the company’s activities and initiatives. Under the “Planet” pillar, the company has 7 goals related to climate change, circular economy, biodiversity management, energy resource management, and water resource management.

Among them are a 10% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in ethanol production; a 10% reduction in the use of diesel in sugarcane harvesting and transshipment operations under the company’s management; the planting of 2.3 million seedlings of native species; a 10% increase in energy efficiency; a 10% increase in energy production (MWh); a 10% reduction in water abstracted for industrial use; and the achievement of >90% reuse and/or recycling of non-hazardous waste.

Furthermore, since the first harvest, the company has published its sustainability report, following the GRI international standard, as a way to improve the management of its socio-environmental and economic indicators and strengthen communication with its stakeholders.