We began 2020 with our energies renewed by the results and achievements from the last year.
In the face of a critical moment in the worldwide environmental scenario, characterized by disasters, increased deforestation, and actions which compromise the future of health, food safety, and mankind’s economic growth, we have seen an unprecedented mobilization of people, especially the youth and companies that, facing this scenario, are dedicated to change their habits and to invest in alternatives in order to reduce the impact of their actions on nature.
Besides being necessary, this movement is also urgent. The experts warn and the statistics make it clear that we are running against time to fight the recently named “climate emergency”.
How does Biofílica contribute to reverse this scenario?
The answer to the problem is also what has moved us forward for 11 years:
forests conservation. By means of the activities of our REDD+ Projects1, deforestation of the areas where we are active has been reduced by 75% in the last four years (2015 to 2018), going in the opposite direction of the Brazilian Amazon deforestation rate, which grew 7% in the same period. Altogether, the projects add up to a total of 1.2 million hectares conserved, which protect 340 species of flora, 1,200 species of animals, and where approximately 1,500 people live and are impacted by the projects.
While carbon markets regulations are in full development, voluntary demand of companies of the most varied industries for such solutions has grown, and made us increase our revenues by 169% compared to 2018, while the volume of offsets delivered was 20% higher when compared to the previous year, which evidences the valorization and increase of forest offsets’ prices.
Last year was also a year of recognition. Biofílica validated and certified according to the VCS and CCBS standards the Jari Pará REDD+ Project, the largest private area in the world under management to generate carbon offsets – approximately 700,000 hectares – taking to the market an offer of about 1 million tons of offsets. In addition, for the third time we won the “Best Project Developer, Forest and Land Use” award offered by Environmental Finance, main communication vehicle on environmental asset markets all around the world.

What else can we do?
No doubt, 2019 was a year of growth, and noting that our growth is due to higher levels of awareness and interest in conserving forests, our main purpose, is even more gratifying.
Our plans for 2020, year in which the Paris Agreement begins, are already at full throttle. We have expanded our team and are working to increase our local partnerships to develop new REDD+ Projects in the Amazon to meet the growing market demand.
Start making a difference now for the planet and for your company.









In 2017, the retail chain Lojas Renner, being one of the largest in Brazil, neutralized 100% of its greenhouse gas emissions from the previous year. This feat, still unusual for companies in this segment, had already been achieved in 2016 when Lojas Renner offset nearly 37,000 tons of CO2. This was only possible because the company decided to monetize its environmental impact and pay for the standing forest—one of the most effective mechanisms for carbon sequestration and, consequently, for tackling climate change. The strategy chosen was that of REDD+, which enables the conservation of native forest areas that are under deforestation pressure or risk of degradation, which result in the creation of carbon credits from avoided destruction.
Lojas Renner’s choice is the result of a process of intense maturity. While still in 2010, the company decided to monitor and make public its carbon footprint and the actions it was taking to mitigate their impact. Their stance earned them entry into the ISE (the BM&F Bovespa Sustainability Index), a portfolio of companies that are a reference in socio-environmental practices currently in Brazil. But to go beyond the level of partial compensation and completely neutralize its emissions, the retailer realized that it was important to not only simply acquire carbon credits in the market. It was necessary to assume the costs of its negative externalities more broadly and to focus on projects that not only responded to climatic issues, but also generated benefits to local communities, fauna, and flora of vulnerable forest areas.
Em 2017, a rede varejista Lojas Renner, uma das maiores do país, neutralizou 100% das emissões de gases-estufa geradas por seu negócio no ano anterior. O feito, ainda incomum às empresas desse segmento, já havia sido alcançado em 2016, quando quase 37 000 toneladas de CO2 emitidas foram compensadas pela Lojas Renner. Isso só foi possível porque, ainda em 2015, a companhia decidiu monetizar seu impacto ambiental e pagar pela floresta em pé – um dos mecanismos mais eficazes na fixação de carbono e, por consequência, no enfrentamento das mudanças climáticas. A estratégia escolhida foi a do REDD+, que viabiliza a conservação de áreas de florestas nativas sob pressão do desmatamento ou risco de degradação e, dessa maneira, origina créditos de carbono pela destruição evitada.
A escolha da Lojas Renner é fruto de um processo de amadurecimento intenso. Ainda em 2010, a companhia decidiu monitorar e tornar pública sua pegada de carbono, bem como as ações de mitigação desse impacto. A postura lhe rendeu entrada no ISE, o Índice de Sustentabilidade da BM&F Bovespa, carteira de empresas que são referência em práticas socioambientais no Brasil atualmente. Mas, para sair do patamar da compensação parcial e neutralizar completamente suas emissões, a varejista percebeu que era preciso mais do que simplesmente adquirir créditos de carbono no mercado. Foi preciso assumir os custos de suas externalidades negativas de maneira mais ampla e apostar em projetos que dessem respostas não apenas à questão climática, mas que também gerassem benefícios às comunidades, fauna e flora de áreas florestais vulneráveis.

