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Our commitment

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At Copersucar, sustainability management is supported by three pillars – Energy for Life, Energy for Growth and Energy for Movement – and it is fundamental for the company to ensure generation of value in a sustainable manner. Copersucar’s Sustainability Policy establishes guidelines that steer employees and investee companies’ activities towards sustaining a long-term business model, alongside the development of communities surrounding the company’s operations.

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Copersucar is committed to being the link between the field and the industry with the sugar and ethanol market in Brazil and abroad. In this context, the company’s strategy of nurturing closer ties with partner mills, who draw up their strategies and conduct their operations independently, becomes even more relevant. The company’s role is to build a bridge between clients and the producers’ technical teams, boosting the search for a more sustainable production model, for better management and for the mitigation of socio-environmental impacts.


In the last biennium, Copersucar intensified its relationship initiatives with the mills, setting out levels of sustainability management and the performance of producers in relation to the most significant socio-environmental aspects identified for the sugar and ethanol value chain. This meeting provided details of the best practices adopted by the mills as well as the challenges and opportunities for improvement. As part of this same project, Copersucar individually provided an analysis report about the development of sustainability at each partner mill, with highlights and development opportunities.

In other events of the same type held over the last crop year, representatives of the mills had access to information on the quality of products, process improvements, innovation sharing and best practices in production. They also visited the Copersucar Sugar Terminal (TAC) at Santos, where they learned about the initiatives related to the culture of safety implemented at the company.

Meetings with partner mills are also important to strengthen perceptions of the products’ positive externalities and of Copersucar’s actions in this regard. The meetings address matters such as certifications for the foreign market and procedures for producers’ compliance with the requirements of certification bodies, such as those of the U.S., Japanese and European markets.

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Socio-environmental management

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Boasting a unique business model that integrates different links of the sector’s production chain, Copersucar manages social and environmental impacts within a broad context. This encompasses both logistics operations that are executed by contract suppliers and the areas in which partner mills operate. The environmental and social aspects of sugarcane production and processing are monitored continuously through a system that gathers information and enables the development of action plans aimed at disseminating best practices.

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Partner mills

Copersucar has robust mechanisms in place to monitor partner mills’ performance as regards the environmental and social management aspects of the business. The company encourages best practice sharing among the mills by publishing information on electronic platforms, such as Newsletter Sinergia, and by holding regular meetings.

Water consumption of the 35 partner mills’ units shrank by 9% between 2016 and 2018. Producers have water recirculation systems in their plants allowing the reuse of water harvested more than once during the production process. Around 800 million cubic meters of water were reused in industrial operations in each crop year.

Almost 50% of effluents and 99% of waste generated by sugar and ethanol production are reused by producers in other production activities. Vinasse, filter cake and boiler ash are used in agricultural activities for soil fertilization, while bagasse is the biomass used for electricity generation.

  • Effluents disposed of at the mills (m3)*
  • 2016-2017 crop year
  • 2017-2018 crop year
  • Fertirrigation
  • 52,166,582
  • 52,532,108
  • Disposal in bodies of water
  • 48,641,493
  • 41,935,105
  • Yard washing
  • 340,089
  • 240
  • Others
  • 3,409,548
  • 3,846,719
  • Total
  • 104,557,712
  • 98,134,172
  • *Partner mills effluents largely come from residual water and vinasse. At the Copersucar terminals only domestic effluents is discarded.

Partner mills generate the electricity required for their industrial activities by burning sugarcane bagasse, which is a renewable source. The rate of renewable fuel use among the partner mills was approximately 96% in the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 crop years. Fossil fuels, diesel in particular, are mainly used for running equipment utilized in agricultural activity.

  • Fuel consumption at the mills (GJ)
  • 2016-2017 crop year
  • 2017-2018 crop year
  • Diesel
  • 8,706,547
  • 8,895,481
  • Natural gas
  • 1,117
  • 1,125
  • Gasoline
  • 12,521
  • 9,939
  • Avgas
  • 1,554
  • 95
  • LPG
  • 14,764
  • 16,353
  • Aviation kerosene
  • 2,369
  • 2,236
  • Bagasse
  • 201,957,699
  • 200,342,044
  • Bio-diesel
  • 246,894
  • 17,067
  • Ethanol
  • 290,841
  • 262,107
  • Fuelwood
  • 7,061
  • 1,843
  • Total
  • 211,241,366
  • 209,548,290
  • Percentage of energy generated from renewable fuel sources
  • 95.9%
  • 95.7%
  • Consumption of energy acquired at the mills (kWh)
  • 2016-2017 crop year
  • 2017-2018 crop year
  • Steam
  • 31,442,732,437
  • 29,670,519,672
  • Electricity
  • 43,490,240
  • 45,913,614
  • Total
  • 31,486,222,677
  • 29,716,433,286

The mills’ agricultural and industrial production activities are also in compliance with the best practices to avoid impacts on biodiversity. The adoption of advanced techniques for agricultural cultivation and the continuous monitoring of environmental controls mitigate the risk of soil contamination from the application of vinasse and from dust and particulates emissions caused by sugarcane transportation and industrial chimneys. Partner mills areas cover more than 30,000 hectares of legal reserves and around 8,000 hectares of permanent preservation areas within or adjacent to their properties.

Emissions

Management of the environmental impact of Copersucar’s logistics and terminals focuses on monitoring and increasing efficiency in order to reduce impacts related to:

• Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
• Fugitive emissions at the ethanol pipelines
• Emissions of particulates during transportation of products
• Noise, traffic and spillages on transport routes

Copersucar draws up an annual inventory of its GHG emissions, in accordance with the guidelines of the Brazilian GHG Protocol Program. The inventory is aimed at monitoring the environmental impact of its activities. In the last biennium, the company recorded a rise in its emissions average as the scope of activities and inventoried sources was increased to include rail and maritime modes in distribution and downstream transportation, as well the treatment of liquid effluents. GHG emissions totaled 120.9 thousand tCO2e in 2017, of which 98% in scope 3. In the previous year, the three scopes totaled 28,000 tCO2e.

At the Santos TAC, Copersucar has invested in the installation of equipment that reduces the emission of particulates during the unloading of grains at the hoppers. The solution consists of applying vegetable oils to the grains before unloading, which helps to prevent dust suspension at the Port of Santos. In the case of sugar operations, the company has adopted the same practice with water sprinkling, which reduces emission of particulates.

In addition to these improvements, quality control of the cargoes has been enhanced by the installation of pneumatic samplers that allow sugar to be collected directly from trailers before unloading starts. The equipment has been installed at the Santos TAC and at the multimodal terminals of Ribeirão Preto and São José do Rio Preto.


Community relations

Copersucar is committed to the positive transformation of society. Its business model includes investment in social responsibility activities that benefit the communities surrounding its operations. The Conecta Program is the main social initiative developed with this purpose.

Created in 2015 in Paulínia, Conecta was then extended to Santos and in 2018 it reached São José do Rio Preto. These are cities in the state of São Paulo where Copersucar operates. The program promotes ties between government, private initiative and the third sector to train and capacitate young people in entrepreneurship, appreciation of education and culture, dialog about community matters, and in the promotion of sports and health.

The Conecta Program also creates opportunities for Copersucar employees to serve as volunteers. As of 2018, the company’s goal is for this group of volunteers to grow drawing them even closer to the program’s participants.

The partner mills also make social investments that benefit local communities, while also promoting social, economic and cultural development. In the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 crop years, 74% of the mills (26 altogether) had these types of initiatives in place.

The social relevance of Copersucar and the partner mills’ investments in socio-environmental projects lies in their contribution to the technical and professional qualification of local communities, thus creating opportunities to improve income generation and reduce social inequality


Commitment to Human Rights

Copersucar and its partner mills are committed to combating child, forced and slave-like labor. The company mitigates the risk of these illegalities occurring by adopting several practices, in particular:

• Copersucar establishes contractual clauses expressly prohibiting the use of child, forced or slave-like labor;

• The adoption of workplace health and safety systems and tools.

In the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 crop years there were no known cases of child, forced or slave-like labor across Copersucar’s value chain.

The presence of the mills in the municipalities fosters the generation of income and economic development. This kind of activity also contributes to the growth of inclusive supply chains in those municipalities.


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People management

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Copersucar’s employees are trained and permanently prepared to apply their knowledge of the business model and market, in search of a better performance in the company’s operations and to underpin the its strategic growth pillars. Human capital management seeks to uphold the teams’ skills and alignment to the company’s mission and to the explicit cultural values of Our Way of Being and Doing.

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Copersucar’s Corporate Education Program is comprised of the Culture School, Business School and Leadership School. Through the program, Copersucar organizes training sessions to disseminate knowledge about its corporate culture, business model and efficient leadership practices.

Leadership School:

This school is dedicated to training leaders, looking at the management tools and skills needed for managing teams. One of the strategic priorities in the last biennium – the Leadership Development Program – is aimed at the company’s supervisors, coordinators, managers and executives and offers talks, workshops and forums that promote professional and personal enhancement.

Culture School:

This school is aimed at the employees’ behavioral development in line with the company’s values and strategies.

Business School:

This school disseminates knowledge about the company’s business model to all employees. Courses cover processes, the value chain, growth strategies, safety practices, and environmental preservation.


Since 2017, the employees who meet or exceed expectations in their performance assessment can join the Accelerated Learning Program (PAA). The meetings provide training on issues that are identified as of critical importance for growth strategies. Team leaders take part in some modules as mentors of the employees to complement the training sessions.

Interaction between teams and leaders is also boosted by the Performance Management Program. Each crop year, at an initial stage, the employees’ performances are assessed individually, considering the targets met and alignment with the attitudes contained in Our Way of Being and Doing. Following this, the calibration committees fine-tune the assessment for each staff level: executives, managers and coordinators; and experts and senior analysts. This process seeks to encourage joint decision-making and alignment with the company’s parameters and criteria, providing greater visibility to employees.



Our team

Copersucar employs 641 people spread between the company’s corporate offices and terminals. In the 2017-2018 crop year the company increased its directly-employed workforce by 4.81% with the insourcing of the teams that operate the multimodal terminal at São José do Rio Preto (São Paulo State).


Mobiliza Progam

In the 2017-2018 crop year, Copersucar began development of the Mobiliza Program, an initiative that encompasses an Engagement Survey with employees and building a Corporate Engagement Plan – to be conducted institutionally and also by leaders of different areas in the next crop year.

The Engagement Survey was completed by 83% of Copersucar’s employees. The results were discussed with the Board of Directors and Executive Board in two meetings held in 2017. Following these meeting, the content was disseminated among all employees in person.

In the final quarter of the 2017-2018 crop year, the Corporate Engagement Plan was presented to employees. This plan establishes five pillars to be worked on by leaders and their teams during the coming crop years.

• Meaning and Purpose
• Effective Communication
• Agility and Collaboration
• Development Opportunities
• Recognition and Reward

Activities to be developed within the Mobiliza Program will be monitored every two months by the Board of Directors, with the support of the HR area for the execution of action plans drawn up by the areas. At the end of the 2018-2019 crop year, Copersucar plans to carry out an impact assessment of these initiatives and of the employees’ perceptions.

In order for the employees of the company and partner mills to be continuously aligned to Copersucar’s initiatives and progress, new communication channels with the teams were created.

Integração News

All employees receive a print version of the Integração News containing news about the company’s main initiatives undertaken over the previous two months and information about day to day operations. Nine issues have been published so far, with 800 copies per print run.

Liderança Newsletter

Employees holding management positions periodically receive the Liderança Newsletter, which contains strategic issues for company managers, tip-offs about ongoing programs and tips on best management practices.

Sinergia Newsletter

Copersucar’s dialog and exchange of information with partner mills has intensified since May 2016 when it began sending the Sinergia Newsletter to the mills’ employees on a monthly basis. This digital newsletter focuses on business cases, new industry developments, the mills’ operating activities, and Copersucar’s initiatives in areas where it interacts with these companies, such as Logistics, Sustainability and Quality, Planning, and Accounting. To date, 21 issues of the newsletter have been published and sent to more than 500 employees.

Intern Program

The first edition of Copersucar’s Intern Program began in the 2016-2017 crop year with participation of ten students to work in different areas of the company. With this initiative, Copersucar proposes a career plan for young people who take part in training sessions on issues related to the professional world and who develop end-of-course projects.

The program lasted one year and a half and three of the ten participants were hired by the Risk Management and Internal Control, Planning and Quality, and Sales areas. Another five remained as company interns by the end of the 2017-2018 crop year. The training of young professionals who are engaged with the company’s mission and business model is part of Our Way of Being and Doing and is one of the ways in which Copersucar creates value in a sustainable manner within the scope of the management of its human capital.

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Workplace safety

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The safety of employees in conducting logistics operations for handling sugar and ethanol is a priority for Copersucar’s management. The company continually invests in mechanisms to raise employee awareness and improve the terminals’ facilities in an effort to reduce risks and accidents.

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With a focus on raising employee awareness, Copersucar has carried out wide-ranging risk mapping and risk management work at its logistics terminals. The Operação Segura project began in 2015 at the Santos TAC and was extended to other units. In the last biennium, the program developed activities with a focus on two pillars: Attention and Procedures.

In the 2016-2017 crop year the company organized the Operação Segura communications campaign with the goal of raising employee awareness about the importance of assessing risks and adopting behaviors and measures to prevent workplace accidents. The initiative complements continuous investments in physical facilities and team training to guarantee an increasingly safer working environment.



Education campaigns are initiatives to promote the employees’ quality of life and raise their awareness regarding safe behavior. These campaigns have had a positive impact on Copersucar’s employees and many have become safety agents among their families and communities

As well as improving its processes, the company structured a communications campaign for employees to become aware of the importance of safe behavior and monitor risk in all their activities. The action also involved putting up posters with photos of employees alongside their families, distribution of a booklet containing tips and a description of mandatory procedures, and the distribution of videos containing employees’ testimonials, among other initiatives.

The Operação Segura project helped create closer ties and dialog among leaders and their teams in regard to the safety of operations. One of the practices adopted is the Safe Friday, whereby activities cease for a given period of time in order for employees to reflect on safe behaviors. In addition, the annual campaigns of the Internal Workplace Accident Prevention Week (SIPAT) and the Internal Port Workplace Accident Prevention Week (SIPATP) also further build on the safety culture at Copersucar terminals.

As a result of these initiatives, the rate of accidents at Copersucar’s terminals improved between the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 crop years.



TAC gains international maritime safety certification

In the 2017-2018 crop year, the Copersucar Sugar Terminal (TAC) in Santos was recognized with ISPS Code certification, which endorses the unit as a terminal that follows international maritime safety rules. The certification was developed by the International Maritime Organization, headquartered in London, and inspections in Brazil are carried out by the National Public Safety Commission for Ports, Terminals and Waterways (Conportos). In addition to this certification, the TAC is also certified in accordance with the ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 standards.

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