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Suzano S.A.

suz · NYSE Basic Materials
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Industry Paper, Lumber & Forest Products
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FY2019 Annual Report · Suzano S.A.
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Report
2019

Summary

1. MESSAGE FROM LEADERSHIP  ......................................................................4
Letter from the Chairman of the Board of Directors ...........................4
Letter from the CEO of Suzano  ...............................................................6

2. ABOUT THE REPORT .......................................................................................8

3. SUZANO IN NUMBERS  .................................................................................. 14

4. THE FIRST YEAR OF THE NEW SUZANO  ...................................................16
Excellence in governance  ........................................................................ 18
Our people  ................................................................................................ 25
Our products ............................................................................................. 32
Innovability ................................................................................................ 37
Digital transformation ............................................................................. 43
Our industry .............................................................................................. 44
Our forests ................................................................................................. 52
The suppliers  ............................................................................................ 64
The communities ...................................................................................... 66

5. THE JOURNEY CONTINUES  ......................................................................... 80 
Building our purpose  ............................................................................... 82
Our long-term business strategy .......................................................... 84
Our sustainability strategy ..................................................................... 86

6. AWARDS AND RECOGNITION  ..................................................................... 90

7. EXTERNAL ASSURANCE  ...............................................................................94

8. GRI CONTENT INDEX  ....................................................................................98

Photo: Adriano Gambarini/
WWF Brasil

 1 Message from  

   leadership

Photo:  
Ricardo Teles

Letter from the Chairman of 
the Board of Directors

 | DAVID FEFFER

We are part of the transformation

 [GRI 102-14]

What is the role of companies in building  
a more just and sustainable society?  
This question has been the object of 
debate in various meetings and forums 
that propose to discuss the future of the 
planet. If, in the past, the main purpose of 
organizations was to create shareholder 
value, today, we go further. It is what we call 
“stakeholder value”, a new model intended 
to address the interests of the various 
stakeholders with which companies interact.

I have no doubt that organizations  
must be active players in building a 
sustainable future. We, at Suzano, 
share this belief. We are aware of our 
responsibility toward society and  
the planet, and work to be part of the 
changes we want to see in the world.

In 2003, we already had this in mind when we 
defined the three pillars of our governance: 
merit-based management, high standard 
of internal control, and commitment to 
stakeholders. Today, 17 years later, we 
continue to advance in our governance 
and social and environmental practices. 

By combining innovation and sustainability 
(which we call “innovability”), we have the 
opportunity to develop new products for a 
bioeconomy (this is, an economy based on 
the use of renewable resources) and offer 
solutions to help with the transformations 
our planet so desperately needs.

In this sense, supported, inspired and 
challenged by the Board of Directors, the 
company’s management has done an 
extraordinary job in running the company, 
which seeks to be ‘best-in-class’ in everything 
it does today, while planning and reflecting on 
the future with courage and determination.

Being part of this movement to seek 
solutions to the major challenges of  
the 21st century inspires us and brings  
us an enormous sense of purpose.  
Change is in our hands and the future  
is being built now.

Will you join us on this journey?

David Feffer
Chairman of the Board of Directors

Message from leadership 

5

 
Letter from  
the CEO 

 | WALTER SCHALKA

Eyes on the future

[GRI 102-14]

Suzano went through one of the most 
emblematic periods in its history in 2019. 
Everything we lived and built in the year  
since the merger, on January 14, will help 
enable the company’s operations in the long 
term. In this period, we defined and worked 
on some fundamental aspects: capturing 
synergies, integrating processes and systems 
and, not least important, disseminating our 
Culture Drivers and our strategic vision,  
which help us build the future we want for 
ourselves and the world. 

Another priority for Suzano in 2019 was to raise 
the level of corporate governance by aligning our 
practices with SOX Certification (Sabarnes-Oxley 
Act), since we started to trade our shares on 
the New York Stock Exchange. To this end, we 
carried out a thorough review of processes and 
activities in order to adjust to these standards, 
considering the enforcement of a culture 
focused on management and internal control 
across the company.

Externally, we were caught by surprise by 
the sharp drop in pulp price. It is true that, 
at first, we underestimated the effects of 
the uncertainties generated by the trade war 
between the United States and China. The drop 
in the pulp price and the destocking process 
that took place in the sector throughout the 
year impacted our business. We had to take 
measures, such as reducing production, which 
implied some changes in logistics, forestry and 
industrial operations.

On the one hand, the turbulence in the market 
resulted in loss of profitability and multiple 
negotiations with suppliers in the various 
stages of our chain, on the other, our team 
rallied together to find solutions to overcome 
these challenges. We transformed difficulties 
into daily opportunities to exercise our Culture 
Drivers, which are non-negotiable: we are 
people who inspire and transform, we create 
and share value and we believe it is only good 
for us if it’s good for the world.

6 

Suzano Report 2019

Photo: Sérgio Zacchi

Throughout 2019, we had a series of 
relevant events, which required Brazilian 
companies to adopt a different attitude, 
and Suzano made its positioning clear. 
We are aware of our relevance as an agent 
of transformation and, therefore, we 
understand the need to be proactive in 
relation to these issues. Thus, we went 
public to present our point of view.

We also worked on the long-term 
strategic vision, analyzing megatrends and 
opportunities for our business. We prepared 
our sustainability strategy and understood 
that we are part of the solution to society’s 
challenges. We develop renewable, recyclable 
and biodegradable tree-based products 
tree and we have the strategic vision of 
expanding the market for our biomass, the 
most competitive in the world.

We have set ambitious goals to be achieved 
by 2030: we want to be even more climate 
positive, removing an additional 40 million 
tons of carbon from the atmosphere; to 
mitigate the problem of income inequality, 
enabling 200,000 people to rise above the 
poverty threshold in our area of influence; 
and to replace plastics and oil derivatives, 
by offering 10 million tons of products from 
renewable sources.

None of us ended 2019 as we started it.  
All employees and key partners contributed 
to building a new future for the company. 
This journey is just beginning and 2020 
will undoubtedly be another year of many 
challenges and achievements for Suzano.

Walter Schalka
CEO of Suzano S.A.

Message from leadership 

7

 
About the

2
Report

8 

Suzano Report 2019

Aldieris de Oliveira 
Correia. Fiber Line.
Aracruz Unit  
(Espírito Santo state).
Photo: Márcio Schimming

Suzano’s 2019 Report presents  

the achievements, lessons  

learned and challenges experienced 

by the company in its first  

year of creation. This edition 

provides an insight into 

the company’s economic, 

environmental and social practices 

and presents its corporate and 

sustainability strategy.

About the report 

9

         José Lázaro dos Santos Júnior,  
   R&D leader. Jacareí Unit (São Paulo state).
Photo: Fotocontexto 

 
This report was prepared in accordance with 
GRI standards: Core option, and we were 
also inspired by the Integrated Reporting 
(IR) guideline, in terms of focus, balance and 
conciseness. The GRI disclosures collected relate 
to the corresponding contents throughout the 
sections and are compiled in the Indicators 
Center, a digital section especially dedicated 
to the dynamic and detailed reading of data 
and information. The company also reports in 
line with the Sustainable Development Goals 
(SDGs)—17 global goals established by the 
United Nations (UN) in 2015.

After the merger, in early 2019, we carried out a 
study to align the material issues for Fibria and 
Suzano Papel e Celulose, consolidating a new and 

unique list of relevant topics. At that point  
we evaluated documents that addressed  
critical issues for the sector, in addition to an 
initial analysis of the priority market demands 
for the two former companies. This study was 
the basis for the 2018 Report.

Today, Suzano’s materiality is the result of 
cross-referencing relevant issues for the 
business, from the standpoint of our various 
stakeholders. These issues were captured 
through a significant consultation process to 
build our strategy (learn more on page 86), 
correlated with critical topics regarding the 
forestry sector and the production sectors as a 
whole, identified by large, company associations 
that work toward sustainable development.

From left to right: Nilza Aparecida de Castro 
e Silva, Raiana Marcello Castanho, Marcelo 
Shigekiyo Sado, Estela Mara de Castro Ribeiro 
and Nilton Carlos Santos Araujo. Jacareí Unit 
(São Paulo state).
Photograph: Fotocontexto

In the Indicators Center, the search for information can be 
done by Material Issues, related SDGs, GRI disclosures,  
and information from the Task Force on  
Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)¹.

1 Initiative that deals with the availability and quality of financial information related to climate change, formally supported by the company.

10  Suzano Report 2019

 
At the end of 2019, we also cross-
referenced the output from this rich 
consultation process with a thorough 
analysis of Suzano’s priority market 
demands (such as assessments by 
ratings agencies and sustainability 
indices) and, at the end, we arrived at 
the ten material issues that support the 
development of our 2019 report.

Alice Regina Moreira

Santos, Assistant Operator in 
the Baling area. Jacareí Unit
(São Paulo state).
Photo: Fotocontexto  

Material issues 

                            [GRI  102-47]

•  Climate Change
•  Ethics, Governance and Transparency
•  Financial Management
•  Forest Management
•  Human Capital
•  Innovation and Technology
•  Operational Excellence and Eco-efficiency
•  Social Development
•  Value Chain (customers and suppliers)
•  Water

Learn more in our  
Indicators Center. 

About the report  11

 
 
From left to right:
Willians Silva Rodrigues,  
Layane Bonfim dos Santos,  
Ana Célia Araújo da Silva, Jeysly Bandeira de Oliveira,  
Gina Kercia de Sousa Pimentel, Jessyca Cleanne da Mata  
Araujo, and Izabela Lobato de Souza, Occupational Safety.  
Imperatriz Unit (Maranhão state).
Photo: Márcio Schimming

In addition, in the second half of 2019, we 
implemented a work front to prioritize and 
harmonize corporate indicators in order to 
consolidate a satisfactory amount of quality 
information – something difficult to achieve 
during a year of integration, when we started 
from distinct management bases. This process 
involved the analysis, prioritization and 
alignment of the capacity to harmonize the 
indicators collected by the various areas that 
provide corporate information in their main 
external questionnaires and periodic reports 
(such as public reports, indices, investor 
demands). The main purpose of this effort was 
to prepare the areas to meet demands already 
mapped as priorities, with continuity in the 
medium and long terms. Part of these indicators, 
including the GRI disclosures, is provided in our 
Indicators Center, as per link above. 

To guide readers along this journey 
on our challenges and achievements in 

2019, we divided the Report into seven 
chapters, with chapters 4 and 5 containing 

most of the initiatives carried out by the 
company over the reporting period. In chapter 4, 
entitled “The first year of the new Suzano”, we 
talk about the main initiatives carried out by the 
organization throughout 2019 in terms of people, 
products, innovation, social performance and 
eco-efficiency in forests and industry. In chapter 5, 
“The journey continues”, readers will learn about 
the path we are taking to build our purpose, 
and the sustainability and business long-term 
strategies – all developed from a consultation 
and co-creation process that involved Suzano’s 
external and internal stakeholders. 

The content of this publication has been 
subjected to external assurance by Bureau Veritas 
(see letter on page 94). In addition to the full 
online PDF edition, available for download at 
www.suzano.com.br/en/r2019, the Report has 
a printed version and an infographic where 
the main information is an instructive and 
summarized manner. More information about 
Suzano can be obtained on our institutional 
website www.suzano.com.br/en/. 

Enjoy your reading!
[GRI 102-46, 102-54]

For questions or suggestions about our Report, please 
contact us by email relatoriosuzano@suzano.com.br.

12  Suzano Report 2019

Covid-19

The 2019 Report was based on interviews and field analyses conducted 
before the coronavirus outbreak became a global emergency, resulting 
in significant changes to our way of life. As a global company, we have 
been closely following the evolution of Covid-19 since its onset, adopting 
internal and external measures to ensure the health and safety of our 
employees and the delivery of our products  – considered essential for 
hygiene, cleaning and care for the family and home  – to our customers, 
in addition to a series of actions to support society, either through the 
sharing of information and best practices in this scenario, or through 
donation of materials and equipment to the healthcare network. Since this 
crisis is not yet behind us, its impacts on business, on our sector and across 
the world will be duly covered in the 2020 Annual Report.

For more information on this topic, visit our website:   
www.suzanocontraocoronavirus.com.br/.

Forest mosaic in  
Mucuri (Bahia state).
Photo: Ricardo Teles 

About the Report  13 

Suzano in

3 numbers 2

 [GRI 102-7, 102-8]

36,5471

EMPLOYEES  
(COMPANY AND 
OUTSOURCED WORKERS)

10 mills 
+ VERACEL
(JOINT VENTURE 
WITH STORA ENSO) 

PULP
ARACRUZ (ES),  
IMPERATRIZ (MA),  
JACAREÍ (SP), LIMEIRA (SP), 
MUCURI (BA), SUZANO (SP), 
TRÊS LAGOAS (MS)

PAPER 
LIMEIRA (SP), MUCURI (BA),  
RIO VERDE (SP), SUZANO (SP)

CONSUMER GOODS  
BELÉM (PA), FORTALEZA (CE), 
IMPERATRIZ (MA), MUCURI (BA) 

ALL MILLS CLOSE TO THE COAST 
OR CONNECTED BY RAILWAYS

R$

73 million1

IN SOCIAL INVESTMENTS
(SUZANO + PARTNERS) IN 
NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES

Installed capacities: 
1.4 million
TONS OF PAPER 
ANNUALLY

10.9 million
TONS OF PULP
ANNUALLY   
(INCLUDING VERACEL)

R$

R$

OF ADJUSTED EBITDA

10.7 billion1
7.1 billion1

IN OPERATING CASH 
GENERATION

NEARLY  

35,0001

CUSTOMERS 
IN THE PAPER 
SEGMENT

Renewable 
energy: 

AVERAGE TRADING OF

167.2 MWm1

HIGHER THAN THE AVERAGE 
CONSUMPTION OF ELECTRICITY 
IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF 
SANTOS (SP)3

PAPER SALES VOLUME  
(INCLUDING CONSUMER GOODS): 

1,256 k ton1

PULP SALES  
VOLUME:

9,412 k ton1

R$

CAPEX: 

5.78 
billion1

1  2019 data. 
2  With the exception of financial data, installed capacity and total number of mills, the other indicators presented throughout this material do not include information on 

Veracel’s operation.

3  Data from the Department of Infrastructure and Environment (SIMA) of the Government of the State of São Paulo (base year 2018).

14  Suzano Report 2019

Planted areas: 

APPROXIMATELY
1.3 million1
HECTARES

5

INTERNATIONAL 
COMMERCIAL  

     OFFICES

(FORT LAUDERDALE – USA; 
LUSTENAU – AUSTRIA;  
NYON – SWITZERLAND; 
SHANGHAI – CHINA;  
BUENOS AIRES – ARGENTINA)

Areas set aside  
for conservation:
APPROXIMATELY
900,0001
HECTARES

PULP EXPORT 

PORTS3

10

     FULLY  
     DEDICATED 
     SHIPS

87%
FSC®4 AND  
PEFC/CERFLOR  
CERTIFIED AREAS5 

5

       RESEARCH  
CENTERS

(3 IN BRAZIL,  
1 IN CANADA  
AND 1 IN ISRAEL)

21

DISTRIBUTION 
CENTERS

WHERE WE ARE  
AND CERTIFICATIONS

International Offices
• ISO 9001
• CoC FSC® and PEFC

Imperatriz Unit
• ISO 9001
• ISO 14001
• OHSAS 18001
• CoC FSC® and PEFC/CERFLOR
• SMETA

Mucuri Unit
• ISO 9001
• ISO 14001
• OHSAS 18001
•  CoC FSC® and PEFC/CERFLOR
• ISO/IEC 17025
• SMETA

Aracruz Unit
• ISO 9001
• ISO 14001
• CoC FSC® and PEFC/CERFLOR
• ISO/IEC 17025

Port of Santos
• ISO 9001
• ISO 14001
• OHSAS 18001

Suzano, Rio Verde  
and Limeira Units
• ISO 9001
• ISO 14001
• OHSAS 18001
• CoC FSC® and PEFC/CERFLOR
• ISO/IEC 17025
• SMETA

Stenfar
• ISO 9001
• CoC FSC® and PEFC/CERFLOR

FOREST BASE

MILLS

OFFICES

PORTS

Três Lagoas and Jacareí Units
• ISO 9001
• ISO 14001
• CoC FSC® and PEFC/CERFLOR
• ISO/IEC 17025

4  Forest management certificates FSC-C110130, FSC-C118283, FSC-C100704, FSC-C009927; and chain of custody FSC-C010014.
5  Calculation of the percentage of certified areas considers only Suzano’s operational areas (excluding those under investment fund 

management, under forestry partnership and not intended for supplying mills.

Suzano in numbers  15

 
The first year of the 

4    new 
Suzano

16  Suzano Report 2019

Forest mosaic in  
Mucuri (Bahia state).
Photo: Ricardo Teles 

    new 

Suzano

Joelma Araujo, Operator,  
Wood Prepation. Aracruz Unit 

(Espírito Santo state). 
Photo: Márcio Schimming

It is no exaggeration to say that 2019 was one of the most 

intense years in Suzano’s history. During this period, three 

achievements were fundamental to enable the results obtained: 

capturing synergies between the processes of the two former 

companies, creating the new culture and integrating the systems. 

In parallel, the areas worked intensively to keep the business 

running on all company fronts.

The following pages present some of the main initiatives in 

governance, people, forestry, logistics and industrial operations, 

products, innovation, sustainability and forestry, logistics and 

industrial operations that depict Suzano today.

The first year of the new Suzano  17

 
Excellence in governance 

[GRI 102-18, 103-1,103-2, 103-3]

Raising Suzano’s level of corporate governance 
was one of the priorities for 2019, even amidst 
so many challenges to integrate people, processes 
and systems and deliver results. 

The year 2019 was also the first year when the 
new company began trading its shares on the 
New York Stock Exchange, which represents an 
important evolution in terms of governance for 
the company, subjecting us to strict American 
rules, such as the SOx Certification (Sarbanes- 
Oxley Act). This certification imposes high internal 
control standards, and aims at the integrity of our 
financial statements and the soundness of the 
company’s processes. Additionally, we have in place 
corporate policies to guide the ethical, integral and 
transparent performance of directors, officers, 
employees and other stakeholders.

In view of this scenario, we divided our work into 
two main lines of action:

•   We consulted with specialists and investors in 

order to structure governance at a level even 
higher than that required by Brazilian and 
American laws;

•   We structured committees with clear roles 

to contribute to the duties of the Board 
of Directors and brought in external 
professionals to form these committees, 
adding diversity of knowledge and experience 
to the discussions for decision making. Thus, 
we reconciled a short-term agenda, focused 
on efficiency, scale and profitability, with a 
look to the company’s future.

SDCD Industrial. Imperatriz Unit (Maranhão state).
Photo: Ricardo Teles 

To get to know the members of the Board of Directors  
and Executive Board and their resumes, visit:   
http://ir.suzano.com.br/corporate-governance/
board-of-directors-and-comittees.

18  Suzano Report 2019

 
Based on this work, we reached the end of 2019 
with the following governance structure:

Board of Directors
It is responsible for preparing and approving the 
company’s global strategies. It is formed by nine 
Board Members, five of whom are independent. 
Board Members do not hold executive positions in 
the company. They are elected and removed from 
office at any time by the General Meeting and have 
a unified two-year term, with reelection permitted.

The Board of Directors has the support of  
the Audit Committee, whose main objective  
is to oversee the acts of the administration;  
of the Executive Board, responsible for  
addressing the company’s strategic issues;  
and of five other advisory committees. All 
the committees count on external members 
participation bringing different perspectives  
to the discussions.

Rodney Schmidt, Operator, Fiber Line.  
Aracruz Unit (Espírito Santo state).
Photo: Márcio Schimming

Sustainability- advises Suzano to think strategically, 
including discussions on global and latent themes, 
and to what extent we can contribute to the trans-
formation of specific scenarios, and their impacts, 
such as the climate change issue.

Strategy and Innovation- has several external 
members, including executives from other 
industries, who contribute to the company’s 
reflection on its long-term vision and actions that 
promote innovation within the company. 

People- when assessing the organizational 
structure and development models, remuneration, 
succession and career practices, the idea is to 
connect the employees’ profile to the company’s 
long-term strategies and goals. 

Statutory Audit- aims to ensure strict internal 
controls and best administrative practices in  
the company. 

Management and Finance- aims to provide 
technical advice to the Board of Directors for the 
best performance of its activities.

The first year of the new Suzano  19

 
 
Antonio Marcos Coelho Lunardi (standing) and Leonardo Gomes de Abreu, 
Production, Recovery and Utilities. Jacareí Unit (São Paulo state).
Photo: Fotocontexto 

           New corporate policies

In 2019, we worked to build our new corporate policies, mainly in relation to topics such 
as Human Rights, Integrated Risk Management Policy, Ombudsman’s Office, Disciplinary 
Measures, Stakeholders, Anti-Corruption, Securities Trading, Intellectual/Industrial  
Property and on Cultivars, Environmental Management, Diversity & Inclusion, Health,  
Safety and Quality of Life. The documents, developed with the participation of several 
areas of the company, contain the guidelines adopted by Suzano in all its operations and 
relationships and can be accessed on the company’s website. See the result of this work on 
www.suzano.com.br/en/the-suzano/documents/.

MAPPED RISKS

An important exercise performed, which 
is also in line with the highest governance 
standards, relates to risk management. At 
Suzano, risk management is supported by three 
complementary fronts, committed to avoiding 
or reducing the likelihood of risks occurring in 
different areas of the business.

1. INTERNAL CONTROLS 
The Internal Controls team works to preventively 
map and monitor critical areas and processes in a 
systematic and continuous manner. All risks mapped 
are mitigated and/or monitored using the Control 
Self Assessment (CSA) methodology, through which 
process owners quarterly assess their controls 
adherence and monitor the compliance of its 
application. In this first year of the SOx audit at 
Suzano, procedures related to the culture to manage 
internal controls received extra attention.

20  Suzano Report 2019

     
Compliance

In 2019, we began to redesign the 
Compliance Program based on 
the consolidation of previously 
implemented programs, prioritizing 
the harmonization of policies and main 
controls, and having as a guideline an 
ongoing concern with the integrity 
of the corporate environment, either 
internally or externally.

Through the Program, we explore the 
concept of the first line of defense 
through standards of conduct, trained 
and disseminated in the business 
areas in order to identify and mitigate 
possible risks in our operations. 

2. STRATEGIC RISKS
In 2019, we consolidated Suzano’s risk matrix, 
according to the Enterprise Risk Management 
(ERM) methodology. We analyzed the 
company’s risks considering the likelihood of 
their occurrence and the financial impacts, 
in addition to six other aspects—health and 
safety, environment, sociocultural, image and 
reputation, organizational climate, and legal—
all with equal relevance.

To define the risk matrix and the respective 
action plans, the team interviewed 130 company 
managers. Additionally, we created Risk and 
Business Continuity Commissions covering all 
of our operations in Brazil. The role of these 
commissions is to map the main risks in the 
locations where Suzano operated and to define 
action plans, in addition to preparing business 
continuity plans that address crisis episodes, 
should they occur. The next step in forming 
these commissions was to train people through 
drills so that they could assess their ability to 
react quickly and effectively in the event of a 
crisis. Finally, we identified spokespersons from 
different units and developed a media training 
in order to prepare them to deliver the right 
messages at critical moments.   

Maria Emilia Drummond Blonski,  
Industrial Process Consultant.

Jacareí Unit (São Paulo state).

Photo: Fotocontexto 

The first year of the new Suzano  21

     
 
3. ETHICAL CONDUCT  
AND MANAGEMENT 
[GRI 102-16, 102-17]

In 2019, we revised the Code of Conduct and 
published the Ombudsman Policy, the Disciplinary 
Measures Policy and the Procedure rules of 
the Conduct Committee, which establish the 
process guidelines and governance on ethical 
conduct and management at Suzano. All of 
these documents address compliance with legal 
and normative provisions applicable to the area 
and to the Ombudsman’s Channel, as well as 
the appropriate regulations, including specific 
procedures and confidentiality of information. 
Among other goals, all of these rules are intended 
to protect whistleblowers who report in good 
faith to preserve the company’s ethical principles, 
ensuring non-retaliation.

Inspired by the Culture Drivers, our Code of 
Conduct brings together the six ethical principles 
that guide our daily actions, focusing on the 
quality of our relationships, products and 
services. The new document is a tool that guides 

Rosinei Aparecida 
Santos, Peterson 
Cristhians Mira and  
Jonas de Aquino. Jacareí Unit  
(São Paulo state).
Photo: Fotocontexto 

and enhances our actions and decisions on a daily 
basis, ensuring that our activities with employees, 
shareholders, customers, suppliers, government 
officials, and the community are in line with the 
ethical behavior and respect that we nurture in the 
relationship with our various stakeholders.

Ombudsman Channel

The whistleblowing channel is confidential and independent and is available to 
employees and the general public for submitting reports and complaints about 
issues that could violate our Code of Conduct. The work is carried out by a 
contracted and independent company and guarantees anonymity, if requested 
by the whistleblower. Receipt and control of the contacts, via Internet, are 
available 24x7, accessible through any computer, tablet, or cell phone (with 
Internet access). The model ensures complete anonymity and absolute secrecy 
of the information provided by the whistleblower, and can be accessed through 
https://ouvidoriaexterna-suzano.com.br/.

The investigation work is carried out by competent people and areas in 
an autonomous and impartial way to identify the veracity and apply the 
necessary measures, and no form of retaliation against the whistleblower 
is allowed or accepted.

Click here to learn more about the indicators related to Suzano’s 
Ombudsman Channel.

22  Suzano Report 2019

INTEGRATION OF PROCESSES 
AND SYSTEMS

A fundamental step towards the consolidation 
of Suzano in its first year was the project to 
unify processes and systems. The initiative, 
called ‘Integration Project’, involved all areas of 
Suzano aiming to consolidate the company’s 
various processes and systems (coming mainly 
from the different structures of the two former 
companies) into a single environment to obtain 
greater operational efficiency. The benefits of 
this integration include greater organizational 
standardization, integrity of information, 
greater productivity, risk reduction, and greater 
competitive advantage.

exclusively on the Project. Beginning in February 
2019, the initiative went through several phases 
until its go live in early 2020 and yielded important 
gains to the business, such as:

•     integration of teams and joint construction 

of the future processes and systems scenario, 
bringing a sense of ownership to both sides in 
the activities defined for each area;

•   documentation of all system processes onto a 

single platform - UniverSuzano -, available online 
for the entire organization;

In order for all of this to happen within a 
challenging schedule, a multidisciplinary team with 
more than 560 professionals was deployed to work 

•   high level of employee empowerment  

(via training) in the transaction areas  
day-to-day activities.

Main figures of the Integration Project:
110,000

PARTICIPATION OF 
MORE THAN 

HOURS DEDICATED 
TO THE  
PROJECT

560 

EMPLOYEES

5,000  

PARTICIPANTS 

APPROXIMATELY  

28,000

TESTS  
STEPS

MAPPED FOR 
TRAINING

OVER

40

CONSULTANCIES 
INVOLVED

130

TEST DAYS

143 BLUEPRINT 

WORKSHOPS
TO DESIGN NEW PROCESS 
AND SYSTEM STRUCTURES

123

COURSES

The first year of the new Suzano  23

 
CORPORATE RELATIONS
[GRI 102-13, 102-43]

Suzano recognizes that changing society’s 
perception of the planted forest sector is one of 
its greatest challenges. And, for this reason, the 
company has been working more and more for 
this change to take place successfully, whether by 
taking a clear position on important issues —such 
as the case of forest fires in the Amazon, in which 
we publicly reaffirm the company’s commitment 
to zero deforestation—whether in dialogue 
with the Ministry of the Environment to share 
knowledge and information or placing the concept 
of innovability at the center of our strategy in 
order to drive solutions in a transition to the 
bioeconomy, that is, an economy based on  
the use of renewable resources.

We know that the company is perceived as a key 
Brazilian company in international trade, in an 

industry that needs to renew its image. With this 
in mind, we want to be leading players in this 
movement, seeking to maximize the engagement 
with all our stakeholders. 

Brazil is going through an ethical crisis that tends 
to open a gap between the public and the private 
sectors. However, our intention goes precisely 
in the opposite direction, since, together with 
other players, we are willing to contribute to a 
positive transformation of society as a whole. To 
this end, we recognize the importance of further 
positioning ourselves in relation to topics of great 
importance for the evolution of the country and 
the world while maintaining a good relationship 
with the different government levels and with 
all other stakeholders, regardless of religious or 
political ideologies and preferences. 

Raiana Marcello Castanho,  
Forest Planning consultant.  
Jacareí Unit (São Paulo state).
Photo: Fotocontexto 

What we did in 2019
•    We intensified the dialogue with representatives 

of municipalities and states so that these political 
forces understand the new company and our 
proposal. All meetings are recorded to make the 
process transparent.

•  In the federal and international levels, Suzano’s 

economic activity is of great importance for Brazil 
and the world and, as such, we increasingly took 
part in forums and debates explaining about the 
planted forest sector and where the company 
stands in terms of bioeconomy.

•  We strengthened ties and activities with sector 

associations such as Brazilian Tree Industry (Ibá 
- Indústria Brasileira de Árvores), in particular 
working to educate the various audiences on the 
activities involving this industry, highlighting its 
positive externalities.

24  Suzano Report 2019

                
 
Our people[GRI 102-16, 102-43, 103-1, 103-2, 103-3] 

Amidst an intense context of integration, 
assessment of synergies and major changes  
in teams (something that requires everyone to  
be resilient, detached and to adapt), one of our 
main movements in 2019 was the internalization 
and dissemination of our Culture Drivers  
(see below). These Drivers comprise a set of 
guidelines about who we are, what we do and how 
we do it, reflecting what the company aims to be.

Thus, in order to keep motivation high and 
clearly address the Drivers, relating them to daily 
business, an extensive agenda of workshops, 
training and communication actions was put into 
practice. The goal is for, in a growing movement, 
the Drivers to influence decision-making of our 
professionals, in their various levels of operation, 
directly contributing to strengthening the new 
organizational culture.

Culture Drivers

Who we are

People who inspire and transform

to make it happen.

•   We have the courage and competence 
•   Fostering diversity strengthens us.
•   We work together and for the whole.
•   Exceeding expectations drives us.
•   We are ‘strong and kind’.

What we do

We creat and share value

•   We think big and act globally.
•   We are always evolving with agility.
•   We innovate to advance.
•   We build and share success considering  

all stakeholders.

How we do it

It’s only good for us if it’s good for the world

•  We dialog to build better.
•  We are protagonists in society’s evolution.
•  We always act sustainably.
•  We seek admired profit.

The first year of the new Suzano  25

                
 
DIALOGUE AS A PRINCIPLE

To support dissemination of the Drivers 
dissemination, a multidisciplinary culture  
team was formed, with 15 representatives 
from different areas, responsible for 
organizing an agenda with several initiatives 
throughout the year:

•   cultural fit survey: 10,000 participants  

with 88% of people stating that they 
experience the Drivers in their areas; 

•   training Leaders: 30 workshops geared 

toward professionals in management 
positions and higher to discuss the role of 
leaders regarding the adoption of the Drivers 
on the organization daily routine;

•   internal communication campaign involving 

all company levels to lead to a reflection on 
how people are experiencing, in practice, these 
Cultural guidelines;

•   network of influencers: in another internal 

consultation, we mapped the network of 
informal influencers in the organization, 
at all hierarchical levels, and brought them 
together to discuss ideas on how to further 
disseminate the Drivers.

In January 2020, a new engagement survey was 
conducted to assess how the application of the 
Culture Drivers is progressing in the daily life 
of the company. More than 11,000 employees 
participated in the consultation and the results 
revealed that:

91% ARE LIVING THE 

DRIVERS IN 
PRACTICE, AN INCREASE OF THREE 
PERCENTAGE POINTS IN RELATION 
TO THE PREVIOUS SURVEY

92%     OF EMPLOYEES PERCEIVE 

THE POSITIVE ROLE  

OF LEADERSHIP IN EXPERIENCING 
THE DRIVERS

90% 

EXPERIENCE THE DRIVER  
“PEOPLE WHO INSPIRE 

AND TRANSFORM”, 

91% 

VALUE” AND

ARE PRACTICING 
“CREATE AND SHARE 

92% 

EXPERIENCE THE DRIVER   
“IT’S ONLY GOOD FOR 

US IF IT’S GOOD FOR THE WORLD.”

Optimized structure

Shortly before the businesses merger, we mapped professionals in overlapping positions and drew up 
a plan to arrive on January 14, 2019 (merger consolidation date) having all the demobilization needs 
defined and communicated up to management and coordination levels.

In the Forestry area, especially in the States of Bahia, São Paulo and Espírito Santo, other demobilizations 
occurred even after all the work carried out prior to the merger. This was in part due to the synergy of 
operations and to the drop in pulp prices in 2019, which led to a slowdown in production and brought  
a direct impact on operations.

26  Suzano Report 2019

  
EMPLOYEE JOURNEY

Suzano believes that a large company results 
from the people commitment, and this means 
taking part in building the company. Thus, in 
2019, employees from different areas were called 
to co-create projects and processes:

1. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
We reassessed this process and reviewed 
the behaviors expected from our employees 
concerning the new Culture Drivers. The 
performance evaluation will take into account 
the adoption of these behaviors by employees so 
that they can achieve the expected results. To give 
an example: one of the behaviors evaluated is to 
what extent employees adhere to the Driver “It’s 
only good for us if it’s good for the world,” which 
gauges the impact of our actions on our various 
stakeholders. The evaluation started in the second 
half of 2019 and includes:

•   administrative positions and higher - self- 

evaluation and evaluation by the manager, 
followed by forums to fine tune and sign  
off with the Executive Board;

•  operational positions (industry and forest) - 

the evaluation will take place throughout 2020.

Ronilson Furtado Goncalves, 
Portocel port worker, Aracruz 
(Espirito Santo state).
Photo: Rogério Sarmenghi 

The first year of the new Suzano  27

  
 
2. LEADERSHIP PROFILE
Focus groups across all the company units  
discussed the qualities of inspiring managers 
who drive the collaborative spirit of their 
teams. This dialogue and listening practice 
resulted in seven attributes that will be 
disseminated among the leaders in training 
sessions throughout 2020.

3. PLURAL [GRI 103-1, 103-2, 103-3]
The purpose of the Plural program, an internal 
movement that emerged organically and 
voluntarily at Suzano in 2016, is to value 
diversity and encourage inclusion in the 
company. The program was institutionalized in 
2019 and is closely related to the diverse and 
inclusive environment we wish to build in our 
operations. Diversity is also included in our 
Culture Drivers.

Plural relies on five affinity groups, having 
senior executives as sponsors, and has been 
working to clarify concepts, analyze metrics 
and propose internal actions in line with 
the manifesto that states the company’s 
position regarding this topic. The five groups 
are: Women, Black1 (race and ethnicity), Pride 
(LGBTI+)2, People with Disabilities (PwDs) 
and Generations. In addition, in 2019, Suzano 
signed the following public commitments to 
value diversity: 

•   Forum of LGBTI+ Companies and Rights 
•   Brazilian Business usiness Initiative for 

Racial Equality

•    UN Women’s Empowerment Principles

Signing of the commitment to the Forum of LGBTI+ Companies 
and Rights, with the presence of Reinaldo Bulgarelli, Director 
of the Forum, and Walter Schalka, in addition to members 
of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee and members of the 
company’s Affinity Groups. Headquarters (São Paulo state). 
Photo: Ricardo Teles 

Manifesto 
See Plural’s manifesto on  
www.suzano.com.br/en/the-suzano/people-and-culture/. 

1  Terminology used by the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute (IBGE). This category includes 

blacks and pardos. 

2  At Suzano we have chosen LGBTI+ as our umbrella term. It stands for: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, 

Intersex and + for all other spectrums of sexuality and gender.  

28  Suzano Report 2019

 
CENSUS RESULTS HIGHLIGHTS [GRI 405-1]

The Diversity Census was conducted for the first time and 
defined the company’s policy on this topic. View the policy on 
our www.suzano.com.br/en/the-suzano/documents/. 

See some of the Census results

RESULT OF THE CENSUS WITH VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION  
OF 11,947 EMPLOYEES (85% OF PARTICIPATION)

85.8%

 OF EMPLOYEES ARE MEN

14.2% 

ARE WOMEN, 
WITH 13% IN 
MANAGEMENT POSITIONS 
AND HIGHER AND 6% IN 
OPERATIONAL POSITIONS

47.5%

48.5%

2.6%

0.6%

0.8%
5.0%

2.2%

5,679 (47.5%) employees  
self-reported being white

602 (5.0%) have some kind  
of disability or limitation

306 (2.6%) self-reported  
being Asian

265 (2.2%) self-reported being 
homosexual, bisexual or other

66 (0.6%) employees self-
reported being Indigenous

5,801 (48.5%) employees  
self-reported being black

94 (0.8%) opted not  
to declare

60% 

OF PEOPLE 
THINK THE 
COMPANY HAS 
AN INCLUSIVE 
ENVIRONMENT.

EVEN SO, THE CENSUS 
REVEALED THAT 
MANY EMPLOYEES 
HAVE WITNESSED OR 
SUFFERED PREJUDICE 
WITHIN THE COMPANY

HAS SUFFERED OR WITNESSED  
PREJUDICE AGAINST
(ABSOLUTE NUMBERS)

1,539

1,378

1,043

820

467

People with 
Disabilities 

LGBTI+

Blacks

Women

50+

The first year of the new Suzano  29

 
 
4. FAZ BEM (WELL-BEING) PROGRAM
It is the Suzano’s quality of life Program, which 
promotes physical and psychological health 
and is intended to prevent diseases among 
company employees. In addition to focusing 
on ergonomics, with continuous analysis of 
workstations and workplace exercises, the 
Program promotes actions to support pregnant 
women, extends safety concepts to employees’ 
children on special dates such as Children’s Day, 
promotes blood drives and more: 

•  Running group - in 2019, there were 25 races 

with the participation of 2,500 employees,  
who had sports advice and costs covered by  
the company;

•  Suzano Race - held in Imperatriz (Maranhão 

state), Três Lagoas (Mato Grosso do Sul 
state) and Jacareí (São Paulo state) with the 
participation of employees and the community. 
More than 2.5 tons of food were collected in 
2019 as registration fees, and donations to the 
institutions were delivered by the 112 employees 
who participate in the Voluntariar Program;

•  Disque Viver Bem (Live Well Dial In) – support 

channel with specialized guidance on physical 
and mental health and financial and legal issues 
for employees and family members. In 2019, a 
total of 6,000 people benefitted.

5. SAFETY
All Suzano units are covered by a health and safety 
management system based on the guidelines of ISO 
45001 (2018), OSHAS 18001, ISO 9000, Regulatory 
Labor Standards, the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check & Act) 
cycle concept and best local and international market 
practices related to this topic. We also have in place 
the Safety in the Area Program— a tool that aims to 
disseminate concepts based on practical experience 
among employees and, thus, promote a safer work 
environment. It also offers a corporate Portal to 
provide safety data per unit for consultation, as well 
as internal communications via intranet and emails 
related to the topic.

30  Suzano Report 2019

Nilton Carlos Santos 

Araujo, Operational 

Excellence Consultant.
Jacareí Unit (São Paulo state).
Photo: Fotocontexto 

The units also rely on structured safety 
committees, divided into subcommittees.  
In these groups, employees participate in  
the discussions, analyses and implementations  
of initiatives related to this topic, as well as  
in the actions carried out by the Internal  
Accident Prevention Commissions (CIPA), whose 
goal is to preserve the physical integrity of 
employees through actions that minimize risk 
of occupational accidents and diseases. The 
responsibilities of the committees include: active 
participation in meetings for discussion and  
decision-making related to safety in the units, 
setting goals and objectives, and addressing 
matters at strategic level (Management 
Committee), at operational level (Cell Committee) 
and at specific level (Technical or Theme 
Committee). Committee meetings are held 
according to the calendar defined for each unit.

In 2019, during the process to capture synergies, 
the Safety team managed to map best practices 
from both companies through workshops with 
representatives from all units (Industrial, Forestry 
and Ports). See the main synergies below: 

•  preparation of the organization’s Occupational 

Health and Safety Management System Guide;

•   implementation of Safety in the Area and Linha 

Mestra (Master Line) programs in all units;

    
•   establishment of an Occupational Psychologists 

teams to prepare leaders and encourage safe 
behavior among all Suzano employees, collect 
data for analysis, offer feedback to people 
being monitored, and remove barriers to safe 
behavior;

•  Pact for Safety: a commitment to safety made 

by every employee, based on the signing of a 
document and on specific monthly committee 
meetings to control the actions described in 
the Pact.

One of the most significant outcomes in safety 
in 2019 was the 22% reduction in the number of 
occurrences resulting from investments in safety 
made by the units, from increasing engagement 
of leaders with the topic, from the search for 
preventive actions, and from the procedures and 
tools implemented in the company. That places us 
among the best practices when compared to other 
companies in our sector.

Despite this reduction, in 2019, unfortunately, 
we recorded a fatality among one of our logistics 
service providers at the Maranhão state Forestry 
unit, outside our facilities. Suzano provided all 
the necessary support to those involved in the 
case and carried out a comprehensive analysis 
among all its units to disseminate the lessons 
learned from the event. It is worth mentioning 
that all accidents and incidents recorded at 
Suzano are extensively analyzed and investigated 
by our Occupational Health and Safety team. The 
company has safety procedures in place that meet 
best market practices and are constantly reviewed 
and perfected. Year after year, our management 
model has been managing to reduce accidents in 
operations. Fatalities are unacceptable, and we 
work to end these occurrences.

Thamires Silva, intern in Organizational  
Development (HR), and Amanda Cordeiro,  
intern in Communication.  
Headquarters (São Paulo state). 
Photo: Fotocontexto 

Click here to see Suzano’s results in safety.

The first year of the new Suzano  31

    
 
Our products[GRI 102-2]

PULP

The scenario in the global pulp market in 2019 
proved to be challenging due to the sharp drop 
in the price of this commodity, stemming from 
a major imbalance in market fundamentals, 
especially on the supply side, and aggravated by 
macroeconomic events, such as the trade war 
between China and the United States and the 
weakening of the global economy.

Consequently, pulp inventories in the chain rose 
rapidly in the first months of the year and Suzano 

temporarily operated at higher inventory 
levels. As a reaction, we sought to quickly 
adjust our production volume and pricing 
policy in line with the international 
scenario. With this, we managed to  
show, at the end of the year, a strong 
reduction in the levels of inventories  
while guaranteeing an excellent levels 
of services for our customers. This 
demonstrates our resilience in the face  
of a period of market adversities.

Eliana A. dos Santos Cerqueira, Chemical Analyst.  
Aracruz Unit (Espírito Santo state). Photo: Márcio Schimming 

32  Suzano Report 2019

PAPER

Operational excellence and commercial discipline 
led Suzano to record its best year in the Paper 
segment. Given the adverse scenario in Brazil, 
with a decrease of 5% in the printing and writing 
segment and 2% in cardstock in the domestic 
market, and in view of the trade war between 
China and the United States, we worked on 
a market flexibility strategy. In addition to 
staying close to customers, we made detailed 
analyses of the demands of the niche markets 
where we operate and of the price shifts in the 
different countries where we marketed our 
products in order to take advantage of the best 
opportunities in terms of price and volume. This 
flexibility has allowed us to achieve profitability 
above historical levels.

SUZANO HAS 

  40%

MARKET SHARE  
SHARE IN BRAZIL IN THE 
PRINTING AND WRITING 
MARKET

Limeira Unit  
(São Paulo state).
Photo: Ricardo Teles 

E-commerce:

DURING THE YEAR, WE LAUNCHED 
SUZANO’S E-COMMERCE AND CRM 
PLATFORMS FOR THE PRINTING 
AND A4 PAPER MARKETS, ALREADY 
SHOWING GOOD RESULTS IN 
ONLINE SALES

We also completed the conversion of one of our 
paper machines to produce Eucafluff® pulp. The 
equipment had a capacity to produce nearly 80,000 
tons of paper and, in 2019, it was already operating 
at full capacity in the production of Eucafluff®. 
This represented a reduction in the production  
of coated paper. 

However, even facing the challenge of change,  
we managed to have a better performance  
than in 2018, based on best practices and 
operational excellence. 

The first year of the new Suzano  33

 
Bluecup was the official cup  
of the Track & Field Run Series 

street race, held in São Paulo  
(São Paulo state) in December 2019. 

Photo: Suzano image bank 

The future of paper

The year 2019 was also one of 
investments in new technologies 
that are allowing us to go beyond 
the traditional printing and writing 
segment. We managed to give more traction 
to our product for the cupstock segment, 
which can be used to make cups, ice cream 
cartons and packaging for delivery and 
fast food chains, among other materials. 
In the Bluecup® line of disposable cups, we 
launched Bluecup Bio® - a biodegradable, 
compostable and recyclable solution 
for a wide range of products, including 
disposable cups.

Likewise, Loop®, a paper specially 
designed for the production of straws as 
an alternative to single-use plastics was 
introduced in response to the growing 
demand from converters and consumers in 
search of more sustainable products. The 
product can already be seen in the main fast 
food chains operating in Brazil. 

For both the Bluecup® and Loop® 
lines, we employ cutting-edge 
technologies in order to obtain 
maximum quality. This process required 

several technical adjustments in the materials 
used to produce cups and straws, as well as in 
the converting machines. Thus, Suzano’s own 
researchers and external consultants were directly 
involved in fine-tuning these materials and our 
customers’ machines.

Together with the introduction of new 
technologies, we launched the platform called 
“Positive Suas Ideias”, a movement created by 
Suzano’s cardstock line to rethink production and 
consumption through creative packaging. Available 
on social networks, the platform introduces to 
the general public concepts and products with 
a sustainable edge and contains packaging 
solutions provided through collaborations with 
partners, co-creation, prototyping and alternatives 
for conscious consumers (learn more at  
@positivesuasideias on Instagram and on Facebook).

34  Suzano Report 2019

CONSUMER GOODS 

Suzano’s results in the consumer goods segment 
reflect a large part of the company’s efforts to 
create value to society through its products and 
services. The company’s growing share in these 
markets reflects the efforts made since the 
acquisition of the Fábrica de Papel da Amazônia S.A. 
(Facepa), in 2018.

The main task in 2019 was to renew the business 
fronts throughout the production chain, consolidate 
and standardize our industrial park with four 
plants located in the North and Northeast regions, 
train the internal audience and encourage 
improvement of relationships with customers and 
consumers. Revitalizing the product portfolio, with 
technological investments to leverage quality, was 

another major advance in the period, associated 
with detailed strategic planning of our brand 
portfolio in the areas of hygiene, cleaning, family 
and home care.

Also noteworthy is the shift in consumption from 
single-ply to a greater supply of double-ply paper, 
which helped consolidate the Mimmo®, Max Pure® 
and La Vie Blanc® brands as market leaders in some 
regions and states in Brazil. Supported by these 
brands, Suzano, which entered the market as a major 
reference in the production of toilet paper, paper 
towels, napkins and diapers in the North region and 
has a relevant presence in the Northeast region - 
since the acquisition of Facepa -, is today the fifth 
largest producer of toilet paper in Brazil by volume.

LEADER IN VALUE SHARE   
IN THE NORTH AND 
NORTHEAST, WITH

56.6% and 21.9%,

RESPECTIVELY1

SUZANO IS THE COMPANY THAT  
CONTRIBUTED MOST TO THE 

GROWTH OF THE DOUBLE PLY MARKET IN 
BRAZIL COMPARED TO 2018, ACCOUNTING 
FOR NEARLY  

48% 

OF THE GROWTH OF THIS  
MARKET, BY VOLUME1

WITH 

36% 

VALUE SHARE, 
MIMMO® 
REACHED A LEADING POSITION 
IN THE DOUBLE-PLY RETAIL MARKET 
IN THE STATE OF ESPÍRITO SANTO1

6.5% IS  

SUZANO’S VALUE SHARE 

IN THE TOILET PAPER MARKET IN  
THE COUNTRY1

MIMMO® CAMPAIGN  
REACHED  

44 million 

IMPRESSIONS2 ON YOUTUBE1

1  Source: Nielsen - Nov/Dec 2019. 
2  Social media impressions refer to the number of times the content of a given profile has been displayed to someone, and it is possible that the impression 

rate considers a same person more than once.  

The first year of the new Suzano  35

 
Eucafluff, the only eucalyptus  
fluff on the market.
Photo: Suzano image bank 

EUCAFLUFF®

If on one hand, the sharp drop in pulp prices 
in 2019 brought difficulties for Suzano also 
in the fluff segment, on the other, important 
partnerships have consolidated the application 
of Eucafluff® in global customers, strengthening 
its position in Europe, Asia and the United States, 
where the product is mostly sold. Suzano’s 

eucalyptus fluff, a reference in sustainability(see 
box), is used in the production of personal 
hygiene items such as diapers and sanitary 
pads. Eucafluff’s unique characteristics offer, in 
addition to the high capacity for absorbing and 
retaining liquids, greater comfort and discretion 
for end consumers. 

Carbon Neutral Fluff

In a growing movement, Suzano seeks to develop innovative and sustainable 
solutions for its customers. At the same time, one of the long-term goals 
of Ontex (the fifth largest producer in the personal care segment in Europe 
and a strategic partner for the consolidation of Eucafluff in the market) is to 
become carbon neutral by 2030. Therefore, the alignment of goals between the 
organizations resulted in supplying products with neutral carbon footprint for 
Ontex’s operations in Italy, France, Mexico and Brazil.

Eucafluff’s Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), in comparison with the pine fluff 
produced in the southeastern United States, was the basis for the neutralization 
project and, in addition, shows that our product presents a favorable result in 
several environmental impact categories, such as global warming, water use 
and land occupation. The complete analysis was conducted by ACV Brasil, in 
accordance with the guidelines set out in NBR ISO 14044, and the process was 
reviewed by KPMG, an independent consulting company. 

36  Suzano Report 2019

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Innovability 

[GRI 103-1, 103-2, 103-3]

What is the guiding principle behind the 
development of all these new lines or products 
from eucalyptus or pulp? What supports the 
solution portfolio presented by Suzano to its 
customers? The answers to these questions are 
grounded in the concept of innovability, which 
aligns two determining views for Suzano’s success 
- innovation and sustainability. The increasing 
incorporation of this concept is intended to yield 
positive impacts for the business and for society 
at large, which increasingly demands sustainable 
solutions in the use of fibers, fuels and  
energy. Thus, we work so that pulp and all  
the possibilities offered by eucalytptus 
plantations can take on this role.

With this in mind, our research centers work 
to develop studies and applications aimed at 
innovation in the forests and industry, investing  
in three main fronts:

•   Maintenance  

Explores solutions to the challenges of the 
current business, centered on eucalytptus 
plantation, on the production and 
marketing of pulp and paper.

•   Differentiation 

Seeks to generate competitive advantage 
to the business through different ways of 
using and applying pulp and paper, in line 
with the needs of our customers.

•    Diversification 

How can we use eucalyptus biomass  
in applications that go beyond the  
existing products? Biostrategy projects  
are developed to expand our portfolio  
of sustainable solutions in different  
market niches. 

Laura Serafim Leite dos Santos and Eduardo Pires Camargo. Itapetininga Unit (São Paulo state). Photo: Fotocontexto 

The first year of the new Suzano  37

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SUZANO RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

11 YEARS  

OF RESEARCH ALONG  
WITH THE CONSUMER 
GOODS INDUSTRY  
TO CREATE EUCAFLUFF® 

10 YEARS 

OF RESEARCH AND 
INNOVATION TO CREATE  
ECOLIG®, A SUSTAINABLE 
SOLUTION TO REPLACE 
MATERIALS FROM FOSSIL 
SOURCES (PAGE 42)

24 WORKING  

RESEARCH PLATFORMS

3 RESEARCH  

CENTERS IN BRASIL*

2 RESEARCH  

CENTERS ABROAD  
(CANADÁ AND ISRAEL)

110 RESEARCHERS  OF  

14 DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES

*  The facilities in the Innovation and Technology area were modified in Jacareí  
(São Paulo state) and, therefore, this unit no longer has a Research Center. 

Jacareí Unit (São Paulo state). Photo: Márcio Schimming 

38  Suzano Report 2019

Laura Serafim Leite 
dos Santos and Leticia 
Castilho Guilhen. FuturaGene 
(Itapetininga - São Paulo state).
Photo: Fotocontexto 

FUTURAGENE 

In 2019, FuturaGene, a Suzano subsidiary and a leader 
in research and development of biotechnologies 
applied to eucalyptus, completed the laboratory 
development and performance validation in the  
field of eucalyptus tolerant to herbicides and  
resistant to leaf-eating caterpillars. This is an 

important step towards the protection 
of forests, with a consequent increase in 
productivity in the field. The commercial use 
of these technologies still depends on the 
completion of the biosafety assessments and 
approvals by the regulatory agencies.  

To learn more about FuturaGene, visit www.futuragene.com.

        Intellectual property management

In 2019, Suzano prepared and validated, in the Executive Committee, its new policy on 
intellectual/industrial property and cultivars. Through this security instrument (which is 
already being replicated across the organization), it is possible to more accurately assess the 
best opportunities for protecting the company’s intellectual property. Thus, the new policy 
gives the company support in making the right decision in each case. 

Suzano currently has:

•   413 patents granted  

and under review;

•   138 cultivars protected 

or under protection; 

•   58 partnerships with 

universities and research 
centers.

The first year of the new Suzano  39

 
Seedling Nursery. Três Lagoas Unit (Mato Grosso do Sul state). Photo: Araquém Alcântara 

NEW BUSINESS

Suzano seeks to explore markets that are often 
not directly related to its current business, 
but that allow the company to diversify its 
portfolio based on new applications of its raw 
material: eucalyptus biomass. Therefore, it is 
essential to understand how far the company 
is capable of advancing in the production 
chain, i.e., what assets, skills and partnerships 
turn it into a competitive player or natural 
owner of a given market. We want to make 
Suzano a truly diversified company and, with 
this goal in mind, we made great efforts to 
serve new markets, with competitive price  
and performance.

Our principles for new business:

•   leverage assets;
•   leverage skills;
•   establish strategic partnerships;
•   scalability;
•   flexibility along the way (we move 

forward safely and gradually);

•   sustainability at the core.

40  Suzano Report 2019

Today, we work on development of 
applications, aiming at scalability of 
production and the future commercialization 
of the following materials:

•   microfibrillated cellulose - used in papers, 

paints, cosmetics and fabrics;

•   dissolving pulp and derived sugars - used 

in fabrics and in the chemical industry in 
general;

•   biocomposites - application in several 

industries, such as automotive, packaging 
and consumer goods;

•   bio-oil - heating oil and biopetroleum;
•   lignin - used in the segments of phenolic 

resins, elastomers and thermoplastics.

      Biopetroleum

In 2019, we supported the product 
development process in co-processing 
applications in refineries and worked on 
updating engineering information and 
logistics solutions for the project. Throughout 
2020, we will continue with the process for 
the final approval of its use in production in 
refineries (on a commercial scale), including 
new final industrial co-processing tests with 
petroleum together with partners. From 
a renewable source, produced from wood 
by-products and commercial eucalytptus 
plantations, biopetroleum has a lower carbon 
footprint than traditional petroleum and is 
one of the solutions for the climate change 
scenario. All this is developed in partnership 
with Ensyn, a company headquartered in 
the United States in which Suzano has had 
shareholding interest since 2012.

Competitiveness in the textile market

Three years ago, we acquired a stake in the Finnish startup Spinnova, which developed a 
process capable of transforming kraft pulp fiber1 into textile fiber. This type of fiber has 
differentiated characteristics compared to other fibers (such as viscose and cotton) in 
terms of environmental impact, since its production requires significantly lower volumes 
of chemicals and water.

In 2019, our microfibrillated cellulose - the product used to create this more sustainable 
textile fiber - was approved for use in the Spinnova process. It took three years of intense 
research to reach the quality parameters necessary for the textile fiber obtained to have a 
quality similar to that of cotton fibers. The next step is to advance the scale to consolidate 
microfibrillated eucalyptus celullose as a raw material for the production of textile fibers.

1  Note: the main factor that differentiates cellulose pulp for dissolving from cellulose pulp for papermaking (kraft) is its high content of 
alpha cellulose and low levels of hemicellulose, lignin and ash. Before the development of Spinnova’s technology, it was only possible to 
produce textile fiber from pulp for dissolving. Today it is possible to use kraft pulp to obtain textile fiber.

The first year of the new Suzano  41

 
         Biocomposites

This is also a segment in high demand for renewable solutions in society, since the use of 
plastics and other fossil materials has been the subject of major discussions. Therefore, we 
work to add eucalyptus pulp to polyethylene or polypropylene, thus contributing to reduce the 
percentage of components of fossil origin in the formulation of final products. To this end, 
in 2019, we defined technological routes and conducted tests together with our research and 
innovation partners. In 2020, we will continue to develop products and processes, advancing in 
the application of pulp in this market.

         Lignin

The first wave of industrialization and commerce of the product line based on lignin (the second 
most important component of the eucalyptus tree), ECOLIG®, serves three main segments: 
phenolic resins, elastomers, and thermoplastics. In 2019, we continued to establish partnerships 
with customers and research centers in order to further develop these markets. 

2020
The company expects to complete the technical and commercial validation stage with 
customers in order to regularly offer ECOLIG® solutions at scale. In the first half of the year, 
we will also make adjustments to our processes at the mill in Limeira (São Paulo state).

Lignin being analyzed in the laboratory. Photo: Suzano image bank 

42  Suzano Report 2019

Digital 
transformation

We want to be a company with a collaborative 
profile, with expertise to operate in network 
and have digital initiatives across the business, 
at all times. In this sense, in order to promote a 
culture of innovation in processes and results, 
the company’s Digital area was created in 2019, 
consolidating the various digital transformation 
initiatives in place at Suzano and establishing 
a clear strategy to streamline the obtaining of 
results from data. 

DIGITAL ROADMAP

After all, where are the in-house distresses and 
possibilities for evolution? The Digital team 
listened to representatives from all company 
areas, held a large workshop and created a 
roadmap with more than 80 real opportunities, 
which are updated monthly, creating a dynamic 
portfolio of opportunities. We defined which 
strategic actions will be developed by Suzano’s 
Digital Center and hired data scientists, 
developers, experts in agile methodologies, 
and designers. This team, together with the 
Information Technology (IT) areas, and the 
business areas worked together through an Agile 
model with a common objective of capturing 
value via the digital culture. 

In 2019, we executed projects internally to 
validate the viability of the model. Noteworthy 
among these projects are clonal allocation (see 
page 52) and optimization of transport and 
forest harvesting (see page 54), in addition to 
other fronts.

Marcos de Souza, 
Machine Operator.
Rio Verde Unit  
(São Paulo state).
Photo: Ricardo Teles 

Aiming to democratize innovation and empower 
teams in each process through fast, global 
solutions using high technology, we are 
creating an innovation ecosystem together 
with institutions that foster entrepreneurship 
and startups. We design processes, establish 
agreements and, currently, we have a few 
successful cases at Suzano, the most recent of 
which is the hiring of a startup that uses artificial 
intelligence in procurement processes. Our 
goal is to democratize relationships with these 
audiences to 100% of the company. We believe 
that the greater the number of startups with us, 
the better it will be for Brazilian entrepreneur-
ship and for Suzano. 

During the development of Suzano’s Digital 
area, in 2019, we offered a series of online and 
in-person training courses to more than 600 
people with a focus on disseminating content 
in the areas of advanced analytics, artificial 
intelligence, big data, design thinking and Agile 
Work methodology. The goal for 2020 is to 
expand this generation of knowledge across 
the company. Thus, together with the Human 
Resources, we will boost the digital culture to 
train scientists, specialists in design thinking and 
agile models, among other skills.

The first year of the new Suzano  43

 
Our industry

Our long-term strategic vision, “To be highly 
efficient across the value chain: from forest to 
customer,” is directly related to our ability to 
expand forest productivity per hectare, in addition 
to seeking advances in the industry, through 
the reuse of by-products and efficient use of 
resources. To pursue our strategy, we invested in 
a series of initiatives in 2019 and mapped dozens 
of others that will be monitored over the next five 
years. Learn about the works carried out in our 
industrial area in the last year.

INDUSTRY 4.0 

Suzano is making significant progress towards 
industry 4.0 by structuring several studies and 
projects. One such example is at the Aracruz Unit 
(Espírito Santo state), where we developed an 
autonomous digester based on the evaluation 
of different models and sensors throughout the 
year. The technology should, in the near future, 
automatically adjust for changes in wood, thus 
obtaining greater speed and gains in quality. 
Thus, as soon as the analyses are completed, we 
expect to increase production stability, reduce 
consumption of chemicals and obtain higher 
quality in the final product. 

NEW INVESTMENTS

Alexsandra Oliveira Barbosa,  
Technician in Laboratory Analysis.
Três Lagoas Unit (Mato Grosso do Sul state).  
Photo: Márcio Schimming 

will be available in the transmission grids 
of the Brazilian electric energy system. Also 
in the Aracruz region, we will invest R$ 531 
million in acquisitions or leasing of rural 
areas and plantation in order to reduce the 
average distance between the plantation 
and the mill, which will result in operational 
and environmental benefits resulting from 
a reduction in the circulation of vehicles 
transporting wood over long distances.

Another novelty for the state of Espírito Santo 
is that the city of Cachoeiro do Itapemirim  
will receive a new tissue paper conversion  
unit. R$ 130 million will be invested in the 
construction of this mill in the south of the 
state, with a capacity of 30,000 tons per year 
in finished products. It is estimated that the 
operation will generate 200 direct and indirect 
jobs, in addition to fostering the supply chain.

In the last months of 2019, Suzano announced to 
the market a series of investments in its operations 
to increase efficiency and productivity. The 
Aracruz Unit (Espírito Santo state) will receive an 
investment of R$ 272.4 million. The mill will  
be modernized, with gains in efficiency and  
competitiveness, with less environmental 
impact. The surplus of clean energy generated 

Furthermore, in order to expand pulp 
production in the future, Suzano obtained 
the Installation License for a mill in Ribas do 
Rio Pardo (Mato Grosso do Sul state) with an 
annual capacity of 2.2 million tons. In the same 
region, the company started to manage, through 
subsidiaries, approximately 100,000 hectares of 
land, making the future installation competitive.

44  Suzano Report 2019

 
Kaique Ferreira de Medeiros, Tissue packaging  
machine operator. Area: Tissue Conversion.  
Imperatriz Unit (Maranhão state).
Photo: Márcio Schimming 

Social and environmental variables in project analysis

In line with the sustainability strategy that has systemic views as one of its premises, this 
theme is considered in all our processes in order to quantify their impacts on both the 
business and the planet. In this sense, in 2019, we carried out the first pilot project called 
“Sustainability in Approving New Projects”, which predicts for the analysis of investments 
beyond financial return. Through analysis and internal tools, it was possible to identify which 
projects would be recommended for approval in terms of sustainability. With the support of 
the Financial Planning area (Capex), we analyzed the 2,363 projects registered in 2019 and 
noted that only 10% of them had a significant positive environmental and social impact. 
Among these projects, we managed to determine the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions 
resulting from nine initiatives, which together eliminate 6,960 tCO²eq/year. We found a way to 
make these numbers increasingly more representative, incorporating the systemic view into 
the activities. The idea is to, as of 2020, refine this view from financial, environmental and 
social aspects in all projects analyzed.

The first year of the new Suzano  45

 
          More efficient ports

International competitiveness of Brazilian pulp, greater operational efficiency and job 
creation are some of the benefits of two of Suzano’s strategic projects in port logistics. 
One of them is the construction of the Itacel Terminal, in the Port of Itaqui, in São Luís 
(Maranhão state), for the transportation of pulp produced at the unit in Imperatriz 
(Maranhão state). The concession agreement, valid for 25 years, provides for the 
construction of a warehouse and a mooring dock, in addition to those that are already 
operating in the public port.

In the Port of Santos (São Paulo state), we will also have new structures for receiving, 
storing and exporting pulp produced in Três Lagoas (Mato Grosso do Sul state) and Jacareí 
(São Paulo state). This is the Vertere Project, which will make possible receiving the bales 
entirely by rail, with simultaneous access by up to two trains of 1,500 meters each. The 
operation will also include more dynamic and efficient overhead cranes. In the two port 
facilities, Suzano works to guarantee the best processes and equipment, in addition to 
maximum export efficiency, with a focus on safety, quality and costs. In 2020, the projects 
will involve investments of approximately R$ 100 million throughout the year.

Porto of Santos* 
R$ 700 million 

INVESTIMENT IN THE 
VERTERE PROJECT

35,000 sqm  

WAREHOUSE SPACE 

170,000   

TONS OF PULP  
STORAGE CAPACITY

446 
meters 
OF EXTENSION   
ON THE EXISTING 
MOORING DOCK

1,200 

DIRECT JOBS

46  Suzano Report 2019

*In operation as of 2020. 

  
Itacel  Terminal
R$ 300 million 

INVESTMENT

53,545 sqm  

GRANTED FOR 
CONSTRUCTION

25-year 

CONCESSION TERM  

73,000 tons 

PULP STORAGE CAPACITY

72 rail cars   

PER DAY IS THE CAPACITY 
OF THE TERMINAL

650 jobs 

GENERATED DURING 
THE CONSTRUCTION 
PHASE

215 job 

OPENINGS  ESTIMATED 
DURING THE OPERATION, 
INCLUDING COMPANY 
EMPLOYEES AND 
CONTRACTORS

2021 IS THE  

ESTIMATED START DATE   
OF OPERATIONS

Vertere Project in Santos  
(São Paulo state).
Photo: Suzano image bank 

The first year of the new Suzano  47

  
 
OPERATIONAL AND 
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFICIENCY 
IN THE INDUSTRY 

Operational and environmental efficiency are 
two concepts that go hand in hand in Suzano’s 
industrial units, with a greater focus on the use of 
water, energy, chemicals and waste generation. With 
this objective in mind, the first major challenge 
in 2019 was to integrate the processes of the 
company’s ten plants - Três Lagoas (Mato Grosso 
do Sul state); Jacareí (São Paulo state), Limeira 
(São Paulo state), Rio Verde (São Paulo state) and 
Suzano (São Paulo state); Aracruz (Espírito Santo 
state); Mucuri (Bahia state); Imperatriz (Maranhão 
state); in addition to Facepa unit, located in Belém 
(Pará state) and Fortaleza (Ceará state). 

This work was conducted by the Industrial 
Environment Committee, a corporate  
group involving the technical environmental 
teams of each of the units, in a detachment 
and knowledge exchange exercise. In these 
meetings, it was possible to share and  
select best practices in industrial operations. 
A good example was the different metrics 
identified, since the units had different 
methodologies. As we standardized  
criteria and procedures, we managed to 
identify good opportunities. Below are the 
main initiatives.

Pulp Shipment. Imperatriz Unit (Maranhão state).
Photo: Suzano Image Bank 

48  Suzano Report 2019

1. COMMITMENTS FOR WATER AND 
WASTE  [GRI 103-1, 103-2, 103-3]
Challenged by Suzano’s Board of Directors to go 
further and establish bold commitments in the 
industrial environment, the Committee set bold 
long-term goals for water and waste. The initial 
goal of 64% reduction in industrial waste in 
landfills rose to 70% by 2030.

With regard to water, we found that the units have 
different curves for reducing water withdrawal 
in the next 10 years, considering that they have 
different realities. However, we consolidated all 
operations into a single goal: to reach 25.3 m3 per ton 
of product (pulp and paper), which corresponds 
to international best practices according to the 
Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC).

Parameters such as specific water withdrawal and 
quality of treated effluents are monitored daily 
and reported monthly. 

Some units also participate in local river basin 
committees that bring together representatives 
of the government, companies and civil society to 

Effluent Treatment Area. Mucuri Unit (Bahia state).
Photo: Ricardo Teles 

discuss local water resource management. Today, 
Suzano participates, through its units, in the 
following committees:

•   Alto Tietê River Basin Committee (São Paulo state);
•   Rio Doce River Basin Committee (Minas Gerais 

state/Espirito Santo state);

•   Litoral Centro Norte River Basin Committee 

(Espirito Santo state);

•   Paraíba do Sul River Basin Committee (Minas 

Gerais state/Rio de Janeiro state/São Paulo state);

•   Piracicaba, Capivari and Jundiaí River Basin 

Committee (São Paulo state).

Click here to learn more about other 
initiatives and the performance of the 
Industrial Environment area on this topic.

The first year of the new Suzano  49

 
View of Plant B. Suzano Unit  
(São Paulo state).
Photo: Ricardo Teles. 

2. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT 
PROGRAM
In addition to complying with the applicable 
legislation regarding solid waste, the units have in 
place a waste management plan and operational 
procedures and, in some mills, performance in 
this topic is associated with employee variable 
income. Waste management has daily monitoring 
and forums, which focus on reducing solid waste 
generation, increasing internal recycling and reuse, 
and reducing waste sent to industrial landfills. The 
units also undergo internal and external audits.

The Três Lagoas Unit (Mato Grosso do Sul state) 
has its own program called Virada Ambiental, 
which covers solid waste, among other topics. 
A highlight for this unit is the installation of a 
solid waste processing plant, which produces 
soil correctives and fertilizers through waste 
processing. In Limeira (São Paulo state), industrial 
solid waste, previously sent to landfills, is now 
sent to companies that compost and transform it 
into an input that can yield gains in productivity in 
agricultural areas.

In addition, the soil acidity correction program, 
in place in Jacareí (São Paulo state) and Três 
Lagoas (Mato Grosso do Sul state), is now being 

adopted by the Imperatriz Unit (Maranhão state). 
It involves the transformation of inorganic waste 
generated in Suzano’s industrial process, such as 
lime sludge and ashes, into soil acidity correctives. 
The next step is to introduce organic matter—
organominerals—into the process, enabling even 
more gains in forest management. Another 
advantage is that the surplus of this organic 
solution can be marketed according to the rules 
of the Ministry of Agriculture. 

Click here to learn about other Suzano solid 
waste indicators. See the company’s goal  
for waste on page 89.

3. OXYGEN INTRODUCTION RATE
Project started in Mucuri unit (Bahia state) 
starts to be replicated in other units. When 
the effluent reaches the treatment system, 
it usually comes loaded with chemicals. We 
measure, close circuits and adjust the available 
oxygen rate in the effluent flow of each sector, 
allowing the inflow of all effluents into the 
treatment system to be more efficient, thus 
generating less impact.

50  Suzano Report 2019

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. ENVIRONMENTAL CHAMBERS
Another important step taken in 2019 was the 
adoption of a model for technical and strategic 
relationship with state environmental agencies.  
Our goal is to expand the dialogue with 
environmental agencies so that legislation and 
bureaucracy do not become impediments to 
resolving needs or conflicts. In São Paulo, and with 
the support of our Industrial Environment and 
Corporate Relations areas, we have already created 
the Environmental Technical Chamber, organized 
with the Environmental Company of the State of 
São Paulo (CETESB), the Brazilian Pulp and Paper 
Technical Association (ABTCP) and nine other 
companies in the forestry sector. In this group, we 
are discussing, for example, legal mechanisms that 
allow us to use primary sludge, considered waste, as 
a raw material. If treated in an environmentally 
responsible way, primary sludge can be sold for 
different applications, such as shoe insoles, core for 
electronic cards and many others. In the coming 
years, we will replicate the Environmental Chambers 
model in other states where Suzano operates. 

5. ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Suzano’s energy matrix is mainly supported by 
renewable sources. We use eucalyptus biomass, 
such as bark and wood waste, as our own source for 
energy generation. In some production units there 
is surplus production, which is made available to the 
National Interconnected System (SIN), contributing 
to the expansion of the renewability level of the 
Brazilian electric energy matrix.

Our teams are developing projects and initiatives 
to reduce consumption, maximize generation 
of renewable energy, and increase the energy 
efficiency of the production units.

RENEWABLE ENERGY:  
AVERAGE TRADING OF

167.2 MWm

HIGHER THAN THE AVERAGE 
CONSUMPTION OF ELECTRICITY IN  
THE MUNICIPALITY OF SANTOS (SP)*

Drying. Imperatriz Unit (Maranhão state).
Photo: Ricardo Teles 

*   Data from the Department of Infrastructure and Environment (SIMA) 

of the Government of the State of São Paulo (base year 2018).

The first year of the new Suzano  51

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Diego Costa Lima (at the back) and Victor Hugo de Proença Pinto. FuturaGene (Itapetininga - São Paulo state). Photo: Fotocontexto 

Our forests

In forestry operations, we also carried out, in 
2019, a series of initiatives that allowed for 
better structured processes, supported by 
a considerable volume of information from 
the former companies, with effective gains in 
productivity. Learn about some of our initiatives 
in this area. 

DIGITAL FOREST

In our forests, technological advances are also 
positively impacting productivity and sustainable 
management. In 2019, we consolidated the 
company’s eucalyptus genetic base into a single 
system, undoubtedly one of the largest in the 
world. Having quick and safe access to this genetic 
collection is an important competitive edge. 
With the merger, we significantly increased the 
variety of options for better allocation of our 
genetic materials, according to the specificities 
of each region. And that’s not all: supported by 

Suzano’s Digital area, we will soon optimize the 
clonal allocation process even further, in order 
to continuously increase the productivity of our 
planted forests, always seeking to produce more 
with less natural resources.

GMO

Specifically with regard to the use  
of genetically modified organisms 
(GMOs), Suzano and its subsidiaries 
conduct activities exclusively for 
research purposes and in areas 
outside the scope of certification, in 
compliance with all applicable laws, 
conventions and protocols.

To learn more, visit our  
Indicators Center.

52  Suzano Report 2019

HIGHLIGHTS

•   Suzano today has the largest genetic base 

(outside Australia) and the largest eucalyptus 
breeding program in the world. There are 
thousands of clones under evaluation and/
or conservation in the ecosystems where the 
company operates, which demonstrates our 
concern with the sustainability of the business.

•    We conducted detailed assessments of the 

water, carbon and energy cycles in eucalytptus 
plantations, which allowed us to understand 
the plant growth processes. From this point, we 
developed models to represent these processes, 
which are used to determine management 
practices, as well as assessing scenarios of risks 
that could impact productivity in company areas.

•    Suzano currently uses nearly 130 clones on 

a commercial scale, which ensures adequate 
genetic variability to minimize the risks 
inherent to climate change.

•    The new fertilization and conduction strategy for 

the second forest cycle was approved, with a review 
of its technical criteria, resulting in a significant cost 
reduction in the 2020 plantations.

•    One of the highlights in 2019 in the area of 

genetics and breeding was the completion of the 
“Rede Experimental Sinergia Suzano” (“Suzano’s 
Experimental Synergy Network”), composed 
of 18 experiments carried out in five units of 
the company. This unprecedented network of 
experiments brings together the best clones 
from the former companies, allowing them to 
be compared in all our operating environments, 
seeking new genetic options for these regions.

•    Suzano has a nutritional monitoring system for 

eucalytptus plantations that analyzes the stock 
of nutrients available in the soil. This information, 
when compared to the required nutrient demand 
for the entire eucalyptus cycle, allows us to 
recommend the amount of fertilizers required, 
per forest block, in order to achieve productivity 
goals while ensuring the sustainability of our soils 
in the short, medium and long terms.

•    We expanded our “outdoor laboratories” in the forest, 

to a network of 6 flux towers (Eddy Covariance 
system) that measure carbon, water and energy 
in the forest and to 11 experimental watersheds, 
monitored by environmental sensors. This allows 
us to monitor the growth of the forest in detail.

•    We have 87 weather stations, distributed across all 

of our forest management areas. With this structure, 
we developed the Suzano Weather Monitoring and 
Forecasting System, whose information is used 
to reduce uncertainty in forestry operations and 
evaluate different scenarios on the impacts of 
climate change on our forest management.

•    We have implemented a satellite imagery monitoring 

system to detect weed competition and damage to 
tree crowns in a corporate and standardized manner. 
This streamlined the identification of possible forest 
occurrences, allowing for active recovery actions. 

Anteater (tamanduá- 
bandeira). Três Lagoas Unit 
(Mato Grosso do Sul state).
Photo: Araquém Alcântara 

The first year of the new Suzano  53

 
Eucalyptus harvest.
Três Lagoas Unit (Mato Grosso do Sul state).
Photo: Araquém Alcântara 

HARVESTING AND TRANSPORT  
TO MILLS
The Wood Supply Optimization project is another 
good example of the technical contributions 
made by the Digital team to the forestry 
operation in 2019. Using agile methods, a 
solution was developed that uses artificial 
intelligence to optimize the process to plan and 
allocate resources for harvest and logistics. A 
pilot project was implemented at the units in 
the state of São Paulo exploring not only the 
forest-based synergy, but also the optimization 
of harvest and logistics freight between the 
Limeira, Suzano and Jacareí units.

Subsequently, the project was extended to 
the units in Aracruz (Espírito Santo state) and 
Mucuri (Bahia state), to optimize the maritime, 
rail and road modes and explore opportunities 
for harvest operation models, freight 
contracts, fleet synergy and, most importantly, 
optimization of the average radius. Based on 

a study that considered 23 million variables, 
the Digital team guided the development of 
a supply simulator that takes into account 
multiple business rules, assessing demand, 
quality characteristics, harvest and freight 
contracts, inventories, routes and several other 
variables and restrictions, to be implemented in 
2020 to optimize the average radius of access 
of wood to the mill across the country.

The state of São Paulo offers another good 
example: the wood that was supposed to 
go to the Suzano unit is now delivered to 
the Jacareí unit and vice versa, which creates 
opportunities in the mills due to the change 
in the type of raw material. The wood is 
being delivered, meeting several production 
criteria, and the tool helps us to optimize our 
forest asset, avoiding losses of material. The 
project will provide efficiency in processes 
and cost reduction in logistics estimated at 
approximately R$ 13 million.

54  Suzano Report 2019

OPERATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFICIENCY 
IN EUCALYTPTUS PLANTATIONS  [GRI 103-1, 103-2, 103-3]

In the integration stages of our forest units, we redesigned the entire 
forest occupation strategy, evaluated the best in each company and 
managed to exceed all the goals planned for synergies, with emphasis on 
the following initiatives:

1. FOREST PROTECTION
By unifying the best practices of both companies, we defined a strategy for 
controlling weeds, pests and diseases, considering the characteristics of each 
plot of our 1.3 million hectares of planted area. In integrated pest and disease 
management, the use of biological controls is one of the most important to 
protect our plantations. In 2019, we produced and released 50 million natural 
enemies of the pests that are characteristic of eucalyptus, resulting in a  
R$ 20 million reduction in forestry costs and in the use of pesticides.

Eucalyptus forest in 
Mucuri (Bahia state).
Photo: Ricardo Teles 

To learn about our management plans visit   
www.suzano.com.br/en/the-suzano/documents/.

The first year of the new Suzano  55

 
FIREFIGHTING 
According to the National Space Research 
Institute (INPE), in 2019, there were 197,634 
forest fire outbreaks in the country. In  
Suzano’s areas, the fires occured specially  
in the state of Maranhão, controlled with 
the support of our brigades and monitoring 
equipment in all company units.

A network of 110 observation towers spread 
across our forest areas enables early detection of 
forest fires. The use of this equipment reduced by 

30% the average response time for these incidents. 
In addition, we have 600 trained firefighters, a fleet 
equipped with kits for initial fire fighting, as well as 
water tank trucks and a CAF (compressed air foam) 
truck— and, using this technology, we are able to 
fight fires more effectively and reduce the volume 
of water used in the operations. We also engage 
neighboring communities through the Floresta 
Viva (Living Forest) Program, which provides 
information, raises awareness and makes available 
a communication channel for anyone to report fire 
outbreaks in our forests. 

           Our positioning regarding  

Brazilian biomes

The preservation of the Amazon is part of society’s main challenges to achieve climate 
balance, on which the forestry sector, our industry and all life on the planet depend. 
For this reason, throughout 2019, Suzano reiterated, through interviews with local 
and international newspapers and meetings with representatives of the Ministry of 
the Environment, its support to the protection of all Brazilian biomes and their rich 
biodiversity, supported by various practices and public commitments, including:

•  the company does not remove native vegetation. Our raw material comes exclusively 

from commercial eucalyptus plantations (planted and harvested for this purpose), 
developed on our own or third parties’ farms. Our expansion of cultivation always occurs 
in areas that have already suffered human interference;

•   our forest base, of approximately 1.3 million hectares of planted areas, is supported by 

best management and cultivation practices;

•  we maintain approximately 900,000 hectares of preserved areas, which account for 

almost 40% of the company’s forest area and contribute to carbon sequestration and 
stock, preservation of biodiversity and regulation of the hydrological cycle, among other 
benefits. Considering the forest asset base alone, for each hectare planted, we have 
approximately 0.70 hectares set aside for conservation.

•  we contribute to the restoration of native forests, including headwater areas.

56  Suzano Report 2019

2. ADVANCES IN WOOD LOGISTICS 
In 2019, Suzano launched the Hexatrem— 
the world’s first trailer truck with six semi-
trailers. This innovation, implemented 
for wood transportation among the 
forests in Três Lagoas (Mato Grosso do 
Sul state), represents important advances 
in logistics modes, as it removes trucks 
from the highways, concentrates a greater 
amount of raw material on the same trip and, 
thereby, reduces costs and CO2 emission to the 
atmosphere, since the equivalent fuel consumption 
is lower per cubic meter of timber transported. All of 
this technology is also associated with a traffic control 
center that aims to ensure an effective and efficient 
management of all of our wood transportation.   

Another advance in logistics was the capture of 
synergies in freight contracting models, fleet sharing 
and operational experiences. Suzano has over 1,000 
trailer trucks in operation in the country for the trans-
portation of wood and the sharing of these structures 
among its various units—such as Aracruz (Espírito 
Santo state) and Mucuri (Bahia state) and units in the 
State of São Paulo (Limeira, Suzano and Jacareí)—made 
it possible to reduce Capex in assets and Opex in freight 
costs. In addition, with the synergies, we managed to 
share projects such as the aforementioned Hexatrem, 
the super light trailer trucks to reduce total gross 
weight, and incremental improvements obtained over 
the years, such as evolution in payload (volume per 
vehicle ), cycle productivity and diesel consumption.

EFFICIENCY OF WOOD TRANSPORTATION  
PER CO2eq EMISSION WITH HEXATREM

1,370.27 m3/tCO2eq

Pre Project

Post Project

569.39 m3/tCO2eq

0.0018 tCO2eq/m3

0.0007 tCO2eq/m3

Hexatrem. Três Lagoas Unit  
(Mato Grosso do Sul state).
Photo: Suzano Image Bank 

THE HEXATREM IS  

52 meters 

LONG AND HAS CAPACITY  
TO TRANSPORT UP TO  

200 tons

OF EUCALYPTUS LOGS  
IN ONE HAUL. IT TRAVELS 
ONLY ON ROADS WITHIN 
SUZANO’S PROPERTIES

Considering the introduction of the 
Hexatrem for the new wood transportation 
model in Três Lagoas (Mato Grosso do Sul 
state), which also counts on Tritrem and 
Pentatrem, our efficiency in cubic meters 
of wood transported per tCO2eq released 
increased by 140% or 2.4 times.

The first year of the new Suzano  57

 
3. WATER RESOURCES IN  
THE FOREST
The intelligent use of water is a priority in 
Suzano’s investments, as we understand that 
this is an important natural resource for the 
balance of the ecosystems and for the continuity 
of our business. In this sense, we perform 
regular measurements of quali-quantitative 
parameters of the main watersheds in which 
we operate and adopt forest management 
technologies that favor the efficient use of 
water resources within these watersheds, which 
helps us reduce the risks of water shortage in 
neighboring operations and communities.

Also, in order to advance its processes and  
improve the notion that natural resources can  
and should be harmoniously shared with other 
users, Suzano has made a long-term commitment 
to implement specific actions in watersheds 
identified as critical, seeking to increase water 
availability in these locations. The assessment 
of supply and possible water scarcity is being 
conducted considering a historical hydrological 
records, as well as environmental and social 
characteristics of all watersheds in Suzano’s  
forest base. The results, to be released in 2020, 
will be used to prepare the baseline to gauge the 
evolution of this long-term goal.

Carlos Eduardo Scardua, Almir Rogerio da Silva and Rodolfo Araújo Loos, Forest Ecophysiology. Aracruz Unit (Espírito Santo state). Photo: Márcio Schimming 

58  Suzano Report 2019

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Purple-breasted parrot.
Mucuri Springs Project. 
Photo: Ricardo Teles 

4. CONSERVATION AND 
RESTORATION INITIATIVES
Suzano currently has approximately 900,000 
hectares of conservation areas, i.e., almost 
40% of its total area set aside for this purpose. 
In addition to complying with preservation 
laws, we voluntarily defined 69 areas as having 
high conservation value, known as HCVAs, 
totaling 58,000 hectares. These are areas 
in which we recognize important social and 
environmental attributes, such as the presence 
of endangered, rare and endemic species; 
extension of well-preserved forest fragments 
and rare/endangered ecosystems; and areas 
that provide environmental services, among 
others (including sociocultural characteristics).

The protection of conservation areas, which 
represent different types of ecosystems  
and are located along rivers and among 
eucalytptus plantations, forming a mosaic 
landscape, reinforces our commitment to 
reducing adverse environmental impacts and 
improving the quality of the environment. 
Our forestry activities follow the Forest 

Management Plans, which describe forestry 
operations, available resources, practices  
and procedures adopted to sustainably 
achieve management objectives in the  
short, medium and long terms.

In 2019, we established an internal working 
group to address the topic of conservation 
and biodiversity in order to define 
integrated strategies, optimize and expand 
the sharing of practices and knowledge, 
in addition to enabling partnerships with 
NGOs and other institutions.

We also have in place specific procedures 
to conduct and analyze forest restoration, 
protecting areas and monitoring biodiversity. 
The environmental aspects and impacts 
related to the production processes are 
mapped and are supported by control and 
mitigation actions. For more details on 
these procedures, see the public summary 
of the management plan for our units at 
https://www.suzano.com.br/en/the-suzano/
documents/.  

The first year of the new Suzano  59

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Monitoring of biodiversity within our areas 
totals more than 2,700 records of plant,  
bird and mammalian species, including new  
and other endangered species. Wildlife and 
flora are frequently controlled in partnership 
with NGOs and universities, in order to learn 
about, identify and monitor the development 
of biodiversity in the regions where the 
company operates.

In addition, Suzano has a significant Environmental  
Restoration Program to regenerate degraded 
areas and recover native forests. Currently,  
the areas under restoration maintained by  

the company are located within three  
critical biomes in Brazil —Atlantic Rainforest,  
Cerrado and Amazon— and total 31,200 
hectares, with almost 11 million seedlings 
planted in in different areas. By 2050, these 
areas are expected to sequester close to  
10,07 million tCO2e from the atmosphere, 
thereby contributing to restore the planet’s 
climate balance. Our restoration activities also 
help generate various environmental services, 
such as improvements in water quality and 
availability, soil conservation, control of  
pests and diseases, and increase in wildlife  
and flora biodiversity.

Mucuri River (Bahia state). 
Photo: Ricardo Teles

60  Suzano Report 2019

 
Mucuri  
Springs 

Conducted since 2017 by Suzano, the project 
called Nascentes do Mucuri (Mucuri Springs) 
encourages the protection of the springs of the 
Mucuri River and its surroundings, thereby promoting 
the perpetuity of this water resource so valuable for 
maintaining the ecosystem services in the region, which 
even has remnants of the Atlantic Rainforest, one of the most 
diverse biomes on the planet. The river originates in the northeast region 
of the state of Minas Gerais and discharges in the South of the state of 
Bahia, extending for 446 kilometers in an area of approximately 15,400 
square kilometers and a population of 537,000.

The project promotes environmental education and training of local 
producers to consolidate a culture of preservation in the region. In 2019, 
we continued to evolve and improve the Nascentes do Mucuri Project, 
reassessing its focus and methodology. In this sense, more than 20 families 
started the Agroecological Transition Plan, a methodology of Suzano’s Rural 
Land Development Program (PDRT - Programa de Desenvolvimento Rural 
Territorial), a consolidated practice in several regions of the country. With 
this improvement, we believe we can generate greater economic, food and 
environmental security in properties in the Northeast situated in the state 
of Minas Gerais, where the Mucuri River basin is located.

Nilton Rafael dos Santos 
Rodrigues and Ronaro 
Figueiredo de Aquino, from 
Escola Família Agrícola do 
Setubal EFASET.  
Mucuri Springs Project. 
Photo: Ricardo Teles 

151 SPRINGS  

UNDER RESTORATION

960 SEEDLINGS 

PLANTED

1,525 HOURS 

DEDICATED TO SOCIAL AND 
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION 

543 PEOPLE  

ENGAGED

402 RURAL 

PROPERTIES   
VISITED

The first year of the new Suzano  61

 
 
Aracruz Unit (Espírito Santo state). Photo: Márcio Schimming

CLIMATE CHANGE 
[GRI 103-1, 103-2, 103-3]

Suzano’s strategic performance in relation to climate 
change goes far beyond measuring and reducing  
its greenhouse gas emissions. The company 
increasingly invests in strategies, processes and 
people, seeking to achieve a level of excellence that 
allows it to increasingly influence the sector and 
society to kick off a low-carbon economy.

After extensive consolidation, analysis and 
projection work throughout 2019, in early 2020 
we reached an important milestone: the release of 
our two public targets focused on climate (read 
more about these commitments on page 88). This 
step was taken at a time when climate is changing 
faster than expected and its effects have been 
clearly felt around the world. Although positive 
measures are being taken across an ever-widening 
spectrum, we know that much more ambitious 
plans and accelerated actions are needed to 
globally mitigate and adapt this issue. 

Thus, our goals, which are consistent with science, 
have also been structured in a more substantial 
way compared to the Paris Agreement goals. 
One such goal is to be climate positive, on a 
large scale, by 2030. In other words, we will go 
beyond achieving net zero carbon emissions 
to actually create an environmental benefit by 

removing additional carbon from the atmosphere, 
considering not only direct emissions, but also 
indirect emissions (outside the scope of control). 

In addition, the topic is considered material 
and classified as a priority risk in Suzano’s risk 
matrix. Its representativeness in our business is 
so significant that the responsibility for this topic 
goes beyond the Sustainability Department, which 
is regularly discussed in other broader forums, such 
as the Sustainability Committee and the Board of 
Directors. In 2019, we carried out a reporting exercise 
according to the guidelines of the Task Force on 
Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) and  
this detail is available in our Indicators Center.

Numerous measures are adopted throughout 
our production chain, related to processes to 
adapt to and mitigate climate change. In terms of 
adaptation, we continue to invest in the use of 
biotechnology to select more resilient seedlings,  
in the use of modeling based on climate scenarios, 
as well as monitoring, research, and primary  
data analysis to prepare recommendations  
for prospecting new sites, fertilization,  
irrigation and management. 

In terms of mitigating negative impacts, a series 
of projects and initiatives aiming at efficiency 
are implemented in the logistics, forestry and 

62  Suzano Report 2019

industrial processes (many already covered 
throughout this report) in addition to ongoing 
investments in energy efficiency, always focused 
on maximizing the use of renewable sources rather 
than fossil sources. We also have one of the largest 
forest bases and one of the largest protected areas 
in Brazil (approximately 900,000 hectares), which 
directly contributes to a significant removal and 

storage of existing carbon dioxide (CO2) in the 
atmosphere, exceeding the benefits of reducing 
emissions from our processes.

Learn more about the results and 
methodologies used in this process 
at the Indicators Center.

 Greenhouse Gas Inventory

Throughout 2019, we devoted significant effort to unifying bases and methodologies to 
develop Suzano’s first Greenhouse Gas Inventory. At the same time, we are also dedicated to 
automating a large part of this process, which involves collecting vast amounts of data at once, 
thus reducing the need to mobilize teams and the possibility of human error while ensuring 
accuracy, traceability of information and agility. This inventory was externally verified according 
to the standards of NBR ISO 14064 and the Brazilian GHG Protocol Program.

Suzano’s total absolute emissions (scopes 1, 2 and 3) totaled 3.724 million tCO2e and forest 
base net removal1 of 15.476 million tCO2e, of which 3.345 million tCO2e were from native areas. 
Thus, from a balance standpoint, we had a higher volume of removals compared to emissions, 
reaching negative net emissions of 11.751 million tCO2e. This volume is equivalent to almost all 
annual emissions by light automobiles and motorcycles in the State of São Paulo2.

5

0

-5

-10

-15

-20

BALANCE 2019

3.72

-11.75

-15.48

2019

e
2
O
C
t
n
o

i
l
l
i

M

E1 + E2 + E3 Emissions

Balance for the forest base 

Suzano’s balance for the year 

1  Calculated by stock difference, which represents the balance between forest carbon flows in the atmosphere (removals by the growth of native and 

eucalyptus trees, and emissions from the harvest of eucalyptus wood).

2  Source: Report of the Environmental Company of the State of São Paulo (CETESB) on Vehicle Emissions of the State of São Paulo in 2018.  
Visit: https://cetesb.sp.gov.br/veicular/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2020/02/Relatório-Emissões-Veiculares-no-Estado-de-São-Paulo-2018.pdf.

The first year of the new Suzano  63

 
 
Planting of seedlings. Forestry. Aracruz Unit.
Photo: Araquém Alcântara 

The suppliers

[GRI 102-9, 102-43, 103-1, 103-2, 103-3]

Suzano has a structured supplier management 
and qualification process based on its Culture 
Drivers as well. This management includes a 
series of activities to guarantee not only the 
supply of products and services, but also a 
relationship based on ethics and integrity with 
these fundamental links of our value chain. In 
our supplier performance evaluation process, 
which is audited internally and externally, 
Technical Quality, Safety, Environment and 
Social requirements are applied to 100% of 
critical suppliers.

Suzano considers as critical those suppliers of 
inputs and continuous services (performing 
services for longer than 90 days on company 
premises) that could have significant impacts 
on quality, on process performance, on safety 
and equipment integrity, on the environment, 
and on the health and safety of employees. As 

a result, these suppliers may be classified under 
degree of “excellence”, “approved”, “approved with 
restrictions”, or “not approved”. Also, with regard to 
the commitments and pacts we assumed, 100% of 
the suppliers hired by the Procurement area agree 
with the Terms of Commitment and Legal and 
Social and Environmental Responsibility Standards 
adopted by Suzano. This group accounts for 5% 
of the company’s total number of suppliers and 
corresponds to 36% of the purchasing budget. 
Thus, different measures are in place to ensure a 
good relationship with these suppliers and reduce 
the risk of irregularities on their end.

Concerning social criteria, this analysis involves 
all scopes of supply and only those approved 
proceed to the next stages of the process, until 
registration is completed. In 2019, 100% of 
Suzano’s new suppliers were hired based on 
social criteria.

64  Suzano Report 2019

With regard to the development of local suppliers, Suzano conducts some programs in 
place in specific units:

•   Supplier Development and Qualification 

Program (Mato Grosso do Sul state): 
also known as PQF, this program 
aims to adapt micro, small and 
medium-sized enterprises to both 
basic management requirements and 
international standards for negotiating 
with large industries. Suzano is one of 
the sponsors of the Program, which is 
intended for any supplier, not only those 
that work for the company.

•     Integrated Supplier Development 

and Qualification Program (Espírito 
Santo state): a joint action by the main 
companies operating in Espírito Santo 
to promote, in an integrated manner, 
the development and qualification of 
their suppliers of goods and services. 
This program, also known as Prodfor, has 
the participation of important sponsor 
companies installed in the state, which 
rely on the support of the Federation of 
Industries of the State of Espírito Santo 
(FINDES), and coordination of the Euvaldo 
Lodi Institute (IEL-ES). Suzano is one of 

the sponsors of Prodfor, which is intended 
for any supplier, not only those that work 
for the company.

•   Development of local partners (Bahia 

state): the purpose of the program, in 
partnership with SEBRAE, the Brazilian 
institution for supporting SMEs, is to 
promote the sustainability of the supply 
chain in the regions where we operate, 
focusing on micro and small enterprises, 
expanding the qualification of our local 
partners, and encouraging the adoption  
of best management practices and 
principles of legal and social and 
environmental responsibility adopted  
by Suzano. The supplier development 
program covers topics such as 
Entrepreneurship, Financial and 
Business Management and Taxation, 
Legal Responsibility and Social and 
Environmental Principles, and our Culture 
Drivers. This is a pilot project that started 
at the Bahia unit, but it is under approval 
to be extended, already in 2020, to other 
states where the company operates.

Click here for other 
indicators related to 
Suzano’s suppliers.

The first year of the new Suzano  65

 
The communities     

In early 2019, we invested in mapping projects and strengthening 
relationships with communities in order to fulfill the 
commitments already undertaken and to evolve, as the new 
Suzano. The frequent, transparent and close dialogue continued 
to be the basis of the relationship with approximately 150 
communities. This number exceeds by 30% the sum of the former 
two companies combined (Suzano Papel e Celulose and Fibria) in 
relation to previous years. In 2019, we reached the milestone of 
ensuring 32,000 people were above the poverty threshold due to 
our social projects – a result of many years of work.

Education and income generation were consolidated as priority 
topics in our social development work, carried out directly 
by 30 company employees and 100 third-party professionals 
in different locations across the country. Our work begins by 
identifying the vocation of the communities so that we can work 
on projects that are related to that specific vocation and, thus, 
generate a high capacity for empowerment, financial autonomy 
and, consequently, quality of life. In 2020, we will advance our 
Regional Social Development strategy reflecting the long-term 
commitments presented on page 88.  

         Operacional Dialogue

Suzano’s harvest operations change the routine of communities around 
the forest areas. Therefore, before, during and after the harvest period, 
we promote an Operational Dialogue in these locations. This form 
of relationship involves our Forestry and Social Development team, 
community leaders and representatives of the Government, thus enabling 
sharing information on forest management activities scheduled for the 
region, as well as the possibility of jointly identifying positive and negative 
impacts and propose mitigation and improvement actions. As a result, 
we have in place a thorough action plan: mapping of responsibilities, 
deadlines and proof of evidence, in addition to assessing effectiveness. 
After performing these actions, a satisfaction survey is conducted within 
the community involved.

66  Suzano Report 2019

Eliete Montanha da Silva, participant in the PDRT in the 20 de Março Settlement.
Três Lagoas Unit (Mato Grosso do Sul state). Photo: Araquém Alcântara 

CHALLENGES IN THE RELATIONSHIP WITH COMMUNITIES

Historically, the company’s relationship with land rights movements has been relevant and 
challenging. In 2019, the dialogue continued, especially where there were disagreements. 
Ongoing initiatives have progressed, such as the construction of the Egídio Brunheto 
School of Agroecology, in partnership with the Landless Workers Movement (MST - 
Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra), in the municipality of Prado (Bahia 
state), which is scheduled to open in June 2020. In addition, investments continued in 
the Sustainable Settlements Program, in partnership with the Luiz de Queiroz School of 
Agriculture (Esalq) of the University of São Paulo (USP) and with the Landless Workers’ 
Movement (MST), benefiting nearly 800 families in 5 settlements in the Far South of 
the state of Bahia, who have been producing in the agroforestry system for five years, 
contributing to the local economy by mobilizing around R$ 15 million per year1. 

See below some of our main programs.

1  Information provided by Esalq-USP.

The first year of the new Suzano  67

 
RURAL LAND DEVELOPMENT 
PROGRAM (PDRT)
Launched in 2012, the PDRT has become a widely 
recognized program for enhancing rural activities in 
each region with support in the form of technical 
assistance in three areas: management, production 
and commerce through participating associations 
and cooperatives. The Program follows the 
principles of agroecology, increases family income, 
promotes access to public policies and, ultimately, 
improves the quality of life for producers. 

HIGHLIGHTS IN  2019

•   Beginning of the PDRT in communities in the 

states of Maranhão, Tocantins and Pará.

•    PDRT shortlisted for the Social Innovation Award 

of the Economic Commission for Latin America 
and the Caribbean (ECLAC/UN).

•    Start of operation of the Aracruz Family Farmers 

Cooperative (Espírito Santo state).

NUMBERS IN 2019

•    3,931 families benefitted in more than  

30 municipalities in the states of Bahia,  
Espírito Santo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Maranhão, 
and São Paulo.

•   20,139 tons of food produced.
•   More than R$ 49 million sold by beneficiary 

associations through several fronts, such  
as the National School Food Program (PNAE -  
R$ 2,633,778.01); Food Acquisition Program 
(PAA - R$ 756,260.90); at local farmers’ markets 
(R$ 6,414,523.74); and other channels such 
as restaurants, food baskets of family farming 
products, supermarkets and intermediaries, 
represented an additional R$ 40 million. There 
are more than 4.000 participating families, 
guaranteeing their food safety and feeding their 
communities with agroecological products.

•   Average monthly income per beneficiary is    

R$ 1,125.111, obtained by participants as of 
their second year with the Program, since in the 
first year the emphasis is on food safety. As of 
the second year, the focus is on the autonomous 
production bases and diversification of sales. 
Depending on their time with the program, on 
the region where they are located, and on the 
characteristics of the communities, the average 
monthly income can vary between R$ 600.00 and 
R$ 4,500.00. 

Claudio Olímpio and Jocileia Sena 
Santos, participants in PDRT in 
Caravelas (Bahia state).
Photo: Araquém Alcântara 

1  To calculate the average income per beneficiary, 3,669 beneficiaries were considered, as follows:  

São Paulo - 247; Mato Grosso do Sul - 1,065; Espírito Santo - 626 ; Bahia - 1,300; and Maranhão - 431 

68  Suzano Report 2019

Colmeia (beehive).  
Photo: Mario Schimming

COLMEIAS (BEEHIVES)
The purpose of the Program is to strengthen 
the beekeeping chain in the regions where 
we operate, contributing to generation of 
income, improvement of quality of life and 
environmental conservation. Through this 
initiative, participants have access to the 
company’s beekeeping pasture (areas reforested 
with eucalyptus), as well as investments in infra-
structure, equipment and necessary supplies. 
Beekeepers, associations and cooperatives 
are supported by technical teams that offer 
quality Technical Assistance and Rural Extension 
services. Today, the Beehives program is in place 
in the states of São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, 
Maranhão, Espírito Santo and Bahia.

HIGHLIGHTS IN 2019

•    Integration of existing beekeeping initiatives in 

the regions where the two companies operated 
and consolidation of practices and processes 
into a single methodology.

NUMBERS IN 2019

•   More than 1,000 beekeepers  

participating in the Program.

•   42 organized groups of beekeepers in 

associations or cooperatives in five states.

•   296 tons of honey produced within Suzano’s 

areas. In São Paulo alone, Colmeias is responsible 
for 30% of the State’s honey production (data 
from the São Paulo Beekeeping Federation 
and from the São Paulo State Department of 
Agriculture).

•     Largest private beekeeping program in the 

country in terms of regions and number of 
participants (data from the Brazilian Beekeeping 
Association - CBA).

•    More than 70% of the organizations have 

undergone training in management and are in 
the process of adapting to the new Regulatory 
Framework for the Third Sector (MROSC), which 
facilitates access to public policies and new 
markets for commercialization.

•   70% of the production within the company’s 

areas is organic, i.e., it has certification attesting 
that the product is 100% natural and free from 
any contamination. The entire production is 
exported to countries in North America, Europe 
and Asia, with China as the main destination. 

•   The average productivity  of beekeepers served 

by the program is 21 kilos of honey per hive/
year, higher than the Brazilian average, which is 
15 kilos (CBA data). 

The first year of the new Suzano  69

 
SUSTAINABLE EXTRACTIVISM
The Program aims to strengthen extractivist groups of non-timber forest 
products and the preservation of traditional practices, supporting management, 
production and marketing of various products, mainly from the babassu nut 
and açaí, including mesocarp flour, babassu oil and açaí pulp, in addition to 
handicrafts using these raw materials. 

Since 2015, the program has been carried out in partnership with community 
associations, the Chico Mendes Institute (ICMBio) and the Community 
Development Council of the Babassu Nut Breakers of Estrada do Arroz, in the 
state of Maranhão. In 2019, the association called Associação dos Agroextrativistas 
Familiares e Solidários do Povoado Km 1700 was also integrated to the Program, in 
the municipalities of Imperatriz, Cidelândia and Davinopolis (Maranhão state) and 
Carrasco Bonito (Tocantins state). 

HIGHLIGHTS IN 2019

•    Nut Breakers project selected by the program called Small Grants Program 

on Amazon (PPP-Ecos). It is a program to support community projects, with 
operations in 125 countries, financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) 
and implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

•    Implementation of the Pindowa Project, with 1,000 hours of training 

workshops on handicrafts for the production of various items such as soaps, 
babassu straw baskets, among other items. The highlight of the Project was the 
display of the products at the 2nd edition of the exhibition called Mostra Matriz 
Brasileira, held in São Paulo, in December 2019.

•   Monitoring of and technical assistance provided by PDRT to babassu and 

açaí agroextractivist families.

Products from  
the Sustainable.
Imperatriz Unit  
(Maranhão state).
Photo: Fernando Soares 

70  Suzano Report 2019

Antônia Francisca de Castro. Sustainable Extractivism Project. Imperatriz Unit (Maranhão state). Photo: Fernando Soares 

NUMBERS IN 2019
Açaí:
Information on revenue generated is 
preliminary, obtained through interviews with 
family units in the community and considering 
that in each household has more than one 
family depending on the extraction of this fruit. 

•  1 comunidade 1 community served.
•  156 açaí extractivist families benefited.
•  Nearly R$ 2.8 million is the revenue generated 

by the Program.

•  Average monthly income of approximately  

R$ 1,500.00 per family. 

Babassu nut breakers::  
Technical assistance to the women nut 
breakers project began in 2019, through  
the PDRT. With this, greater results will be 
obtained from the program as of 2020.

•    7 communities benefited.
•    121 families served by the Program.
•    35 families in the Pindowa Project.
•    Sale of crafts produced in the first months 

of the Pindowa Project: R$ 384.59/family 
(result from participation in the 2nd exhibit 
‘Mostra Matriz Brasileira’). 

The first year of the new Suzano  71

 
Craft Workshop, part of the Tupiniquim  
and Guarani Sustainability Program.  
Aracruz Unit (Espírito Santo state).
Photo: Suzano Image Bank 

REGIONAL SUSTAINABILITY
Agroecology, meliponiculture, handicrafts and 
education. Through these activities, we nurture 
coexistence between Suzano and neighboring 
Indigenous communities in the States of 
Espírito Santo, Mato Grosso do Sul and Bahia, 
in order to reestablish the necessary conditions 
to exercise their socio-cultural habits, affirm 
their ethnic identity and engage in sustainable 
economic practices. 

NUMBERS IN 2019

served.

• 3,000 families
•   31 villages. 
•   5 different ethnicities. 

72  Suzano Report 2019

RESPONSIBLE NETWORK
Shares information, products, resources and 
services. Through this network, individuals, 
companies that are part of Suzano’s production 
chain, social organizations and governments can 
invest in strengthening social and environmental 
initiatives for the development of communities 
where the company operates. In this program, we 
guide and engage the communities to participate 
in various grants for government funding.

NUMBERS IN 2019

•  198 forms of financing, between partners and 

grants, 46 of which are new. 

•  R$ 26 million million was the amount raised.

SUZANO EDUCATION PROGRAM
In 2019, Suzano ended its participation in 
the program called Programa Parceria pela 
Valorização da Educação (PVE - Partnership 
for the Advancement of Education), an 
initiative of the Votorantim Institute, held in 
25 municipalities that received support from 
the company. The PVE is being replaced by 
the Suzano Education Program, which will be 
launched in the first half of 2020 and will have 
as technical partner the Comunidade Educativa 
(CEDAC), formed by reference professionals 
in the field of education. The methodology is 
being developed by the Suzano team, partners 
and specialists in the area. 

 
VOLUNTARIAR (VOLUNTEER)
This Program was created almost 20 years ago 
to encourage employees, service providers, 
family members and partners to be agents of 
change in society through initiatives aimed 
mainly at education. In 2019, the Program 
also contributed to strengthening the 
culture of the new Suzano. Learn more about 
Volunteer initiatives:

FORMARE
Developed in partnership with the Iochpe Foundation 
since 2005, Formare provides professional education 
for young adults in socially vulnerable situations 
and their training for the job market. The course 
offered is to train Production Process Operators and 
takes place at the Suzano (São Paulo state), Mucuri 
(Bahia state) and Imperatriz (Maranhão state) units. 

28%  

OF THE MANAGERS 
PARTICIPATED IN  
THE ACTIONS OF THE 
VOLUNTARIAR PROGRAM

NUMBERS IN 2019

•   68 young adults trained.
•   174 people benefited.
•   549 volunteers involved.
•   More than 35 operational areas contributing 

to the practical training process: pulp, paper, 
logistics, maintenance, forestry, project 
engineering, environment, and laboratory.

Formare’s Class of 2018. Suzano Unit (São Paulo state).
Photo: Ricardo Teles 

•   35 graduates hired.

The first year of the new Suzano  73  73 

 
Suzano at School. Três Lagoas Unit (Mato Grosso do Sul state). Volunteers standing: Mônica Pereira Catania and Daiana 
de Lira Pedroso. Photo: Suzano image bank 

SUZANO AT SCHOOL
Stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit of young adults 
in school and share knowledge and experiences in 
order to broaden their vision for the job market 
and the business world. This is the objective of 
the project Suzano na Escola (Suzano At School), 
developed in partnership with Junior Achievement 
since 2009. The Project is carried out in the States 
of São Paulo, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, 
Maranhão, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Pará. 

NUMBERS IN 2019

•   Programs implemented: Mini-company,  

Posto da Mata (Bahia state); The Future  
of Work, in Imperatriz (Maranhão state), 
Limeira (São Paulo state), Belém (Pará state), 
and Três Lagoas (Mato Grosso do Sul state); 
The Advantages of Staying in School in  
Belém (Pará state); and JA Startup at the  
Office in São Paulo (São Paulo state).

•   5 schools served: in the units of Três  

Lagoas (Mato Grosso do Sul state) and  
Belém (Pará state), children and family 
members of employees and service  
providers were served.

•   291 students benefited.

74  Suzano Report 2019

•   150 volunteers involved.
•    13 classes served.

JA STARTUP
In São Paulo, we conducted a pilot project,  
JA Startup, in partnership with Junior Achievement 
and StartSe. The program encourages the creation 
of disruptive business models, introducing young 
people to modern concepts of entrepreneurship and 
useful tools for the development of innovative ideas. 
Over the course of eight meetings, 25 students from 
the State Technical School (ETEC) Guaracy Silveira 
were challenged to create startups, seeking to solve 
a given everyday problem. More than 28 volunteer 
employees guided and coached the students 
throughout the development of the idea.

Participants in JA Startup presented their pitches to 
a panel of judges and competed for the Best Pitch 
Award. The winning startup was Agroconnect, which 
developed an agribusiness sales app, connecting 
farmers to the market through technology.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL ACTIONS  
We performed several mobilization initiatives 
in partnership with public agencies and social 
institutions. In 2019, we launched Voluntariar em 

      
Ação (Volunteer in Action), a movement that 
seeks to strengthen the culture of volunteering at 
Suzano and recognize the dedication of people 
who work for the common good. In its first year, 
more than 400 volunteers supported us in these 
actions, benefiting more than 18,000 people.

NUMBERS IN 2019

•   1,853 voluntary employees engaged (13% of 

the company’s total number of employees). 
When considering the participation of service 
providers, family members and partners, this 
number rises to 2,885 people.

•   24 participating units.
•   23 initiatives developed. 
•   41,588 people benefited.
•   28% of the managers participated in the 

actions promoted by Voluntariar.

Investment in  
Raul Brasil School

Income and decent education for all is 
one of the causes advocated by Suzano. 
Therefore, in 2019, the company, 
together with the Ecofuturo Institute, 
other companies and the government 
of the State of São Paulo, integrated the 
restoration project of the Raul Brasil 
State School, with a joint investment of 
R$ 2.7 million. Located in Suzano (São 
Paulo state), the School was invaded by 
two former students in March, who killed 
7 people and left another 11 injured. The 
episode had serious consequences for the 
school spirit and environment, and the 
project seeks to enable a new relationship 
between students and the school, 
benefiting about 2,300 students. 

Guilherme Moro Neto. Forest 
Environment Analyst and planting 
volunteer in the Mucuri Springs Project.
Photo: Suzano image bank 

The first year of the new Suzano  75

      
 
Ecofuturo Institute

In 2019, the Ecofuturo Institute completed 
20 years of operation and was incorporated 
into the structure of Suzano’s Sustainability 
Department, aiming to intensify synergies and 
the development of social and environmental 
projects. A non-profit organization founded and 
sponsored by Suzano, Ecofuturo exists with the 
purpose of contributing to the transformation 
of society through environmental conservation 

and the promotion of reading, integrating 
people, books and nature and thus forming true 
readers of the world. To this end, the Institute 
is dedicated to the restoration and conservation 
of natural areas, social and environmental 
education reading incentive programs, based 
on the development of projects that nurture 
relationships, involve local communities and 
disseminate knowledge. Here are some of them:

Ecofuturo Community Library in Malacacheta (Minas Gerais state). Photo: Ecofuturo image bank 

76  Suzano Report 2019

    
     
Ecofuturo Institute

ECOFUTURO COMMUNITY  
LIBRARY PROJECT
Works to implement libraries in public 
schools, open to the community, in order 
to democratize access to books, foster  
the habit of reading and contribute to 
public policies on reading and libraries. 
We are one of the largest community 
library networks in Brazil. 

4 NEW  

LIBRARIES WERE OPENED,  
INCLUDING THREE IN THE STATE OF 
MINAS GERAIS, WHICH ARE PART  
OF THE NASCENTES DO MUCURI PROJECT 

NUMBERS IN 2019

•   3,500 new books on literature were donated 

for the initial collection.

•   268 people trained in free courses offered by 

the Project.

INCREASE IN THE IDEB IN THE MUNICIPALITIES
A survey by Metas Sociais consultancy showed 
that the municipalities that have Ecofuturo 
Community Libraries showed an improvement of 
7.8% in the Basic Education Development Index 
(Ideb) in Middle School, as well as a 2% higher 
index in Math Proficiency and 4.3% higher in 
Reading Proficiency, compared to cities of the 
same size, but which do not have Project libraries. 
In addition, the study pointed to a 4.2% increase 
in the approval rate of Middle School students, 
and 3.4% in Elementary Schools. A positive 
relationship between the presence of libraries 
and greater family participation in school life 
of students was also observed. To learn more 
about the survey, visit the Ecofuturo website: 
www.ecofuturo.org.br.

7.8%  

IMPROVEMENT IN THE  
BASIC EDUCATION 
DEVELOPMENT INDEX (IDEB) 
OF MUNICIPALITIES WITH 
COMMUNITY LIBRARIES  

The first year of the new Suzano  77

    
     
 
Michele Martins, Sustainability  
analyst at Ecofuturo Institute.
Ecofuturo by Pólen Space.
Photo: Ecofuturo Image Bank 

PARQUE DAS NEBLINAS
Ecofuturo manages this Suzano 

environmental reserve, located between 
Mogi das Cruzes and Bertioga (São Paulo state). 

Forest management and restoration activities, 
environmental education, scientific research, 
ecotourism and community participation are held 
there. With an area of 7,000 hectares, the park 
plays an important role in the conservation of the 
natural resources of the Serra do Mar in São Paulo, 
contributing to the protection of the Itatinga 
river basin and of the largest continuous Atlantic 
Rainforest area in Brazil—the Serra do Mar State Park 
and the Serra of Paranapiacaba. Since 2006, the park 
has been recognized by UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere 
Program, as an Atlantic Rainforest Biosphere Reserve. 

NUMBERS IN 2019

•   120,000 juçara palm seeds, spread for the 

reintroduction of this species that is threatened 
with extinction.

•   4,800 ecotourists visiting the park.
•   Four Community Management Workshops for 

knowledge exchange, with the participation of 
130 rural landowners from the surroundings of 
the Park and from the Mogi das Cruzes region.

ECOFUTURO BY PÓLEN SPACES
This space was designed to be a place 
to encourage reading within Suzano’s 
operations. The goal is to contribute to the 
personal and professional development of 
employees. The São Paulo Office was the  
first location to offer the space, in 2019,  
and has about 250 books, followed by the  
unit in Rio Verde (São Paulo state).  
In 2020, this space will be implemented  
in other Suzano locations.

78  Suzano Report 2019

MY ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM
Held since 2010 in Parque das Neblinas 
(Neblinas Park) with educators and students 
from municipal schools in Bertioga, Mogi 
das Cruzes and Suzano (São Paulo state), 
Ecofuturo’s environmental education 
program promotes the appreciation of 
the natural environment as an educational 
space, stimulates reflection on social and 
environmental issues, and encourages the 
creation of projects and learning content 
involving nature. 

NUMBERS IN 2019

•   900 students involved.
•   Nearly 40 participating educators.

PROJECT WEAVING SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL 
KNOWLEDGE 
With the purpose of dialoguing, reflecting and 
acting, the Project was conducted throughout 
2019 through a process to raise awareness and 
train public school educators about environmental 
education, in order to foster debates and the 
participatory development of multidisciplinary 
projects related to this topic. In Malacacheta 
(Minas Gerais state), the Project integrated the 
Mucuri Springs initiatives and involved around 
120 teachers in ten schools. Based on this 
initiative, Ecofuturo fostered and instated a public 
policy in the municipal environmental law and 
the creation of the Municipal Interinstitutional  In 
Prado (Bahia state), 70 teachers from the public 
school network, involving 25 schools, in addition 
to educators from the Association of Parents 
and Friends of People with Intellectual and 
Developmental Disabilities (Apae) participated.

Neblinas Park (São Paulo state). Photo: Eliza Carneiro 

The first year of the new Suzano  79

 
In parallel with work to deliver synergies, integrate 

processes and systems, and build a new culture and 

performance at Suzano, throughout 2019 we also 

needed to answer many other existential questions. 

What bearing will this journey take from this point? 

What will the new Suzano be seeking? What will be 

its strategy and long-term vision? To answer these 

questions, we need to go beyond our walls and 

listen to our stakeholders. 

Vitoria Dayane Franca Logrado  
(Formare alumnus), intern at the  
Process Quality Laboratory.  
Imperatriz Unit (Maranhão state).  
Photo: Márcio Schimming 

The journey 

5continues

80  Suzano Report 2019

 
Greiciane Silva Costa, Process 
Quality Laboratory Analyst, in 
Imperatriz (Maranhão state).
Photo: Márcio Schimming 

The journey continues  81

continues

 
 
 
Building our purpose

Throughout 2019, employees, suppliers, communities, investors and many other 
audiences were consulted so we could jointly discuss the journey of this new Suzano.

In this sense, the company sought answers through consultations with its various 
stakeholders. And, right from the start, a great listening process was established  
so we could begin to define Suzano’s purpose. This process continues to advance  
and we hope to identify and reveal our purpose in 2020.

The inputs gathered from listening to our stakeholders also guided the preparation 
of our long-term and sustainability strategy. For the latter, we have further 
expanded our listening process (see page 86). Thus, the purpose and the  
long-term and sustainability strategy are the pillars for building the company  
we want to be in the future.

From left to right: Arnaldo Almeida Barroso, André Ricardo da Silva 
Macedo and Marvyn de Sousa Santiago, SDCD Industrial.
Imperatriz Unit (Maranhão state). Photo: Suzano Image Bank 

 Who did we listen to? [GRI 102-42]

MORE THAN

50

EMPLOYEES  
AT ALL LEVELS OF THE 

ORGANIZATION, IN PERSON

APPROXIMATELY

MORE THAN

3,000

EMPLOYEES 
THROUGH ONLINE 
SURVEYS

10

EXTERNAL PROFESSIONALS, 
INCLUDING LEADERS IN THE 

FORESTRY SECTOR, CUSTOMERS, NGOs 
AND COMMUNITIES, IN PERSON

THIS LISTENING PROCESS HAS 
BROUGHT VALUABLE INFORMATION. 
THE ONLINE SURVEY, FOR 
EXAMPLE, SHOWED THAT: 

WHAT MOTIVATES 
SUZANO’S EMPLOYEES THE 
MOST IS THE COMPANY’S  
commitment to nature 
and people 

37.8%

82  Suzano Report 2019

                   
STATEMENT OUR EMPLOYEES  
MOST AGREE WITH:
WE CAN ONLY BUILD A BETTER  
FUTURE (MORE JUST, INCLUSIVE  
AND SUSTAINABLE) IF WE ACT NOW  

89%

Phrase that best 
describes Suzano: 
ITS PRODUCTS ARE FROM 
RENEWABLE SOURCES 

77%

TERMS THAT BEST  
REPRESENT SUZANO:

77% 67%

 sustainability 

innovation

The journey continues  83

                   
 
Our long-term business 
strategy

As Suzano matured in the process of determining 
its reason for being and developing its 
sustainability strategy, the need to establish 
a business strategy capable of enabling the 
present and future of the new company became 
imminent. It was up to the Strategy area, 
especially dedicated to the creation of a more 
perennial and consistent planning culture for the 
company, to draw a parallel between long-term 
projects and Suzano’s ongoing search for greater 
competitiveness in daily decisions.

With the active participation of the leaders in all 
stages, Suzano built its Business Strategy in a 
three-level process, considering the company’s 
performance for the next 5, 10 and 15 years. 

On a first level is our long-term strategic 
vision. Prepared together with the members 
of the Executive Board, Strategy and 
Innovation Committee and the Board of 
Directors, this vision shows where Suzano 
wants to be 15 years from now.

Based on the unique long-term vision, 
senior management was responsible for 
breaking it down into five main medium-
term ambitions, intended to guide Suzano’s 
path over the next five years. These are 
the steps that will need to be followed to 
ensure the company’s success. 

84  Suzano Report 2019

          
LONG-TERM 
STRATEGIC VISION 

1 Continue being a benchmark 

in the sector in efficiency, 
profitability and sustainability, 
from the forest to the client.

2 Be a transformational  

agent in the expansion 
into new markets for our 
biomass.

3 Be a reference in sustainable 

and innovative solutions 
for bioeconomy and 
environmental services,  
based on planted trees.

Five main medium-term 
avenues to guide 
Suzano’s path over  
the next five years: 

Be  
“Best-in-Class”  
in the Total Cost  
of Pulp vision

Maintain  
relevance in pulp, 
through good 
projects

Advance  
in the links of 
the chain, always 
with competitive 
advantage

Expand
boldly into
New Markets

Play a leading role
in sustainability

The second level of work involved approximately 60 executives, including 
directors and managers. In order to achieve the five ambitions, this group 
reflected on what would be the most important battles to be won.     

For a total of 17 major battles mapped, we have defined close to 100 initiatives 
(third level of the strategy) that will be implemented in two phases —over the 
next five years and over the five years after that. Short— and long-term metrics 
and goals complement the work and are fundamental in the analysis of advances 
and eventual adjustments to the routes. Actions to communication and mobilize 
the internal audience to learn about the strategic vision, ambitions, battles and 
initiatives are already taking place in 2020.

The journey continues  85

          
 
Our sustainability strategy

In tandem with the definition of the 
purpose and business strategy, throughout 
2019 we worked on the process to build 
our sustainability strategy. 

We started a benchmarking process and 
defined that a fundamental aspect to build 
our strategy would be to actively listen to 
the various stakeholders.

WHO DID WE LISTEN TO IN ORDER TO DEVELOP 
OUR SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY?
[GRI 102-40, 102-42, 102-43, 102-44]

11

INTERVIEWS WITH  
SUZANO EXECUTIVE LEADERS

36 INTERVIEWS WITH 

STAKEHOLDERS,

REPRESENTING ORGANIZATIONS AND 
COMPANIES WITH WHICH SUZANO 
RELATES IN BRAZIL, THE UNITED STATES, 
EUROPE AND ASIA

ONLINE SURVEY WITH  

APPROXIMATELY 

200 PEOPLE

MEETINGS WITH   
              APPROXIMATELY

90 ORGANIZATIONS

We then initiated a face-to-face engagement 
phase: it was necessary to introduce in  
its business strategy the new Suzano and its 
intent to evolve in terms of sustainability.  

In this phase, the idea was to create a bond 
and explain about the path taken and the 
existing challenges, in order to capture 
insights, expectations and criticisms.

What did we do in  
this engagement phase?
•   Internal roadshow - dialogue with more than 750 employees; 
•    Follow-up interviews with 30 key stakeholders;
•   External roadshow - meetings with approximately 90 organizations 

in Brazil, the United States and Europe introducing Suzano and talking 
about the construction of the strategy, representing the diversity of 
stakeholders in our ecosystem, such as customers, NGOs, investors, 
academia and experts, amongst others. 

86  Suzano Report 2019

 
The third phase of this process was to consolidate the main topics mentioned 
and work on them in multidisciplinary groups in order to define their ambitions. 
The result of this work was the definition of our long-term public targets. These 
commitments were approved by the Executive Committee, the Sustainability 
Committee and the Board of Directors. In addition, during this work, we realized 
that our ambition aims at three horizons:

TRANSFORMATION OF THE PRESENT
Suzano looks to the future by caring 
for people and the environment of its 
business as usual, seeking to minimize 
negative impacts, maximize positive 
impacts and improve relationships  
in its value chain.

ENABLING THE TRANSITION TO 
THE BIOECONOMY
Suzano invests in the development of 
biosolutions, with innovation as the 
central point of its culture and with 
collective communication efforts to 
transform the way the company and 
its value chain is perceived.

n

t i o

R ela
tion of t h

s

Bioeconom

y

r e s e nt

e   p

  I

n

n

o

v

a

b

i
l

i

t

y

E

n

a

b

li

n

g

t

h

e

s
t
c
a
p
m

i

l
a
t
n
e
m
n

o

r

i

v

n

E

a
m
r
o
f
s
n
a
r

T

I

n

t

e

llig

e

nce

B

uilding the fu t u r e

Experimentati o n

t

r
a
n
s
i
t
i
o
n 

E
n
g
a
g
e
m
e
n
t

g t h ening

n

t r e

S

BUILDING THE FUTURE
Suzano remains tuned to global 
trends that could pose risks and 
introduce opportunities for its 
business model and for society, 
and tests new possibilities based 
on innovation, aiming to make 
the business viable at scale and 
resilient in the long-term.

The journey continues  87

 
 
 
 
 
Sustainability Strategy

[GRI 103-1, 103-2, 103-3]

To be a leader and agent of transformation in the 
combined development of innovative and sustainable 
solutions contributing to tackle society’s challenges.   

This strategy is based on six fundamental assumptions:

•   Integrated to the business;
•   driven by innovability;
•   transparent and fostering dialogue;
•   generating of shared value;
•   in our daily life;
•   systemic and cross-cutting.

LONG-TERM GOALS 

Eucalyptus seedling.
Photo: Suzano image bank

As a result of this journey, we have assumed long-term goals for this moment that the UN calls 
“The Decade of Action” (from 2020 to 2030)1.

Monitoring of the execution and achievement of objectives will be under the responsibility of the 
Executive Board, the Sustainability Committee and the Board of Directors. It is worth mentioning 
that most of the topics above are part of the goals of the company’s senior management 
(Executive Directors and Managers). The diversity and inclusion goal will be shared by all company 
executives in 2020. The evolution in performance of each of our commitments will be published 
annually in our Report.

   SDG

   GOAL

  DRIVERS

Replace plastics and 
petroleum derivatives:  
offer 10 million tons of 
products from renewable 
sources

Due to its intrinsic versatility and renewable origin, our products 
are viable alternatives to fossil-based composites, stimulating, 
consequently, the increment of a low-carbon economy. Such 
investments are necessary to help combat the climate crisis  
and are completely connected to our business.

Even more climate 
positive: remove an 
additional 40 million 
tons of carbon from the 
atmosphere (carbon 
capture - scopes 1, 2  
and 3 emissions)

With a forest base of approximately 2.2 million hectares of trees 
that capture carbon, we understand our role in combating the 
climate crisis. For this reason, we are committed to going beyond 
the neutralization of our direct emissions and the emissions of 
our chain, also working for an additional and significant removal of 
carbon from the atmosphere. 

1 Goals for 2030, except for Diversity and Inclusion goals (2025).

88  Suzano Report 2019

   SDG

   GOALS

   DRIVERS

Mitigate the problem  
of income inequality:  
lift 200,000 people over 
the poverty threshold in 
our areas of influence

Education: enhance 
the Basic Education 
Development Index (Ideb) 
by 40% in all priority 
municipalities

Our goal is to contribute to the development of structural fronts, 
such as generating income and improving the quality of education in 
the regions where we operate, aiming at their self-sufficiency. 

Access to quality education is one of the most important structural 
challenges in Brazil. Therefore, we comit to fostering the education 
network and quality teaching in the regions where we operate.

Climate change: reduce 
emissions intensity 
(tCO2e/adt) by 15% 
(scope 1 and 2 emissions)

In the search for the efficiency of our processes, we have already 
managed to considerably reduce the emissions associated with our 
production. However, we know that we can do more. Thus, we remain 
focused on developing solutions that lead us to better results. 

Diversity and inclusion: 

•  to ensure 100% 

accessibility and zero 
prejudice, witnessed or 
experienced, against 
people with disabilities

•  to achieve 100% inclusive 

environment and zero 
prejudice, witnessed or 
experienced, against 
LGBTI+1

•  to have 30% women and 

30% blacks2 in leadership 
positions

Water (Forestry):  
increase water availability 
in 100% of critical 
watersheds

Water (Industrial):  
reduce water  
withdrawal by 15%

Industrial waste:  
reduce by 70% the 
waste sent to landfills, 
transforming it into 
by-products

Energy: increase 
renewable energy  
exports by 50%

Diversity and inclusion are intrinsic parts of our business strategy, 
as the maintenance of an environment based on such factors 
motivate employees to feel more involved and comfortable to 
explore their creativity, driving the development of collective, 
original and sustained solutions. Diversity and inclusion are also 
key aspects in the attraction and retention of talents.

Access to water is at the heart of sustainable development, 
essential for the survival of people, businesses and the planet. 
Suzano’s eucalyptus plantations, native forests and mills depend 
directly on water, and it is everyone’s responsibility to take proper 
care of this resource.

Today, the waste we generate results in costs and environmental 
impacts. In the future, this same waste can become a product 
with greater value added, furthering circularity to the economy. 
By reducing its destination to landfills, the goal is to enable this 
new universe of possibilities to become a reality. 

The electric energy generated in the mills is produced from 
renewable sources, enabling surplus that can supply the national 
energy system. Thus, through investments in efficiency, research and 
innovation, we want to increase our contribution to making clean 
and renewable energy available throughout the country. 

1  At Suzano, we chose to use the acronym LGBTI+, which stands for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transsexuals, intersexuals, and “+” symbolizing all other sexual orientations, 

gender identities and expressions.

2  Classification used by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), including blacks and pardos.

The journey continues  89

 
6 Awards and 
 recognition

 (SP). 

William Kaoru da Silveira,  
Anderson Ramos do Amaral,  
Gabriel de Moraes Pena, Douglas dos Santos Predolin  
and Alessandro Murakami de Souza. Logistics Area.
Suzano Unit (São Paulo state). Photo: Photolima Fotografia 

90  Suzano Report 2019

 (SP). 

Finishing. Suzano Unit  
(São Paulo state).
Photo: Suzano image bank

Awards and recognition  91

 
Main Awards and  
 Recognition in 2019

Inclusion in LinkedIn’s ranking of Top Companies - most desired companies to 
work for

Executivo de Valor (Executive of Value) by Valor Econômico journal - Walter 
Schalka is awarded in the Cardboard, Paper and Pulp category

Bonds & Loans Latin America Awards - Latin America Investment Grade Bond Deal 
of the Year and Latin America Syndicated Loan Deal of the Year; Brazil: Corporate Bond 
Deal of the Year and Syndicated Loan Deal of the Year

RISI Award - CEO of the Year - Walter Schalka chosen the best CEO in the pulp and 
paper sector in Latin America for the fifth consecutive year

Included in the Great Place to Work (GPTW) ranking - among the 80 best large 
companies in the country 

Exame magazine’s Award for Best and Biggest - best in the Pulp and Paper and 
Agribusiness sector

ABTCP Industry Highlights Award - categories Forest Development, Market Pulp 
Producer, Printing Paper Producer and Specialty Paper Producer

   The Best of Dinheiro Award by IstoÉ Dinheiro magazine 

- best in the Pulp and Paper sector and in the Human 

Resources category

Award for Companies that Best 

Communicate with Journalists - winner 
in the Forest Base category for the fifth 
consecutive time

Época 360 Yearbook by Época 
Negócios magazine - best company in 
the Pulp and Paper sector

Ranking of the Best Companies to Work 
for by Você S/A magazine - featured in the 

Recognition and Reward category

Leonardo Grimaldi,  
Executive Director for Paper,  
receives recognition from the  
Época 360 Yearbook on behalf of Suzano.
Photo: Suzano image bank

92  Suzano Report 2019

 
Suzano’s team in the ceremony of the 2019 
Highlight Award of the Brazilian Technical  
Pulp and Paper Association (ABTCP). 
Photo: Suzano image bank

Ranking Best Companies to Start a Career by Você S/A magazine  
- featured in the Career category  

Hugo Werneck Award - Ecofuturo Institute, winner in the Example  
in Biodiversity Category for the work done at Parque das Neblinas

2020 Ranking of the Best Places to Work for by the Glassdoor website  
- ranked 46th among a list of 50 in Brazil, with an overall score of 4.3.

Ranking of the Most Beloved Companies of the Love Mondays website  
- ranked among the 50 best companies

Suzano awarded at the  
 International Biennial Book Fair  

For its presence in the book industry, due to the development of the Pólen® 
editorial paper line and its actions to encourage reading and for its investment 
in Community Libraries, via Ecofuturo Institute, Suzano received the José 
Olympio Award at the XIX Rio International Biennial Book Fair in 2019. It was 
the first time that a producer of printing and writing paper received this award, 
which is in its 11th edition.

Awards and recognition  93

 
External

Assurance 

[GRI 102-56]

94  Suzano Report 2019

ASSURANCE STATEMENT  

BUREAU VERITAS

INTRODUCTION
Bureau Veritas Certification Brazil (‘Bureau 
Veritas’) was engaged by Suzano S.A. (‘Suzano’) to 
conduct an independent assurance of its Annual 
Report for the year 2019 (hereinafter referred to 
as the Report).

This assessment was conducted by a multidisci-
plinary staff with expertise in non-financial data.

SCOPE OF WORK
The scope of this verification encompassed the 
Standards1 of the Global Reporting InitiativeTM GRI 
for Sustainability Reports, for the period from 1 
January to 31 December 2019.

SUZANO´S AND BUREAU VERITAS 
RESPONSIBILITIES
The collection, calculation and presentation of 
the data published in the report are Suzano’s 
management sole responsibility. Bureau Veritas is 
responsible for providing an independent opinion 
to the Stakeholders, pursuant to the scope of work 
defined in this declaration.

METHODOLOGY
The Assurance covered the following activities:

1.  Interviews with the personnel responsible 

for material issues and involved in the Report 
content;

2.  On-site visits to the Central Administration 

office located in São Paulo – SP and the following 
operational sites: ; Limeira - SP; Aracruz – ES and 
Imperatriz – MA;

3.  Visits to the following sites to verify social 
investments and projects presented in the 

Report: Aldeia Irajá, municipality of Aracruz/ES 
(Sustainability Program Tupi-Guaraní) and Boa 
Vista community, municipality of Aracruz/ES 
(Rural Land Development Program); 

4.  Review of documentary evidence provided by 

Suzano in relation to the reporting period (2019);

5.  Evaluation of the systems used for data 

compilation;

6.  Analysis of Suzano’s stakeholder engagement 

activities; and

7.  Evaluation of the method used to define material 
issues included in the Report, taking into account 
the sustainability context and the scope of the 
information published.

The level of verification adopted was Limited, 
according to the requirements of the ISAE 3000 
Standard2, which were incorporated to the internal 
assessment protocols of Bureau Veritas. 

LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS
Excluded from the scope of this work was any 
assessment of information related to:

•  Activities outside the defined assessment 

period;

•  Statements of position (expressions of opinion, 

beliefs, goals, or future intentions) on the part 
of Suzano;

•  Economic and financial information contained 

in this Report which has been taken from 
financial statements verified by independent 
financial auditors.

1 Materiality, Stakeholder Inclusiveness, Sustainability Context, Completeness, Balance, Comparability, Accuracy, Periodicity, Clarity, and Reliability 

2 International Standard on Assurance Engagements 3000 – Assurance Engagements other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information

External assurance  95

 
The following limitations apply for this 
assurance engagement:

•  The principles of Accuracy and Reliability were 

limited to data samples related to material 
aspects published within the Report;

•  Economic and financial data presented within 

the report were assessed against the GRI 
reporting principle of Balance;

•  Although we verified the energy and 

emissions indicators, we did not deliver 
assurance of the Inventory of Green Gas 
(GHG) emissions.

TECHNICAL OPINION
•  Suzano’s Report consists of a full version and 

a short version (containing infographics), in 
addition to an online Indicators Center, which 
contains more detailed data on the company’s 
performance;

implemented that considers sustainability 
criteria. However, regarding the proportion 
of spending on local suppliers, we noted 
that Suzano was still looking for effective 
procedures, to improve its performance in 
this regard;

•  Regarding the management of information 

and performance data, of the social projects 
supported by Suzano, we evidenced ongoing 
standardization initiatives. However, we 
found significant differences in the level 
of management of certain projects, which 
impacted the accuracy of some data;

•  Concerning the impacts of Suzano’s activities 

on communities, we evidenced formal 
methods of communication, corrective 
actions and monitoring. The process of 
engagement with communities was unified, 
but the data on the main impacts were 
presented in generic terms in this publication;

•  The Report is based on 10 material topics 

defined in a materiality study carried out 
in 2019. In our understanding, the topics 
resulting from the study reflect the impacts 
of Suzano’s activities in a balanced way;

•  In regard to the material topic “Forest 

Management”, we noticed a lack of 
information on biodiversity at a strategic 
level, accompanied by the appropriated 
actions and eventual associated goals;

•  Suzano published the company’s sustain-

ability goals, which will help stakeholders 
to analyze objectively the company’s 
performance over time;

•  We noted that Suzano addressed the 

recommendations recorded in our previous 
Statement. In the current Statement we 
launched new challenges for the company;

•  Regarding the alignment of sustainability 

indicators of the two former companies 
(Fibria and Suzano Papel e Celulose), we 
observed that Suzano has been successful 
in unifying methodologies for collecting, 
monitoring and presenting relevant data and 
indicators;

•  In the process of approval and selection  

of suppliers, we evidenced a method  

•  It is our understanding that sufficient 

indicators have been reported, to achieve 
the Core option of the GRI Standard for 
Sustainability Reports.

RECOMMENDATIONS
•  Define an appropriate strategy to increase 

the proportion of spends on local suppliers, 
publishing data in accordance with GRI 
indicator 204-1;

96  Suzano Report 2019

 
•  Increase standardization in the processes of 

collecting and consolidating performance data 
for social projects supported by Suzano;

•  Increase the presentation of performance 

data related to the main impacts of Suzano’s 
activities, on surrounding communities;

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE  
AND IMPARTIALITY
Bureau Veritas Certification is an independent 
professional services firm specializing in 
Quality, Health, Safety, Socialand Environmental 
Management, with more than185 years’ experience 
in independent assessment.

•  Establish and implement a biodiversity 

strategy or policy.

CONCLUSION
As a result of our assurance nothing has come  
to our attention that would indicate that:

•  The information presented in the Report  

is not balanced, consistent and reliable;

•  Suzano has not established appropriate 

systems for the collection, aggregation  
and analysis of quantitative and qualitative 
data used in the Report;

•  The Report does not adhere to the  

Principles for defining report content  
and quality of the GRI Standards and does  
not meet its Core level.

Bureau Veritas has a quality management system 
that is certified by a third party, according to which 
policies and documented procedures are maintained 
for the compliance with ethic, professional and legal 
requirements.

The assessment team has no links with Suzano and 
the assessment is performed independently.

Bureau Veritas implemented and follows a Code 
of Ethics throughout its business, in order to 
assure that its staff preserve high ethical, integrity, 
objectivity, confidentiality and competence/ 
professional attitude standards in the performance 
of their activities.At the end of the assessment, a 
detailed report was drawn up, ensuring traceability 
of the process. This Report is kept as a Bureau 
Veritas management system record.

CONTACT
Bureau Veritas Certification is available for further 
clarification on www.bureauveritascertification.
com.br/faleconosco.asp or by telephone (55 11) 
2655-9000.

São Paulo, Brazil, April 2020.

Alexander Vervuurt
Lead Auditor; Assurance Sustainability Reports (ASR) 
Bureau Veritas Certification – Brazil

External assurance  97

 
GRI 
Content

Index

[GRI 102-55]

98  Suzano Report 2019

GRI Standard 

Disclosure

PDF Page / link to the Indicators 
Center or Direct disclosure

Omission

Principles of 
the Global 
Compact

SDG

GRI 101: Foundation 2016 

GRI 102: General Disclosures 2016

GRI 102: 
General 
disclosures 
2016

102-1

Name of the 
organization

102-2

Activities, brands, 
products and 
services

102-3

Location of 
headquarters

Suzano SA

32 / Indicators Center (GRI 102-2)

Headquarters: 
Av. Professor Magalhães Neto, 1752 
– 10th floor, rooms 1010 and 1011 
Salvador - BA - Brazil 
Zip Code: 41.810-012

Central Office: 
Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima, 1355 
– 8th floor  São Paulo - SP - Brazil 
Zip Code: 01.452-919

102-4

Location of 
operations

15

102-5

Ownership and legal 
form

Indicators Center (GRI 102-5)

102-6 Markets served

Indicators Center (GRI 102-6)

102-7

Scale of the 
organization

102-8

Information on 
employees and 
other workers

14

Indicators Center (GRI 102-8)

102-9 Supply chain

64 / Indicators Center (GRI 102-9)

102-10

Significant changes 
to the organization 
and its supply chain

102-11

Precautionary 
Principle or 
approach

As of January 14, 2019, we started 
to operate as Suzano SA, a company 
created from the merger between 
Suzano Papel e Celulose and Fibria. 
Therefore, the company assumed 
the value chain maintained by the 
two former companies previously.

Indicators Center (GRI 102-11)

102-12 External initiatives

15 / Indicators Center (GRI 102-12)

102-13

102-14

102-15

102-16

102-17

Membership of 
associations

Statement from 
senior decision-
maker

Key impacts, risks, 
and opportunities

Values, principles, 
standards, and 
norms of behavior

Mechanisms for 
advice and concerns 
about ethics 

102-18

Governance 
structure

102-22

Composition of the 
highest governance 
body and its 
committees 

24 / Indicators Center (GRI 102-13)

5 - 7 

Indicators Center (GRI 102-15)

22

22 / Indicators Center (GRI 102-17)

18 / Indicators Center (GRI 102-18)

Indicators Center (GRI 102-22)

GRI 102: Divulgações gerais (cont.)

GRI content index  99

    
 
 
 
 
 
 
GRI Standard 

Disclosure

PDF Page / link to the Indicators 
Center or Direct disclosure

Omission

Principles of 
the Global 
Compact

SDG

GRI 102: General Disclosures 2016 (cont.)

102-23

Chair of the highest 
governance body 

102-24

Nominating and 
selecting the 
highest governance 
body

Indicators Center (GRI 102-23)

Indicators Center (GRI 102-24)

102-25 Conflicts of Interest

Indicators Center (GRI 102-25)

102-40

List of stakeholder 
groups

86

102-41

Collective bargaining 
agreements

Indicators Center (GRI 102-41)

102-42

102-43

Identifying 
and selecting 
stakeholders

Approach to 
stakeholder 
engagement

86

24 - 25, 64, 86

102-44

Key topics and 
concerns raised

86

GRI 102: 
General 
disclosures 
2016

102-45

Entities included in 
the consolidated 
financial statements

102-46

Defining report 
content and topic 
Boundaries

102-47

List of material 
topics

102-48

Restatements of 
information

102-49

Changes in 
reporting

Information referring to the 
operations of Veracel and Portocel is 
included in the Financial Statements 
and financial indicators of the 
Report. However, the social and 
environmental information reported 
does not include these operations.

12 / Indicators Center (GRI 102-46)

11 / Indicators Center (GRI 102-46)

Throughout the Report, we 
present information consolidated 
for Suzano SA (based on 2019), 
differently from the previous 
report, in which information 
was presented in a segregated 
manner between the former 
companies Fibria and Suzano 
Papel e Celulose (based on 2018, 
when the companies were still 
operating separately). In this sense, 
this document does not contain a 
historical series or restatements of 
information.

In 2019, we created our first 
materiality matrix as Suzano SA, 
covering all topics considered 
material by the former companies 
Suzano Papel e Celulose and 
Fibria. Significant changes to the 
boundaries of material topics in 
relation to the former materialities 
are described throughout the 
Report.

100 Suzano Report 2019

GRI Standard 

Disclosure

PDF Page / link to the Indicators 
Center or Direct disclosure

Omission

Principles of 
the Global 
Compact

SDG

GRI 102: General Disclosures 2016 (cont.)

102-50 Reporting period

January 1, 2019 to December 31, 
2019.

102-51

Date of most recent 
report

2018 Annual Report, covering the 
period from January to December of 
the reference year

102-52 Reporting cycle

Annual

GRI 102: 
General 
disclosures 
2016

102-53

Contact point for 
questions regarding 
the report

For questions or suggestions  
about our Report, please  
contact us by email 
relatoriosuzano@suzano.com.br.

102-54

Claims of reporting 
in accordance with 
the GRI Standards

12

102-55 GRI content index

98 - 107

102-56 External assurance

94 - 97

Material topic: Water

GRI 103: 
Management 
approach 
2016

103-1

Explanation of the 
material topic and 
its Boundary

103-2

103-3

303-1

The management 
approach and its 
components 

Evaluation of the 
management 
approach

Interactions with 
water as a shared 
resource

Indicators Center (Material topic 
management approach)

8, 12

Indicators Center (GRI 303-1)

8, 9 

8, 12

303-3 Water withdrawal

Indicators Center (GRI 303-3)

GRI 303: 
Water and 
effluents 
2018

303-4 Water discharge

Indicators Center (GRI 303-4)

303-5 Water consumption Indicators Center (GRI 303-5)

Suzano SA does not 
report data regarding 
withdrawal, discharge 
or consumption of 
water broken down by 
areas of water stress. 
This information will be 
collected as of 2020.

Suzano SA does not 
report data regarding 
withdrawal, discharge 
or consumption of 
water broken down by 
areas of water stress. 
This information will be 
collected as of 2020.

Suzano SA does not 
report data regarding 
withdrawal, discharge 
or consumption of 
water broken down by 
areas of water stress. 
This information will be 
collected as of 2020.

8, 9 

8, 12

8, 9 

8, 12

8, 9 

8, 12

GRI content index  101

 
GRI Standard 

Disclosure

PDF Page / link to the Indicators 
Center or Direct disclosure

Omission

Principles of 
the Global 
Compact

SDG

Material topic: Value Chain (suppliers and customers)

GRI 103: 
Management 
approach 
2016

GRI 204: 
Procurement 
practices 
2016

GRI 308: 
Supplier 
environmental 
assessment 
2016

GRI 414: 
Supplier 
social 
assessment 
2016

103-1

103-2

103-3

Explanation of the 
material topic and 
its Boundary

The management 
approach and its 
components 

Evaluation of the 
management 
approach

204-1

Proportion of 
spending on local 
suppliers

308-1

New suppliers that 
were screened using 
environmental 
criteria

308-2

Negative 
environmental 
impacts in the 
supply chain and 
actions taken

414-1

New suppliers that 
were screened using 
social criteria

414-2

Negative social 
impacts in the 
supply chain and 
actions taken

Material topic: Human Capital

Indicators Center (Material topic 
management approach)

Indicators Center (GRI 204-1)

8

8, 12

Indicators Center (GRI 308-1)

7, 8, 9 

12

Indicators Center (GRI 308-2)

7, 8, 9 

12

Indicators Center (GRI 414-1)

Indicators Center (GRI 414-2)

103-1

103-2

103-3

202-1

202-2

401-1

Explanation of the 
material topic and 
its Boundary

The management 
approach and its 
components 

Evaluation of the 
management 
approach

Ratios of standard 
entry level wage by 
gender compared to 
local minimum wage  

Proportion of senior 
management hired 
from the local 
community

New employee 
hires and employee 
turnover

Indicators Center (Material topic 
management approach)

Indicators Center (GRI 202-1)

Indicators Center (GRI 202-2)

Indicators Center (GRI 401-1)

401-3 Parental leave

Indicators Center (GRI 401-3)

402-1

Minimum notice 
periods regarding 
operational changes 

Indicators Center (GRI 402-1)

GRI 103: 
Management 
approach 
2016

GRI 202: 
Market 
presence 
2016

GRI 401: 
Employment 
2016

GRI 402: 
Labor/
management 
relations 
2016

102 Suzano Report 2019

8, 10, 
16

8, 12

3, 5, 
8, 10, 
16

8 

8 

8 

5, 8

8

 6

 6

GRI Standard 

Disclosure

PDF Page / link to the Indicators 
Center or Direct disclosure

Omission

Principles of 
the Global 
Compact

SDG

Material topic: Human Capital (cont.)

403-1

403-4

GRI 403: 
Occupational 
health and 
safety 2016

403-7

403-8

Occupational 
health and safety 
management 
system

Worker 
participation, 
consultation, and 
communication on 
occupational health 
and safety

Prevention and 
mitigation of 
occupational 
health and safety 
impacts directly 
linked by business 
relationships

Workers covered 
by an occupational 
health and safety 
management 
system

Indicators Center (GRI 403-1)

Indicators Center (GRI 403-4)

Indicators Center (GRI 403-7)

Indicators Center (GRI 403-8)

403-9

Work-related 
injuries

403-10

Work-related ill 
health

Indicators Center (GRI 403-9)

Indicators Center (GRI 403-10)

3, 8

3, 8, 
16

3, 8

3, 8

3, 8

3, 8

GRI 404: 
Training and 
education 
2016

GRI 405: 
Diversity 
and equal 
opportunity 
2016

GRI 406: Non- 
discrimination 
2016

GRI 407: 
Freedom of 
association 
and collective 
bargaining 
2016

404-1

Average hours of 
training per year per 
employee

404-3

Percentage 
of employees 
receiving regular 
performance and 
career development 
reviews

405-1

Diversity of 
governance bodies 
and employees

405-2

Ratio of basic salary 
and remuneration 
of women to men

406-1

407-1

Incidents of 
discrimination and 
corrective actions 
taken

Operations and 
suppliers where the 
right to freedom 
of association and 
collective bargaining 
may be at risk

Operations and 
suppliers with 
significant risk of 
incidents of child 
labor

GRI 408: Child 
labor 2016

408-1

Indicators Center (GRI 404-1)

1, 6 

8

Indicators Center (GRI 404-3)

1, 6 

5, 8

Indicators Center (GRI 405-1)

Indicators Center (GRI 405-2)

Indicators Center (GRI 406-1)

5, 8, 
10

5, 8, 
10

5, 8, 
10, 
16

1, 2, 3, 4, 
5, 6

Indicators Center (GRI 407-1)

1, 2, 3, 4, 
5, 6

8, 16 

Indicators Center (GRI 408-1)

1, 2, 6

8, 16 

GRI content index  103

 
GRI Standard 

Disclosure

PDF Page / link to the Indicators 
Center or Direct disclosure

Omission

Principles of 
the Global 
Compact

SDG

Material topic: Human Capital (cont.)

GRI 409: 
Forced or 
compulsory 
labor 2016

GRI 410: 
Security 
practices 
2016

GRI 412: 
Human 
rights 
assessment 
2016

409-1

410-1

Operations and 
suppliers at 
significant risk for 
incidents of forced 
or compulsory labor

Security personnel 
trained in human 
rights policies or 
procedures

412-2

Employee training 
on human 
rights policies or 
procedures 

Material topic: Social Development

Indicators Center (GRI 409-1)

1, 2, 3

8, 16 

Indicators Center (GRI 410-1)

1, 2, 5 

8, 16

Indicators Center (GRI 412-2)

1, 2, 3, 4, 
5, 6

8, 16

103-1

Explanation of the 
material topic and 
its Boundary

103-2

103-3

The management 
approach and its 
components 

Evaluation of 
the management 
approach

203-1

Infrastructure 
investments and 
services supported

Indicators Center (Material topic 
management approach)

Indicators Center (GRI 203-1)

203-2

Significant indirect 
economic impacts

Indicators Center (GRI 203-2)

1, 2, 
4, 8, 
10, 
11, 
16

1, 4, 
9, 11, 
12

2, 4, 
8, 9, 
10, 
11, 
12

411-1

Incidents of 
violations 
involving rights of 
indigenous peoples

413-1

413-2

Operations with 
local community 
engagement, 
impact 
assessments, 
and development 
programs

Operations 
with significant 
actual and 
potential negative 
impacts on local 
communities

Indicators Center (GRI 411-1)

 1, 2, 4

10, 
16

Indicators Center (GRI 413-1)

Indicators Center (GRI 413-2)

1, 2, 
4, 10, 
11, 
16

8, 16

GRI 103: 
Management 
approach 
2016

GRI 203: 
Indirect 
economic 
impacts  
2016

GRI 411: 
Rights of 
indigenous 
and 
traditional 
peoples 2016

GRI 413:  
Local 
communities 
2016

104 Suzano Report 2019

GRI Standard 

Disclosure

PDF Page / link to the Indicators 
Center or Direct disclosure

Omission

Principles of 
the Global 
Compact

SDG

Material topic: Ethics, Governance and Transparency

103-1

Explanation of the 
material topic and 
its Boundary

103-2

103-3

205-1

205-2

The management 
approach and its 
components 

Evaluation of 
the management 
approach

Operations 
assessed for 
risks related to 
corruption

Communication 
and training about 
anti-corruption 
policies and 
procedures

205-3

Confirmed 
incidents of 
corruption and 
actions taken

206-1

307-1

Legal actions for 
anti-competitive 
behavior, anti-
trust, and 
monopoly practices

Non-compliance 
with environmental 
laws and 
regulations

415-1

Political 
contributions

419-1

Non-compliance 
with laws and 
regulations in 
the social and 
economic area

GRI 103: 
Management 
approach 
2016

GRI 205:  
Anti- 
corruption  
2016

GRI 206:  
Anti-
competitive 
behavior 
2016

GRI 307: 
Environmental 
compliance 
2016

GRI 415: 
Public policy 
2016

GRI 419: 
Socioeco- 
nomic 
compliance  
2016

Indicators Center (Material topic 
management approach)

8, 16

Indicators Center (GRI 205-1)

10 

16

Indicators Center (GRI 205-2)

10 

16

Indicators Center (GRI 205-3)

10 

16

Indicators Center (GRI 206-1)

1, 5 

16 

Indicators Center (GRI 307-1)

7, 8, 9 

16

Indicators Center (GRI 415-1)

10 

8, 9

Indicators Center (GRI 419-1)

 10

8, 16

Material topic: Operational Excellence and Eco-efficiency

103-1

Explanation of the 
material topic and 
its Boundary

103-2

103-3

The management 
approach and its 
components 

Evaluation of 
the management 
approach

Indicators Center (Material topic 
management approach)

3, 7, 
9, 12, 
13

306-2

Waste by type and 
disposal method

Indicators Center (GRI 306-2)

7, 8, 9

3, 6, 
12

GRI 103: 
Management 
approach 
2016

GRI 306: 
Effluents  
and waste 
2016

GRI content index  105

 
GRI Standard 

Disclosure

PDF Page / link to the Indicators 
Center or Direct disclosure

Omission

Principles of 
the Global 
Compact

SDG

Material topic: Financial Management

103-1

103-2

103-3

Explanation of the 
material topic and 
its Boundary

The management 
approach and its 
components 

Evaluation of 
the management 
approach

201-1

Direct economic 
value generated 
and distributed

GRI 103: 
Management 
approach 
2016

GRI 201: 
Economic 
performance 
2016

Material topic: Innovation and Technology

GRI 103: 
Management 
approach 
2016

103-1

103-2

103-3

Explanation of the 
material topic and 
its Boundary

The management 
approach and its 
components 

Evaluation of the 
management 
approach

Material topic: Forest Management

GRI 103: 
Management 
approach 
2016

103-1

103-2

103-3

304-1

304-2

GRI 304: 
Biodiversity 
2016

Explanation of the 
material topic and 
its Boundary

The management 
approach and its 
components 

Evaluation of the 
management 
approach

Operational sites 
owned, leased, 
managed in, 
or adjacent to, 
protected areas 
and areas of high 
biodiversity value 
outside protected 
areas

Significant impacts 
of activities, 
products, and 
services on 
biodiversity

Indicators Center (Material topic 
management approach)

Indicators Center (GRI 201-1)

Indicators Center (Material topic 
management approach)

Indicators Center (Material topic 
management approach)

Indicators Center (GRI 304-1)

Indicators Center (GRI 304-2)

304-3

Habitats protected 
or restored

Indicators Center (GRI 304-3)

304-4

IUCN Red 
List species 
and national 
conservation 
list species with 
habitats in areas 
affected by 
operations

Indicators Center (GRI 304-4)

106 Suzano Report 2019

16

16

9, 15, 
16

6, 8, 
12, 
13, 
15

8, 9 

12, 
15

8, 9 

8, 9 

8, 9 

12, 
15

6,12, 
13, 
15

6,12, 
14, 
15

GRI Standard 

Disclosure

PDF Page / link to the Indicators 
Center or Direct disclosure

Omission

Principles of 
the Global 
Compact

SDG

Material topic: Climate Change

GRI 103: 
Management 
approach 
2016

GRI 302: 
Energy  
2016

GRI 305: 
Emissions 
2016

103-1

Explanation of the 
material topic and 
its Boundary

103-2

103-3

302-1

302-2

The management 
approach and its 
components 

Evaluation of 
the management 
approach

Energy 
consumption 
within the 
organization

Energy 
consumption 
outside of the 
organization

305-1

Direct (Scope 1) 
GHG emissions

305-2

305-3

Energy indirect 
(Scope 2) GHG 
emissions

Other indirect 
(Scope 3) GHG 
emissions

305-4

GHG emissions 
intensity

305-7

Nitrogen oxides 
(NOx), sulfur oxides 
(SOx), and other 
significant air 
emissions

Indicators Center (Material topic 
management approach)

Indicators Center (GRI 302-1)

Indicators Center (GRI 302-2)

Indicators Center (GRI 305-1)

Indicators Center (GRI 305-2)

Indicators Center (GRI 305-3)

Indicators Center (GRI 305-4)

Indicators Center (GRI 305-7)

3, 9, 
12, 
13

7, 12, 
13 

7, 8, 
12, 
13 

12, 
13

12, 
13

12, 
13

12, 
13

3, 9, 
12, 
13 

7, 8, 9 

7, 8, 9 

7, 8, 9 

7, 8, 9 

7, 8, 9 

GRI content index  107

 
Credits

EDITING
André Magnabosco

Cristiano Oliveira

Guilherme Miranda

Heloísa Predomo Amurov

Lígia Leme

Marcela Porto

Maria Augusta Bottino

Raquel Botinha

Vitória Helena De Benedetti

COORDINATION, TEXTS 
AND EDITORIAL DESIGN
Quintal 22

GRI CONSULTING
Avesso Sustentabilidade

GRAPHIC DESIGN  
AND LAYOUT
Adesign

PHOTOGRAPHY
Adriano Gambarini (WWF Brasil)

Araquém Alcântara

Bruno Fujii

Eliza Carneiro

Fernando Soares

Fotocontexto

Márcio Schimming

Ricardo Teles

Rogério Sarmenghi

Sergio Zacchi

Suzano Image Bank

Ecofuturo Institute Image Bank

ENGLISH VERSION

Gotcha! Idiomas

CONTACT
For questions and suggestions, contact us by email  
relatoriosuzano@suzano.com.br

Forest mosaic in Aracruz 
(Espírito Santo state).
Photo: Márcio Schimming

Charles da Silva Gonçalves, 
Cutter assistant. Limeira 
Unit (São Paulo state).
Photo: Ricardo Teles

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