Agro-environmental Protocol
The Agro-environmental Protocol, signed by the Governor of Sao Paulo, the State Secretaries of Environment and of Agricultural and Provisioning, as well as the Presidents of the Union of the Sugar/Ethanol Industry (UNICA) and of the Organization of Cane Planters from the Central-South Region of Brazil (ORPLANA), is part of Project Green Ethanol, which has the goal of developing actions which encourage the sustainability of the supply chain of sugar, ethanol, and bio-energy.
Renuka do Brasil joined the protocol at its inception in 2007 and rigorously complies with its environmental technical directives, many of which are more restrictive than applicable environmental legislation in the state of Sao Paulo, guaranteeing Certification.
Environmental Directives
- Reduction of time limit for burning of sugarcane 'trash' which is noted in State Law no. 11.241/02, being: Mechanized Harvest: movement of deadline to 2014, from 2021; Mechanized Areas: movement of deadline to 2017, from 2031.
- Non-use of sugarcane burning for harvesting in expansion areas of canefields;
- Adoption of actions to avoid burning cane bagasse or any other sub-product of sugarcane in open air;
- Protection of riparian areas of canefield properties, due to their contribution to environmental preservation and protection of biodiversity;
- Protection of rural areas' water sources in canefield operations, recovering nearby vegetation;
- Proposition and implementation of soil conservation technical plan;
- Proposition and implementation of water resource conservation technical plan and minimization of water consumption;
- Plan for management of wastes generated in the agro-industrial process and;
- Plan for minimization of generation of atmospheric pollutants.