Ceará Renewable Energy Project, Brazil

Based in a region prone to poverty and severe drought, this initiative tackles one of the major causes of deforestation in Brazil: illegal logging. The Ceará project has switched the fuel used by five ceramic factories from illegal firewood to agricultural and industrial residues. This biomass would have otherwise been discarded as waste, so the fuel switch not only transforms residues into something useful but also enables many local individuals to make a living - or complement their income – by supplying biomass waste directly to the factories.

Furthermore, the project receives wastewater from a local beverage company to be used in its production process, therefore protecting natural resources by reducing water pollution discharges and the need for water to be removed from natural habit, a especially significant step for a region afflicted by severe droughts.

This project alleviates deforestation, avoids greenhouse gas emissions and promotes a more sustainable supply chain: It does this whilst also improving the livelihoods of local communities and employees. Making good better.



Project impacts and benefits:
Biodiversity conservation: partnership with the city to provide native seedlings planting;
Generation of income to local communities - so far USD 4,500,000;
Improved working conditions to employees (219 employees);
Increase of water availability to the community (the region is afflicted by severe droughts);
Avoidance of deforestation - 1,750 ha of forest saved in the course of 10 years, the equivalent to 1,400 soccer pitches;
Avoidance of GHG emissions – 36,173t of CO2e avoided per year.