The Brazilian company will present biofuels initiatives and a methodology to
prepare sustainability reports
Petrobras will showcase its experience in sustainability initiatives in the
Amsterdam Global Conference on Sustainability and Transparency, from May 26 to
28, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The event is organized by the Global
Reporting Initiative (GRI), an entity that is a global reference in guidelines
for organizational economic, social, and environmental reporting. The exclusive
sponsor of the GRI Readers' Choice Awards 2010, in which readers from around the
world choose the most comprehensive and transparent sustainability reports, the
Company will participate, Thursday (05/27), in plenary sessions to discuss the
direction sustainability is expected to take in the upcoming years.
Petrobras Biocombustível's manager for Safety, Environment and Health, Fernando
Toledo Pierre, will participate in the Business session, at 2 PM (local time),
and will talk about strategies for the sustainable production of biofuels.
Biodiesel and ethanol contribute to the diversification of the energy matrix,
with positive impact on reducing global warming. Biofuel production also allows
for job and income generation on the farmland, taking advantage of Brazil's
favorable conditions, such as its climate, water, and a major agricultural
frontier to be explored, without any need to advance into forest areas or
demarked reserves.
The coordinator of Petrobras' Sustainability Report, Ana Paula Grether, will
participate in the "Readers' Views: Is sustainability reporting progressing?"
breakout session, at 4 PM, during which the main results of the Readers' Choice
Awards will be presented and discussed. Petrobras' experience in preparing
sustainability reports will be the base for the comments about the survey, which
sought determine whether or not the readers' expectations were taken into
account during report preparation by the organizations.
Petrobras has adopted the principles and indicators the GRI recommends in its
sustainability reports since 2003. In the first edition of the awards, held in
2008, Petrobras' Social and Environmental Balance was elected the best report by
the participants. It was also the best assessed in the "Civil society" category.
More than 1,700 readers from 70 countries cast votes on the nearly 800 reports.
As survey sponsor, Petrobras is not competing for the prize in this edition.
For three years in a row (2005, 2006, and 2007), Petrobras' Social &
Environmental Balance was rated as "notable and an example to be followed,"
pursuant to the criteria set forth by the UN's Global Compact. In addition to
supporting the Readers' Choice Awards, the Company is on the working group that
is developing the GRI indicators for the oil and gas industry, it takes part in
global discussions in the "Organizational Stakeholder" program, and has a
representative on the entity's Stakeholder Board.
Petrobras' operations in Biofuels
Since 2008, Petrobras has a subsidiary, Petrobras Biocombustível, to operate in
the segment. Its policy is to produce with economic, social and environmental
sustainability. Petrobras has three biodiesel plants in Brazil, in Candeias
(state of Bahia), Quixadá (state of Ceará), and Montes Claros (state of Minas
Gerais), and a unit in Marialva (Paraná), in which it holds 50% equity stakes.
The Company's total production capacity adds up to 389 million liters per year.
The deployment of a biodiesel plant in the state of Pará, with capacity to
produce 120 million liters of biodiesel per year from palm oil, has also been
foreseen. In its program for agricultural supply for biodiesel production, the
Company has partnered with the family farmers. In 2009, the Petrobras engaged
nearly 56,000 farmers in the Northeast and Minas Gerais in oilseed production.
The company offers certified seeds and technical assistance to the farmers who
are hired, in addition to signing 5-year contracts with them to guarantee the
purchase of the production.
Aiming to get a footprint in the European market, Petrobras Biocombustível
announced an unprecedented project with Galp Energia last May 5 for biodiesel
(green diesel) production in Portugal, the main destination of which will be the
Iberian market. The initiative foresees the production of some 250,000 tons of
biodiesel per year, with total investments estimated at R$1,017 million ($530
million), of which R$554 million in Brazil, to produce 300,000 tons of palm oil
per year, and $463 million ($240 million) in Portugal, to deploy a biodiesel
plant which is expected to go on stream in 2015. That investments are hoped to
generate some 6,000 jobs in the region of Pará, in northern Brazil, among direct
jobs and family farmers planting palm.
In the ethanol production segment, Petrobras Biocombustível's strategy is to
form partnerships with Brazilian companies that already operate in the sector
and with international companies with eyes on the domestic and exporting
markets. The Company entered in ethanol production last April at the Bambuí
Plant, in the state of Minas Gerais, in a partnership with Total Agroindústria
Canavieira. The unit is capable of producing 100 million liters of the product
per year. Also in April, the Company entered the capital of Guarani, a Tereos
International group subsidiary and fourth largest sugar cane processor in
Brazil, and will invest R$1.6 billion in it in stages, aiming to speed-up its
growth in Brazil's ethanol and bioenergy industry. Additionally, investments
will be increased in technology and in research and development programs for new
generations of biofuels.
Petrobras' Business Plan (2009-2013) foresees investments in the order of $2.8
billion in biofuels ($2.4 billion to produce biodiesel and ethanol and $400
million for infrastructure, primarily ethanol pipelines). The goal for 2013 is
to reach the capacity to produce 640 million liters of biodiesel and 3.9 billion
liters of ethanol. Petrobras' biodiesel plants reached a cumulative production,
through last April, of 199.3 million liters of biodiesel.
Social and environmental responsibility
Combining the company's growth with social and environmental development is one
of the principles that guide Petrobras' activities. Petrobras has been a
signatory of the ten Principles of the United Nations' Global Compact since
2003, and it has been a member of the Compact's Board since 2006. Free to join,
the Global Compact addresses the issues of Human Rights, Working Conditions,
Environmental Protection and Combating Corruption.
The biggest supporter of social and environmental projects in Brazil, the
Company supports initiatives aimed at transforming the reality of local
communities. In the social area, Petrobras sponsors projects aimed to education
for professional qualification, income generation and employment opportunities,
and to guaranteeing the rights of children and adolescents, promoting the
empowerment of the people who are served. In the environmental area, the support
is focused on projects designed to defend and preserve the environment and
marine biodiversity and which are aligned to the "Water and Climate:
contributions to sustainable development" theme. Additionally, Petrobras
confirms its commitment to the environment by following the precepts of
eco-efficiency in its operations and by acting pursuant to international safety,
environment and health standards.
Acknowledged as one of the world's most sustainable oil & gas companies
according to a survey carried out by the Management & Excellence think tank,
Petrobras is listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI), and is among
the most reputable in Reputation Institute's global ranking. In January 2010,
during the World Economic Forum, Petrobras was ranked as one of the world's 100
most sustainable companies in Canadian magazine Corporate Knight's Global 100
ranking, which specializes in social responsibility and sustainable development.
About Petrobras
Petrobras is Brazil's biggest company and the third largest publicly-held
corporation on the American continent. With operations in 28 countries, the
Company operates in an integrated manner in exploration and production;
downstream; trade, transportation and petrochemicals; derivatives distribution;
natural gas; biofuels, and electric energy.
Agenda in the Amsterdam Global Conference on Sustainability and Transparency
Thursday, May 27 (local time).
2 PM - 3:15 PM: "Business" Plenary Session
Fernando Toledo Pierre, SEH manager for Petrobras Biocombustível
4 PM - 5:15 PM: "Readers' Views: Is sustainability reporting is progressing? "
Ana Paula Grether, coordinator of Petrobras' Sustainability Report
Press contacts:
Lilian Laranja: + 55 21 9572 9690
Petrobras Press Management
Telephone: 55 (21) 3224-1306 and 3224-2312
Fax: 55 (21) 2220-5052 and 3224-4903
E-mail:imprensa@petrobras.com.br
INFORMATION, PHOTOS, AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDINGS
ATWWW.PETROBRASNEWSAGENCY.COM
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