By Writing Team
Posted in November 21, 2024
THINK GREEN, RESPONSIBILITY & SUSTAINABILITY.
AMBIPAR
The company supports movements related to the Sustainable Development Goals, such as “Women Lead,” “Fair Wages,” and “Race is Priority.” In addition to implementing them in Brazil, it is expanding its policy to plants in other countries where it operates, such as Peru, Chile, and Canada.
Rafael Tello, Vice President of Sustainability at Ambipar since November 2021, holds a degree in Economics from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and a post-graduate degree in Sustainability Management from Leuphana Universitaet Lueneburg. He is also a member of the Bartofil ESG Committee and Scientific Director of the Atmos Institute. He has been a professor and researcher at Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC), HSM, and a guest lecturer at business schools such as Skema. Furthermore, he plays the role of coordinator for the Desafio 2030 Network and Hub ODS MG, assisting companies in aligning with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN). Through his work, he encourages innovation, growth, and sustainable development within value chains.
Present in over 40 countries and across six continents, the Brazilian multinational Ambipar is a global leader in environmental solutions. Founded to help businesses take care of the environment, it has been recognized four times as the best developer of forest projects in the world by the Green Project Award.
Listed on B3 and the New York Stock Exchange, the company has recently been recognized as a green stock by the Brazilian Stock Exchange and certified by Standard & Poor’s (S&P), one of the largest credit rating agencies in the world. Thus, it became the first private company in Latin America and the second in Brazil to receive the certificate.
To receive the green stock designation, Ambipar met the criteria of B3, according to an audit by S&P, including having more than 50% of its annual gross revenue derived from green businesses, as well as having investments and operational expenses with the same classification above 50%, and 5% of gross revenue from fossil fuel activities.
PÁGINAS VERDES – What are the company’s main programs on sustainability?
RAFAEL TELLO – Ambipar is a Brazilian multinational and a global leader in environmental solutions. Founded in 1995, its goal is to help other companies take care of the planet, combining the environment and economic development. Four times named the best developer of forest projects in the world by the Green Project Award, the company is a pioneer in several products and services and is a reference in the market for Research, Development, and Innovation (R&D&I), with more than 100 circular economy solutions, over 25 patents, and more than 50 national and international innovation awards.
PV – How does Ambipar operate? Does it provide environmental consulting? What are the main companies served?
RT – Ambipar is composed of two subsidiaries: Ambipar Response, focused on crisis management and responses to environmental emergencies, and Ambipar Environment, which focuses on environmental management and full waste management. As such, the company operates in various segments with comprehensive services and products related to environmental management, including circular economy, regeneration, energy transition, decarbonization, prevention, management, and response to emergencies and climate crises. In addition, it offers ESG consulting services to a variety of companies across different sectors to support clients in structuring their sustainability initiatives.
“One of Ambipar’s corporate goals is, by 2030, to become a consistent leader in the transition to a circular and low-carbon economy.”
PV – How do each of the subsidiaries operate?
RT – Ambipar Response has more than 4,000 environmental projects and wildlife interventions, as well as 27,000 environmental analyses for clients and partners. The subsidiary has four main business units: response and emergency, industrial services, environmental services, and maritime services in Brazil, Latin America, the United States, Canada, and Europe. For the operations, the company has a fleet of 120 vessels and over 30 aircraft.
Ambipar Environment manages 3.8 million tons of solid waste annually and recycles more than 3 million tons of waste. The division has five business units: waste management and valorization, circular economy, ESG consulting and compliance, decarbonization, and Hazmat logistics (hazardous materials). The company also provides full management of hazardous and non-hazardous post-industrial and post-consumption waste, focused on zero landfill. In this work, Ambipar analyzes the waste generated by clients, sets up waste management systems, identifies valorization opportunities, handles transportation and treatment, and ensures proper final disposal. In post-consumption, the work spans three fronts: recycling credits, circular cities, and recycling hubs.
Ambipar Environment also operates one of the largest circular economy centers in the world, located in Santiago, Chile. In its decarbonization projects, over 2.5 million hectares have already been preserved in Brazil’s main biomes.
PV – What are the main results achieved so far?
RT – Listed on B3 and the New York Stock Exchange, Ambipar has recently been recognized as a green stock by the Brazilian Stock Exchange and certified by Standard & Poor’s (S&P), one of the largest credit rating agencies in the world. Thus, the company became the first private company in Latin America and the second in Brazil to receive the certificate.
To receive the green stock designation, Ambipar met the criteria of B3, according to an audit by S&P, including having more than 50% of its annual gross revenue derived from green businesses, as well as having investments and operational expenses with the same classification above 50%, and 5% of gross revenue from fossil fuel activities. Worldwide, only 116 stocks – or 0.02% – of a total of 540,221 stocks listed on major global exchanges are classified as green equity.
On the financial side, Ambipar achieved record net revenue and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) in the second quarter of this year, at R$ 1.41 billion and R$ 436.4 million, respectively. With the highest numbers in history, we are on track to meet our 2024 estimates.
PV – Tell us about the projects, such as what is done with recycling cooperatives. What results have you achieved?
RT – Through the work of Ambipar Environment, we have both direct and indirect partnerships with over 250 cooperatives. The most recent result I highlight is the partnership we formed with the National Association of Recyclable Material Collectors (ANCAT) to create the Circular Project. The project aims to transform the operations of cooperatives by professionalizing the waste treatment process. ANCAT has hundreds of associated cooperatives and thousands of tons of recovered waste, which represents more than 20% of recyclable material collection in Brazil.
With the Circular Project, ANCAT and we aim to transform the operations of the cooperatives, by professionalizing the entire waste treatment process, and supporting the formalization of the cooperative members, including installing and updating equipment for handling and sorting materials.
The project also includes replacing the traditional carts used by recycling professionals with electric tricycles to facilitate transportation, increase productivity, and reduce the load. This optimizes manual labor and uses clean, sustainable energy for the environment, bringing more dignity to these professionals.
PV – What are the company’s goals for reducing carbon emissions? What other sustainability goals are defined?
RT – We work with various companies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. One of our initiatives is a partnership with SAP to offer ‘Net Zero as a Service’ to clients and support the fight against climate change. The service combines SAP’s robust cloud solutions with Ambipar’s deep expertise in generating and trading carbon credits, helping clients manage and offset emissions in an integrated way. This way, clients will have access to a simple yet comprehensive solution that contributes to the low-carbon economy.
In addition to helping companies, one of Ambipar’s corporate goals is to become a consistent leader in the transition to a circular, low-carbon economy by 2030. According to the public commitment submitted to the SBTi, our goal is to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030, compared to 2022 levels, aiming for Net Zero by 2050.
PV – How does the company act in terms of social inclusion?
RT – Ambipar believes that diversity and inclusion are essential for innovation and sustainable growth. We are committed to fostering a work environment that values gender, color, race, and religion diversity. To this end, we have a diversity and inclusion policy aimed at promoting transparency and standardizing the daily dynamics of the company.
PV – What projects does Ambipar support?
RT – Ambipar supports movements linked to the Sustainable Development Goals, such as “They Lead,” “Fair Wages,” and “Race is Priority.” In addition to implementing these initiatives in Brazil, we are expanding our policy to plants in other countries where we operate, such as Peru, Chile, and Canada. We have partnered with the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP) and the Brazil Network of the Global Compact to develop female leadership, with over 50 professionals served in two years of work.
Thus, Ambipar is committed to promoting racial and gender equity, as well as for other minority groups, ensuring equal salaries and benefits for professionals performing similar responsibilities. Within our diversity and inclusion policy, 30% of the company’s governance positions are occupied by women.
Source: Eletrolar News Magazine – Issue #163