Brazil’s Bündchen buys stake in Ambipar, becomes brand ambassador

SAO PAULO, July 27 (Reuters) – Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen, known internationally for her environmental activism, became a shareholder of Ambipar (AMBP3.SA), a Brazilian environmental services firm that went public last year, the company said on Tuesday.

The Brazilian model was also tapped as Ambipar’s brand ambassador and will join the company’ sustainability committee, it said in a statement.

Ambipar did not disclose the value of Bündchen’s stake in the company.

The company said naming the model as a brand ambassador was a move it had been considering since September of last year, two months after listing shares on the Brazilian stock market.

“From that moment, a idea mobilized the firm: to invite Gisele Bündchen to be brand ambassador,” the statement said. “As a Brazilian model, she is recognized for her long standing environmental activism, exactly like the company.”

Bündchen, who has been a critic of environmental policies of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, embraced Ambipar’s mandate.

“I didn’t know Ambipar and I was impressed by the vision of Tércio Borlenghi Junior, founder of the company,” the statement quoted her as saying. “For 25 years [Ambipar] has been reusing and valuing waste that would turn into garbage and end up in landfills, rivers and oceans, giving them a new use,” she said.

Reporting by Ana Mano Editing by Tomasz Janowski

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