Suzano and ‘Pacto Global’– Brazil Network, with support from the International Labor Organization (ILO), are launching an initiative aimed at promoting the guarantee of human rights and decent work in the forestry sector. Created to encourage the implementation of due diligence, the promotion and awareness of the job offer under adequate conditions, as well as to improve the listening to and assistance for workers in the forestry sector, the initiative was established during the 'SDGs in Brazil 2024'. Considered the largest corporate sustainability meeting in the world, the event takes place at the headquarters of the United Nations (UN), in New York.
The partnership aims to promote cross-sector collaboration to strengthen the guarantee of human rights at Suzano, in its value chain, and in the Brazilian forestry sector. The mobilization reinforces Suzano's alignment with the UN Guiding Principles and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), a European regulation, which requires concrete actions from organizations and their respective sectors to ensure human rights.
"It is necessary to thank the partnership with Suzano and the ILO in this process of engagement and construction of the joint agenda focusing on the topic of human rights and promotion of decent work. This collaboration with Suzano is very solid, and it comes after almost a year of discussions between the company and the ‘Pacto Global’ team, with international organizations, to understand what the real challenge of the agenda is and how we can truly mobilize the business sector to achieve a transformation towards decent work in the forestry supply chain. And the ‘Pacto Global’ will soon launch a sectoral group with a focus on human rights, which will be led by Suzano, and due to the challenges of this agenda and the environment, which we are increasingly facing in Brazil, we need leading companies engaging and truly promoting a sectoral transformation,” says Carlo Pereira, CEO of ‘Pacto Global’– Brazil Network.
Within the scope of the ‘Pacto Global’ Brazil, in partnership with Suzano, a Forestry Working Group will be formed to enhance the impact and promote a sectoral mobilization that will collaboratively address common challenges and solutions for relevant regional issues. Initially, the initiative will prioritize the Brazilian states of Bahia, Espírito Santo, and Minas Gerais. The objective is to transform the local economic activity into an example of social sustainability and a model of positive transformation.
"Suzano, which already has a strong presence in sustainability regarding human rights, has been working to enhance safe and fair working conditions, ensuring the compliance and due diligence of human rights not only within the company but also in the forest value chain." Understanding that these rights are not only a responsibility but also an essential element for the future of our society, we are committed to engaging more players in this agenda,” says Fernando Bertolucci, Vice President of Sustainability, Technology, and Innovation at Suzano. Among the planned actions, Suzano will also train employees, as well as forestry suppliers, to ensure that everyone is aligned with human rights principles.
Decent work is the axis of the project
Decent work is a central element to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations Agenda 2030, in particular SDG 8. In its first axis, the Project will work to strengthen the capacities of the production chain to implement Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD), promote decent work, and combat work analogous to slavery.
From the creation of the Working Group, the Sectoral Pact for Social Sustainability and Decent Work in the forestry chain will be established, coordinated by the ‘Pacto Global’, in partnership with the ILO and with the leadership of Suzano and key players in the forestry sector. To support the work of the Working Group, a careful and systematic process will be instituted to identify, prevent, mitigate, and monitor the potential impacts on human rights in Suzano's value chain, which will indicate a plan for the implementation of the Corporate Human Rights Policy. The recommendations of the diagnosis will support the implementation of due diligence in the forestry sector.
In addition, a diagnosis of human rights aspects in the supply of labor in the forestry sector will be developed. Based on this process, priority regions will be selected among the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and Bahia to implement a process of listening to the workers in the sector, capable of offering fair remediation through social dialogue.