Environmental Responsibility

We devote special attention to the preservation of the environment, with a vision of sustainable development of our activities, products and services, and electing the environmental preservation as one of our priorities. Our approach involves applying all measures necessary to prevent damages to the environment, including a preliminary assessment of the potential effects in this context in the early stages of planning processes.

We cultivate and promote a sense of responsibility for environmental protection as a permanent value, among our employees, managers business partners.

Below we highlight some of the actions taken by the Company:

• Springs controls 4,662 acres of cropland in Brazil where it cultivates eucalyptus. Of the total available land, only 40% are actually used for reforestation. The remaining 60% of the area is maintained as a permanent area of preservation, used for the protection of springs, rivers and native species;
• Use the most advanced technologies available for the treatment of water pollution arising from industrial processes, including through the operation of Effluent Treatment Plants, or ETPs, in all of our industrial units. An example is the use of innovation in the treatment of industrial effluents is provided by the use of a system of ultrafiltration that relies on membranes at our Montes laros (MG) unit. This system allows us to return the water back to nature with a purity level well above the minimum required by the Brazilian legislation;
• Implementation of a new biomass boiler at our Industrial unit of Montes Claros (MG). The sugarcane bagasse, rice, babassu and coconut husks, gravel and wood debris are just a few examples of fuels that have been used for the production of steam in our industrial boilers, replacing fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas. As a direct consequence of this practice, we acknowledge a reduction in emission of gases derived from thermal power use, one of the causes of the greenhouse effect.;
• Drying and briquetting of sludge produced by the Wastewater Treatment Plant of Blumenau (SC), reducing by 75% the total sludge disposed which was previously deposited at the Municipal reservoirs. At the same time, the resulting briquettes are used as fuel for our steam boilers in the natural course of the industrial process;
• Operation of stations for the “demineralization” of water at the Campina Grande (PB) and Montes Claros (MG) units, which eliminate heavy salts from the water, which in turn reduces the discharges of steam to the environment and the company’s total water consumption;
• Ongoing investments to allow for the controlled use and reuse of water around our industrial complexes and the implementation of internal awareness campaigns for employees for the rational use of this important natural resource;
• Maintenance of modern industrial and commercial units, privileging natural lighting and systems that measure and control energy consumption in general, which in turn allows management to pursue a more rational use of energy in general, and
• Use of cleaner types of fuels along with a continuous adjustment of the industrial chimneys, aiming at controlling flue gas emissions.