Why Did We Choose Sugarcane Energy?

Opting for sugarcane as a raw material offers more environmental advantages than the use of fossil fuels. According to the International Energy Agency, using ethanol instead of gasoline, for example, can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by approximately 89%.

Most of this Brazilian renewable energy source comes from the reed beds, corresponding to 15.7% of the entire national energy matrix. This percentage places Brazil above the global average for clean energy use, which is 13.2%, yet far from representing the entire agricultural potential of a country with continental dimensions.

International Conference

On September 6, Odebrecht Agroindustrial – which has an annual production capacity of 3 billion liters of ethanol and 3,100 GWh of electricity produced from biomass – gave a presentation in Luxembourg to show the work undertaken by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation Sustainability Study Center (GVCEs/FGV). The findings confirm the positive impacts of sugarcane ethanol compared to similar fuels like gasoline and corn ethanol.

Agro’s presentation during the main international conference on Life Cycle Management (LCM) highlighted the use of this type of fuel as a real alternative for reducing the environmental impacts of human activity. One of the main differentials of Brazilian ethanol as a raw material is the positive effect of Land Use Change (LUC). In Agro’s case, this aspect is leveraged by the business model. The company only grows sugarcane in previously anthropized areas (those whose original characteristics were modified by man), recovering a great portion of areas degraded by grazing, for example. Another important point is the fact that the company’s operation is 100% mechanized, without the need to burn the reed beds for harvesting – the usual practice by companies that use manual harvesting.

“During a time of much discussion about Renovabio – the government policy that is determining a joint strategy for recognizing the strategic role of all types of biofuels in the Brazilian energy matrix –, the study confirms that ethanol is a real alternative for reducing climate change,” emphasized Mônica Alcântara, responsible for Sustainability at the Business.

Alcântara recalls that this is one of the goals established by Brazil in the Paris Agreement in 2015, ratified in the Brazilian Nationally Determined Contribution or NDC. Accessible and clean energy is also the seventh of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which help determine national policies and international cooperation agreements in the area of Sustainability.

Agro has worked on initiatives related to the Brazilian commitment to reduce GHG emissions, such as Companies for the Climate (EPC) and the Business Initiative for the Climate (IEC). It has also supported the corporate positioning on carbon pricing as an instrument for making business decisions and for the inclusion of public climate policies.

The numbers from the last Agro harvest reveal that the impact of its energy production is already benefiting the environment. Based on its GHG inventory, the emissions avoided through the use of ethanol that the company produces and sells totaled 4 million tons of CO2 equivalent.

Did you know?

The production of ethanol from sugarcane generates substrates like bagasse and straw, which can be used to produce thermal, mechanical, and electric energy.

What the Study Says

The work elaborated within the sphere of the GVCEs Applied Life Cycle (CiVia) initiative is part of the publication Experiences and Reflections on the Life Cycle Management of Brazilian Companies’ Products. It was published in June as an important milestone for the work on topics that permeate the Life Cycle Evaluation (LCE) of products and the progress made on this agenda in the Brazilian business sector.

The results reveal that agricultural phase emissions (sugarcane production and transport) represent approximately 76% of all of Agro’s GHG emissions. The industrial production and distribution of ethanol jointly represent approximately 17% of emissions and the burning of ethanol as a fuel represents approximately 7%. In terms of its water impact, the study indicates the use of fertigation – a fertilization technique that uses the irrigation area to carry nutrients to the soil – as a good sector practice for reducing water collection in the environment.

“These results help to build diagnostics that identify the relevant points both in terms of GHG emissions as well as water use,” said Alcântara. “From there, we advance with internal indicators to improve our controls in ethanol production,” she added.

Oil will inevitably run out one day since it is a non-renewable energy source. This will affect gasoline and diesel production over the long term. Ethanol, on the other hand, has no limit in terms of its existence, since it depends solely on arable lands. There are already studies indicating that the expansion of sugarcane cultivation to meet the projected demand in the scenario of reduced GHG emissions can mostly take place in degraded pasture areas