About this publication

This publication aims to present the main elements of Fibria’s economic, financial, social and environmental performance during the 2009* fiscal year. As the first such report to reflect the company’s joint operations, we have tried, as far as possible and taking into consideration the complexity of a merger on this scale, to borrow the best practices of each of the original companies, while preserving the comparability and monitoring of the information.

Hence, this report includes information about the industrial units at Aracruz (Espírito Santo State), Jacareí (São Paulo State), Piracicaba (São Paulo State) and Três Lagoas (Mato Grosso do Sul State) and the forest units in the states of Bahia, Espírito Santo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul and São Paulo. However, the 2009 performance of Conpacel and Veracel, companies in which Fibria has an equity stake, is not covered in this report. On the other hand, the companies KSR and Portocel are briefly mentioned. To see the results of these companies, the reader should refer to their respective reports, at Conpacel: www.conpacel.com.br; Veracel: www.veracel.com.br; KSR: www.ksronline.com.br and Portocel: www.portocel.com.br.

The reporting of the economic and financial performance obeys the norms of the CVM (Brazilian Securities Commission) – adapted according to the provisions of Law no 11,638/07, which updates the Brazilian accounting regulations and brings them more closely into alignment with international accounting principles. Reporting of the corporate responsibility and sustainability details sought to utilize the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) model. We hope to be able to report the full set of GRI indicators as of 2011.

The information contained in this document is based on the Materiality Matrix developed from a survey of the impressions various interested parties, conducted with the help of the consulting firm Atitude Sustentável. The opinions of 40 representatives from among Brazilian and foreign external stakeholders – including customers, suppliers, partners, and social and environmental NGOs – were heard, in order to identify the most serious issues facing the company, from their point of view, as well as of 45 internal stakeholders, who pointed out the most critical issues from the point of view of the business.

By cross referencing these two sets of opinions, it was possible to identify the ten most important issues, which not only shaped the preparation of this report, but should also underpin the company’s future strategy. They are:

  • The impact of the plantations on biodiversity;
  • Certification and voluntary commitments;
  • Ethics;
  • Water use;
  • The strategy/commitment towards sustainability;
  • Relations with local communities;
  • Forest partners (wood suppliers);
  • Environmental hazards;
  • Emissions, effluent and waste;
  • Relations with specific communities

In addition to the Materiality Matrix, the company uses other practices that are aimed at increasing the participation of stakeholders in the development of its sustainability strategy. One of these is the inclusion of opinions about the company made by people from local communities. A total of eight people were interviewed, ranging from community leaders to forest partners, and their summarized statements are published in the printed version of this publication, and are presented in full here. Another initiative is to include the views of independent outside readers, who are specialists within the industry or on sustainability issues, who analyze the report and provide their critical opinions and suggestions, as a contribution to the continual refinement of this publication. Their observations are presented in full at the end of this report.

The report is divided into five main sections: Governance, showing the procedures and instruments for the controlling and managing operational and financial risk and internal and external conduct; Management and Strategy, which looks at the strategic planning and administration system of the new company; Social Performance, which addresses the company’s practices and issues related to its stakeholders; Environmental Performance, in which the company shares information about its forest management practices and other environmental issues; and Economic-Financial Performance, which includes information about investment, indebtedness, the allocation of resources and other matters.

Finally, the content of this report has been submitted for independent verification by Bureau Veritas Certification, with a view to ensuring that the information provided meets the quality guidelines for GRI G3 sustainability reports, which are: inclusion of stakeholders, balance, accuracy, clarity, reliability, timeliness and comparability.

The reader will notice that, despite our best efforts, it has not been possible to preserve the comparability of certain information, due to the fact that the companies that merged to create Fibria existed as independent entities until September 2009. Some of the matters dealt with in this publication refer exclusively to units that belonged, until 2009, to what was then VCP or Aracruz. Such cases are specified, whenever they occur. We are aware of the difficulties involved in presenting standardized data, under such circumstances, but assume the commitment to continue working to meet the standards of best practice in our future reports.

Requests for additional information or suggestions regarding this report may be sent to the Corporate Communication department, at: Comunicação Corporativa.

The editors

(*) Some of the events described herein, such as the drawing up of the Code of Conduct, relate to the 2010 financial year, but have been included because of their importance.