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Annual Report 2020
Annual Report 2020
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Social and environmental sustainability continues to be at high level

Once again in 2020, Precious Woods Amazon passed the recertification audits for FSC and PEFC with excellent results. Both the PEFC and FSC audits were carried out completely online, which meant additional difficulties for our team and the auditors. We continue to work on several scientific projects to obtain information on forest ecology and to optimize and document our resource-preserving forestry operations. We are also in close and intensive contact with the regional communities, allowing us to undertake useful joint projects. Supporting the local population and businesses through a wide range of development projects continues to be a focus of our social engagement.

In the reporting year we can provide information on the following activities:

  • As only the second company in the world to do so, we successfully passed the new FSC Ecosystem Services certification for carbon sequestration. The certificate confirms that the carbon stock in our forests has been stable since 2007 and that about 81 million tonnes of carbon are permanently stored. The certificate proves once again that sustainable forest management is one of the solutions to protect our world’s carbon sinks, and we are proud to be part of that solution.
  • Together with the military police of Itacoatiara, several operations were again carried out against poaching and illegal logging. This also includes raising awareness in the communities and the training of local scouts who recognise violations and report them directly.
  • In cooperation with EMBRAPA (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation), we continue to work on projects measuring tree growth and the dynamics of the tree population. This project is being continued, providing valuable analysis data over time for scientific purposes.
  • We support various research projects in the field of environment and sustainability in collaboration with INPA (National Institute of Amazonian Research), UFAM (Federal University of Amazonas), EMBRAPA (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation), and UEA (Amazonas State University). In addition to ecological aspects, such as a wildlife inventory or the contribution of trees to the water cycle, economic issues to optimise the use of wood are researched. Certain projects combine both perspectives, for example when road planning is improved and, as a result, less forest area is impacted.
  • It continues to be a major priority and endeavour to support and promote the agricultural production of the communities in our region. Last year, we were able to establish a 2-hectare coffee plantation, maintained by the local population with our support.
  • Also in Brazil, many training courses had to be postponed due to the pandemic. Nevertheless, thanks to our own trainers and external assistance, we were able to conduct various safety training sessions in the sawmills and in the forest.
  • We continue to be active in offering internships and courses for vocational training and development. These programmes are done in partnership with CETAM (Center for Technological Education of Amazonas) and SENAI (National Industrial Learning Service). 35 interns have been able to gain their first work experience with us thanks to these programmes.