Vale and BNDES Announce Investment of R$ 108 Million in Socio-Environmental Projects in the North and Northeast Regions of Brazil

The Garante Amazônia and Juntos Pela Saúde Projects Will Bring Strong Benefits to the Socioeconomic Development of Northern and Northeastern Brazil. Vale and BNDES Will Invest Heavily to Ensure Good Financial Support for the Programs.

During an event at the UN Climate Change Conference, COP 27, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, miner Vale announced yet another initiative for the national territory. This is an agreement with the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) for the development of two socio-environmental projects in Northern and Northeastern Brazil. R$ 108 million will be invested in the Garante Amazônia and Juntos Pela Saúde programs over the coming years.

Garante Amazônia and Juntos Pela Saúde Are Vale and BNDES’s Bets for the Future of Socio-Environmental Development in Brazil

Vale has once again teamed up with BNDES to develop socio-environmental actions in the national territory. 

This time, the Credit Guarantee Program for Bioeconomy in the Amazon (Garante Amazônia) and the Juntos pela Saúde initiative will be supported, with a projected investment of R$ 108 million for the development of the projects. 

The mining giant will support the initiative with an investment of R$ 20 million in Garante Amazônia and R$ 34 million in Juntos pela Saúde, while BNDES will cover the remaining amount allocated to the projects. 

The funds allocated to the program in Northern Brazil will contribute to the development of sustainable forest activities in the Amazon, while the health program will operate in Vale do Pará and Maranhão, expanding the successful experience of the Ciclo Saúde Proteção Social project by Fundação Vale. 

Vale will support the development of Garante Amazônia through the Vale Fund, which aims to contribute to affirmative actions regarding the socio-environmental development of the country. 

The company’s multi-million-dollar investment will contribute to technical assistance and rural extension services associated with the execution of socio-environmental activities. 

Thus, beneficiaries in the North of the national territory will include family farmers, rural family entrepreneurs, aquaculturists, fishermen, traditional communities, and indigenous peoples living in the region. 

Other funding will come from companies that wish to contribute to the development of the Garante Amazônia and Juntos Pela Saúde projects. 

BNDES will be responsible for the credit analysis of the loans, ensuring proper allocation of resources. 

Projects by the Miner and BNDES Reinforce the Position of Companies for Socio-Environmental Development in Brazil in the Coming Years

Both projects to be developed in Northern and Northeastern Brazil are expected to encourage private market collaborators to invest in the socio-environmental development of Brazil. 

Thus, the estimate for Garante Amazônia is that investments of over R$ 120 million will be leveraged, while Juntos pela Saúde aims to gather R$ 200 million in non-reimbursable resources to ensure access to quality healthcare in the country. 

The Director of Productive and Socio-Environmental Credit at BNDES, Bruno Aranha, highlighted that “the Bank and Vale demonstrate once again the strength and importance of joint work to ensure better conditions directly to those who need it most.”

He further emphasized that Juntos Pela Saúde aims to “bring health where there is still a deficiency or absence of care, with a goal of serving more than 2 million people in the North and Northeast.” 

Maria Luiza Paiva, Executive Vice President of Sustainability at Vale, stated that the company will continue to act in pursuit of more socio-environmental development in Brazil over the coming years, marking only the beginning of the journey.