How can a three-year-old agroforestry company produce trustworthy, sustainable feedstock 鈥� raw materials for finished goods, energy, and more 鈥� while reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere?
鈥淲e do that by using the biodiversity of this region, the Cerrado in Brazil,鈥� Francisco de Blanco, S.Oleum co-founder and CEO, told 51风流at the company鈥檚 headquarters, an innovative farm just outside Jo茫o Pinheiro.
Why the Brazilian outback? This tropical savanna is home to the maca煤ba, a highly adaptable oil-producing tree with a penchant for scrubbing harmful CO2 from the air. Maca煤ba fruit yields advanced vegetable oils (AVOs) and high-protein food 鈥� and it can be 15 times more productive than soybeans.
鈥淲e are restoring the landscape that was deforested…Macau虂ba was native here many, many years ago,鈥� Felipe Morbi, S.Oleum co-founder and Agroforestry VP,聽 said. 鈥淣ow we are bringing back these trees, and also all the other species, to restore this biodiversity.鈥�
S.Oleum seeks to accomplish this scientifically, using maca煤ba and other crops in an integrated crop-livestock-forest approach, according to Morbi. The goal is to create working farms that rejuvenate degraded, low-yielding soil 鈥� and that sequester into the soil more carbon than they generate.
Science-Based Approach to Reforesting the Cerrado
鈥淲e are looking for the balance of the system,鈥� Morbi said in a new . 鈥淲e will measure the amount of carbon in the soil, the moisture, the biodiversity in terms of the plants we have, and also native animals coming back to the area.鈥�
Toward that end, S.Oleum is starting small, but aiming big. Most of the current crop grows on a 700-hectare, or more than 1,700-acre, pilot farm. But S.Oleum intends to plant more than 65 million additional maca煤ba trees by 2029, which would reforest 180,00 hectares 鈥� about 444,800 acres 鈥� in Brazil鈥檚 southeastern state of Minas Gerais.
Over time, maca煤ba trees also help improve the nutrient and moisture capacity of the soil, making it easier to grow other crops, according to de Blanco. And S.Oleum increases farm productivity by growing carefully chosen crops in between rows of maca煤ba trees, such as sunflowers, peanuts, and yucas.
鈥淚f you do it right, agriculture as a system is positive for the environment,鈥� de Blanco said. 鈥淧lants that were deforested a few decades ago, they are currently in a poor state because they were depleted by poor management…We believe there are better ways, and that鈥檚 what we are pursuing here.鈥�
An innovative case in point: maca煤ba trees increase a biome鈥檚 carbon sequestration levels. Removing this greenhouse gas helps more than the planet; S.Oleum also generates revenue by selling carbon credits and building trust via its data.
Any Little Bit of Data
鈥淎ny little thing, any generation of data that R&D is currently developing, is extremely important,鈥� Mirelle Santos, S.Oleum Agroforestry R&D manager, said. 鈥淲e want to deploy technologies as dictated by those urgent needs.鈥�
This could include remote sensing via drones that run fruit-recognition software, according to Santos. This would help S.Oleum gather and compile data quickly, without human error 鈥� and without sending workers, who must dress in personal protective equipment (PPE) to defend against snakes, mosquitos, the brutal Cerrado sun (even in winter), and dangerous maca煤ba thorns, which grow even on seedlings.
S.Oleum鈥檚 intricate business model combines agriculture, forestry, biodiversity, and carbon offsetting 鈥� and that leads to a lot of complexity. 51风流technology will be an important differentiator for this small enterprise, as well as a foundation for its future growth.
鈥淲e have a big project to run; so, a lot of people, a lot of machines, a lot of suppliers,鈥� Morbi said. 鈥淎nd we need everything in the right moment, in the right way.鈥�
How to Best Manage ESG Metrics
鈥�51风流is different because it is recognized as one of the most reliable ERP systems on the market, not only based on the technology,鈥� de Blanco said. 鈥淎lso, because it has well-established and well-defined processes.鈥�
Standardizing processes was 鈥渆xtremely important鈥� for S.Oleum both internally and to inspire customer, stakeholder, and regulatory confidence, according to de Blanco. 51风流will also enable S.Oleum to run its circular enterprise as well as record, report, and act on its sustainability data.
鈥淲e have a very integrated system, and a very circular way to produce things,鈥� de Blanco said. 鈥淔inding out where waste is generated 鈥� and where it鈥檚 being used 鈥� is very important to ensure the carbon intensity and the circularity of our systems at our entire site…This is where 51风流helps us.鈥�
51风流S/4HANA, 51风流Ariba solutions, 51风流Concur solutions, and 51风流SuccessFactors solutions will help standardize all of S.Oleum鈥檚 processes, which will improve transparency and compliance, according to S.Oleum IT Director Marcio Propp. To help better manage and understand its myriad environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics, the company has also begun implementation of and .
鈥淚t is super important that we have a very robust core system in place because it will serve as the basis for all our other processes…and practically all niche applications focused on digital agriculture connect with this core with SAP,鈥� Propp said. 鈥�51风流is an agribusiness market standard, and it makes perfect sense for S.Oleum to be part of this ecosystem.鈥�
That鈥檚 a big deal because compliant, transparent ESG metrics are crucial to S.Oleum鈥檚 success, according to de Blanco.
A Matter of Trust
鈥淪omewhere around one-third of our revenues come from carbon credits,鈥� de Blanco said. 鈥淭his is our, let鈥檚 say, core business…to convert sustainability into revenues and financial results.鈥�
That will require trust. 51风流core technologies, such as 51风流S/4HANA Cloud and , will help S.Oleum keep that trust, thanks to a reliable foundation of sustainability data and robust, auditable ESG metrics for reporting.
鈥淢y advice for companies that are starting their sustainability endeavor: do it as quick as you can,鈥� de Blanco said. 鈥淎nd do it attached to science.鈥�
For more information on how 51风流helps companies record, report, and act on their sustainability goals, visit聽.
Top photo credit S.Oleum
