"Investors for the Future" Joins Forces for the Care and Conservation of the Cerrado
The Cerrado Waters Consortium (CCA) launches a project to collaboratively engage with society, increasing awareness and actions for the conservation of the Cerrado biome in the Cerrado Mineiro region.
By CCA Press Office
Patrocínio-MG, September 2023. In the month celebrating Cerrado Day, the Cerrado Waters Consortium presents the "Investors for the Future" initiative, a project aimed at involving the community in awareness and conservation practices for the Cerrado biome in the Cerrado Mineiro region, its area of operation, where those who join the initiative are investing in the future.
Investments can be made in two ways: financially or in goods and services, and participation in the initiative is done through the CCA website. On the platform, individuals or companies can choose how they can or want to invest to ensure the availability of natural resources in the future, whether by supporting sustainable agriculture to mitigate climate change or by supporting the restoration of native Cerrado vegetation to protect endangered species; neutralizing carbon footprints and promoting food security and water availability.
The CCA, which has been collaboratively active since 2019, involving various sectors such as businesses, government, and civil society, sees this initiative as an expansion of its objective to pool efforts for environmental preservation and conservation with the aim of combating climate change. "The initiative comes in response to the advances in climate change and irregular water supply, which consequently impact agricultural production and all of us. UN data (2021) shows that 31% of greenhouse gas emissions come from agri-food systems.
However, it is in agriculture that we find climate protection and the achievement of the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Therefore, the CCA supports farmers in the development of Climate-Smart Agriculture strategies to protect the Cerrado, ensure water availability, and combat the climate crisis. Investing in the future means being aware today that the ability to transform the current reality lies in our actions. Everyone can do something," explains Fabiane Sebaio, executive secretary of the CCA.
With a focus on medium and long-term returns, the CCA believes that the capital for transformation is the present, and it is the present that will make the environment more prosperous, secure, and viable for maintaining a quality life on our planet, ensuring the well-being of all beings that inhabit it.
Two Investment Options One of the CCA's objectives is for companies and individuals to join the initiative and benefit from this investment by reversing it into sustainability actions for their corporation, engaging employees, and making the actions of the Cerrado Waters Consortium known and strengthened by the involvement of more people.
To achieve this, two ways of supporting CCA actions have been created. When the chosen option is "Investing in Goods and Services," individuals or companies support the development of actions on PIPC properties - the Program for Investment in Conscious Producers, either as volunteers performing services or by offering discounts or special conditions on products directly to the platform's producers, with a focus on optimizing the implementation of Climate-Smart Agriculture strategies. Benefits for investing in this category include having the organization's logo on the website and being featured in the project's official list and on the Cerrado Waters Consortium's social media. Those who invest in this category will receive a kit to inspire their group on how to combat climate change and a simplified report to monitor the progress of actions.
When the chosen support option is "Financial Investment," the investment is made in financial resources, allowing the CCA to acquire labor, inputs, equipment, and other needs for the development of strategies on properties that will combat climate risks identified in the watersheds. In this option, four categories with progressive investments and benefits are offered, ranging from having the organization's logo on the CCA's website and communication channels to receiving a CCA member for an environmental awareness lecture, and even being mentioned in the institutional video as a supporter of the platform. Benefits vary according to the category.
To invest or learn more about the project, simply visit the website https://www.cerradodasaguas.org.br/investidordofuturo.
Contributing to CCA's Progress As a collaborative platform, the Consortium has 12 coffee industry companies that support strategies and provide support for advancing initiatives as associate members. Through joint efforts, the CCA has collected numbers showing that it is possible to build sustainable productive landscapes that have a positive impact on the Cerrado. There are 500 hectares of implemented Climate-Smart Agriculture, 48,000 trees planted, 130 hectares of climate adaptation plans in 2022, 150 hectares of land in the process of restoration, and 367,334 tons of potential carbon sequestration.
With this initiative, the CCA hopes that the collaborative platform will expand, and actions will gain reinforcement, involving the community in the efforts.
About the CCA Established in 2015 in Patrocínio, MG, the Cerrado Waters Consortium aims to pool efforts to implement strategies that ensure the provision of ecosystem services in order to achieve a production system resilient to climate change.
The initiative has the following companies as associate members: Nescafé, Expocaccer, Nespresso, Lavazza, Cooxupé, CofCo, Volcafé, Stockler, Daterra, Federation of Cerrado Coffee Growers, CerVivo, and Starbucks. In addition, the platform has key partners such as the Municipal Prefecture of Serra do Salitre and the Municipal Prefecture of Coromandel.
Learn more by visiting: http://cerradodasaguas.org.br
Press Contact
Polliana Dias CCA
Press Office consorcio@cerradodasaguas.org.br
C. +55. (34).9.8818-771