Building close and transparent relationships with local communities is a top priority for Bracell. Among our core values is supporting the communities where we operate and helping to drive local development. We believe that for any operation to be good for Bracell, it must first be good for the community.

To this end, our operations follow procedures and control mechanisms that are part of our management system, with a focus on mitigating the risks and impacts of our forestry, mill, and logistics operations. We also carry out long-term structured projects through Bracell Social, with clear goals and targets focused on promoting entrepreneurship, education, and well-being in local communities—as part of our Bracell 2030 commitments.

Our approach to stakeholder engagement includes informing communities and neighbors near our forestry and mill operations about the actual and potential impacts of our operations. Initiatives are structured around open communication with stakeholders and the following goals:

• Inform neighboring communities about upcoming forestry operations in their vicinity, including potential risks and both positive and negative impacts from these operations
• Strengthen our relations with communities and neighbors
• Enhance communication with our communities and neighbors
• Contribute to strengthen initiatives and increase responsiveness to requests from local communities
• Identify, prevent and minimize potential impacts caused by operations on these communities and neighbors
• Mitigate the risk of potential community issues that could affect our operations
• Address inquiries and concerns regarding operational aspects and the company as a whole.

Bracell’s Integrated Management System (IMS) includes a standard, available to all employees, on relations with traditional peoples and communities.

The standard outlines criteria and requirements for establishing an integrated management process for engaging with communities neighboring Bracell’s forestry and mill operations. It also contains guidance on relations with traditional peoples and communities, in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

The objectives of the standard is to establish continuous two-way communication, provide up-to-date and transparent information, identify and evaluate social aspects, establish measures to control and mitigate potential negative impacts, and identify positive impacts.

In managing this material topic, identified potential positive impacts include increased job creation and opportunities for partnerships; improved quality of life and/or living conditions in the areas where we operate, due to increased private social investment—through initiatives across education, inclusion, entrepreneurship, and community development; and improved local infrastructure as a result of company-driven investments and collaborations.

In terms of negative impacts, our management approach includes addressing the risk of conflicts with neighboring communities over impacts from operations. This risk is managed through our impact mitigation practices and close engagement with local communities.

Promoting Women’s Entrepreneurship, Education, and Income Generation

As part of the social targets in our Bracell 2030 roadmap, we have committed to promoting women’s entrepreneurship, expanding income opportunities and strengthening public education in the regions where we operate.

Our goal is for at least 60% of “impact business” projects to be led by women—reinforcing our commitment to gender equity and female leadership (see more about Bracell Social, our social investment platform, on page GRI 203-1 Infrastructure investments and services supported).

We also aim to raise the income of families involved in income-generation initiatives in priority areas by 20% by 2030.

In education, Bracell is helping to improve learning outcomes in communities with historically low academic performance. We have set a target to increase Portuguese and math proficiency by 30% in the public schools participating in our programs.

In 2024, we carried out the following initiatives as part of our Bracell 2030 roadmap focused on strengthening local communities

As part of efforts to advance our Bracell 2030 social targets, we launched the following local community initiatives in 2024:

1. Social and Economic Assessment in São Paulo – We conducted an assessment to identify opportunities for improving public education and reducing poverty in municipalities located within the area of influence of our operations.
2. Assessment of Continuing Education Program in Bahia – We conducted an assessment of impact from our program supporting the professional development of public school teachers and principals, helping to strengthen local continuing education programs. The program is running in municipalities in the state of Bahia, where we also began updating the regional social and economic assessment.
3. Territorial development assessment in Mato Grosso do Sul – We conducted a study to analyze the potential, challenges, and opportunities for strengthening sustainable territorial development in municipalities located within the area of influence of our operations in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
4. Framework for Tracking Bracell 2030 Social Targets – We developed a comprehensive framework for tracking Bracell 2030 social targets, including baseline definitions, an impact framework, and rationale for calculating metrics—ensuring greater precision in measuring results and social impact over the coming years.