Sustainability Report 2004

Sustainability

A structured approach for the future

The new business environment is forcing companies to take a structured approach to the question of sustainability.

Aracruz believes that the question of sustainability must be treated from a long-term perspective, increasing the capacity of the Company to act globally in a constantly more competitive situation.

We set a goal in 2004 of preparing a Sustainability Plan that would formalize the way we deal with this issue as a structured process. To this end, SustainAbility, a consulting firm based in the United Kingdom that has extensive experience in this field and has been working with the support of Atitude of Brazil, was hired.

Initially, an in-depth diagnosis of Aracruz’s actions was conducted. This included management perceptions of the sustainability of the Company’s different areas as well as the perceptions of different external stakeholders. The results were presented during an in-house seminar, establishing governance, transparency and stakeholder involvement as priority areas.

During a second phase, the management system and environmental and social aspects will be tackled. To support this process with facts and historical and current data, we began preparing a case history about Aracruz’s businesses. Based on interviews and research, it was possible to establish a correlation between the Company’s social and environmental actions and their impact on its own business.

This work is scheduled to continue during 2005. The emphasis will be on defining and implementing the commitments and actions in the governance, transparency and stakeholder areas as well as developing actions encompassing management systems and environmental and social aspects of the Company.