Forest Management - Dexco

Dexco’s Environmental Policy, Corporate Standards for Responsible Forest Management, and the Forest Management Plan set the guidelines for the responsible management of our forests.

Forest Nursery

In addition to nurseries in Brazil, Dexco keeps a nursery in the city of Barbosa, Colombia, whose purpose is to boost productivity and improve the quality of the wood used in our production process.

Plant Breeding Program

We develop several tree clones that are better adapted to climate changes, in addition to being more productive and resistant to pests and diseases.

Our Plant Breeding Program, created in 1969, focuses on researching and developing materials that can make our eucalyptus forests more resistant to pests and diseases, and adapt more easily to climate and rainfall conditions.

In addition to improvements intended for the production of wooden panels, we also evaluate more suitable materials to meet the demand of our Minas Gerais-based water-soluble cellulose plant in partnership with Lenzing AG, LD Celulose.

See below the four basic management concepts that guide Dexco’s operations

Minimum tillage

Leaves and branches from previous forests are kept in the soil, providing protection, moisture retention and nutrients for the next crop.

Soil Manuring Program

Studies on soil conditions and the trees’ nutritional situation define the best manure formulas and application methods to ensure top productivity.

Fire control

Wildfire prevention and firefighting actions to protect tree-growing and conservation areas, and the company’s employees, machinery, and facilities.

Pest Control

The presence of wild animals in conservation areas within Dexco’s farms contribute to the biological control of forest pests. If necessary, pesticides are applied to these areas, according to the best people and environmental safety practices.

Dexco keeps thousands of hectares of eucalyptus and pine planted forests, as well as conservation areas covered by native vegetation in its own or leased farms in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio Grande do Sul. These forests provide the necessary raw materials for our wood panel manufacturing sites.

Additionally, since the 1970s, we have teamed up with universities and research institutes to monitor and compile local biodiversity inventories, contributing to environmental scientific research.

To assess and mitigate the social impact associated with the management of our planted forests, we have adopted procedures that seek an increasingly better relationship with local communities.

In 1995, we were recognized for the excellence in how we manage our forest assets, becoming the first company in South America to earn a certification for responsible forest management. Our wood panel manufacturing plants hold certification for the whole custody chain, which ensures the wood used in our production is traceable and sourced from certified suppliers or other controlled sources.

Since 2019, we have collaborated with our partner producers to pursue responsible forest management certification. The first areas were certified in 2020, and our goal is to reach 80% of them by 2025.

Forest Monitoring

Monitoring carbon, water, and nutrient flows of our planted forests over the years has ensured the sustainable development and environmental balance of areas we operate in. That is why since 2008 we have supported the cooperative program Torre de Fluxo (Flow Tower)*, run by the Forest Studies and Research Institute (IIEF, “Instituto de Pesquisas e Estudos Florestais” in Portuguese), the French Center for Agricultural Research (CIRAD), and the University of São Paulo’s Luiz de Queiroz School of Agriculture (ESALQ/USP).

It collects input for research on the best practices for responsible management, combining productivity and sustainability. In 2019, we renewed our participation it the program for another seven years.

At Dexco, we continually improve our operations to strike the right social-environmental balance across the value chain. We see it as our commitment and duty to use natural resources and raw materials rationally and sustainably, adopting principles that enable their reduction, optimization, and reuse.

Valuable Conservation Areas

As part of our Forest Management Plan, we classify as Valuable Conservation Areas (AAVCs) places whose environmental or social values are deemed exceptional or critically important.

In these areas, we take measures to protect the identified values, such as banning hunting and fishing, property security, preventing and fighting wildfires, speed limits on roads, and controlling invasive species, as well as monitoring attributes found there. These actions contribute to preserving native vegetation and rare or endangered animal and plant species that are critically relevant to local communities and their traditions.

In 2021, we reassessed all of our certified areas based on AAVC identification criteria (categories 1 and 4), encompassing 132,774.58 hectares that span 152 farms in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio Grande do Sul. The methodology and results were made available for consultation to some of our stakeholders, like universities, government agencies, researchers, and NGOs.

According to the assessment criteria and points brought up during our public consultation, the presence of an endemic amphibian species (Bokermannohyla sazimai) in the Triângulo Mineiro region, found in the Nova Ponte farm, Minas Gerais, led to that place being classified as a category 1 AAVC, spanning 32.5 hectares.

Learn more about our Forestry Division by clicking here

Forest Management Plan

The Forest Management Plan (FMP) contains guidelines and procedures for managing certified forest areas, following international standards. It constitutes an important instrument of management and dissemination, through the public summary, and can also be used for guidance, registration and training of people.

Forest Management Plan 2022

Group of Sponsored

Producers in this group rely on our technical and financial support to follow the requirements and maintain forest certifications, and when selling the wood, they receive additional value because it comes from forests in which socio-environmental practices are adopted.

The actions that the company has been developing are already generating relevant results and impacts on the wood supply chain, mainly at the Taquari plant in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. In 2021, the first group of supporters called “Forest Producers of the Taquari Valley – Group 01” received a recommendation for responsible forest management certification with the support of Dexco.

Forest Management Plan 2022 – fomented

*Documents available only in Portuguese