VLI and Tereos complete Brazil’s first carbon-offset rail shipment of sugar

VLI and Tereos carried out Brazil’s first carbon-offset railway operation for sugar transport in September, moving cargo between the Guará Integrator Terminal in São Paulo and the Luiz Antonio Mesquita Port Integrator Terminal (Tiplam) in the Santos region.

“With this operation, the partnership between VLI and Tereos opens a new chapter, adding environmental gains to rail transport of sugar, which is already sustainable by nature—rail emits just one-sixth of the carbon per tonne transported compared with road haulage. VLI believes in co-creating solutions with clients to boost operational results while leaving a positive legacy for society and the planet,” said Danny Marchesi, VLI’s general manager of Sustainability and Communications.

“At Tereos, we are committed to sustainability and decarbonization across every link of our chain. This operation marks a significant milestone for the sugar-energy sector and reinforces our commitment to delivering innovative and sustainable logistics solutions that balance efficiency with environmental responsibility. We will continue to invest in initiatives that help build a greener future,” added Gustavo Segantini, Tereos’ commercial director.

The two companies will now evaluate the results of this pioneering initiative before defining next steps.

The SemC project
VLI entered the carbon credit market in 2023 through SemC (Without Carbon), an initiative developed within the company’s intrapreneurship programs. Generally, firms seeking to offset their emissions purchase credits directly from trading houses. For rail operations, data on carbon emissions is available in concessionaire documents for each cargo movement.

“VLI is, therefore, a necessary link in this chain. We began carbon-offset operations with fuel transport and have now scaled it to another key segment through this pilot with Tereos,” said João Carlos Apolônio de Souza, VLI’s commercial sugar manager and one of the creators of SemC.

VLI and Tereos partnership
To improve efficiency in rail sugar transport, in November 2020, VLI and Tereos inaugurated two sugar warehouses at Tiplam and Guará, built with a joint investment of R$205 million and a total capacity of 240,000 tonnes. Tereos’ sugar is moved along VLI’s Southeast Corridor, which links Brazil’s Midwest to the Port of Santos via the Centro-Atlântica Railway.

This year, the companies also set a new operational record, loading 70,000 tonnes of VHP sugar onto a single vessel at Tiplam for shipment to China.

Source: VLI

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