Suzano, a global benchmark in the manufacture of bioproducts developed from cultivated eucalyptus, presented a Family Shelter to the Town of Ribas do Rio Pardo, where the company is building a new plant. The event took place this Tuesday (12/19) and was attended by Mayor João Alfredo Danieze, Suzano leaders and local authorities. In total, the company invested R$4.3 million to build and furnish the facility to provide a space for families and welcome children and/or adolescents at social risk or individuals removed from family and community life by court order. This is one more project that has been completed as part of Suzano’s basic environmental plan (PBA, in Portuguese).
“The shelter will offer a place for children and adolescents at social risk to stay as a result of court orders. This fully-furnished, large and well-designed space ensures that these individuals will receive dignified and humane treatment. Through our PBA, we put into practice our Culture Driver that says that ‘It is only good for us if it is good for the world’. Ribas do Rio Pardo can now count on a model structure to comply with an important policy public,” said Maurício Miranda, director of Engineering at Suzano.
The 678.60 m² shelter was built on a 1,530 m² plot. When it opens, it will be able to accommodate 22 people in six bedrooms. The finished building has eight beds for men, eight beds for women, two handicap accessible beds and four children’s beds. It also has two study rooms, a playroom, kitchen, cafeteria, laundry room, linen closet, living room, infirmary, social assistance office, locker rooms, bathrooms, a playground, a soccer field and more than 450 m² of green area.
In addition to the building, the shelter is being presented to the Town fully furnished, including 20 beds and mattresses in all bedrooms, two cribs, wardrobes, desks, industrial stove, microwave, refrigerator, freezer, water fountain, dining tables, closets, washer and dryers, TV, sofa set, armchairs and air conditioning, in addition to equipment for the infirmary, such as a stretcher with ladder and hospital scales, workstations and a meeting desk.
Commitment
The initiatives included in the PBA were approved by government and civil society representatives in 2021. The Urban Infrastructure Adaptation Program received an investment of R$48 million (preliminary amount) for local improvements in the areas of health, education, social development, housing, public safety and traffic safety.
In addition to the inauguration of the Ribas do Rio Pardo Family Shelter, Suzano has already invested R$12 million to expand the Dr. José Maria Marques Domingues Municipal Hospital, in addition to investing R$470,000 in equipment to enable the laboratory to perform new types of tests. The company also donated a mobile health bus with two fully equipped offices to serve remote areas of the town.
Suzano has also presented three vehicles to the Civil Police—one for transporting prisoners, one official police car for overt policing in the town and one car for undercover investigations. It also donated one official vehicle to the Military Fire Department and another for exclusive use by the Federal Highway Police, in addition to security equipment to the Mato Grosso do Sul Military Police riot battalion.
Other projects underway include the installation of radio communication equipment for the FHP in four towers along Highway 262, and construction of the FHP Operational Unit, a new Civil Police station, a Worker Support House and 50 housing units. Currently, a new Family Health Center is under construction in the Estoril II neighborhood, according to the floor plan established by the Ministry of Health. It has approximately 350 m² of built area and is expected to be completed in January 2024.
About Suzano
Suzano is the world’s largest pulp producer, one of the largest paper producers in Latin America and a benchmark for the development of sustainable and innovative solutions from renewable sources. The company’s products, which are part of the lives of more than 2 billion people in more than 100 countries, include pulp, printing and writing paper, paper straws and cups, paper packaging, sanitary pads and toilet paper, among others. Suzano is guided by its purpose of “Renewing life inspired by trees.” The company pursues sustainability through innovation to address the challenges faced by society. With 99 years of history, the company has shares listed on stock exchanges in Brazil (SUZB3) and the United States (SUZ).