Social and Environmental Responsibility
Bunge established a large-scale sugar and bioenergy business in early 2010 with the acquisition of five sugar mills. This latest edition of Bunge's environmental reporting covers 2009 and therefore does not reflect our current Sugar & Bioenergy operations. This information will be included in future Bunge Citizenship updates.
Labor
Bunge owns and operates eight sugarcane mills in Brazil, and owns and leases farmland on which sugarcane is cultivated and harvested.
Bunge complies with Brazilian Regulatory Standard 31 – "Worker Safety and Health in Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry, Logging and Aquaculture" – which sets minimum standards for labor conditions for agricultural workers. All Bunge employees and contract workers must be at least 18 years of age, and there is at least one work-safety technician on staff for every 100 employees. Our facilities and employee lodgings have bedrooms, bathrooms, including bathrooms in the field, leisure areas and dining facilities. All employees and contract workers at Bunge's sugar plantations have private health insurance and receive technical training from the University of São Paulo's Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture and the University of Tocantins.
Bunge's sugarcane mills use modern technology and incorporate leading agricultural and environmental practices. Ninety percent of the harvesting of raw sugarcane is done using mechanized equipment, and we are continuing to reduce our use of manual harvesting in our operations.
For more information about sugarcane in Brazil, visit the web site of UNICA, the Brazilian sugarcane industry association.