2021 Impact Report describes how 5,000 hectares of habitat in Brazilian biomes have been restored as part of Vale’s 2030 Forest Goal, our support for 122 social and environmental impact businesses, our roughly 29,000 beneficiaries and our investment of more than R$50 million
Fundo Vale’s 2021 Impact Report sets out the growth and evolution of its managerial approach and the impacts of its business promotion activities and investment undertaken in accordance with its 2030 Theory of Change. Last year, the organization disbursed R$50.2 million in all, supporting 122 social and environmental impact businesses. Through its partners, Fundo Vale financed 96 impact enterprises and approximately 29,000 people benefited directly and indirectly from initiatives undertaken. In 2021, more than 5,000 hectares were restored by social and environmental impact businesses, in line with one of the strategies in the restoration component of Vale’s 2030 Forest Goal. Of the total amount invested in 2021, around R$10.4 million of non-refundable resources were allocated to business promotion schemes and more than R$39.8 million was invested with the expectation of generating financial returns. By way of comparison, since it was founded 12 years ago, Fundo Vale has disbursed R$212.2 million.
“2021 was a very important year for Fundo Vale: we learned about possible ways forward, we used the 2030 Theory of Change as our guide and we tested whether the businesses had the capacity to deliver the proposed hectares. It was a year of proof of concept and great clarity.”
Patricia Fagundes Daros, Director, Fundo Vale
In 2021, Fundo Vale strengthened its relationship with its sponsor company, Vale, helping it deliver on its voluntary sustainability commitments related to forests and climate. This involved creating and coordinating Vale’s 2030 Forest Goal, as well as innovative projects such as a proposal based on REDD+ (Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) as an alternative to the traditional conservation model and incubation of the Carbon Hub, an initiative to originate, develop and manage carbon projects, nature-based solutions and environmental assets, involving synergistic work with various areas of Vale. In this way, the search for the biggest possible positive social and environmental impacts also contributes to the commitments made by Vale to protect and restore 500,000 hectares of habitat by 2030 and to become zero carbon by 2050.
“The advances of 2021 reinforce our belief that the results and impacts expected by Fundo Vale will only be achieved through coordinated action with our partners and a lot of innovation in projects, businesses and above all arrangements. We remain confident about the coming years, guided by long-term social and environmental impacts and believing that integrated action via business promotion and investment is the key to our results.”
Gustavo Luz, Fundo Vale and equity stakes manager, Vale
Outstanding projects and initiatives
In 2021, together with other co-funders, Fundo Vale supported the launch of the Amazon Impact Accelerator (AMAZ), which made its first investments through R$25 million of blended finance (half philanthropic capital and half repayable capital). The Conexsus Social and Environmental Fund also grew significantly last year, thanks to action by a dynamizing organization. In line with its COVID-19 Response Plan, this fund provided emergency funding to 82 community businesses between June 2020 and December 2021, expanding its loan book to R$10.1 million.
Another notable initiative is PrevisIA, a partnership between Vale (via Fundo Vale), the Institute for the Amazon’s People and Environment (Imazon) and Microsoft, which culminated in the development of a tool that uses artificial intelligence for risk evaluation and prevention of deforestation and fires in the Amazon. PrevisIA was the only Latin American initiative included in a ranking of “100 Global Biodiversity Best Practices and Positive Actions” produced for the NGO Forum at the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) in Kunming, China.
Fundo Vale also joined the Living Forests Initiative, a project created by Brazil’s national development bank, BNDES, to provide financial support for forest restoration projects involving native species and agroforestry systems in the country’s different biomes. The resources raised will be leveraged by BNDES and its network of major partners through match funding. Fundo Vale has contributed R$5 million, matched by the bank.
Impact management and measurement
The 2021 Impact Report shares Fundo Vale’s efforts and lessons learned in developing a model that quantifies and appraises the impacts of its investments, enhancing its importance and transparency. This tool, called GIMPACT, was built by listening to Vale’s ecosystem and Fundo Vale’s partners, as well as through benchmarking work with other leading organizations in the area. “The GIMPACT model is based on international references, thereby positioning Fundo Vale as an investment fund that intends to align itself with global markets,” explains Juliana Vilhena, Fundo Vale’s social and environmental impact and innovation management leader. She adds that 2021 was a fundamental year to strategically guide Fundo Vale’s activities in driving innovative forest and climate-related solutions.
And find out more about the history that Fundo Vale is helping build together with Brazil’s social and environmental impact ecosystem.