This dedicated section outlines how Santander Brasil embeds the Group’s global policies and its local procedures in its activities in the Amazon and other biomes in Brazil.
Santander is committed to safeguarding and promoting the sustainable development of the Amazon rainforest, which is vital to address climate change and conserve biodiversity. We need economic growth, but it must be sustainable.
Deforestation has been taking place in the Brazilian Amazon for several decades, in part due to the spread of illegal ranching.
However, this cannot be attributed to a single cause. Logging, agriculture, cattle ranching, mining, property speculation, unclear land ownership and large infrastructure projects have all played a role. Of these, speculation and undefined land ownership have been key drivers: speculators, after burning the forest, will often raise cattle on land whose ownership is not clear as a way of strengthening their claim.
Given the growing concerns about climate change and biodiversity conservation, Santander Brasil adopts specific policies and practices when lending to customers operating in the Amazon and in other biomes in Brazil. These measures complement the Group’s Global Environmental and Social Risk Management Policy (E&S) and the bank´s adoption of the Equator Principles. We also support the nature-based economy by fostering alliances and nature-based businesses in Brazil.
Index
Santander’s global E&S risk management policy applies to the financing of customers with operations in the Brazilian biomes.
It requires, for example, that lumber companies that harvest native tropical wood species to hold Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification. Additionally, sets out an annual risk assessment of large agribusiness companies operating in the biomes. Our policy also outlines the following restriction criteria for financial products and services or special attention criteria:
- Palm oil processors that are not members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
- Developments in forested peatlands in 'High Risk Geographies'.
- Forestry plantations in areas designated as protected by official bodies. Developments in any forested areas that have experienced forest fires or mass deforestation in the past five years.
- Financing of activities that create the expansion of the agricultural/plantations frontier to the detriment of natural forest.
- Activities impacting tropical forests, tropical savannahs and savannah biomes or located in high-risk geographies.
- Any projects or activities for oil and gas extraction, power generation or transmission, mining, manufacturing, plantations or other major infrastructure projects that put areas classified as Ramsar Sites, World Heritage Sites or by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as categories I, II, III or IV at risk.
For years, Santander Brasil has been working with its customers to promote sustainable development and continuously enhance our approach to addressing deforestation. Santander Brasil has an E&S (Environmental and Social) risk department in São Paulo, staffed by expert analysts with degrees in biology, geography, environmental management and chemical engineering. Our framework ensures:
- regular reviews of customer’s practices: We conduct annual ESG reviews of more than 2,000 corporate and retail customers, including beef processors, soy traders and logging companies;
- safeguards relating to indigenous and conservation areas: We screen loan applications to make sure that properties do not overlap with officially recognized indigenous territories, conservation units and forests classified by the government as Type B1;
- comprehensive loan screening: all loan requests by farmers and ranchers to Santander in Brazil – not only those within the Amazon biome – are checked for government embargoes due to illegal deforestation. This review covers not only the financed property, but also nearby areas and those given as collateral in the Bank’s operations.
- Since Q1 2022, we have been running daily checks to identify potential recent deforestation on farms and ranches that we finance throughout the entire loan term, even before any government fines are imposed.
Environmental and social reviews of companies
Santander Brasil conducts annual environmental and social assessments for wholesale and SME customers with higher exposure or credit limits above BRL 7 million, particularly in 14 priority sectors, across Brazil (not just in the Amazon) that consider not only if our customers are legally compliant but also the existence of good practices. This makes our financing practices aligned with environmental laws, human rights standards and best sustainability practices.
Over the past decade, we have been conducting reviews of more than 2,000 corporate and retail customers per year. Details of these numbers are available on the Santander Brasil website. The reviews cover companies in every region of Brazil, such as large soy producers, soy traders, beef processors, mining, and logging companies. For beef producers, we pay close attention to their supplier’s practices. Our team of specialists cross-checks responses against public data – including government permits, fines, embargoes, lawsuits and contaminated-land reports – and assigns a score from 1 to 5 across environmental, social, and climate dimensions.
Scope. Santander’s E&S procedures apply to Wholesale and Large Retail (E3) segments that:
- operate in certain economic sectors, including agribusiness, forestry, mining, energy, oil & gas and industry in general;
- have annual sales revenues of at least BRL 30 million (roughly EUR 4.85 million); and
- maintain a debt exposure with Santander of at least BRL 7 million (EUR ~1 million).
Methodology. Santander Brasil uses an E&S rating which is taken into account in the credit rating of corporate customers. This model includes an assessment of supply chain practices, fines, degraded land, and profile of E&S management.
It also includes climate factors through:
- a water stress calculator that takes into account the customer's economic activity, the river basin(s) in which it is located, as well as management measures to save water; and
- an assessment of the customer’s climate resilience, considering adaptations to change, such as new weather patterns, legislation or consumer behaviour.
Supply chain. A key part of our assessment of agribusiness customers in the Amazon is a thorough check of their supply chain. For this, we use internet-based tools such as Trase, government data on fines and audits, and news reports. If we uncover any issues, we ask customers about their practices and specific incidents. If we identify material breaches of environmental law and regulation, our standard contracts stipulate our right to take remedial action that includes demanding full repayment of the debt early.
Collaborative efforts to stop deforestation. In addition to its role in Febraban (Brazil’s Banking Federation) described below, Santander Brasil participates in other initiatives that work to find solutions to contain deforestation in the agricultural sector chain, such as the Brazilian Roundtable on Sustainable Livestock (MBPS, in Portuguese), a multi-stakeholder initiative founded in 2008 to promote better ranching practices in Brazil; or the Brazil Coalition for Climate, Forests, and Agriculture, which works to promote synergy between the agendas of protection, conservation, sustainable use of natural and planted forests, agriculture and livestock farming, and adaptation to climate change.
Through this structured analysis, Santander promotes responsible financing, boosts transparency, and supports its customers’ transition to a low-carbon and inclusive economy.
Farmers and ranchers
A significant portion of illegally deforested lands does not have a clear owner or is government-owned property. For this reason, Santander verifies land ownership or lease before financing farmers and ranchers.
As part of our credit approval process, we partner with a leading satellite-imaging firm to monitor all properties financed or held as collateral. We monitor approximately 19,000 properties for deforestation alerts. This firm provides daily information on government embargoes that prohibit production on illegally deforested plots.
It also provides us with data related to modern slave labour, as well as incursions into officially recognized indigenous territories, parks, conservation areas and forests classified by the government as Type B.
If we identify problems or spot issues, we contact the customer and ask for an explanation. If we detect a material breach of environmental law or regulation, our standard contracts allow us to require early loan repayment.
In addition to these tools, Santander uses two internet-based satellite-imaging services – Global Forest Watch and MapBiomas – that enable us to detect potential tree cover loss on customer’s farms and ranches over a specified time period.
Santander Brasil adopts specific policies in the Amazon that focus on beef processing customers.
In 2021, Santander Brasil began engaging with more than a dozen beef processing customers to tackle illegal deforestation linked to their supply chain by 2025. This engagement led to several of them declaring commitments online in 2022 and developing plans to monitor Tier 1 indirect suppliers (supplier of the direct supplier)1, a key gap in traceability and monitoring systems.
Santander Brasil, along with other banks, shared lessons learnt with Febraban, which lead to the creation, in March 2023, of a sector protocol – SARB 026/2023, which sets the standards for managing the risk of illegal deforestation in the bovine meat chain. The protocol defined guidelines to be adopted by its signatories.
This is the first sector-wide environmental protocol for financing beef processing. Since every major bank in Brazil is a signatory, it is considered an effective way of sustainable change and addressing deforestation.
All the 22 banks in Brazil that have agreed to comply to the protocol need to adhere to common minimum requirements to combat illegal deforestation in the Legal Amazon and Maranhão.
By signing the protocol, Santander has aligned its objective with that of the Brazilian financial industry, and has been engaging with its meatpacking customers.
To comply with the Febraban protocol, beef meatpackers operating in the Legal Amazon and Maranhão must:
- Until March 2026, in addition to the annual progress reports, they must publish the consolidated performance indicator for January 2026, as defined by Febraban.
- Until December 2025, establish a traceability and monitoring system, to demonstrate that cattle acquisition is free from illegal deforestation across all Direct and Tier 1 Indirect Suppliers.
- Starting in March 2024, publish annual progress updates. Reports will be published annually by March 31st, using data from December 31st of the previous year. The reports must contain the KPIs necessary to verify compliance with the Commitment, covering Direct and Tier 1 Indirect Suppliers, indicating whether or not the data is audited by a third party.
- By December 2023, publish on their websites a Commitment and Traceability Plan, aiming for the acquisition of cattle free from illegal deforestation across all Direct and Tier 1 Indirect Suppliers.
Status of Santander Brasil’s implementation of the SARB 026/2023 sector protocol:
Signatory banks must monitor the implementation of actions within the deadlines stipulated by the regulation, evaluate the customers' public reports on the dates established, and take measures based on the content published by meat producers.
Since the protocol was established, Santander has been actively engaging with all beef processing customers that it affects, leveraging our technical expertise to assist in developing their traceability plans and reports.
During 2025, all progress reports from clients under monitoring were reviewed for compliance. Those who failed to present the required plans had their credit limits temporarily suspended and reinstated only upon compliance. We will continue to act accordingly and monitor compliance with the milestone set by the Febraban protocol, checking adherence to the implementation timeline.
1. Tier 1 indirect suppliers for meatpackers are those ranchers that provide cattle to direct suppliers, who then supply the meatpackers. These suppliers are crucial in the meat supply chain as they ensure a steady flow of livestock to meet the demands of meat processing facilities.
Santander is actively engaged in strategic alliances and has supported and developed innovative approaches focused on nature-based solutions and businesses in Brazil and the Amazon region.
Biomas
Santander is a co-founder of Biomas, an ecosystem restoration company committed to reforesting and protecting two million hectares of degraded land in Brazil over the next 20 years. The initiative’s aim is to plant two billion native trees and remove approximately 900 million tonnes of CO₂e from the atmosphere to make a material contribution to Brazil’s climate and biodiversity goals. In 2025, Biomas launched its first large-scale forest restoration project in southern Bahía, in partnership with Veracel Celulose (which is providing land and operational support) and Carbon2Nature Brasil (a joint venture between Iberdrola and Neoenergia that develops high-integrity carbon credits). Known as the Muçununga Project, the initiative aims to restore 1,200 hectares of the Atlantic Forest over a 40-year horizon by planting two million seedlings from more than 70 native species, including yellow ipe, jatobá and jacarandá-da-bahia.
The project is expected to deliver outcomes across four key areas:
- Climate: Restoration of the Atlantic Forest will help mitigate climate change by removing carbon from the atmosphere.
- Biodiversity: Reintroducing a wide range of native species will help rebuild natural habitats and strengthen ecosystem resilience.
- Social: The initiative promotes inclusive development by involving local communities and generating employment, skills, and shared value.
- Carbon markets: The carbon credits issued will adhere to high-integrity standards and provide measurable environmental and social co-benefits.
IFACC Alliance
In December 2022, Santander became the first bank to join the Innovative Finance for the Amazon, Cerrado and Chaco (IFACC) initiative. Supported by The Nature Conservancy, the Tropical Forest Alliance, the World Economic Forum, and the United Nations Environment Programme, IFAAC was launched in Glasgow in November 2021 to accelerate financing for sustainable production in these regions. IFACC brings together complementary capabilities to design and scale up mechanisms such as farm loans, farmland investment funds, corporate debt instruments, and capital market offerings. It also shares lessons learned among members, who have pledged USD 3 billion by 2025.
Our participation in IFACC focuses on structuring innovative financial mechanisms to support deforestation-and-conversion-free beef and soy production models in the Amazon and Cerrado. The IFACC framework has enabled disbursements of USD 498.75 million and supported sustainable practices across 341,434 hectares, in addition to agroforestry systems (1,754 ha), ecological restoration (739 ha) and the protection of native vegetation (55,613 ha). 2025 saw the formal launch of the Catalytic Capital for the Agricultural Transition , a blended-finance debt fund (initial capital of USD 50 million; target size of USD 200 million) that aims for 1:4 leverage and is expected to support the protection or recovery of more than 500,000 hectares, avoid up to 240 million tonnes of CO₂, and directly benefit over 1,000 farmers by 2030.
Brazil NBS Investment Collaborative
In 2024, Santander became the first bank to join Brazil’s NbS investment collaborative, a platform led by global climate investors and coordinated by Capital for Climate, with anchor funding from the Finance Hub of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and additional support from The Rockefeller Foundation and Santander. Between 2023 and 2024, the platform allocated USD 2.1 billion and set a USD 2.67 billion target for 2025, with aggregated plans totalling USD 10.4 billion by 2027. The pipeline of investible NbS projects in Brazil is expanding rapidly. Developers plan to more than double their deployment capacity by 2028, with USD 6.1 billion in capital required to meet projected needs by 2027. Project opportunities increasingly align with institutional investment criteria, including scale, replicability, land tenure security and predictable cash flows. Farmers and project sponsors are also demonstrating that nature restoration can enhance both productivity and profitability. The total pipeline is expected to grow from 5.1 million hectares in 2026 to 9.6 million hectares by 2028, spanning both primary NbS and conservation-focused initiatives.
Amazon Finance Network
Launched at COP28 by IDB Invest and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), this alliance brings together 18 financial institutions from nine countries to increase investment flows, mobilize capital, share knowledge on innovative financial solutions and work the public sector, with the goal of fostering sustainable impact across the Amazon region.
Since 2023, Santander Brasil has been an active member of the Amazon Finance Network (AFN), a multi-stakeholder platform dedicated to advancing sustainable finance in the Amazon region. The AFN brings together more than 50 financial institutions, including banks, funds, cooperatives, and development finance entities, to mobilize capital that supports inclusive, resilient and environmentally responsible growth. In 2025, AFN members collaborated across four priority areas: financial inclusion, agrifinance, carbon markets, and innovative finance. Santander Brasil co-led the carbon markets workstream alongside The World Bank, contributing technical expertise and strategic guidance to shape investment frameworks that value nature-based solutions. One of the key outcomes of this engagement was the joint Call to Action that outlines practical steps for overcoming barriers to private sector investment in the Amazon.
Social impact
We understand that supporting the socioeconomic development of the Amazon and other biomes and their residents is fundamental for their preservation and for Brazil’s development.
Helping local people maintain their livelihoods is key to maintaining this ecosystem. We want communities and entrepreneurs to develop further and count on our support as they do.
Amazon Journey Platform
In 2022, Santander joined forces with other financial institutions and stakeholders to help launch the Jornada Amazônia platform, operated by Fundação Certi. This initiative seeks to strengthen the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem of the Amazon region, with a focus on bioeconomy solutions for forest conservation. The platform’s core objectives include training 3,000 people and supporting the creation of 200 startups by the end of 2025.
The results achieved since 2023 reflect the emergence of a dynamic and maturing innovation ecosystem that is shaped by technological innovation, talent development, diversity, and a deep understanding of the region’s social and economic potential.
The initiative has mobilized > 9,500 people and provided training to more than 3,000. A total of 1,991 projects have been registered, of which 185 have received support; in addition, 465 businesses have been registered, 104 were strengthened and qualified, and 29 start-ups have been ramped up.
As part of our contribution to the platform, we mobilized 20 senior executives to mentor early-stage ventures and support entrepreneurs on people management, legal and regulatory matters, investor access, network development, strategic vision, and business direction. In 2025 alone, Santander professionals supported 11 start-ups under the initiative.
First version July 2021 and last update February 2026.