With initiatives to decarbonize agriculture and other industries in which it operates, Yara, a world leader in plant nutrition, is the first company to offer a nitrogen fertilizer produced from a renewable matrix on the Brazilian market, with a reduction of up to 90% in its carbon footprint when compared to the same fertilizer produced from fossil-based natural gas. The first batch of this input has just been delivered to producers at Cooxupé, one of the world's leading coffee cooperatives, headquartered in Guaxupé, Minas Gerais.

This first delivery represents an important milestone in the decarbonization of coffee farming in Brazil, with an expected impact of up to 40% reduction in the carbon footprint of coffee beans. For this phase of the project, a group of producers was chosen to represent the more than 20,000 families that are members of Cooxupé, receiving fertilizers from the Porsgrunn plant in Norway, which arrived via the Port of Santos last October. The batch received by Cooxupé was transported from the port to Alfenas-MG in natural gas trucks, where it was packaged in big bags made from recyclable plastic, another pioneering initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the storage and transportation process.

“Delivering solutions towards climate neutrality is a global strategy for Yara and reinforces the potential of the fertilizer sector to collaborate towards a sustainable food future,” says Marcelo Altieri, president of Yara Brazil. “Climate change is determining the way we should produce food, and this new guideline requires coalition work between producers, companies and industry. The partnership between Yara and Cooxupé is a milestone for Brazil and symbolizes this joint effort, which has a major positive impact on nature and society as a whole.”

For Cooxupé CEO Carlos Augusto Rodrigues de Melo, the use of low-carbon fertilizers on crops is in line with the ESG agenda and the global demands of the market and consumers regarding commitment to society and the environment. “Our cooperative is committed to coffee production that is endorsed by sustainability, quality and origin. We export our coffee to 50 countries and our strength comes from cooperativism and partnerships that bring innovation and the adoption of technologies and inputs to our members, thus enabling good agricultural practices on the properties, as well as food security for those who consume our coffee around the world,” he highlights.

The low-carbon fertilizer is part of the “Yara Climate Choice™” portfolio, which includes the brand's nutritional solutions that are highly efficient and high-quality, and are produced with technologies that further reduce the product's carbon footprint. Its origin can be from different renewable sources, for example, water electrolysis using renewable electricity, or from renewable natural gas, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions in the production of fertilizer and reduces the use of fossil sources, such as natural gas. Yara Climate Choice™ fertilizers based on renewable sources can have up to 90% lower carbon footprint compared to the same fertilizer produced from natural gas, with the level of emission reduction depending on the renewable source and the nitrogen content of the fertilizer.

Yara's actions for sustainable food production are long-standing. Through investments in research and innovation, the company, which will be 120 years old in 2025, has developed a technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the production of nitrate-based nitrogen fertilizers. This innovation has resulted in a reduction of up to 60% in the carbon footprint of the current portfolio, compared to nitrate-based nitrogen fertilizers on the market. The company's goal is to be carbon neutral by 2050.