A Career in Sustainability: from Circular Plastics to Carbon Initiatives

Júlio Natalense is the Executive Manager for Carbon Initiatives at Suzano and an alumnus of ‘Leading the Sustainability Transformation’ Professional Certificate Program, powered by WholeWorks. He sat down recently for a conversation with WholeWorks CSO Laura Asiala to chat about his work and career.

Let’s start where you are now. What are ‘Carbon Initiatives,’ why are they important, and how do they fit into the business of Suzano (one of the largest pulp and paper companies in the world)?

Suzano is a world leader in the production of pulp from eucalyptus. The company produces paper for printing and writing, paper packaging for varied applications and tissue paper for consumer goods. The company has almost 100 years of history and our business has evolved significantly and continues to evolve, producing sustainable biomaterials and carbon removals from the atmosphere.

Suzano manages 1.4 million hectares of planted eucalyptus across Brazil. In addition to these forests, we maintain another 1 million hectares of native forests and conservation land. Combined, that is an area larger than Israel. This extensive planted farmland and native forest base means that Suzano is one of only a handful of companies globally to have reached carbon negative status by 2020.

With this capability Suzano’s business model and financial structure has evolved from a focus on paper to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and control the effects of climate change. In 2021 we accelerated our ‘Commitments to Renewing Life’ goal to remove 40 million tons of carbon (from the atmosphere) to 2025, bringing forward in 5 years our original goal. This reflects Suzano’s commitment to constantly pushing itself to do better.  We prioritize formal carbon projects, based on quantification, transparency, and third-party verification of the carbon stocks.

We are also constantly researching new applications for eucalyptus in everyday items. For instance, we are exploring new uses of lignin, developing the production of bio-oil, and different treatments for cellulose. One example is Woodspin, a joint venture between Suzano and Finnish textile innovators Spinnova, which developed the technology and is constructing a new production plant for sustainable textile fibers in Finland. The joint venture will use eucalyptus to produce 100% renewable alternatives to fibers such as cotton, requiring 99.5% less water over its lifecycle, and polyester, which is derived from petroleum. We are constantly exploring ways for planted trees to be developed into sustainable, high-quality products, aiming to replace 10mn tonnes of fossil-fuel-based products with renewable alternatives by 2030.

That’s long way from being a development chemist—which is where I think you started your career at Dow. Can you give us a quick overview of how your career evolved to become a leader in sustainability?

I started my career as a chemist in the Dow research and development (R&D) laboratories in Brazil, and later moved to the R&D facilities in Freeport, Texas.  For many years I was involved in creating new molecules and adjusting formulas, looking for the ideal combinations to provide customers with the properties they wanted.

Sustainability is a relatively new term, although at the beginning of my career I worked on many projects that today would be considered ‘sustainable’. For example, I developed processes and formulations to depolymerize PET plastic bottles and convert them into resins, paints and coatings. This process today is categorized as chemical recycling and is a typical activity in the circular economy for plastics.

The big shift in my career was in 2013 when I was invited to be part of the Dow Olympics & Sports business that was responsible for the global sponsorship of the International Olympic Committee. I moved to Rio de Janeiro and started working with the organizing committee of Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic games to reduce the carbon footprint of the Rio2016 Games and develop products and technologies for the stadiums, buildings and field of play.

After the Rio2016 Olympics I was appointed as Sustainability Leader for Dow Latin America, which gave me the opportunity to learn more broadly about sustainability – from basic chemicals, to fine additives and plastic packaging. That gave me the unique opportunity to develop different strategies globally, working at the cutting edge of science and the latest sustainability practices.

I chose to join Suzano at the end of 2020 because I wanted to be deeply involved with a company that has a direct impact with environmental restoration and products with a low carbon footprint. My experience came ‘full circle’ in September (2022). I came back to the Rio Olympic Park for the Rock in Rio music festival, now with Suzano as the Official Sustainability Partner!

What was a moment of realization—an ‘aha’ moment when you realized that business could be different?

We chemists call this realization a “crucible moment” – that moment in your life when you experience circumstances that transform you forever. My crucible moment was when I became involved on planning recycling schemes for developing new products with recycled content. In order to have a reliable supply of raw materials, I had to visit recycling centers – called cooperatives in Brazil – and interact directly with people that depended on collecting used materials to survive. They had basic needs that needed to be addressed in order to include these cooperatives in the supply chain, which was a critical success factor for the business. The ‘Leading Sustainability Transformation’ course came exactly at that moment and helped me to incorporate the needs of the “base of the pyramid” to deliver on that strategy.

Today I bring this learning to my carbon projects. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the priority, however we always ensure the carbon projects generate broader benefits for people as well. This might be through income generation, inclusion and entrepreneurship development for neighboring communities, or environmental benefits such as clean water, clean air, healthy soil and conservation of biodiversity.

What is the biggest challenge facing your business or business in general as it seeks to become more sustainable?

Climate change is the pressing issue for both Suzano and the whole world. Urgent action is required by individuals, businesses and governments to limit temperature rises by the end of the century. As our CEO, Walter Schalka says, this is not a competition. Either we all win, or we’ll all lose. We must all work together to share expertise and develop solutions.

Changes in climate also affect businesses due to unpredictable weather events. These can affect forest productivity, so we have had to utilize technology to make sure we can understand and mitigate risks. For instance, we cross check big data from weather stations, actual field sampling, satellite imagery and other digital tools in order to come up with adequate resiliency strategies.

What advice do you have for people and/or organizations shifting to more sustainable careers and/or sustainable business?

Becoming more sustainable isn’t easy and requires collaboration. For any person working in sustainability, it is imperative to build resilient and diverse networks.

It is also important to identify and work in the fields that inspire you the most. Finding your purpose will allow you to dedicate more energy to your work and feel a sense of accomplishment when developing projects and ideas.

At Suzano, for example, our purpose is to renew life inspired by trees. That’s how we are building regenerative businesses, supported by quantitative scientific tools.  We’ve developed our Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) strategy to deliver on that purpose, making Suzano a leader in sustainability, climate and biodiversity issues.

Photos by Johnatan Misael and Pedro Menezes on Unsplash, respectively.

About the author:

Júlio Natalense, Executive Manager for Carbon Business at Suzano S.A.

Júlio Natalense joined Suzano in 2020 and is responsible for carbon initiatives globally. The primary focus is structuring projects with climate benefits using the extensive forest area owned by the company, with more than 2.4 million hectares. Activities include certification and trading various types of carbon credits in compliance schemes or to fulfill voluntary commitments assumed by corporations to offset emissions. Additional activities include new (bio)business development, and acceleration of startups via corporate venture capital.

Natalense started his career at Dow in research and development, specializing in polymer chemistry and product safety. In 2013 he moved to sustainability and led the Carbon Mitigation Program for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which generated certified results and moved the gage of sustainability in sports. He served as Sustainability Leader for Dow Latin America, implementing projects to prioritize circular economy, reduce emissions, and promote sustainability education programs.

He holds a B.Sc. in Chemistry from Mackenzie University, an MBA in Marketing from Heriot-Watt University and a M.Sc. in Technology Management from the University of São Paulo (USP). He is also an alumnus of Leading the Sustainability Professional Certificate Program, powered by WholeWorks.

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