For the first time in the 65 years of existence of Sindpacel (Union of Industries of Paper, Pulp, Cardboard, Wood Pulp for Paper and Paper and Cardboard Artefacts), a woman occupies the presidency of the institution. And the historic achievement was made by Sabrina de Branco, Head of Corporate Relations and Sustainability at Bracell. This is a first for the company too, as it’s the first time a member of the Bracell team has held the presidency of the union.
Elected unanimously, with eight votes, on March 1 2018 in Salvador, Sabrina will hold the position from 2018 to 2021. She has been a member of the board of directors of Sindpacel since 2015, in the position of vice president. The new management will start on April 4 and be sworn in officially in July. Sabrina will occupy the position previously held by Jorge Cajazeira, from Suzano.
Renan Machado, Bracell’s Senior HR Manager, and Fernando Branco, Bracell’s Treasury Manager, will also sit on the new board of directors. They hold, respectively, the positions of alternate director and titular fiscal counsellor. With the main objective of integrating the pulp and paper industries in their relations with workers, governments, public agencies and civil bodies, Sindpacel has local and national representation in 16 forums, including the State Council for the Environment, the Brazilian Tree Industry (IBÁ) and the Federation of State Industries of Bahia.
“Sindpacel has a different and very institutional role, working especially in the defence of sustainability, socioeconomic development and the best corporate and environmental practices,” said Sabrina.
“Our sector has a huge weight in the state’s economy, but it still faces major obstacles to its faster expansion, such as the slow pace of environmental licensing, lack of logistics infrastructure, especially road conditions and poor port availability, in addition to legal uncertainty.
“And it is specifically to these obstacles that we must pay close attention so that we can join forces with other institutions and fight for better conditions to boost the growth of the pulp and paper business in the region and in the country,” Sabrina said.
