How can we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining an active presence in the communities where we carry out our projects? This is one of the questions guiding Raízes’ Climate Action Plan, which outlines commitments for our operations and our work with local communities.
Being close to communities is part of what we do, but these interactions also require travel that leaves a carbon footprint. With a time frame from 2026 to 2035 and annual reviews, Raízes’ Climate Action Plan is based on the 2025 emissions inventory and establishes 12 targets, with designated responsible parties and monitoring deadlines. Its development aligns with the commitments we have made as a B Corp, certified since 2014, and as a signatory to the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, which we joined during COP30 in Belém, in 2025.
Such initiative gained support through our participation in the B Corps for Climate and Nature, an initiative of Sistema B which brought together certified companies from Latin America and the Caribbean to advance the implementation of B Lab’s new standards related to climate action, environmental management, and circularity. The initiative combined technical training with cross-company learning, recognizing that addressing these challenges also depends on sharing experiences.
We participated in the Climate Action module, with mentoring from Mitsidi, accompanied by Rox Correa, and worked in a group with the Brazilian B Corps Mazô Maná, represented by Rafael Sposito, and Marketing Sustentável, by Márcio Mendes. The activities provided guidance on measuring carbon footprints and developing plans that incorporate climate justice into corporate decision-making.
“As a result, we submitted a draft version of our Climate Action Plan on time, actively participated in group mentoring sessions and collective meetings, and were shortlisted to compete for the program’s awards. The process also helped us organize practices that were already part of Raízes’ work, identify areas for improvement, and set goals that can be tracked over time,” explains Anna Ferreira, our ESG consultant.
What will change in our operations?
Our inventory, conducted by Eccaplan, recorded 13,677 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent in 2025. About 83% of the recorded emissions came from medium-distance travel, which includes trips to monitor projects and visit communities. Therefore, one of the priorities is to improve the planning of field schedules by grouping activities and organizing routes to avoid trips that can be combined.
The plan also calls for expanding the use of public transportation and encouraging carpooling whenever possible. By December 2026, the goal is to have the origin, distance, and mode of transportation recorded for 95% of business trips. This data will make it possible to track the results of the changes and guide future inventories.
Emissions offsetting was already part of our journey and now, with Eccaplan, we also shared how Raízes’ offsetting supports the Cerâmica Kamiranga project in Pará, in the Brazilian Amazon. The plan upholds this commitment and outlines actions to reduce emissions at the source. It also calls for checking climate alerts before field trips, taking into account the risks that extreme events may pose to the team and to activities in the field.
Active Listening in Decision-Making
Changing a schedule of visits can affect those waiting for training or project support. For this reason, the plan calls for consulting with communities before altering the ways we work with them, incorporating their knowledge into our decisions. Reducing the environmental footprint of our operations requires taking these relationships and the conditions of each location into account. More than just reducing the carbon footprint of our operations, we have been reflecting on how to generate a positive impact on the climate through what we bring to these communities.
It is with this in mind that we are developing Re.Clima, our own methodology for climate justice, mitigation, and adaptation. With modules that can be adapted to specific projects, the goal is to bring the climate debate closer to the daily lives of communities, identifying how climate change is already affecting their lives and what solutions can be developed locally. The goal is to implement at least one hour of the methodology in 30% to 40% of relevant projects by December 2027.
Such approach is already included in the initiative to strengthen tourism and the creative economy in the Catimbau Valley, in Pernambuco, which includes the full implementation of Re.Clima throughout the project.
Moreover, this initiative also recognizes the link between inequality and climate vulnerability. Raízes’ experience with women’s empowerment and community building is an integral part of the plan because of its contribution to adaptive capacity and climate justice. The results will be tracked using specific indicators, though we will not count them toward the company’s emissions reductions.
The climate is our ongoing commitment!
The Glasgow Declaration guides climate action in tourism through the following pathways: measuring, decarbonizing, regenerating, collaborating, and financing. The collective commitment is to cut the sector’s emissions in half by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Our plan acknowledges that the reduction measures initially planned still fall short of this trajectory. With each inventory, the Sustainability Committee will review the results and targets. In 2028, based on data from 2026 and 2027, we plan to set Raízes’ reduction target for 2030. Publishing this document means making our commitments transparent. We want it to help guide decisions within Raízes and encourage conversations with those who work with us.
We invite you to learn about the Raízes Climate Action Plan and to think about how these commitments can also be incorporated into your organization and your relationships with local communities!
This commitment also guides us during COP31, which takes place in November in Antalya, Turkey. Our executive director, Mariana Madureira, will be there and will provide participatory coverage for Turismo Spot, in addition to participating in a panel organized by the Ministry of Tourism in partnership with UNWTO titled “Regenerative Approaches to Climate Action in Tourism,” which will take place on November 19, from 3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m., at the Brazil Pavilion (Mutirão Global Auditorium). We’ll be sharing behind-the-scenes glimpses and a daily journal of this experience on our Instagram and on LinkedIn, bringing you closer to the conversations and reflections that arise along the way. Will you join us?
