Brazil’s Sugarcane Industry Union (Unica) has announced that 79 sugarcane mills will receive certificates in recognition of their adhesion to the 'Agro-environmental Protocol', an initiative on the part of the São Paulo state government aimed at encouraging best environmental and social practices in the sugar-ethanol sector.

In accordance with the protocol, the practice of burning sugarcane fields prior to harvest must end by 2014, whereas the previous target had been 2021. The protocol also decrees that areas of sugarcane planted from 2007 onwards must be harvested without recourse to burning.

Source: Estado de São Paulo and Embassy of Brazil in London