Melissa Proffitt Reese, partner at Ice Miller LLP, is one of the business and community leaders participating in Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard's trade mission to Brazil.  The delegation will meet with business leaders, government officials, and researchers in São Paulo, Campinas, and Rio de Janeiro from July 27 through July 31.  The delegation will learn about jobs and technology that will benefit the city and help grow its clean energy industry.

Melissa's daily blog will provide insight on the trip, including a look at the Brazilian culture.

The last day of our trade mission started with Mayor Ballard being interviewed by TV Brazil, which is part of the Bandeirantes Communications Group, to discuss some of the highlights of the trip.  Interestingly, Brazil's television, newspaper and radio outlets are all interrelated.  There are multiple media companies, but they have all three media components.  Surprisingly, the Internet hasn't had the negative impact on the communication/publication companies like it has had on the U.S.  Print subscriptions are down, but online subscriptions have compensated for the loss.

After the media interviews we visited COPPE.  COPPE has become the largest engineering education and research center in Latin America and is comprised of 113 laboratories.  They analyze a variety of issues including offshore oil, hydrobuses, biofuels, CO2 emissions, solid waste, wireless Internet and stem cells.  Their project scope is vast but there were a few projects that I found particularly interesting, including the first wave power plant (energy created by waves in the ocean), a hydroelectric bus (which they are planning to introduce in 2010) and a magnetic levitation train that has no wheels or tracks.  COPPE is also researching the potential for using urban waste and sewage as an energy source.  This possibility could have an enormous impact on Brazil, the U.S. and the world.

It was then time for us to head home; slightly exhausted but definitely more enlightened.

The below statement from fellow delegate Carey Lykins, president and CEO of Citizens Energy Group, summarized the trip well.

"Overall the trade mission trip was a wonderful experience.  We went with the idea to open doors and open doors we did.  We discovered on the other side of those doors that the Brazilians, not unlike Americans, are a very energetic and knowledgeable group.  They have a great deal of leading edge technology in biofuels, biodiesel and bioengineering that we can learn and benefit from.  We look forward to partnerships with some of the new relationships we forged this week.  The trip was a tremendous success."

 

After we had a few moments to enjoy Rio de Janeiro's view of the ocean, we met with their mayor, Eduardo Paes.  We aren't the only Hoosiers that Paes has talked with recently.  Last week he met with the Indy Racing League to discuss the possibility of bringing a race to Rio.  Paes, who is 38, spoke a lot about collaboration; both globally and within his own country.  Paes joked that the collaboration between the U.S. and Brazil should go as far as the U.S. letting Brazil host the 2016 Summer Olympics (the candidate cities are Rio, Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid).  After all, that would be the sporting thing to do since no South American country has ever hosted the Olympics.  I'm not so sure he can convince Chicago.

After our meeting with Paes, we visited the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), which is the second largest development bank in the world.  Their minimum financing amount is $5 million and they only finance Brazilian projects or projects that directly benefit Brazil.  By law, a focus of Brazil banks has to be job creation.  Social improvement is also a big focus.  In fact, the mission statement for BNDES includes reducing social inequality and financing social projects.  Doing what is right, for the Brazilian people and country, is more important than doing what is right for the bottom line of the bank.

The last company we visited for the day was Petrobras.  Petrobras is a semi-public Brazilian multinational energy company that is headquartered in Rio.  It is the largest company in Latin American (based on market capitalization and revenue) and the largest company headquartered in the Southern Hemisphere.  Petrobras has an output of more than 2 million barrels of oil per day and is a world leader in the development of advanced technology from deep-water and ultra-deep water oil production.  They are shifting their focus from fossil fuel to biodiesel renewable energy. 

We wrapped-up our day listening to Hispanic and jazz music at a local club.   Rio not only offered us the opportunity to learn more about their energy development and banking system, we were also able to enjoy their sun, sand and music.  Not a bad day at all.

We  started our day at the Bandeirantes Landfill.  Brazil has two of the largest landfills in the world, of which Bandeirantes is one.  The waste generated over the last 20 years is up to more than 320 feet in places.  The landfill has reached its capacity and has 28 million tons of garbage.  A waste management company, Biogas, generates electricity from the landfill gas.  Biogas runs the largest landfill gas recuperation plant in the world at Bandeirantes.  The technology of converting landfill gas to energy is not new to the U.S., in fact we do it in Indiana, but Brazil participates in the Kyoto Protocol unlike the U.S.  Countries participating in the Kyoto Protocol make a legal binding commitment to reduce various greenhouse gases and gases produced by industrial nations.  Participating countries can earn carbon credits that they then can sell to other participating countries.  Brazil raised $40 million during their first two carbon credit auctions.
 
We spent the afternoon at the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA), which represents 127 sugarcane producers and mills.  UNICA members account for more than 50 percent of all ethanol produced in Brazil and 60 percent of overall sugar production.  I can't overstate the importance of sugarcane production in Brazil.  The Brazilian sugarcane industry is 500 years old, which is as old as the country itself.  Of course, some of the issues facing the industry have changed and UNICA helps members with environmental, energy, technology, international trade, sustainability and communication issues.
 
Because of all the ethanol produced in Brazil, flex-fuel cars are heavily used here.  Almost every filling station has both a gas pump (which still use some ethanol) and an ethanol pump.  There are over 25,000 filling stations that sell ethanol in Brazil.  The U.S. uses flex-fuel cars, but we have less than 1,000 filling stations that offer ethanol pumps.  Interestingly, Brazil's public transportation system doesn't use flex-fuel transporters.  They have recently begun the process to change to flex-fuel, but it will take time.
 
We left for Rio de Janeiro in the evening, but not before I was able to truly enjoy some legendary Brazilian coffee.  They serve their coffee like we serve our espresso and they use a lot of sugar.  Delicious!  I look forward to the sun and learning experiences that Rio de Janeiro has to offer!

Our day started with a traditional Brazilian breakfast of fresh fruit (papayas, cherries, peaches), cheese, breads and, of course, meat.  The juices are fantastic and are made fresh from locally grown fruit.  Brazil doesn't use frozen or concentrated juice like the U.S.  I have been talking about what a leader Brazil is in energy, but I am reminded continuously that they are very proud of their beef and meat industry.  Beef is prevalent in all their meals; breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Their beef is served a little dryer and tougher than the U.S. but Brazilians would argue their way is the only way to serve it!
 
I may decide to stick with my traditional Indiana meat styles, but I humbly admit that we have a lot to learn when it comes to energy efficiency.  This morning we visited the Technical Companies of Monsanto (CanaVialis) in Campinas, Brazil.  CanaVialis develops and supplies genetic solutions for sugarcane production.  Currently, the development of sugarcane is a six year cycle.  CanaVialis is working to help reduce the time it takes to bring sugarcane to market.  Sixty-five percent of the production cost involved in sugarcane is on agricultural production.  The rest of the cost is associated with packaging and transportation.  Increasing sugarcane production efficiencies will have an enormous impact on the Brazilian economy.  Our trip to Unicamp later in the day proved that Brazil is determined and sophisticated enough to make historical changes to better position themselves in the global economy.

Unicamp is one of three large universities in Brazil funded by the government - 2.5 percent of taxes goes toward Unicamp.  Unicamp is widely regarded for their research and helped transform Brazil from a country dependent on oil imports to a global powerhouse in energy production.  In the 1970s, 80 percent of the oil that Brazil used was imported.  In 1975, Brazil decided they needed to substitute biofuels for their gasoline usage.  With the help of Unicamp, Brazil is now 100 energy independent.  Not to mention the fact that they have become the largest producer and exporter of sugarcane in the world.  Brazil predicts that they could provide 10 percent of the worlds fuel by 2020.  If Indiana and the United States want to become competitive in biofuels we must learn from Brazil and become the best at producing our own raw materials, whether it is corn or sugarcane.

The excitement for possibilities didn't end at Unicamp and CanaVialis.  This afternoon we visited Campinas, which is a city and county in the interior of São Paulo.  Campinas is also the number one hub for cargo in Brazil.  In fact, they have a cargo airport.  The delegation met with the mayor of Campinas, Hélio de Oliveira Santos, and discussed how the cities may work to learn from each other.  Specifically, how the Indianapolis International airport and the Campinas cargo airport can work together, as well as what they can learn from the U.S. regarding public transportation.  Public transportation is a big problem in Brazil.  In fact, Indiana is miles ahead in this area.  The synergies that both these cities can bring to each other are so tremendous that Indianapolis and Campinas became sister cities today.

We ended our day at a traditional Brazilian restaurant where we were served fresh fruit and vegetables, rice, beans, and, of course, beef.  Dinner is not to be taken lightly in Brazil.  Their work days are long and they end it at an evening meal that can take two to three hours.  Quite different from the American drive-thru.

After an overnight flight from the U.S., we arrived in São Paulo, Brazil, the nation's largest city in the southern region of the country.  Brazil covers a very large area along the eastern coast of South America and includes much of the continent's interior region.  The county is equivalent in size to the continental U.S., but has less than two-thirds of the U.S. population.

Once we answered questions from the Brazilian hotel staff on the upcoming NFL season and the Indianapolis Colts, we meet with Scott Shaw, deputy senior commercial officer at the U.S. Consulate.  One of the main focuses for this trade mission is to learn about energy.  Brazil's advances in this area make it an ideal place to learn,  especially with São Paulo on the leading edge of energy independence.  The briefing provided a great overview of Brazil's energy programs and the impact they've made in energy advancement.

Brazil is 100 percent energy independent and they have virtually no carbon issues, which means they also don't have the cap and trade issues the U.S. is facing.  Seventy percent of Brazil's energy is from water.  The rainforests, which comprise about 98 percent of northern Brazil, help stabilize the atmosphere and environment and reduce manmade environmental impacts in the region.  In addition, Brazil doesn't use coal.  Another strong energy source for Brazil is ethanol with sixty percent of Brazil's ethanol being produced in São Paulo.  They've been using homegrown biofuels since 1973 and their ethanol is based on sugar cane.  Sugar cane is not a resource easily grown in the U.S. and our ethanol is based on cellulosic and corn ethanol.

Brazil is so committed to energy and global climate change that they have pledged that the 2014 FIFA World Cup soccer event will be carbon neutral.  The stadium currently under construction will use only solar energy.

After the briefing with the U.S. Consulate, we met with representatives of the Federação das Industrias do Estado de São Paulo (FIESP).  The FIESP is an industrial entity comprised of 127 industrial associations (which make up 42 percent of the industrial GDP).  The FIESP monitors and fosters business relations with countries worldwide.  Major projects for this group include renewable and sustainable energy, climate change legislation and solar energy for heating.

We then traveled to the Fundaçoa de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), which is the state of Sao Paulo Research Foundation.  FAPESP is one of the main funding sources for scientific and technological research in Brazil.  Funding is derived from a one percent tax to all employers and the board of directors is appointed by the government.  Even with the funding subsidized by the government, the group has autonomy in how they manage and invest the $350 million annual budget.

We were also able to meet with many Brazilian and São Paulo dignitaries at an evening reception hosted by the FIESP.  The reception again reinforced what we already learned .  Brazil, and São Paulo, has learned to use their environment to improve their country and the lives of their people, without harming the natural resources that provide so much.