M. Dias Branco releases 2023 Sustainability Report highlighting progress in public ESG goals by 2030

The public goals and their results achieved in 2023 are linked to the pillars of the Company’s ESG 2030 Agenda, namely: Caring for the Planet, Believing in People and Strengthening Alliances.

M. Dias Branco announced the release of its 2023 Integrated Annual Report. This report provides information on the company’s main initiatives over the past year, with emphasis on efforts regarding environmental, social and governance issues, reporting the progress of its public Sustainability goals until year 2030.

The report highlights the significant progress made by M. Dias Branco in its sustainable journey. The Company reports on the challenges faced in 2023, including commodity price volatility, emerging regulations and changes in consumer preferences. Nonetheless, M. Dias Branco recorded achievements with a 13.2% EBITDA margin and an annual net profit of R$ 889 million, representing an 84.5% increase compared to the previous year. Looking to the future, the company reasserts its commitment to sustainable development, reflected in the update of its long-term strategy. The new strategy was approved in August 2023 and sets ambitious goals until 2028, maintaining a focus on profitability and growth, while exploring new business opportunities and strengthening its international footprint.

Furthermore, M. Dias Branco maintains investment in its ESG Strategic Agenda, revised in 2022 for the cycle up to 2030. The company’s efforts focus on three key pillars: Caring for the Planet, Believing in People and Strengthening Alliances. In 2023, the company made significant progress in each of these areas:

In the environmental pillar, M. Dias Branco implemented measures to decrease environmental impact, including diversification of the energy matrix with the use of renewable sources, resulting in 65% of total consumption coming from clean energy. In addition to achieving the maximum score (A) of the Disclosure Insight Action (CDP climate, the main international reference in reporting greenhouse gas emissions), reaching the A List. The company also attained 96.73% of recyclable, compostable or biodegradable plastic packaging for finished products. Another point of progress was in reaching excellent performance in terms of fighting input waste in the production process, with a loss rate of just 0.74, representing over 40% reduction compared to the 2021 rate (1.25).

In the social pillar, the company prioritized initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion, increasing to 24.58% of women in leadership positions, with the goal of reaching 40% by 2030. Furthermore, M. Dias Branco invested in training and professionalization programs, impacting over 15,000 people in communities on topics of entrepreneurship and professionalization in the food industry.

In the governance pillar, the company strengthened its corporate governance, establishing new public goals related to transparency, ethics and integrity, demonstrating its intention to maximize the company’s value, improve management efficiency and protect shareholder interest. M. Dias Branco remains committed to high governance standards, as evidenced by its inclusion in B3’s Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE).

In this report, we show the main highlights of the path we have taken to achieve this goal and how we are preparing the Company for the future: the consolidation of M. Dias Branco as a reference company in the food sector, attentive to the interests and needs of the consumer, with diversified operations and a solid footprint in Brazil and other countries, steady in its purpose of feeding and inspiring people, making dreams into reality”, stated Ivens Dias Branco Júnior, chairman of M. Dias Branco.

M. Dias Branco 2023 Annual Integrated Sustainability Report was developed in accordance with the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and follows the recommendation of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). The 2023 edition will also be published in Spanish, in addition to Portuguese and English.