If you are looking for a reliable overview of the history of Bonsucro in Brazil — with official data, clippings by activity (production vs.. chain of custody), regulatory turns (EU-RED v3.0, BPS v5.2, Protocol v7.0) and what to prioritize towards 2026 — this article organizes everything in one place, with primary source links for ongoing auditing and updating. To monitor the “now”, Bonsucro maintains the dashboard Certificate Holders, with download semanal (Week-YYMMDD.xlsx), which reflects the state of the base in the week.
1) Timeline: from pioneering to consolidation
Brazil took on the role of prime mover in the certification of sugarcane and derivatives. No Outcome Report 2019, Bonsucro registered 70 certified plants in Brazil, from 123 in the world that year (~57%), highlighting that Brazilian participation followed leader while other regions, above all Thailand and India, accelerated adhesion. This section helps to understand why the country appears, historically, as a reference on an industrial scale and governance maturity. From 2021, O Strategic Plan 2021–2026 institutionalized goals, indicators and reviews, with annual progress reports that allow you to monitor certified plants, hectares e impact gains. No Year 3 (closed in 31/03/2024), Bonsucro reported 164 certified plants e 2,36 million hectares of certified area (part still subject to completion of audits at the time of closing), signaling scale acceleration and chain maturation.
2) How to read the “living map” of Brazil (production × chain of custody)
On the dashboard, filtered Country = Brazil e Status = Certified. To differentiate activities (link at the end of the article):
- Production (BPS) — plants/farms audited in Bonsucro Production Standard; is the KPI used when Bonsucro talks about “number of certified plants”.
- Chain of Custody (ChoC) — operators who do not necessarily produce sugarcane, but move/sell certified product via mass balance, ensuring traceability of claims. The official ChoC page lists the Principles (implementar mass balance, validate/reconcile/plot data).
No snapshot da semana (Week-141025), O Brazil appears with 115 valid certificates. Sorting by pattern flags present not XLS (Production vs.. ChoC), photography is predominantly integrated: BPS + ChoC corresponds to the majority of entries — a reading consistent with the Brazilian industrial profile and the need to sustain claims auditable throughout the chain.
3) Regulatory changes that impact Brazil in 2025–2026
Three milestones explain the positive pressure for governance, LCA and traceability:
- EU-RED v3.0 (add-on) — mandatory since 21 from May of 2025 for all Bonsucro EU-RED operators (audits and scope extensions must already use v3.0). the version expressly defines which is a add-on to the BPS, has ChoC and to Certification Protocol (always used together). For those exporting ethanol/electricity to the EU, This means updating GHG methodologies, eligibility e evidence aligned to RED III.
- Bonsucro Production Standard v5.2 — mandatory since 2 december 2023, replacing v5.1; there is Implementation Guidance in PT/EN to transform indicators into field/industry practice. If your operation is BPS + ChoC, align BPS v5.2 e mass balance is essential for audit and communication consistency.
- Certification Protocol v7.0 — released in August/2025, with implementation policy establishing that all audits must adhere to the version 7.0 from January 1st, 2026. Include a gap analysis, update of SOPs, training and readiness check by site/scope.
Ohistory of Bonsucro in Brazil now enters a phase of regulatory consolidation (EU-RED v3.0, BPS v5.2 and Protocol v7.0), which resets deadlines and evidence to 2025–2026.
4) What has changed in geography: Brazil leader, but with diversification
In 2019, Brazil added ~57% of global certified plants; since then, Bonsucro registers accelerated growth in Asia (notably Thailand and India), reducing Brazil's relative participation, but maintaining absolute leadership. This dynamic appears in the reports and is confirmed, week by week, no painel/XLS. Practical translation: the cake grows and becomes more distributed, which increases the benchmark competitiveness and the need to efficiency, LCA and traceability to sustain premiums and market access.
5) What to put in your 2025–2026 plan (Brazil)
Technical and governance adjustments
- BPS v5.2: review field/plant procedures, indicators and records. Use a Implementation Guidance to standardize collections and evidence across suppliers.
- ChoC (mass balance): strengthen control controls reconciliation and traceability; align claims (contracts/tags/notes) to the ChoC scope certified to avoid non-conformities.
- EU-RED v3.0: recalibrar GEE seeds, eligibility matrices and evidence; all EU-RED audits/scopes have already migrated to v3.0 since 21/05/2025.
- Certification Protocol v7.0: schedule transition until 01/01/2026 (schedule with certification body, document updating and training).
Data and update routine
- Panel for daily consultation and XLS semanal for consolidated “photo” — explain this cadence in your report method to justify count variations.
Historical series (Outcome/Progress) to contextualize goals (ex.: 164 power plants e 2,36 Mha no Year 3) and follow the trail to meta de 210 power plants of the 2021–2026 cycle.
6) Useful details that strengthen your narrative
- Role of ChoC in Brazil: the strong presence of BPS + ChoC in the current snapshot reveals an ecosystem that produces and sells sob mass balance — gold standard for traceability of sugar claims, ethanol and energy.
- Standards development: Bonsucro publishes national interpretations when necessary (ex.: Australia for BPS v5.2), in a process that follows the LOW — useful reference for technical debates on local adaptations.
- Where it all starts: for those who enter now, the page of BPS v5.2 brings together the standard and supporting materials in Portuguese; It's a great hub for training teams and suppliers.
Conclusion O history of Bonsucro in Brazil shows a country that pulled the line certification and maintains leadership in absolute numbers, even though with loss of relative share for expansion in Asia. The most recent photograph confirms scale (164 plants and 2,36 Mha no Year 3) e production-chain integration — fertile ground for fulfilling the EU-RED v3.0 and transit to Protocol v7.0. Among 2025 e 2026, your priorities are clear: data governance, Consistent LCA, solid mass balance.
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