Brazil Launches Sustainable Taxonomy

by Diana Radovan, Director, Sustainability Policy

On 25 August, Brazil approved the final technical handbooks for its Sustainable Taxonomy (Portuguese acronym "TSB"). This framework defines the parameters for determining which activities are considered "sustainable" from a legal perspective.

The first edition covers eight sectors, aligned with Brazil's CNAE (Clasificación Nacional de Actividades Económicas):

• Agriculture, livestock, forestry protection, fishing, aquaculture
• Extractive industry
• Manufacturing industry
• Electricity and gas
• Water, sewage, waste, and decontamination
• Construction
• Transport, storage, and postal services
• Social services (tourism, urban planning, IT, telecommunications)

The official publication of the approved TSB and handbooks is expected in September 2025, with phased implementation beginning with large firms and financial institutions. Future updates will include critical minerals, vehicles, bioeconomy, circular economy, biodiversity, and sustainable land use, as well as guidelines tailored for medium and small enterprises.

What makes Brazil's approach unique?

• Climate focus: It prioritizes both climate change mitigation and adaptation
• Social inclusion: It's the first in the world to include gender and race among the inequalities it seeks to address
• Industry scope: First taxonomy globally to cover the mining and the extractives industries - even ahead of the EU

Why it matters for electronics

Companies operating in Brazil need to understand the taxonomy's requirements as access to financing and other business decisions may increasingly depend on how activities align with TSB parameters. This includes future applicability to the electronics sector.

For more information, contact me at [email protected].