Suzano – one of the largest paper producers in Latin America and the leader in the toilet paper segment in Brazil – has signed a multi-year contract to use Marvin’s land use geospatial intelligence products. It says the move will strengthen its yield prediction, water resource and risk management, carbon measurement and verification, forest certification, and supply chain optimisation and traceability.
It follows the successful technical validation of Marvin’s platform product, through extensive and varied trials demonstrating applicability across Suzano’s operations.
Suzano’s venture capital arm, Suzano Ventures, has also completed a strategic follow-on investment into Marvin, following its initial investment in October 2023.
Founded in 2023, Marvin has brought together researchers and data scientists to develop a proprietary platform analysis of land use, combining the latest scientific research, geospatial and satellite data, and artificial intelligence.
By providing high-quality information on multiple areas of risk and opportunity, Marvin claims it enables companies in sectors such as agriculture, forestry, biofuels, and mining to better manage compliance, enhance resource efficiency and sustainability, and build resilience to the impacts of a changing climate. Marvin’s customer base also includes several government agencies and multinationals.
Data and insights has ‘more than compliance benefits’
Ofer Judovits, co-founder and CEO at Marvin said the Suzano partnership is validation of the platform product’s technical and economic value. “We recently opened an office in Brazil, because we believe it is important to be present in South America to strengthen our capabilities and accuracy in the complex and globally significant biomes in this region, as well as to meet the growing demand from regional businesses. We know that while some companies may initially come to us to because of regulatory requirements and sustainability due diligence concerns, such as the EU Deforestation Regulation, they quickly realise that our data and insights can provide a lot more than compliance benefits.”
Suzano’s R&D manager Yhasmin Paiva Rody added the collaboration has created “a pioneering operational platform that, through remote sensing tools and ground-validated data, is able to measure water use and carbon sequestration and allows us to evaluate the impacts of climate change across Suzano’s 27,000 square kilometres of farms and native forest. The development of this platform is testament to the scale of innovation that can be achieved through deep, strategic partnerships between large corporates and start-ups, and demonstrates the potential for Marvin’s technology to transform land management practices across a wide range of sectors.”
The investor case for geospatial intelligence
Suzano Ventures is investing globally in early stage deeptech businesses that are pioneering innovative approaches to harness the power of trees, to help build the future of the bioeconomy. It is investing an initial $70 million to support the development and growth of companies across four investment areas: novel applications for eucalyptus biomass, sustainable packaging, forestry technology, and carbon removal.
“We are confident that Marvin’s technology offers the most sophisticated tool for forest producers like Suzano, which we have now validated through trials in our own business,” said Álvaro Gómez Rodríguez, senior manager at Suzano Ventures.
“Marvin’s platform product will now be a key tool for us as we continue to work towards developing the world’s most sustainably produced eucalyptus. We are therefore pleased to provide a follow-on investment, that will help accelerate the development of Marvin’s market-leading technologies and supporting the business’ continued growth in Brazil and beyond.”