NGOs demand Heineken’s commitments to an archaeological site in MG

After Heineken gave up building its new factory near an archeological site in Minas Gerais, NGOs linked to environmental protection demanded commitments from the brewery with the preservation of the site.

In a note published on Monday (13), the entities asked the company to take responsibility for the interference already carried out on the ground, reforest the area and explain how the promised resources will be applied.

“The brewery needs to demonstrate that it understands the indisputable relevance of the area and that this retreat does not mean just a marketing strategy”, says the text signed by Cedefes (Eloy Ferreira da Silva Documentation Center), Subverta collective, Fridays for Future movement and Grupo of Volunteers Greenpeace Belo Horizonte.

On Monday (13), Heineken announced that it gave up building a factory in Pedro Leopoldo, in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte.

In September, the work of this new unit was even embargoed by ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation). The institution assessed that there was a risk of the project causing damage to the archaeological site where Luzia’s skull, the oldest human fossil found in the Americas, was located. The following month, the Court granted an injunction releasing the construction.

“We follow all the rites to obtain the environmental license and have court authorization to build the brewery, which demonstrates the legality of the process,” said Mauro Homem, director of corporate affairs at Heineken, when announcing the withdrawal of the project.

However, despite the permission, the director said that staying at the site divided opinions, and that the brewery would look for another area in Minas Gerais to carry out the work.

On the occasion, Homem also stated that the company intends to make a donation of around R$300,000 to help preserve the archeological site, an initiative that was questioned by the entities.

“We demand transparency: we ask the company to make public the final recipient of this money and how it will be applied in the affected region”, say the NGOs.

In a statement, Heineken said that care for the environment directs its decisions and that the donation will be made to the Public Ministry of Minas Gerais, through a cooperation agreement.

“We understand that the institution is fully capable of directing investment in the most adequate and effective way for the preservation and maintenance of the archaeological site,” he stated.

In addition to the donation, environmental organizations are asking for the incorporation of the area where the factory would be built into the Lapa Vermelha State Natural Monument, as a way to ensure that the region does not receive similar projects in the future.

According to Alenice Baeta, archaeologist and member of Cedefes, the region where the brewery would be built has always been targeted by real estate and mining projects, among others.

“We want Heineken to reforest and recover that land, otherwise another company arrives and starts the same process all over again,” he says.

According to her, before the factory project, there had already been attempts to build a condominium and a fashion mall at the site.

“The land suffered a series of damages over time, Heineken did not cause it all. But, from the moment it takes over the site, we want it to make an investment proving its commitment to environmental recovery”, it says.

The brewery did not comment on the requests for reforestation and repair of any damages.