Vale Aspires to Lead Modernization in Conservation and Bioeconomy

Editor's Note:

The annual International Business Leaders' Advisory Council for the Mayor of Shanghai (IBLAC) will convene on October 12, with six new members joining the council. Shanghai Daily speaks with some of the executives about their expectations, the expertise they will contribute to the council, and the topics they hope to discuss with the mayor.

How does it feel to become a new member? What are your expectations from IBLAC?

I am deeply honored to join the IBLAC family as a new member. Shanghai has held strategic importance for Vale, both historically and looking ahead. Since our first office in China opened in Shanghai in 1994, we have leveraged our presence in Shanghai to expand our business across the country and into Asian markets, achieving robust growth across all areas of our business.

It is a great privilege to attend this year's IBLAC meeting, and I feel both excited and humbled by the responsibility. To fully immerse myself in the energy of this dynamic global city, I arrived in Shanghai nearly a week in advance.

IBLAC, as a high-level dialogue platform, which reflects Shanghai's urban character of openness, innovation and inclusiveness, offering international entrepreneurs a valuable opportunity to align with the city's development. I look forward to joining fellow Council members in golden October to contribute Brazilian insights toward an even brighter future for Shanghai.

What expertise and insights will you bring to IBLAC?

We are very encouraged to see that while vigorously developing its economy and continuously improving the living standards of its people, Shanghai places great emphasis on environmental protection. The city is actively advancing its green and low-carbon transformation, striving to become an ecological metropolis that inspires admiration.

In recent years, Vale has intensified our focus on decarbonization and energy transition, ranging from the production of high-quality iron ore, which enhances blast furnace efficiency and reduces emissions from steel mills, to the supply of nickel and copper, which are essential for manufacturing electric vehicles. We have also developed innovative products such as briquettes, which can reduce emissions in the steel industry by up to 10 percent.

I hope to bring to IBLAC Vale's practices, experiences and insights in sustainable mining, low-carbon metallurgy, renewable energy, circular economy, and eco-friendly shipping, as well as Brazil's expertise in biodiversity conservation and bioeconomy development, to support Shanghai's green and low-carbon transformation and high-quality development. I am confident that Shanghai will continue to play a leading role in both the Chinese modernization journey and the global green and low-carbon transformation.

Are there any particular areas of Shanghai's development that you are interested in further exploring and discussing with other members and the mayor of Shanghai?

In July this year, China convened the Central Urban Work Conference, where key tasks for urban development across seven aspects were outlined, including developing comfortable, convenient and livable cities and building green, low-carbon and beautiful cities. I am particularly interested in the specific initiatives Shanghai will undertake in this context, especially how the city plans to encourage foreign-invested enterprises to actively contribute to making Shanghai a more livable and beautiful city.

In addition, I am keen to learn more about Shanghai's future plans to enhance housing quality and promote the industrialization of new building technologies. I look forward to engaging in discussions with the mayor and fellow council members on the prospects and potential of steel-structure housing in Shanghai.