São José dos Campos Plant

About the Program
General Motor's São José dos Campos plant in Brazil is managed to conserve habitat while serving as a place of preservation and connectivity with nature for employees and the local community. The original and predominant vegetation in the city São José dos Campos is Atlantic Forest, though due to deforestation only about 29% of original cover remains. Research suggests the Atlantic Forest biome houses greater biodiversity than that of some continents, making this region a priority for the conservation of world biodiversity. In addition to being one of the richest regions in the world in terms of biodiversity, the Atlantic Forest provides essential ecosystem services and scenic landscapes, preserving an immense historical and cultural heritage. The GM team conserves the Andre Beer Forest and maintains landscaped areas on-site with the goal of creating and maintaining a large number of green areas near workplaces where employees can connect with nature. GM educates both employees and contractors about the habitat projects taking place on-site in order to fulfill each habitat's conservation objectives. 

Practices and Impacts

• Approximately 50 roofed perches and holes near the perches were installed to serve as habitat for burrowing owls. 
• The team constructed an insect hotel to provide food, shelter, nesting, hibernation space and valuable habitat to different bugs that play critical roles in the environment. 
• The GM team maintains a fruit farm originally planted in 1994 by the children of employees.
• Beginning in 1988, each employee, upon moving on, from the company plants a native tree, tradition that remains active to this day. Recognition Grove now covers approximately two acres of predominantly native and hardwood trees.
• Every year, the team works with local schools to engage students in a environmental and education project. The project aims to provide environmental education for public school students by giving the students the opportunity to participate in environmental lectures, plant native seedlings and visit the waste segregation area and the environmental conservation area.
• GM began the "Tree Day" program in 2021, which teaches high school students from public schools in the city of São José dos Campos about the role of trees in mitigating climate change.
• Employee involvement is essential for the projects to continue and grow. A cross-functional team encourages participation through presentations about GM's biodiversity projects and their controls and monitoring.