Production starts on 2021 Copa Verde FSC® certified wooden trophies
Brazilian forests inspired the wood designers Guido Guedes and Alessandra Delgado to conceptualize the trophies for the Brazilian football tournament, which promotes biodiversity and sustainability best practices through football.
One year, two Green Cups and, with them, great opportunities to disseminate themes related to environmental conservation. A pioneer in adopting measures to encourage sustainability and respect for nature since 2017, the ‘Copa Verde’ tournament brings to the centre of the field – and of the debate – trophies made of native wood certified by the FSC® – Forest Stewardship Council® coming from a community forest management project.
The winners will be awarded with trophies conceptualised by high-end wood designers Guido Guedes and Alessandra Delgado, and produced by a community-led furniture manufacturer Movelaria Comunitária Anambé’ associate of Coomflona (Cooperativa Mista da Floresta Nacional do Tapajós), a National Forest Cooperative in the Brazilian State of Pará. The production results from the Design & Sustainable Wood initiative, coordinated by BVRio in partnership with Coomflona and the FSC®, which aims to build bridges between forests and the country’s leading consumer markets.
Sport and socio-environmental practices
The launch of this year’s tournament took place on October 12th in Belém, the capital city of Pará, in which 24 clubs are competing, coming from the North and Central-Western Regions of Brazil, plus the State of Espírito Santo in the Southeast.
Known for its sustainable approach, in 2016, the Copa Verde became the first zero-carbon competition in Brazilian football, having planted 5,900 trees since then, enough to offset 1,278 tonnes of CO2 equivalent. In addition to raising awareness with trophies made from certified wood, the tournament supports the implementation of actions such as educational contests, the use of certified paper and the exchange of PET bottles for tickets.
The championship also raises the concern of valuing the Amazon and Pantanal biomes in Brazil. “The Copa Verde brings together teams from regions that concentrate the greatest biodiversity in the country”, says Daniela Vilela, executive director of FSC® Brazil. “Taking advantage of football to encourage best practices and the conservation of the environment is a great opportunity”, she adds. Little by little, people and private companies – even from the sports industry – are realising that they are responsible for environmental problems and everyone has a part in this.
Successful partnership
In 2017, with the support of the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) and FSC® Brazil joined forces to promote the responsible management of Brazilian forests by implementing sustainable actions regarding the Copa Verde. “By bringing together two national passions, football and the Amazon region, we proved there may be a sports championship focused on socio-environmental practices”, says Daniela.
In 2018, with the beginning of the Design & Sustainable Wood initiative activities, the partnership gained more visibility with the adhesion of renowned names of Brazilian wood design. Since then, there have been nine trophies conceived by designers Cristiano do Valle, Carlos Motta, Leonardo Lattavo, Claudia Moreira Salles, Julia Krantz, Paulo Alves, Roberta Rampazzo and, this year, Guido Guedes and Alessandra Delgado.
Beto Mesquita, Director of Forestry and Public Policy at BVRio, states that “Copa Verde actions allow us to take the sustainability message and the values of keeping forests intact to the public, with concrete examples of forest protection and income management for the communities directly dependent on it”.
During the championship, the public receives information on recycling, wood’s origin, and forests’ function for the global climate with communication actions carried out during the tournament. “In addition to bringing community forest management closer to high-end niche markets, we also contribute to connecting large audiences with this agenda,” adds Mesquita.
