More and more companies are investing in sustainability to reduce their environmental impacts and leave their share of contribution to the planet and future generations. Actions can range from reduction of resource use to using energy from renewable sources, minimizing greenhouse gas emissions, and carrying out proper waste management, among other initiatives.

While some companies adopt certain sustainable practices, others have sustainability in their DNA: they were created to operate from the idea of green economy. This is the case of Tabb Mobility, a mobility app, responsible for transporting passengers and parcels, whose drivers can only use ethanol in their rides.

Created in March 2023, in Paragominas, Pará, Tabb is already present in five other municipalities in Pará (Santarém, Ipixuna do Pará, Tomé-Açu, Viseu and Castanhal) and is preparing to reach the capital of Pará, Belém, with an eye on the opportunities generated by COP 30.
“Tabb is an urban mobility application whose objective is to contribute to reducing emissions since this type of application has greatly increased carbon emissions worldwide. So, Tabb developed a system in which all cars only run on alcohol,"explains Leonardo Carvalho, creator of the project and CEO of the company.

Afforestation

In addition to reducing carbon emissions from the use of biofuel - alcohol emits 90% less greenhouse gases than gasoline - the company is committed to planting one tree for every 50 runs made, in a "green cashback". In 2023, six thousand feet of andiroba were planted in an indigenous village in Tomé-Açu. The next step is to plant 800 Ipê trees on Augusto Montenegro and Júlio César avenues, in the urban area of Belém.

"We always try to negotiate with local governments about the planting sites, determining where there is a need in an urban center and where there is a greater deficit of vegetation cover. So, in addition to the lower ammount of pollutants with the rides, we also give the cities this counterpart so that they are more wooded, and we can breathe less polluted air”, emphasizes Carvalho.

Circular production chain and pioneering spirit

Tabb's idea of sustainability, however, is not limited to this: the company has created a true production chain with maximum use of resources. First, to create favourable conditions for drivers to adopt the biofuel, the company built the first corn alcohol plant in the state, Raiz do Etanol, in Ipixuna do Pará, which produces, on average, 4,800 liters of ethanol per day. The plant takes advantage of the large supply of grain in the region, verticalizing the product in the State itself.

The corn alcohol produced by the plant is sold at a special price to Tabb drivers, at R$3.80 per liter, which is more affordable than the sugarcane alcohol sold at gas stations. The company plans to build a new plant in Belém, which will be able to deliver 150,000 liters per day and meet the demand of the rides made by the application. Two refueling stations with corn ethanol from the plant are in the licensing phase, at strategic points of Belém, and one already operates in Paragominas.

Another step in the chain is the use of ethanol by-products from grain fermentation, called WDG (Wet Distillers Grains). WDG are used for swine feed.

“We already market the WDG that producers use for pigs. We have observed that the response was very good, so we decided to bring the farm inside the plant. We will have our own farm, which will be next to the plant, because, when you sell, you generate emissions from transporting the product, and, in our company, the policy is always to reduce carbon emissions", says Carvalho. The farm project is still in the implementation phase.

But the chain does not stop at this point. Organic waste and manure from pig farming will be destined for a biodigester, which will produce biofertilizer and biogas from decomposition, generating more clean energy.

“Some cities are already using biogas for public transport. So, we could partner with the government in this regard, or even transform this biogas into another energy matrix, nitrogen", says Tabb's CEO. "It is a project carried out from end to end, with 100% utilization in the production chain. We are expanding a lot, but the focus is precisely to make this product return to the soil positively," he adds.

Driver benefits

According to Leonardo Carvalho, Tabb offers advantageous conditions to the four thousand drivers already registered in the State. “While other apps charge 24% to 40% of the fare, we charge a flat monthly fee, and the right to buy corn ethanol at a cheaper price. This leverages the expansion of the app and reflects positively on the driver's income," he analyzes.

“The biggest cost for app drivers is fuel. We see the high fuel consumption affecting his monthly life. So, with these advantages, he gets a more solid financial return. Because, when it comes to sustainability, it is a tripod: not only ecologically correct and financially viable but also socially fair, generating income and quality of life," says Carvalho.

Driver Luken Bergson Pereira, who has been driving for Tabb in Santarém for about a year, confirms the advantages. "I ran through other apps and in the end, it was not worth the cost of the rides. At Tabb, there is a fixed value, calculated per kilometer traveled and the time you spend during the journey, so it ends up being a great value for drivers and a fair price for passengers too", he says. "In addition, it would be advantageous because the project aims at setting up plants in Pará, so the price of ethanol becomes more affordable for us. It has been very beneficial to me,” he argues.

Leonardo Carvalho said he is also developing a system to pay drivers through carbon credits. “The driver is the main point of the business. It is the driver who, daily, will be filling the car with biofuel and contributing to the reduction of emissions here in the state," he ponders.

Keeping an eye on COP 30

Bergson, from Santarém, says he decided to register with Tabb because of the company's proposal. "Because it is an app from our region, and not a foreigner like the others, and it’s also focused on the climate issue, I identified with it and decided to become a driver," he says.
"An environmental project, using a less polluting fuel and planting trees every 50 rides are essential initiatives at the moment we are living; with the climate issue in our region, also, with COP 30 in Belém, it is paramount to have a mobility project that works," he says.

Carvalho is already setting up Tabb in the capital of Pará, with an eye on the opportunities arising from the Climate Change Conference to be held in Belém in November 2025. "We have already conducted tests in Belém, aiming to work 100% during COP 30. We are on the doorstep of the COP, with a transportation deficit to receive all these people. In addition, we want to show the world we are doing our homework, and that we have a sustainable service model with responsibility for reforestation. The COP ends up being this window for us", explains the creator of the project.

The Tabb leader believes that companies need to invest in sustainability. “The environmental business can be highly profitable. You have to think about our current resources and future generations as well. The people talk about decarbonization, and this is our vision. There is a saying that the word convinces, but the example drags. I think that, with the result of our venture, other companies will also pursue the same thing",  hopes the entrepreneur.

Telephone company invests in “green cashback”

Leonardo Carvalho is also the representative, in Pará, of Rico Telecom, a 5G telephone operator that is based on a virtual network (mobile virtual network, or MVMO), using the network infrastructure of another operator, TIM.

With each activated chip, Rico commits to planting a tree. In Pará, there are already 30,000 customers, which corresponds to the planting of 30,000 trees, that will be carried out in various cities in Pará, the same "green cashback" proposal as Tabb.

“Rico Telecom is a company from Casa do Celular group [Cell home], with 240 stores in Brazil. Rico chips are sold in these stores, but we are already expanding the sales fronts. In Pará, we have stores in Belém, Parauapebas, Santarém, but the network operates throughout the state," explains Carvalho. The operator started its activities in Santarém in 2022, with plans to expand to other states in the North and Northeast and, later, to the rest of the country.

In addition to its commitment to reforestation, the company is also designing a type of chip that can be reused, rather than discarded like other chips. "So, we will have the reutilization of the chip as another contribution to the environment along with the planted trees", says the entrepreneur.

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The production of Liberal Amazon is one of the initiatives of the Technical Cooperation Agreement between the Liberal Group and the Federal University of Pará. The articles involving research from UFPA are revised by professionals from the academy. The translation of the content is also provided by the agreement, through the research project ET-Multi: Translation Studies: multifaces and multisemiotics.