Through the “Corridor” program, a growing alliance of international and local organizations are working to accelerate positive development in the Brazilian Amazon.

Three new partners, from left: Arinobu Hashimoto (Mitsui & Co), Marcelo Pereti (Belterra), Gabriela Savian (Ipam), Eduardo Figueiredo (Hydro), Hayato Yanagisawa (Mitsui Foundation), Birgit Euba (Mercedes), Anderson Baranov (Hydro), John Thuestad (Hydro). (Photo: Tim Oliveira/Hydro)

Three new partners, Belterra Agroflorestas, Mitsui & Co. and Mitsui Foundation are joining the Corridor program during the New York Climate Week 2025.

“Partnerships turn ambitions into impact. We are excited to welcome five new partners into this collaboration, enhancing our ability to create opportunity and a positive future for people and communities along the Paragominas-Barcarena corridor,” says Eivind Kallevik, President and CEO of Hydro.

The Corridor program was launched last year during the New York Climate Week 2024. It is a pioneering multisector partnership led by Hydro, Mercedes-Benz and well known NGOs from the Amazon region: IPAM, CEA, and Imazon.

Co-designed with local communities

The Corridor program is designed to improve the environmental and social conditions of the territory from Paragominas to Barcarena in the state of Pará, Brazil. The program covers an area equivalent to the territory of Switzerland or the state of Rio de Janeiro, and passes through seven municipalities, reaching 650,000 citizens and 4.7 million hectares of area, including 2 million hectares of high biodiversity rainforest.

“Joining the Corridor Program reflects Mitsui’s long-standing commitment to sustainable development and inclusive growth. We recognize that lasting impact requires inclusive collaboration and locally grounded solutions. Through this partnership, we aim to support the creation of resilient value chains and promote socioeconomic progress while safeguarding the region’s unique biodiversity and cultural heritage”, says Akinobu Hashimoto, General Manager of New Metals & Aluminium Division at Mitsui & Co.,Ltd.

The program is anchored in three strategic pillars:

• Economic development: The program focuses on finding solutions to improve the conditions for nature based value chains in the territory.
• Social development: The program has a large-scale approach to social development, targeting (i) basic human needs, (ii) well being (iii) opportunities and (iv) capacity building.
• Environment and biodiversity conservation: The program works with forest restoration and conservation of biodiversity in the Amazon, required to ensure positive gains for nature and people.

Projects in the Corridor program are co-designed with local communities, empowering them to identify and prioritize initiatives that directly benefit their regions and territories. The program shows how industry can support local ecosystems and communities through education, income generating projects, biodiversity restoration, and human rights advocacy.

This program is a transformative initiative rooted in the principles of bioeconomy and social equity. Designed to support the social progress of traditional peoples in the Amazon, including Indigenous, Quilombola, and riverside communities, the program focuses on strengthening local capacities while fostering sustainable livelihoods.

Partnering for positive impact

The Corridor program builds on investments implemented by Hydro and other partners to increase local capacity to develop an economy based on nature, technically led by IMAZON, IPAM and Centro de Empreendedorismo da Amazônia. The goal of the program is to attract new investments to increase the positive impact.

The founding group of the Corridor program includes:

• Hydro & Hydro Fund: Seed funding and program architecture
• Mercedes-Benz: First co-investor, linking decarbonization with local development
• Centro de Empreendedorismo da Amazônia: Social Progress Index (SPI) implementation and community diagnostics
• Imazon: Environmental intelligence and land use monitoring
• IPAM: Economic diagnostics and climate smart territorial planning
• BCG: Strategy, governance design and fundraising roadmap

The three new additional partners bring unique capabilities to the Corridor program:

Belterra Agroflorestas: Expertise in regenerative agriculture and bioeconomy value chains
Mitsui & Co. and Mitsui Foundation: Global reach, financing and social impact investment

About the Corridor program

The Corridor program is a multisector, multistakeholder initiative dedicated to promoting low-carbon, inclusive and biodiversity positive development in the Brazilian Amazon. The program is aimed at generating social positive impact in the region along the bauxite pipeline operated by Hydro in Brazil. The pipeline stretches 244 kilometers through seven municipalities in the State of Para, from Hydro’s bauxite mine in Paragominas to the Alunorte alumina refinery in Barcarena.

Hydro in the Brazilian Amazon

Over the past seven years, Hydro has invested more than BRL 260 million (approximately EUR 47 million) in social and environmental programs in Para. A key outcome is the Peace House (TerPaz) project, with three units completed and three more under construction to support vulnerable communities.

In 2019, Hydro launched the Hydro Fund, committing BRL100 million over ten years to grassroots development in Barcarena. Its first major partnership with the Barcarena Sustainable Initiative (IBS) laid the foundation for the Corridor program, which aims to scale sustainable development across Pará by 2035, promoting economic opportunity, building local skills, advancing conservation and forest restoration.

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: Hydro