SIM strengthens Brazil Team with two new appointments

SIM is pleased to welcome two new appointments to the Brazil team, as we rapidly scale the Responsible Commodities Facility (RCF) to half a billion dollars in 2028.

Rafael Arruda joins as Head of Commercial Activities of Structured Transactions, and Jan Werner as RCF Portfolio Manager.

Rafael joined us from RCF delivery partner, Traive, and has vast experience in credit operations for the agribusiness sector in Brazil. He will be heading our commercial negotiations for origination of farmers and partners to structure new CRAs for the RCF.

Jan Werner takes up the new position of RCF Portfolio Manager. with nearly a decade of experience working within financial services and climate technology. Jan will be coordinating the process of creating and managing portfolios of farmers, in close collaboration with the origination team, as well as the teams doing the onboarding related to environmental eligibility criteria, legal compliance and credit analyses. 

“With the backing of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) secured for the next twelve years, the RCF is entering a new phase of rapid growth and expansion, and we are thrilled to welcome Rafael and Jan to the team to make this transition happen. Both bring with them a wealth of experience and enthusiasm for the RCF mission.” Mauricio de Moura Costa, co-founder of SIM and director of RCF.

“I’m excited to join SIM at a moment when the Responsible Commodities Facility is scaling rapidly. The RCF represents a strong model for aligning financial performance with environmental integrity, and I look forward to contributing to the development of robust farmer portfolios in Brazil, ensuring strong alignment across credit, environmental eligibility, and compliance processes, working closely with farmers and partners to deliver resilient, high-quality portfolios at scale.” Jan Werner

“I’m excited to join the Sustainable Investment Management team with the mission of expanding and consolidating the RCF as a benchmark in sustainable finance in Brazil. I look forward to working alongside a talented team and partners to scale this initiative, unlock new opportunities, and reinforce Brazil’s leadership in sustainable agribusiness.” Rafael Arruda

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Eligibility Criteria for Cerrado Programme 1

The following eligibility criteria are required for participation in the Responsible Commodities Facility for Cerrado Programme 1 (see full description here):

Land use

The area of cultivation must not have had any deforestation and conversion of native vegetation since 1 Jan 2020*. Preference will be given to areas converted from abandoned pasture land to soy cultivation after 2008.

Forest Code Compliance

Farm land must be registered with the Cadastro Ambiental Rural (CAR). The farm must contain and maintain areas of native vegetation equivalent to those required for Legal Reserve and Areas of Permanent Protection (APPs) determined by the Forest code or have formally adhered to a Programme of Environmental Regularization (PRA) established by the state environmental agency**. The farm area must not overlap with public protected areas, indigenous lands and other traditional people and community lands (including ‘quilombolas territories’).

Land title

Farmers must have unquestionable rights to use the land, be it as a land title or land lease agreement.

Legal Compliance

Farmers must demonstrate that they and their farms do not contravene any environmental or legal requirements, such as embargoes, environmental irregularities, contraventions of the labour legislation (including slave and child labour), and internationally-accepted rules for the use of agrochemicals.

*Farmers occasionally request the conversion of small areas of native vegetation to conduct farm improvements (building storage areas, water reservoirs, etc.). Provided that these areas are small and not for the purpose of expansion of the agricultural area, RCF analyses and considers them eligible. In order to do so, RCF uses the concept of Minimal Level (of deforestation or conversion) as defined by the Accountability Framework Initiative Terms and Definitions, which states “To be considered consistent with no-deforestation or no-conversion commitments, minimal levels must generally meet the following conditions: Not exceed cumulative thresholds that are small both in absolute terms (e.g., no more than a few hectares) and relative to the area in question (e.g., no more than a small proportion of the site).”

**The RCF analyses Forest Code compliance by looking at single farms (defined as the area covered by a CAR) or bundles of individual CARs that, in combination, result in the desired area of native vegetation put under the protective status of the RCF.  This bundling should not be understood as a means of compliance with the Forest Code requirements and is not intended to release the farmer of the regularization process committed under the Forest Code rules (enrolment in the CAR, engagement in a PRA, etc.). In order to differentiate its metrics from those of the Forest Code, the RCF refers to areas of Excess Native Vegetation (ENV) as opposed to Excess Legal Reserve, to avoid confusion with areas legally categorised under the Forest Code.