Advancing Environmental Conservation in Brazil

After years of underinvestment and institutional fragmentation, IBAMA faced the urgent task of reinforcing three strategic areas to improve environmental outcomes. Delivery Associates partnered with IBAMA to diagnose structural gaps, align leadership, and co-create a clear, four-year strategy grounded in Brazil’s national climate commitments. Through this collaborative partnership, IBAMA set on a path to stronger coordination, clearer priorities, and renewed internal alignment to deliver lasting results.

Context

Real-world challenges: As Brazil’s leading environmental conservation agency, the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) plays a critical role in protecting the environment. However, by 2022, the agency had suffered a 20% workforce reduction and declining coordination across departments. Meanwhile, deforestation in the Amazon surged by 70% between 2018 and 2021.  

With a new federal administration in place and renewed political will, IBAMA sought to rebuild institutional capacity, streamline internal processes, and foster a results-oriented culture aligned with national targets.

DA Approach

DA worked closely with IBAMA to generate a clear and practical 4-year definition of success and a short-term action plan for implementation through three key phases:

• Organizational Diagnosis & Capacity Review: Conducted interviews, workshops, and surveys with over 40 hours of active listening across all staff levels.

• Strategic Vision and 4-Year Plan: Co-developed a delivery pyramid with measurable targets, levers of change, and a shared vision of success.

• Immediate 90-Day Action Plan: Outlined concrete next steps to embed new practices and sustain momentum across priorities that aligned with national goals.

Throughout the engagement, DA prioritized inclusive methods, co-creation, and consensus-building to foster dialogue and commitment across teams.

Implementation

DA tailored its approach according to IBAMA’s feedback on its top challenges for delivery. Key activities included:

• Over 40 hours of staff engagement that identified institutional gaps and opportunities and informed strategic recommendations to strengthen organizational culture.

• Goal-setting exercises to enhance skills in setting indicators and targets.

• Meetings and workshops with leadership to define priorities that aligned with national goals.  

• Setting measurable 4-year goals around reducing deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and environmental accidents.

Impact

• Deepening IBAMA’s understanding of its organizational culture created a shared sense of urgency for reform and results.

• There was increased dialogue among departments and integration between headquarters and regional offices, which strengthened internal collaboration and broke silos across key departments.

• Top leadership and employees engaged in the process, empowering them to jointly define priorities and shape the strategy.

• Delivered a strategic plan that aligned with Brazil’s national climate goals, which was endorsed by IBAMA’s president and Brazil’s Minister for the Environment and Climate Change.

• The 90-day action plan established clear priority activities and responsibilities to facilitate strategy implementation.

This work enabled cross-departmental alignment, promoted a results-oriented culture, and fostered a refreshed sense of ownership and accountability to deliver on Brazil’s environment goals.