Novo Hamburgo hosts CICB Sustainability Forum
Sustainability and artificial intelligence (AI) in the leather supply chain were central topics at the 2026 CICB Forum, which took place in Novo Hamburgo on March 4 as part of the Fimec exhibition.
The conference was part of the Brazilian Leather project, a partnership between tanning industry representative body CICB and the country’s export promotions agency ApexBrasil.
CICB sustainability advisor Ricardo Andrade spoke first. He said that the proportion of Brazilian leather manufacturers that hold environmental certifications had increased from 60% in 2018 to more than 90% now.
Academic Rafael Martins compared AI to “a kind of magic lamp”. He said the most important skill today is knowing “how to ask”. He insisted that AI is not replacing human capabilities, but amplifying them.
The founder of technology provider Hidexe, Jo Gilet, the presented a 3D scanning system that can inspect 300 hides in 10 seconds and identify imperfections with a higher degree of accuracy than the human eye.
The CICB Forum concluded with a panel discussion bringing together the speakers to debate the future of the sector amid the growing use of AI tools.
