Because we were so productive during our first day of meetings, on Tuesday and Wednesday we had one company visit each day and the free time to either meet with companies related to our class project or explore the city on our own!

By now, we have all tried the infamous caipirinhas, Brazil’s potent national cocktail. It contains cachaça (a sugar cane liquor), sugar, and lime. So, it is only fitting that on Tuesday morning we meet with Cosan, the world’s largest sugar producer and the largest conglomerate in the sugar and ethanol sector. We were received by three impressive executives: Guilherme Machado, Mark Lyra, and Phillipe Casale.  Mr. Lyra explained to us that Cosan sees itself as the provider of “energy for life”, whether that energy comes from its ethanol and fuel production or the raw sugar it sells to consumers at the retail level. Cosan’s major…