ODEBRECHT #152 • vol XXXVIII • jan/feb 2011
I N F O R M A
English Edition
Sustainability
Social and environmental initiatives that are changing communities’ lives in Brazil and worldwide
“By definition, development must be sustainable. Otherwise, it cannot be called development� teo
- odebrecht entrepreneurial technology
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Two exemplary cases of greenhouse gas reduction at the Santo Antônio and Palomino hydroelectric plant projects
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Sérgio Leão discusses the process of updating Odebrecht’s Sustainability Policy
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Sustainable tourism is changing communities’ lives along the South InterOceanic Highway in Peru
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Creer Perú: professional education and social inclusion at the Chaglla hydroelectric plant project in northern Peru
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Rota das Bandeiras Concessionaire carries out environmental compensation projects with the help of public school students
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Kukula pala Kulonga: a project that contributes to sustainable development in 10 Angolan communities
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An extensive social-environmental project in the Hongo district, in the Luanda metropolitan area, arises from the fight against malaria in Angola
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The Brazil Recycling Grand Prix shows how environmental conservation and income generation go together
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Braskem and the projects that are part of its commitment to being the global leader in sustainable chemicals
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Braskem’s drive towards sustainability began with the company’s inception in 2002
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Introduced in Mozambique, the Caia na Rede digital inclusion project makes its debut outside Brazil
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Martina Condori Cruz, an artisan from the Tinqui community in Peru. Photo by Holanda Cavalcanti.
Escola em Ação: activities at public schools are changing the social and cultural realities of Macaé, Rio de Janeiro Announcing the winners of the third edition of the Odebrecht Sustainable Development Prize
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In Venezuela, recognizing the creative ideas of students from Maracaibo and Caracas
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The Portuguese government develops an initiative aimed at increasing the schooling of people over the age of 23
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ETH’s Social Energy Program for Local Sustainability is based on participatory management, including businesses, public agencies and the community
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In the Camela district of Ipojuca, Pernambuco, seamstresses and artisans get ready to see a dream come true: forming a cooperative
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The area near the Embraport terminal in Santos, São Paulo, benefits from 34 environmental preservation initiatives
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In the Argentine provinces of Salta and Patagonia, water supply and technical education for young people are boosting development
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In Panama City, a story of social inclusion in a district marked by instability and violence
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In the Southern Bahia Lowlands, a group of institutional partners is helping build a rural middle class based on family units
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Felipe Cruz writes about two imperative issues for the success of sustainability programs
Created in Portugal in 2006, the EPIS – Businesses for Social Inclusion program enables business leaders to help improve education
In the United States, Odebrecht garners certification that attests to its determination to do more and better Exhibition at the Organization’s Salvador headquarters tells the story of the creation and development of the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial Technology (TEO)
02 w w w. o d e b r e c h t o n l i n e . c o m . b r > online edition > ETH Bioenergy is one of the companies taking part in the New Earth Leaders program > 22 business organizations including Odebrecht hold seminars in São Paulo on climate change > Odebrecht marks four years with zero lost-time accidents at the Braskem Project in Camaçari, Bahia
> blog > Read posts by the magazine’s reporters and editors on the Odebrecht Informa blog Written by Cláudio Lovato Filho, Fabiana Cabral, José Enrique Barreiro, Júlio César Soares, Karolina Gutiez, Leonardo Maia, Renata Meyer, Rodrigo Vilar, Zaccaria Júnior and collaborators.
> video reports
> web archives
> An interview with Guilherme Guaragna, Braskem’s Ventures Director and the officer Responsible for the green ethylene plant built in Triunfo, Rio Grande do Sul
> Access all back issues
> After Luiz Gustavo Assunção lost his sight, he kept striving for professional fulfillment
> Special publications
> The “electric train” metro makes a decisive contribution to solving Lima’s traffic problems
of Odebrecht Informa since no. 1 > Odebrecht S.A. Annual Reports since 2002
(Special Issue on Social Programs, 60 years of the Odebrecht Group, 40 Years of the Odebrecht Foundation and 10 Years of Odeprev)
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ODEBRECHT
RESPONSIBLE FOR CORPORATE COMMUNICATION AT CONSTRUTORA NORBERTO ODEBRECHT S.A. Márcio Polidoro
Founded in 1944, Odebrecht is a Brazilian organization made up of diversified businesses with global operations and world-class standards of quality. Its 105,000 members are present in the Americas, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and Europe.
RESPONSIBLE FOR PUBLISHING PROGRAMS AT CONSTRUTORA NORBERTO ODEBRECHT S.A. Karolina Gutiez BUSINESS AREA COORDINATORS Nelson Letaif Chemicals & Petrochemicals • Andressa Saurin Ethanol & Sugar • Bárbara Nitto Oil & Gas • Daelcio Freitas Environmental Engineering • Sergio Kertész Real Estate Developments • Coordinator at Odebrecht Foundation Vivian Barbosa EDITORIAL COORDINATION Versal Editores Editor-in-Chief José Enrique Barreiro • Executive Editor Cláudio Lovato Filho • English Translation by H. Sabrina Gledhill • Art/Graphic Production Rogério Nunes • Photo Editor Holanda Cavalcanti • Infographics Adilson Secco • Illustrations Gilberto Marchi • Electronic Publishing Maria Celia Olivieri PRINTING 1,600 copies • PRE-PRESS/PRINTING BY Pancrom Editorial Offices Rio de Janeiro +55 21 2239-6051 • São Paulo + 55 11 3641-4743 email: versal@versal.com.br Originally published in Portuguese. Also available in Spanish.
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Inseparable concepts The epigraph in this issue of Odebrecht Informa, on the page opposite the table of contents, accurately reflects how the Organization’s teams think and act in Brazil and worldwide. For them, development and sustainability are inseparable concepts that are mutually inherent. In the following pages, you will find several examples that demonstrate how Odebrecht members put that belief into action. In Peru, along the route of the South InterOceanic Highway, a sustainable tourism program is carrying out several projects that are changing the lives of families and communities and helping the country get better results from its extraordinary potential. In Angola, initiatives in the Luanda metropolitan area and the province of Malange are helping improve the schooling and health of populations historically challenged by vulnerability. In Panama, a district of the capital marked by violence and an almost complete lack of infrastructure is becoming an integral part of the city, and many of its residents are experiencing the status of first-class citizens for the very first time. In Brazil, in the vicinity of the Embraport terminal in Santos, São Paulo, 34 projects are helping preserve the environmental characteristics of an area rich in biodiversity. Some programs are more comprehensive, others, more specific, and all are examples of the contributions Odebrecht’s businesses are making to improve life on the planet, which is experiencing the reality of global warming. Odebrecht is also taking action in this regard at two hydroelectric plant construction projects: Palomino, in the Dominican Republic, and Santo Antônio, in Brazil, which are conducting greenhouse gas emission inventories that serve as a basis for efforts to reduce those emissions. The Rota dos Bandeirantes Concessionaire in São Paulo is carrying out an extensive environmental compensation program with the help of public school students. And Braskem is continuing its drive to consolidate its position as the global leader in sustainable chemicals. And there’s much more in this issue of Odebrecht Informa, including several other Sustainable Development initiatives. They have many points in common, but without exception, there is one element that permeates and inspires them all: the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial Technology (TEO). It is the application of the principles and criteria of TEO that makes the work of Odebrecht’s teams around the world consistent, effective and more significant: helping people develop their capacity to change the world for the better by changing individual lives.
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sustainability guidelines
Climate of commitment Odebrecht creates a climate change program and develops projects to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions written by Fabiana Cabral In the course of the past 50 years, over 60% of the world’s natural resources have been degraded. Currently, the demand for those resources is 35% larger than the planet’s ability to renew them. If we maintain this rate of growth, by 2030 we will be consuming twice as much as the Earth can replace. This is the scenario projected by The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity , a United Nations study published in June 2010. Months earlier, in August 2009, Odebrecht Engineering & Construction teamed up with the Ethos Institute and other Brazilian organizations to draft the Open Letter to Brazil on Climate Change. This document presents the voluntary commitments of 22 corporations to minimize the impacts of climate change in Brazil and worldwide. The initiatives in the agreement include publishing annual reports on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, influencing suppliers and clients, and encouraging debate on the issue among members of civil society and public and private institutions. In addition to including a Climate Change Program in its Sustainability Guidelines and organizing teams to deal with this issue, Odebrecht conducts inven-
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tories of GHG emissions, identifies opportunities in carbon markets and develops measures aimed at improving the emission control efficiency of its projects and offices. “The program was created to support entrepreneur-partners, and the methodology was developed for use on a range of projects. Thinking about sustainability means rethinking processes, technology and efficiency,” says Odebrecht Energia Sustainability Director Luiz Gabriel Azevedo. Based on the GHG Protocol method, used around the globe under the leadership of the World Resources Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development, in 2010 Odebrecht developed an Initial Corporate Inventory of GHG Emissions, which covers 11 offices in seven Brazilian states, 11 offices worldwide and over 100 projects in Brazil and other countries. “The inventory will tell us what our main sources of emissions are. In 2011, the focus will be to improve the efficiency of processes and controls to reduce emissions. We will start to identify options and opportunities to make progress in our Engineering & Construction activities,” says Sérgio Leão, the officer Responsible for Sustainability in Engineering & Construction Operations.
The Corporate Inventory will be completed by February 2011 and will feature in next year’s Odebrecht S.A. Annual Report. “The results will enable us to structure crosscutting programs that can be applied to different types of projects in different countries,” adds Alexandre Baltar, Responsible for the Climate Change Program.
Santo Antônio’s pioneering spirit One of the largest construction works now underway in the world, located in the Brazilian state of Rondônia, Santo Antônio last year was the first Odebrecht project and the first large-scale project in Brazil to inventory GHG emissions. “We couldn’t find a ready-made method for taking measurements on this type of construction project, so we developed one by adapting the GHG Protocol methodology, which allowed us to quantify emissions and obtain the initial figures,” explains José Bonifácio Pinto Júnior, CEO of Odebrecht Energia. According to the results obtained, the total volume of CO2
modern vehicles, we have a GPS system to monitor the efficiency of 800 pieces of equipment. We also encourage our suppliers to adopt best practices to control emissions,” says Nelson Alves, Responsible for the Environment on the project. José Bonifácio points out that every process carried out on the Santo Antônio project is linked to sustainability. “From the location of jobsite offices, which are installed in areas that had already been cleared, to water and sewage treatment in the jobsite’s own plants, everything contributes to the preservation of local resources. Where there’s a will and creativity, there’s a way to find sustainable solutions.”
emissions over the course of seven years of construction will be equivalent to 1,478,460 metric tons. Emissions from the transportation of passengers and freight, and steel and cement production account for 62% of the total. The consumption of fuels and lubricants accounts for 34%. This volume of CO 2 equivalent will be fully offset by the Prepaid Energy Program, which will move
the beginning of the plant’s operations forward by one year (it is scheduled for December 2011). “Early power generation will mean that 1.7 million tons of CO 2 equivalent are no longer released into the atmosphere, mainly through fossil fuels burned by thermal power plants,” observes José Bonifácio. Despite that optimistic forecast, Consórcio Santo Antônio Civil is already carrying out several measures to reduce GHG emissions. “Apart from buying new and
Social carbon in Palomino Odebrecht is building the Palomino hydroelectric power plant for the EGEHID (Empresa de Generación Hidroeléctrica Dominicana) in the Dominican Republic, in the southern province of San Juan. Scheduled for completion by June 2012, the plant will increase the nation’s power supply by 15%. “In the Dominican Republic, 85% of the energy distributed comes from thermal power plants. In addition to producing clean energy, Palomino will reduce the number of barrels of oil imported by 400,000 bbl per year, and we will no longer emit
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Santo Antônio
GUILHERME AFONSO
hydroelectric plant
120,000 metric tons of CO 2 equivalent per year,” explains Project Director Pedro Schettino. To expand the environmental protection activities in a sustainable manner and create work and income opportunities for communities in the vicinity of the hydroelectric plant, Odebrecht and EGEHID teams have developed a project under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) as a social carbon initiative focused on voluntary actions that reflect civic responsibility. “The investments generated by carbon credits will contribute to the region’s socioeconomic development, and the environment will be preserved,” says Victor Ventura, President of EGEHID. The Guayuyal Agricultural Program, created in 2008 by Odebrecht in partnership with the Sur Futuro Foundation, is one of the initiatives that will
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stand to benefit. Residents of the region, one of the poorest in the Dominican Republic, who formerly depended on subsistence farming, are already producing over 500 kg of grain and vegetables and earning USD 1,100 per month from
the sale of produce. Francisco Sawaguthi, Responsible for Health, Safety and Environment at Palomino, observes: “The CDM project is producing excellent results that will ensure the program’s sustainability in communi-
SANTO ANTÔNIO HYDROELECTRIC PLANT: SUSTAINABILITY IN NUMBERS > 960,000 cu.m of water per day are treated at five treatment plants (WTP). > 100% of daily sewage output is treated without using chemicals. > 70% of 10 metric tons of waste generated daily is recycled or reused. Tires, fluorescent light bulbs, paper and plastics are sent for recycling. > 700 kg of food scraps per day are mixed with wood chips to produce organic compost. > 84% of members are local residents. > 271 sq.m is the size of the plant’s reservoir, of which 164 sq.m is the natural bed of the Madeira River. > The first of 44 bulb turbines will go online in December 2011, a year ahead of schedule.
ties located in the plant’s sphere of influence, and could also be extended to other communities.” Established by the Kyoto Protocol to aid the process of reducing GHG emissions and carbon capture in developed countries, the CDM also helps developing countries achieve sustainability. “The Dominican Republic was one of the 138 countries that signed the Kyoto Protocol, and we are investing in renewable energy sources,” points out Omar Ramírez Tejada, Executive Vice President of the National Council for Climate Change and Clean Development Mechanism. “This was the country’s first CDM project, and through it we can access the international carbon market,” says Ernesto Reyna Alcántara,
the Dominican Republic’s Deputy Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources. Through the international market established by the Kyoto Protocol, developed countries that need to meet the UN’s emission reduction targets can negotiate and acquire carbon credits to offset GHG emissions. Bureau Veritas Quality International is currently auditing the project. Following UN approval, the credits can be sold on the international market for up to 21 years, raising as much as a million euros per year. “Palomino’s social carbon credits can be sold on the voluntary market, where large public- and private-sector companies acquire certificates to enhance their image,” explains Luiz Gabriel Azevedo.
CDM IN PERU To help find new opportunities in the carbon market, Odebrecht has formed a partnership with the Latin American Carbon, Clean and Alternative Energy Program of the CAF (Corporación Andina de Fomento). “We have produced a Memorandum of Understanding for the development of a CDM project for the Chaglla Hydroelectric Plant in Peru. As a result, Chaglla will be built within the Clean Development Mechanism, and the sale of carbon credits will make the venture even more profitable,” explains Alexandre Baltar.
RICARDO TELES
Palomino hydroelectric plant
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interview
Sérgio Leão: convergence between sustainability and Odebrecht’s entrepreneurial culture
A multidimensional phenomenon Sustainability encompasses various aspects of the lives of communities and nations written by Zaccaria Junior / photo by Edu Simões odebrecht informa
“Sustainability is a multidimensional phenomenon that encompasses economic, social, environmental, cultural and political aspects. In this sense, sustainable business practices should aim at the creation of communities and countries that are economically prosperous, socially just, environmentally balanced, politically stable and culturally diverse....” This is the opening statement in the new wording of the Odebrecht Organization’s Sustainability Policy, which is based on the policy that has been in effect since 2008 but has now been updated and expanded. Sérgio Leão, the officer Responsible for Sustainability in Odebrecht Engineering & Construction Operations, explains that this new policy was developed on the basis of a new reading of the thematic development that has the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial Technology (TEO) as a backdrop. “Sustainability has been an integral part of the concepts and principles of TEO from the very beginning, reflecting business leaders’ responsibility to Survival, Growth and Perpetuity. Therefore, sustainability is one of the elements that our entrepreneurial philosophy has covered from the start, but now it is more explicit, and translated in accordance with the new nomenclature,” says Sérgio. He points out that, like TEO, the updated policy focuses on people because, although sustainability is strongly related to environmental assets, preservation and the future, it is people – inside and outside the organization – who must be prepared and motivated to achieve and maintain the results of sustainable development within its entire scope: economic and social development, environmental responsibility, cultural diversity and political participation. Sérgio explains that, from the beginning of the process of restructuring the policy, the main focus was on the need for the document to clearly state Odebrecht’s commitment to ensuring the survival and growth of its businesses and achieving their perpetuity in order to guarantee the policy’s effectiveness. Once those objectives had been set, it was decided that the path
the Organization would take in conducting its businesses would be guided by Sustainability Indicators that reflect its corporate vision and are an integral part of its leaders’ goals. “We reviewed the policy itself, and the indicators arose from that document. The theme of sustainability was on the agenda of the Organization’s businesses throughout 2010; it was present in 2009 as one of the central issues of the Vision for 2020; it was part of the Annual Report published this year for 2009, and it is highlighted in all the statements of our Entrepreneurial Leaders (CEOs), our President and CEO, and the Board of Directors. In other words, it is an issue that has permeated our discussions within our businesses, especially in the Engineering & Construction business,” says Sérgio. He adds that this commitment arose from the decision taken in 2009 when the Open Letter to Brazil was signed on the eve of COP 15. In it, Odebrecht’s Engineering & Construction companies undertake the commitment to carrying out carbon emissions inventories, as well as including within the theme of sustainability the consolidation of the five pillars of the guidelines in Engineering & Construction: Health and Safety, Environment, Climate Change and Social Programs. “We worked on reviewing and creating those guidelines to establish this within the sphere of Engineering & Construction as the model to guide our businesses, and 2010 was the year to create the institutionalization of that subject,” says Sérgio Leão. He notes that the work done in that regard attempted to portray how sustainability occurs in practice in each of the businesses, on the basis of the Odebrecht culture. “It was crucial that the new policy be aligned with our thinking, our way of working and acting. The Sustainability Policy portrays the way TEO permeates sustainable development and how sustainability is part of TEO, our task as entrepreneurs, our various businesses and the commitments people undertake. It attests to the convergence of sustainability and our entrepreneurial culture.”
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peru
Road to sustainability
Sustainable tourism projects are contributing to environmental conservation and creating jobs and income in communities along the route of the South InterOceanic Highway in Peru written by Clรกudio Lovato Filho photos by Holanda Cavalcanti
Cirilo with his wife, Ena, and daughter Edith: an enterprising family
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Cirilo Méndez is walking on a trail in the woods. It is an 80-hectare area near the South InterOceanic Highway. We are in the San Juan community, in the district of Inambari, 45 minutes from Puerto Maldonado, the state capital of Madre de Dios in southern Peru. Cirilo walks a bit further and proudly shows off the crops he grows there: nuts, cocoa, coffee, cupuaçu fruit and pineapples. He engages in agroforestry, an ancestral method that makes it possible for the forest to regenerate itself. Cirilo also welcomes tourists, stu-
dents and researchers there. There is much to see, learn and admire. After a 20-minute walk (a compact version of the tour, which can take up to an hour in its complete form), we return to the Méndez Family Tourist Rest Stop, the starting point for our foray into the forest. There, we find a well-decorated, cozy restaurant with a varied menu. Cirilo’s wife, Ena, and their daughter Edith are waiting for us. The family likes to welcome visitors, strives to please them and wants them to come back. They are happy to see us, and never leave our side. Soon, they will be busy making lunch, because the rest stop fills up at lunchtime. The Méndezes are an enterprising family. Life has not always been so good for them, though. Before they opened the rest stop in May 2010, they used to sell natural organic products grown on their property to travelers. One of Cirilo and Ena’s five children would climb aboard buses to sell fruit, juices and snacks to passengers while the bus was moving, traveling two or three miles down the road, where their sister Edith, who was right behind them on a motorbike, BRAZIL Iñapari
BOLIVIA
PERU MADRE DE DIOS Puerto Maldonado
Amarakaeri Communal Reserve Santa Rosa
Tambopata National Reserve Camanti
CUSCO
(Quincemil)
Ccatcca Urcos
Ocongate
Marcapata
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Bahuaja Sonene National Park
would pick them up and take them back home, where they waited for the next bus. Today, with a restaurant and an ample area for ecotourism, the Méndez family are successful entrepreneurs and committed to sustainability. “We accomplished this with the help of the iSur, and we are thankful for that,” says Cirilo. The iSur (InterOceanic South Initiative) was developed by Odebrecht Perú and founded in 2007 by Conirsa, a joint venture of Odebrecht (leader) and three other Peruvian contractors, Graña y Montero, JJC and ICCGSA. Their partners in the strategic alliance for the creation of the iSur also included the environmental NGOs Conservación Internacional and Fundación Pro Naturaleza. Conirsa is responsible for the construction, operation and maintenance of 710 km of the South InterOceanic Highway for 25 years in the departments of Cusco, in the Andes, and Madre de Dios, in the Amazon jungle (see map). The goal is to support local job and income creation programs and foster environmental conservation through sustainable development. The iSur includes the Sustainable Tourism Program, aimed at creating highquality services along the highway and strengthening the entrepreneurial capacity of local communities to enable them to provide those services. The Méndez family, whose rest stop was built by six Conirsa subcontractors, is one of the main symbols of the transformative potential of this program, in particular, and iSur projects in general. Maria Teresa Canseco, an architect born in Lima who has been on the iSur team for three years, coordinated the work done to support the Méndez family. “They’re like my own family,” says
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Experiential tourism in Cuyni and, in the smaller photo, Magali Salinas with Pepe: valuing culture and protecting endangered species
Maria Teresa. “This makes me proud. It is a wonderful experience to see people grow and develop.” There are many other examples along the road. Magali Salinas supervises the work of the Amazon Shelter in Puerto Maldonado, the capital of Madre de Dios. She and six other people, including a veterinarian and a biologist, run a shelter for abused local wildlife and pets. It now houses 15 wild animals (including five monkeys) and five pets. Pepe, a 12-year-old red howler monkey, was rescued from a roadside restaurant, where he was chained to entertain visitors. “I wanted to do something to prevent animal trafficking,” says Magali, a former flight attendant with a Business degree who was born in Lima and has lived in Madre de Dios since 2007. “I’m living a dream,” she says. The Amazon Shelter has an inn that welcomes guests interested in being close to nature and learning about the work it does to protect animal life. The iSur Initiative helps the Amazon Shelter with publicity and marketing, and sends visitors and guests there.
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The shelter is close to El Paraiso, a 16-hectare property owned by Percy Wilfredo Balarezo Yabar. There, in an area of native forest on the banks of the Tambopata River, visitors find accommodation, space for camping and hiking, food, and unbelievable peace and quiet for people used to life in the big city. “I started clearing trails in the woods with a hatchet,” recalls Percy, who lives there with his mother, Beatriz. “Today we have visitors from Europe and the United States. With the help of the iSur, which hired technicians, we have cataloged the species on the property and done a full environmental assessment. Madre de Dios is the capital of biodiversity in Peru, and what we do here is exciting. It makes me very proud.” From the Amazon to the Andes, the South InterOceanic Highway provides travelers with a stunning array of sights and sensations. As the landscape, altitude, and especially the socioeconomic and cultural aspects change, so does the profile of activities the iSur supports. In the Marcapata District, over 2,800 meters
above sea level, a church built by the Spaniards in the 18th century is going to be restored. A few miles away, more than 6,300 meters above sea level, Mount Ausangate stands imposingly with its snowy peak in the Vilcanota mountains, in the Tinques community, in the District of Ocongate. There, Martina Condori Cruz, 38, a member of the Quechua ethnic group and the mother of three, talks about the artisans’ association she belongs to, along with 10 others. Martina is a past president of the association. With the iSur’s support, the artisans have improved the quality of their work – blankets, skirts, hats and accessories made from alpaca and sheep wool and dyed naturally using local plants – as well as learning how to price their products. “With the iSur’s help, we’ve been able to learn new skills and strengthen our business,” says Martina. On the way down to Cusco, we find the scenic Cuyuni rest stop, located 3,800 m above sea level in the community of the same name, in the Ccatcca District. Built by Conirsa, it has a shop that sells local handicrafts and a restaurant with a menu ranging from snacks to more elaborate dishes from the local cuisine, prepared by Chef Carmen Rosa Rodríguez Vargas, 27, a native of Cuyuni. After spending time in Lima and Cusco, she returned to her home community. “I’m back
in my hometown because I have acquired a skill and want to make my contribution here,” she says. The rest stop is run by a body formed by six community members, all of whom are elected, which chooses the manager. Sixty-two families own a share in the business. The rest stop is the starting point for a memorable experience: experiential tourism. Visitors set out on foot and come into contact with agricultural activities and religious ceremonies that local residents have practiced since ancient times. The experiential tourism route provides a way to get to know the local culture and understand at least a little about the region’s indigenous communities’ way of life. Marita Medina, an economist born in Arequipa and an Odebrecht
Percy Belarezo and (below) Martina Condori Cruz: helping make dreams come true
Perú Young Partner, has worked with the iSur since August 2009. She coordinated the Initiative’s support for these families. “Our focus today is on the business side. We are working to strengthen relationships with travel agents and tour guides to bring visitors here. The money they make goes back to the community.” The community acknowledges and is thankful for iSur’s support, and takes advantage of the opportunities it offers. Gabriela Rocha spent two years in Tinqui, coordinating the iSur’s work there. Now she lives in Lima. While she accompanied the Odebrecht Informa team on visits to iSur-supported projects in the departments of Madre de Dios and Cusco, she met up with people she had not seen since the beginning of 2010. When she saw Martina Condori Cruz, she was embraced and hailed as a “comrade” in an affectionate and effusive mix of Spanish and Quechua. “Martina has faced many personal challenges in carrying out her role in the artisans’ association,” says Gabriela. "She is an example, a fighter.” Gabriela is a member of the team of Delcy Machado, Director of iSur and the officer Responsible for Corporate Social Responsibility at Odebrecht Perú. With the support of Cláudia Yep, Responsible for the iSur’s Sustainable Tourism Programs, they are getting ready for the beginning of a new phase in the history of the South InterOceanic Initiative.
In 2007, on the basis of a “Plan Maestro” (master plan), the iSur began developing its Sustainable Tourism Program, now composed of eight projects. It also runs Ecobusiness, Governance and Environmental Conservation programs. Acting within the framework of a construction project – the highway – with the support of institutions such as the CAF (Corporación Andina de Fomento) and IADB (InterAmerican Development Bank), the iSur was inspired by the Odebrecht Foundation’s work in the Southern Bahia Lowlands, which is based on the four types of capital (human, social, environmental and productive). The year 2011 will see the consolidation of the iSur’s projects and the definitive establishment of its brand. In regard to the Sustainable Tourism Program, Delcy Machado says: “We want to make the South InterOceanic Highway one of the main destinations in Peru.” It is a destination that will certainly attract Brazilian visitors, who will get there via the state of Acre. Once the highway has been built and is run as a concession, a governance system will ensure the continuity and effectiveness of the iSur’s contribution. “We want to create a structure and deliver it to Peru, thereby helping this country get even more benefits from its huge tourism potential,” says Delcy.
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peru
ODEBRECHT ARCHIVES
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We believe
Over 4,000 people have joined Creer Perú, an adaptation of the Acreditar Program to Andean communities’ way of life written by Luiz Carlos Ramos The Ongoing Professional Education Program (Acreditar) schooled almost 90% of the current workforce building the Santo Antônio hydroelectric plant in the Brazilian state of Rondônia. Having been successfully replicated on other Odebrecht projects in Brazil, it has reached Angola and is now being implemented in Peru, where it is setting an example for tackling further challenges in Latin America. The Peruvian version of “Acreditar” (Believe) has a Spanish name, “Creer Perú.” But the changes go beyond the language, as the program had to be adapted to the characteristics of the inhabitants of the Andean region, where the landscape and living conditions are unique. As in Porto Velho, Rondônia, the first project where Creer Perú is being carried out is a dam – the future Chaglla hydroelectric plant.
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Construction will begin in 2011 on the Huallaga River, which forms the boundary of the Chaglla and Pillai districts in the Huánuco region of northern Peru, between the Andes and the Amazon. The local population, which has a 44% illiteracy rate, is poor, traditionally suspicious of companies, and accustomed to planting and harvesting potatoes. Its potato output supplies most households and restaurants in Lima, the nation’s capital. How could they be convinced that an Engineering & Construction project can also be a career opportunity? It has been tough going, but the early results are encouraging. Jorge Barata, CEO of Odebrecht Perú, was in favor of introducing the Acreditar system when the company in May 2010 won the contract to build a plant capable of generating 400 megawatts of energy by
2016. At the company’s headquarters in Lima, the team of Edson Lemos, the officer Responsible for People and Organization, and Project Director Erlon Arfelli was responsible for the decision to adapt the Brazilian program to conditions in the Peruvian Andes. They coordinated a team tasked with studying the characteristics of the project and the region. The next step was conducting a first-hand study of the area and its people, a task entrusted to the Peruvian Alfredo Alfaro Esparza and his team. To understand the Huánuco region, where the Chaglla project is located, we must first understand the complexity of the population and territory of Peru. Most of the residents of the highlands and the valleys between the Andes Mountains have low incomes and little education. Thus, the main challenge fac-
ing Odebrecht Perú when adapting the Acreditar program to the rural context was to convey the basics about construction work. Despite its mountains and beautiful landscapes, Chaglla does little to develop the tourist industry, unlike Cusco, Puno and Arequipa. For one thing, its roads are in poor shape. But Huánuco, the largest city in the region, founded by Spain in 1539, currently has 75,000 inhabitants and attracts visitors with its Inca temples and colonial churches. Its soccer team, León de Huánuco, was the dark horse winner of Peru’s national championship, beating the traditional champs, the Alianza Lima, Universitario and Sporting Cristal teams. The most famous son of that region was Daniel Alomía Robles, who wrote Peru’s iconic song “El Condor Pasa” in 1913, known for versions performed on folk instruments – the queña and zampoña – as well as being recorded by Spanish tenor Placido Domingo, French conductor Paul Mauriat and the American pop duo Simon & Garfunkel.
On the basis of constant visits to the region and the interaction of the team formed by Ana Cecília Bardales, Gonzalo Bussaleu and Alfredo Alfaro, as well as a study of the socioeconomic profile of both towns, the company devised a strategy for the Peruvian program. It highlighted the importance of an awareness campaign targeted at the general public through fliers and radio broadcasts publicizing the program’s benefits, sensitizing children, taking a theater group to the schools, producing an illustrated booklet for students to give to their parents to encourage them to work on the project, and direct awareness raising among adults through performances staged at the two high schools, simulating the application process and setting up a system of questions and answers to clear up any doubts that potential candidates for jobs on the dam might have. By the end of November 2010, 4,143 people had applied for the Creer Perú program. Then, 3,183 of the applicants were evaluated
and 1,189 were deemed suitable for professional education. During the first stage, 480 participants graduated from the Basic Module of the program and either went on to work at the jobsite or continued their education in the Technical Module, introduced in late November. The instructors were thrilled with the results. Job applicants also expressed tremendous satisfaction with the program. The development of the Creer Perú Program has awakened and stimulated greater interest in Health, Safety and Quality in the Workplace, Environment and the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial Technology (TEO), which will make it easier for new members to adapt to the Organization’s culture. All of the Acreditar program’s original texts have been adapted to local conditions. In six years, the 199m-high dam will be a reality, and Peru will have more energy to drive its economic and social growth.
SECOND ACREDITAR JUNIOR CLASS GRADUATES The Acreditar Junior program, created by Odebrecht in August 2009 at the Santo Antônio project in Rondônia, Brazil, will graduate its second class in January. This group includes 188 apprentices: 95 boys and 93 girls. There were 164 in the first group, which graduated on August 7. The third, which began in August, has 368 students. Their graduation date is scheduled for July 2011. There is a good reason for the program’s growth: the Porto Velho community’s intense involvement in the Acreditar Program
and the idea that the Santo Antônio project is making a positive change in the lives of Rondônia’s citizens. Antônio Cardilli, the officer Responsible for Administration and Finance at Santo Antônio and the creator of Acreditar and Acreditar Junior is overjoyed. “For me, Acreditar is like a child who has grown up, put a rucksack on his back and set off into the world to help people.” That rucksack is one of the symbols of Acreditar Junior, which was designed for children of company members working at the Santo Antônio
Civil (CSAC) joint venture. They must be between the ages of 14 and 17 and be enrolled in at least the sixth year of elementary school. The teens get backpacks, uniforms, caps and teaching materials so they can attend classes that broaden their horizons. “This program provides dignity, contributes to civic spirit and boosts young people’s self esteem,” says Cardilli. The theoretical module is taught on the University of Rondônia campus and lasts one month. The practical module takes two semesters, including computer classes,
mechanics and other specialties taught at the headquarters of the SENAI (National Industrial Apprenticeship Service). Each student receives half the monthly minimum wage and is also entitled to bus passes and life insurance. “At the end of the course, they are qualified for the job market,” says psychologist Fabiane Costenaro, who is on Cardilli’s team. The word is spreading fast in Porto Velho, and the number of people interested in joining the fourth group to take part in Acreditar Junior is growing.
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rota das bandeiras
Seedlings planted in the vicinity of the D. Pedro I Corridor: environmental compensation and awareness
Planting a seed in their hearts A program to plant seedlings is mobilizing students and communities in the vicinity of the D. Pedro I Corridor in São Paulo State written by Júlio César Soares / photos by Dario de Freitas An elementary school teacher at the Therezinha do Menino Jesus Silveira Campos Sirera Municipal School in Atibaia, São Paulo, Marlene Martiniano Bernardes has 30 students, all in the fourth grade. They are one of the groups that took part in the Rota das Bandeiras and Odebrecht Infraestrutura (Infrastructure) seedling planting program. The school is located in
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Jardim Cerejeiras, a low-income district of Atibaia, and for Marlene, this kind of project goes beyond the school and environmental issues. “It plants a seed in children, who start making environmental preservation part of daily life, getting their families involved and raising awareness about the importance of the environment. They learn what quality of life is,” she says.
Rota das Bandeiras is responsible for the Dom Pedro I Corridor concession, which links the cities of Campinas and Jacareí in São Paulo State. Among other projects, Odebrecht Infraestrutura is doubling the width of Route SP-360 (which connects Itatiba and Jundiaí) and the Dom Pedro I (SP065) interchange in Campinas. Nicolas Tanwing, the Odebrecht Project Director for the Dom Pedro I
Corridor roadworks shares the idea of planting seeds in people. “This work is focused on raising people’s awareness. We are planting seeds in the community so that environmental projects won’t stop with the roadworks,” he explains. Luiz Cesar Costa, President and CEO of Rota das Bandeiras, underscores the concession company’s contribution to sustainable development and respect for future generations. “Respecting the environment is one of the commitments undertaken by Rota das Bandeiras. Our commitment is to comply with the rules and requirements of environmental agencies that can help ensure a better future for generations to come.” Planting is a way of offsetting the roadworks carried out on the highways that form the corridor. Twentyfive new trees of the same species are planted for each native tree that is removed. The construction of Rota das Bandeiras’s headquarters at Km 110 of Route SP-065 was offset by planting 700 seedlings. So far, over 20,000 seedlings have been planted along the stretch the concession manages, in the vicinity of schools and in areas provided by municipal governments in the Dom Pedro I Corridor’s sphere of influence. “We expect to plant 300,000 seedlings to compensate for the work done on the highways. The response of both the government and the community has been favorable,” says Nicolas. The com-
pany is also donating seedlings to schools, local governments (such as the towns of Atibaia and Itatiba), the Army Battalion and the Agronomic Institute of Campinas. Rota das Bandeiras’s and Odebrecht’s environment teams do the planting in partnership with the Tecplant company. “Local governments and environmental agencies recommend a site and we evaluate the terrain, check the soil, fence it off and started planting,” explains Sandra Camargo, the officer Responsible for the Rota das Bandeiras Environmental Management System. Sandra observes that the main areas planted are close to Permanent Protection Areas (PPAs) and located by rivers and springs, as well as on hillsides. “After the seedlings are planted, the vegetation is monitored on a quarterly basis, except during rainy periods, when
maintenance is done monthly. The monitoring process continues for about three years,” she explains. Besides planting seedlings, the Rota das Bandeiras Environment team inspects areas to detect the presence of wildlife on or near sites where roadworks will be carried out. When they are found, the animals are taken to a remote area and returned to the wild. “The animals that can’t go back to their natural habitats for any reason are examined by a vet on the Rota das Bandeiras team, and in some cases, they are sent to Tietê Park in São Paulo, which is one of our partners,” says Sandra. In addition, Rota das Bandeiras is conducting a study to determine the main areas where animals cross the highway. “When we find them, we build wildlife crossings there to prevent the animals from being run over,” explains Sandra. Luiz Cesar Costa points out that, in 2011, the program’s activities will focus on the schools. “We will carry out more awareness-raising, training and educational activities and projects in the communities, particularly in schools in the towns and cities near the roadworks.” As far as the concession company’s members are concerned, he stresses: “We will continue working on in-house campaigns to advise on the best practices for preserving and protecting nature, such as rational consumption of water and energy, the use of recycled paper and selective trash collection.”
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angola
Wellspring of hope The Kulonga pala Kukula Program – “Education for Development ” in Kimbundu – is changing the lives of ten Angolan communities written by Renata Meyer photos by Almir Bindilatti
Keen, expectant eyes were focused on the team assigned to install semi-artesian wells in low-income communities in the Pungo Andongo region in the Angolan province of Malange, where Odebrecht is carrying out the Kulonga pala Kukula social outreach program. As the drill went to work, children and adults celebrated that achievement. Previously, access to water had been limited by the complete lack of water supply systems. Basic activities like bathing, washing clothes and even eating and drinking depended on muddy streams and improvised holes dug in the ground to catch rainwater. Building semi-artesian wells is one of the activities that are improving people’s quality of life and health as part of the Kulonga pala Kukula program, contributing to the sustainable development of 10 communities near the Capanda hydroelectric plant, where
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Malanje residents and water: a new phase in the communities’ lives is just beginning
The semi-artesian well under construction, the vegetable garden and cooking funge: food security
Odebrecht Angola is now building the Capanda-Cacuso and DondoCapanda highways. The program is based on a socioeconomic survey conducted in April and May 2009 in partnership with Gesterra – Gestão de Terras Aráveis (Arable Land Management), the state-owned Angolan company responsible for the creation and management of the Pungo Andongo Farm. The aim of the survey was to determine family demographics, living conditions and the main potential of the local population. Odebrecht invested USD 892,000 in this program in 2010 with a view to benefiting a total of 369 families – 1,148 people. Kulonga pala Kukula is a combination of integrated and systemic activities aimed at reducing the population’s vulnerability, enhancing opportunities for education and income generation, strengthening local history and culture and improving the community’s relationship with the environment. Expectations are that the company’s total investment will reach USD 2.8 million by 2012. “The main thing that sets this program apart is that the activities are designed in a synergic manner, so the results achieved in each one
contribute to the results achieved by all the others,” says project manager Ilana Cunha. “Another premise is the focus on making these activities self-supporting in order to ensure that their benefits continue when Odebrecht’s work is done,” she adds. In the first half of 2010, the Kulonga pala Kukula program started out with activities aimed at expanding income-generating opportunities. The low-cost, highvalue, short-cycle supply chain for vegetable farming was introduced in the area, helping diversify production and ensure food security for the local community. The resources allocated to the project were used to create a bank of inputs consisting of 16 different crops sold to the producers at cost, with a grace
period for payment linked to the production cycle for each crop. The farmers involved receive advice on planting methods at weekly meetings with the project’s agricultural monitors, who keep track of all stages of the supply chain, from planting to marketing and distribution. The produce is sold to local customers, including Odebrecht contracts and the Nosso Super supermarket chain. Traditionally present in the region, the cassava supply chain has also gained momentum through the Kulonga pala Kukula program, which is now responsible for organizing and managing the production of bombô meal, ultrafine cassava flour used to make funge, the most important dish in Angola’s cuisine. The program has helped create local distribution channels, contributing to a 75% increase in rural families’ monthly incomes. In the case of households involved in the vegetable supply chain, that increase has been as high as 85%. “The Kulonga pala Kukula program has come to show us that, with hard work and dedication, we can go much further,” says farmer Domingos Avelino Francisco, referring to the house he
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Traditional midwives: reducing infant and maternal mortality rates. Below, Kulonga pala Kukula Program participants
Kukula pala Kulonga means “Education for Development” in Kimbundu, the language spoken in 11 Angolan provinces, including Malanje, where the program is being carried out. was able to buy with the proceeds of his crops. Both supply chains have the logistical support of Gesterra, a partner in the program, which provides trucks and drivers to pick up produce from the communities and distribute it to customers. The high vulnerability of the population as a result of poor living conditions, and a lack of clean water, sewage systems and urban sanitation, which was found in the preliminary survey, required including a range of activities in the project that have a direct impact on health care and improving quality of life. The first step was to identify viable alternatives for supplying water to the communities, with a focus on improving public hygiene. Through this program, the company has invested approximately USD 300,000 in the construction of five semi-artesian wells and 21 tanks to catch and store rainwater. The tanks are being built as a joint effort, with the involvement of the local commu-
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nities. “We realized that the issue of access to water was a limiting factor for any project in those communities,” says Ilana Cunha, who points out that the installation of water tanks and wells in the region is a structuring activity. In addition to facilitating access to clean water for local communities, Kukula pala Kulonga regularly offers training programs for
agents to prevent and combat HIV/ AIDS and malaria, thereby helping improve health indicators. It also runs the Program for Strengthening Traditional Midwives, which helps reduce infant mortality rates, childbirth deaths and the vertical transmission of HIV/AIDS from mother to child. The program offers courses that provide guidance on health and safety when delivering babies, as well as stressing the importance of family planning. The lack of formal education facilities is a critical factor in the development of the Pungo Andongo region, which explains the low rates of schooling and strong migration of youth to urban centers. To improve and expand the schooling of young people through a process of contextual education through work and for life, the program should make it possible to establish a Rural Family House there in 2011, based on the Odebrecht Foundation’s successful experience in the Southern Bahia Lowlands of northeastern Brazil. The main objective is to groom a generation of leaders that can contribute to the development of their communities. A literacy program for adults is also planned, with a view to giving producers more autonomy and enabling them to strengthen farmers’ organizations. For the Deputy Administrator of the municipality of Pungo Andongo, Maria Teresa Oleque, the activities of the Kulonga pala Kukula program are changing local communities’ lives. “This project will help create new opportunities for our people, with fruits that are beginning to appear in various areas.”
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angola
A new day in Honga
Creative solutions improve quality of life in a district of Luanda written by Renata Meyer / photo by Almir Bindilatti In 2009, a worrying statistic caught the attention of the Odebrecht teams working on the Condomínio Belo Monte real estate project in Luanda, the capital of Angola. During the rainy season between March and July, there was a considerable surge in malaria cases among the company’s members. Doctors and researchers assessed the situation and discovered that the source of the problem was the poor sanitary conditions in Honga, a district near the project. This was the starting point of a project that is helping change the lives of many of the 15,000 families living in that area. Since July 2009, Odebrecht and Sakus, the Organization’s real estate partner in Luanda, have been active in the community through the Honga Project, identifying problems in that neighborhood and seeking to improve its residents’ quality of life through creative initiatives. The mobilization of community leaders to tackle this objective and the involvement of partners from the public and private sectors, as well as volunteers from Kambas do Bem, a group formed by Odebrecht members’ wives, have been crucial to establishing and consolidating the program, which also aims to restore civic rights and bring about social inclusion. The project that arose from health concerns has gained momentum and now includes a range of activities in areas as diverse as education, culture, citizenship, sports and leisure. In the field of health, the project is taking corrective and preventive measures in partnership with the Municipal Health Bureau of Samba (the part of the Luanda metropolitan area where Honga is located), including training courses for com-
Honga children play Capoeira: recreation, integration and inclusion
munity workers, the distribution of mosquito nets, vaccination campaigns and the installation of mobile public health centers. One of the challenges in this area, given the lack of demographic statistics – most of Honga’s residents are undocumented – is collecting data on public health, the main diseases and their impact. This task is being carried out through a partnership with Jean Piaget University that also includes community services provided by students through supervised internships. Those services will be available at the temporary health center being set up in the community. The Honga Project, now sponsored by the Luanda Sul contract since construction work for Belo Monte was completed, also offers Capoeira classes to 130 children, encouraging sports and cultural revival through an opportunity to learn a truly African martial art. Using building materials left over from Odebrecht’s construction works, the project has helped to rebuild the local church and install the temporary health center, as well as building the house that is now home to the Sisters of Charity, a group that moved from Brazil to Angola to work with the community. In the field of professional education, the project has graduated a group of 20 women who have been trained as bricklayers and are already working for Odebrecht. The goal is to provide further courses at the professional education center being built, in partnership with the community and Kambas do Bem. “The Honga Project has come to awaken our community to social progress. As a result, we can glimpse new horizons ahead,” says community leader Abraão João Cawendi.
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collective trash collection
ODEBRECHT ARCHIVES
Participants in the recycling campaign held during the Formula 1 Brazil Grand Prix (on this and the following page): environmental preservation and job and income creation
Recycling on the podium Recycling campaign carried out during the Formula 1 Brazil GP shows how to create products and work opportunities written by Eliana Simonetti Working in partnership with the City of São Paulo, Plastivida and Suzuki Plastics, Braskem organized a unique plastic recycling campaign that ran from November 4 to 28, 2010. The start was given at the Formula 1 Brazil Grand Prix at the Interlagos racecourse, and featured collection sites set up in five parks in different parts of the state capital. The campaign was not limited to collecting recyclable materials. It also showed how to create new products and jobs through this supply chain. Participants
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produced 400 trash bins and 100 planters made from plastic wood, to be donated to São Paulo in celebration of the anniversary of its founding on January 25. “This was a first-rate initiative. The campaign as a whole, and plastic wood in particular, were highly praised,” says Geraldo Pires, a consultant who coordinates the environmental projects of Plastivida, an association of plastics manufacturers. Pires went to Interlagos before Nov. 4 to help organize the Coopercaps Cooperative of trash collectors
and the installation of a pilot plant for Suzuki Plastics at the racecourse. And he also helped welcome visitors. “It’s interesting to see how people actually view Braskem’s concept of sustainability,” he adds. The campaign collected all the trash discarded at the racecourse. Moreover, 12 plastic collection sites were also installed in five parks: Ibirapuera, Luz, Carmo, Trote and Alfredo Volpi. Considering the racecourse alone, there was a 22% increase in recyclable materials and a 21%
RESULTS OF BRASKEM RECYCLING GP Selective Collection at Interlagos on November 5, 6 and 7 PLASTIC 12,055 kg (33.4%) PAPER 11,200 kg (31%) > METAL 8,700 kg (24.1%) > GLASS 4,140 kg (11.5%) TOTAL 36,095 kg > >
Plastic collected at five São Paulo parks – November 4-28 VOLPI LUZ > TROTE > CARMO > IBIRAPUERA TOTAL > >
65 kg 384 kg 228 kg 373 kg 500 kg 1,550 kg
of experience working with plastic collectors. Plastic wood is made from formulas that make it possible to use all sorts of discarded plastic. A combination of different types of plastic produces stronger or more flexible wood, for example. But everything is utilized, and the end result is both eco-friendly and attractive. The 155,213 people who visited the mini-factory set up at the racecourse can vouch for that. “We need to think about a correct and profitable destination for plastic,” says Gustavo Bazzano, Commercial Director of Acinplas. “With physical characteristics that are very similar to those of traditional wood, and the strength and durability of plastic, plastic wood made of recycled materials is ideal for locations that are exposed to the elements,” he adds.
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increase in the amount of plastics collected, compared with the materials gathered during the 2009 Grand Prix. This is the first time the campaign organized by Braskem and the Brazil GP has been extended to other areas of São Paulo. The trophy designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer and made from green plastic was introduced to the public at Interlagos in 2008. In 2009, a factory was set up within the racecourse so people could see the trophies being made. In 2010, the program took another step – showing that recycling discarded plastic is feasible on a broader basis. The Acinplas Group, which controls Suzuki Plastics, is a national leader in the processing of plastic containers for fruits and vegetables. It has more than 10 years
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chemicals
Broad outlook Braskem’s green ethylene unit in Triunfo: the world’s first factory to use renewable raw materials on an industrial scale written by Luciana Moglia / photos by Mathias Cramer Braskem took on a fresh challenge in September 2010: becoming the world leader in sustainable chemicals, with the aim of innovating to give people better service. The company has followed this path since its inception, but now that it has become Braskem’s Vision, it has taken on a different status. That same month, Braskem opened a unit that produces ethylene derived from sugarcane ethanol in the Triunfo Petrochemical Complex in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, the largest factory in the world using renewable raw materials. Its production capacity is 200,000 metric tons per year. Green plastic has a very favorable environmental balance, removing up to 2.5 tons of carbon from the atmosphere for every ton of polyethylene produced, starting with the planting of sugarcane. The term “sustainable chemicals” represents the course Braskem has set and will follow until 2020. For Braskem, sustainable development is defined as “a way of driving business development and considering the needs of all interested parties today and tomorrow.” In practice, this means offering products and services through processes that combine economic and financial viability with responsibility and commitments regarding their social and environmental impact. Chemicals is broader than petrochemicals, and paves the way for the company to work with other sources of raw materials in addition to petroleum and expand its product portfolio. Brazil is a candidate for becoming the world’s
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largest supplier of raw materials from renewable sources, because it has plenty of good, arable land, water and sunshine, characteristics that give Braskem excellent prospects for using renewable raw materials. “We have to develop new production processes for raw materials that have proven economic conditions and sustainability, as we’ve done with ethylene made from ethanol. We will practically have to recreate the chemicals industry,” says Roberto Ramos, formerly the Braskem Vice President for International Business. The use of renewable raw materials like sugarcane and the search for other technological routes comprise an important pillar of Braskem's new Vision. But sustainable chemicals is part of a much larger concept. “Sustainability is not just about renewables. We must achieve better performance in industrial processes and eco-efficiency indexes, such as the search for ways to reduce CO2 emissions,” says Rui Chammas, Braskem’s Vice President for Polymers. Jorge Soto, the Braskem officer Responsible for Sustainable Development, explains that the company is already getting good results from investments in improved eco-efficiency indexes. The result has been a 13% decrease in carbon emissions from 2008 to 2009. “Caring for the environment is an appropriate way to serve
people and get results. These are the premises of a sustainable company,� he says. The pursuit of balance is also an important social pillar of the Vision for 2020. Braskem has made recycling programs a priority for the coming years in order to contribute to the social inclusion of waste pickers. Among other projects, the company started out 2009 with the integrated Social Partnership for the Productive Inclusion of Waste Pickers and Strengthening of Recycling Units Network, based on technological support for recycling centers in Rio Grande do Sul.
Braskem’s green ethylene unit in Triunfo: the largest factory in the world using renewable raw materials odebrecht informa
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chemicals
In pursuit of revolutionary improvements The company set the goal of achieving global leadership in sustainable chemicals when it was born in 2002 written by Luciana Moglia / photos by Mathias Cramer The challenge Braskem has issued – becoming the World Leader in Sustainable Chemicals to Better Serve People – began with the company’s founding in 2002. Acting in accordance with the principles of sustainable development is part of its Public Commitment. Even before the creation of Braskem, the companies that formed it were already seeking to improve
Braskem’s new green ethylene plant in Triunfo, and, in the smaller photo, the raw material made there: a benchmark in the global market
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their performance in Health, Safety and Environment by signing onto the Responsible Care Program under the leadership of Abiquim (the Brazilian Association of Chemical Industries). From 2002 to 2009, the level of investment in this area increased, improving facilities and everyday practice. The result translates into numbers. The average investment between 2003 and 2004 was approximately BRL 40 million. Between 2005 and 2008, the average came to about BRL 140 million. And in 2009 it was BRL 283 million (including the investment in the new green
ethylene plant). Because of this, all eco-efficiency indicators (per unit of output) improved from 2002 to 2009. Water consumption fell by 19% and energy consumption by 12%. The generation of wastewater was slashed by 40%. Recognition for these achievements includes such honors as Braskem’s listing on the BM & Bovespa Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE)
for the sixth consecutive year and its presence for the second year in the Exame Sustainability Guide. “When people look at Braskem they can already see our best practices and our contribution to sustainable development,” says Jorge Soto, the Braskem officer Responsible for Sustainable Development. To become the global leader in sustainable chemicals by 2020, innovation will be essential. “It will allow us to identify revolutionary improvements that will give society a level of response that environmental and social problems demand, such as climate change and water stress in some locations,” observes Soto. The company has outlined seven macroobjectives to guide it
towards achieving its Vision for 2020: reducing greenhouse gas emissions, finding renewable raw materials, water efficiency, energy efficiency, post-consumption, chemical safety and people development. To achieve these objectives, the company chiefly relies on technology and people. “Our team is committed to Braskem’s Vision, taking into account their actions on the principles of sustainability and the pursuit of innovation, so we will
stay at the forefront,” said Manoel Carnauba, Vice President for Basic Petrochemicals. One of the most important challenges will be consolidating the company’s global leadership in the production of plastic resins made from renewable raw materials. Braskem faces the challenge of identifying the best technological routes and choosing the most viable ones. In some cases, their viability will not be clear at first, so the company will have to take some chances. For example, there are good possibilities of replicating the use of renewable raw materials in Mexico and Peru. People’s knowledge and dedication in the pursuit of innovation will be key to the entire process. “Braskem will make tremendous efforts to develop people and build strategic alliances with universities and technology centers worldwide. We must attract world-class researchers,” says Roberto Bischoff, the leader of Braskem’s joint venture with Idesa in Mexico, which is developing a petrochemical project in the state of Veracruz that is expected to go into operation by 2015.
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mozambique
Hitting the road A program that has benefited 20,000 people in Brazil, including Odebrecht members and residents of communities in the vicinity of the company’s jobsites, Caia na Rede (Hit the Net) made its international debut in November. Under the leadership of Odebrecht and the Vale Foundation, in partnership with Microsoft Brazil, Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Air Portugal (TAP), the Caia na Rede program has hit the road and is now in Mozambique, in the sphere of influence of the mining giant Vale’s Moatize Coal Project. At least 1,500 people will be using three stations with Internetconnected computers and printers by the end of 2011. One of those stations is based at the Moatize Project jobsite, and is available to company members working on that project; another is located at the Dom Bosco school, serving youth from the cities of Moatize and Tete, and the third is in Cateme, which is home to the 900 resettled families that used to live in the mine concession area. “The reception has been fantastic. The participants want to stay on in the classrooms after class and use the Internet in their spare time,” says Marcos Vinícius Couto, the
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Emílio Munaro, Educational Director of Microsoft Brazil, with Caia na Rede participants in Mozambique: 1,500 people will have access to three stations equipped with Internet-linked computers by the end of 2011
ODEBRECHT ARCHIVES
The Caia na Rede digital inclusion program makes its global debut in Mozambique written by Leonardo Maia
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officer Responsible for Caia na Rede in Mozambique. With a duration of 32 class hours, the two-month course includes the basics, focusing on digital literacy, and technical classes focusing on using online services and Microsoft Office programs. Classes are taught through Microsoft’s e-learning system with the help of volunteer instructors. Mozambique is 172nd among the 182 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI) ranking, and only 1.56% of its population has access to the Internet, which attests to the importance of a program to close the digital divide in that country. Just a few months after its debut there, Caia na Rede’s future is already guaranteed. “Vale is our executive partner in the program and will be present in Mozambique for 35 years. This program will continue with their support,” says Marcos Vinícius.
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escola em ação
Life-changing lessons
A program underway in Macaé, Rio de Janeiro, encourages social inclusion through cultural and community activities written by Rubeny Goulart
Introduced in Macaé, Rio de Janeiro, in 2007 with the aim of encouraging social inclusion in deprived areas through cultural and community activities, the Escola em Ação (Schools in Action) program is the result of a partnership between Odebrecht Oil & Gas (OOG), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Macaé Department of Education. It has directly benefited more than 1,500 people, including students from the schools involved and members of the local communities. Today, it serves more than 400 participants
in seven schools (four more will be added in 2011). Escola em Ação is a social initiative that is changing lives by providing growth prospects that many had never experienced before. Nineteen local volunteers from Macaé communities are participating in Escola em Ação by working on the three projects that comprise the program: Abrindo Espaços (Making Room), focused on sports, cultural and recreational activities, Caia na Rede (Hit the Net), for digital inclusion, and Professional Qualification, which offers community members an opportunity to acquire specific skills
Young participants in the Escola em Ação program: fresh prospects
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that are in demand on the job market. The program is run by a Steering Committee comprised of representatives of the corporate sponsors, the Department of Education, and the Crescer (Grow) Institute, the NGO that is the executive partner in these projects. Escola em Ação was inspired by UNESCO’s Abrindo Espaços (Making Room): Education for a Culture of Peace program, which focuses on opening public schools on weekends to provide cultural, sports and leisure activities in low-income communities. The goal of the program carried
MARCELO PIZZATO
out in Macaé in partnership with the Department of Education is to reduce the number of young people living with violence in their social environment, encourage interest in school, and integrate the school with the community. Today, Abrindo Espaços is active in four schools in the region. Botafogo Municipal High School, located in one of the most deprived and violent areas of the city, was the first to join the Abrindo Espaços program. Today, at least half of its 758 students are taking ballet, jazz, judo, Capoeira and knitting classes offered as extracurricular activities after school and on weekends. The Basic Education Development Index (BEDI), which measures the quality of education, has risen by 40%, and the school, which once suffered from constant vandalism, is better preserved. “There is more respect, and students spend most of their time at school in cultural activities,” says the principal, Luziana Almeida, who has worked in that community for over 22 years. Escola em Ação launched Caia na Rede in October 2010 in the wake of Abrindo Espaços. So far, it is being implemented at three public schools in Macaé. The IT project, which replicates the digital education courses offered at Odebrecht construction sites, was first introduced in São Roque do Paraguaçu, Bahia, by the PRA-1 joint venture. In less than a year, it has closed the digital divide for over a thousand people, including workers, teachers and students at municipal schools in the region. Adapted to the Escola em Ação program, Caia na Rede is implemented in school libraries with the support of the Macaé Department of Science and Technology. It is open to students, teachers and community
Caia na Rede: giving youth the tools they need to work in their communities
members. Through a partnership formed in 2009, the program was eventually bolstered by partnerships with Microsoft, which provides software and teacher training, Dell and IBM, which furnish computers, and SESI (Social Service for Industry), which is responsible for the basic introductory course on computer science. “The expectation is that, by mastering computer skills, some young people will work actively in their neighborhoods, producing and conveying information of community interest,” explains Emile Machado, OOG’s Corporate Social Responsibility Coordinator and the company’s representative on the Steering Committee. Nine students are enrolled in Caia na Rede at the Oscar Cordeiro School. The principal, Adelma José dos Santos Menezes, considers digital inclusion a gateway to opportunity. “Mastering the language of computers and IT skills raises students’ self-esteem,” she says. “Escola em Ação permits tremendous interaction, including community members who had not been going to school.”
Professional Qualification, the third pillar of Escolas em Ação, arose to meet the demand in Macaé communities. The first classes were in the areas of construction, boilermaking, and industrial and electrical painting. So far, 453 young people have graduated. All are members of the community, and at least 60% are now included in the labor market. In addition to participating in Escola em Ação’s classes and activities, community members can also interact through volunteer work. Greicy Kelly, 15, is a student and a volunteer teacher at the Engenho da Praia School, where she teaches a class in decorating china, glass bottles, jars and other items. She is a “multiplier” – someone with the ability to train other volunteers. One of them is her friend José Tayan, 15, who is not only her student but also teaches china painting at the same school. “I am happy to be able to add something and help people,” he says. More than simply adding something, for Escola em Ação, volunteer work multiplies.
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prize
Engineering preservation The winners of the third edition of the Odebrecht Sustainable Development Prize are college students from five Brazilian states written by Leonardo Mourão
Produced by young college students from universities throughout Brazil, the five winning entries in the third edition of the Odebrecht Sustainable Development Prize show that, from north to south, young talent is rapidly growing, with a focus on producing engineering solutions that consider the main pillars of sustainability: economic viability, environmental responsibility and social inclusion. They are future professionals who are already finding ways to contribute to social and environmental sustainability in Brazil and the world. Reusing construction waste One example is the “Proposal for the Feasibility of Building with Zero Waste,” by Beatriz Rossignol Vieira Cardoso, 23, and Neide Braga dos Santos, 29, final year Civil Engineering students at the University of São Judas Tadeu in São Paulo. Mentored by Professor Flávio
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Leal Maranhão, Beatriz and Neide’s Course Completion project took into account that the waste produced on a construction project is generated at different stages of the works and could be used as raw materials in the following stages. “A construction site is a perfect place for recycling and reusing materials, and we have the technical know-how to do that,” says Neide. “We want to do away with dump trucks filled with rubble and all the energy expenditure required to take it to the local dumps, which, incidentally, are already overflowing in major cities.” In their project, the two students cite statistics showing that the average amount of waste produced per square meter in new construction projects is 150 kg, which means that a 10,000-sq.m project produces about 1,500 metric tons of waste. According to their research, 17,240 metric tons
of construction waste were discarded in the city per day in 2000. “That’s a very high figure,” says Beatriz. “And the big issue is that engineers who are 30 or 40 years old today have not been trained to dispose of that waste correctly, and are often unaware of the need to do so.” The proposal of the future engineers who created the method also suggests ways to encourage the various entities involved in this issue – government agencies, builders and clients – to reduce this environmental impact. For example, construction companies that fully recycle waste in their projects could be entitled to tax breaks when purchasing products or services; clients who buy units in those buildings could pay less property tax, and government agencies would save due to the decrease in truck traffic on roads and the lower cost of maintaining disposal sites.
ODEBRECHT ARCHIVES
From left, rear, MC Ricardo Voltolini, Rovy Ferreira, Enedir Ghisi, Nadja Dutra, Henrique Valladares (CEO of Odebrecht Energia), Angelo Zanini, Francisco Cavalcante, Guilherme Soares, Lucianna Szeliga, Michélle Casagrande, Pedro Henrique Lopes, Neide dos Santos and Flávio Maranhão; foreground, Gustavo Fontes, Suelly Barroso, Synardo Pereira, Isadora da Silva, Hersília Santos and Beatriz Cardoso: the business world and academia are in sync
“It’s a new proposal for handling waste,” says Flávio Leal Maranhão, a Professor of Building Materials and Construction. “In the United States and Europe, there are similar programs that encourage energy savings, and 50% of builders have signed on. Here in Brazil we would certainly see a similar percentage, which would have a huge positive impact on the environment.”
Replacing crushed rock The construction industry is facing the urgent need to seek alternatives for the waste produced in cities, as well as in rural areas. The huge increase in construction projects requires new approaches in construction. The number of roads that are beginning to be paved is one example. Natural resources, primarily crushed rock, are limited, and their use
is now heavily regulated by environmental agencies. Students Synardo Leonardo de Oliveira Pereira and Francisco das Chagas Isael Teixeira Cavalcante, from the Federal University at Ceará, have proposed a solution to this problem. Mentored by Professor Suelly Helena de Araújo Barroso, who has been the advisor for winning projects in all three editions of the
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Odebrecht Prize, the students proposed to use waste from the steel industry as aggregate in Double Surface Treatment (DST). The performance of this byproduct was compared with that of conventional DST methods in a laboratory test that simulates the responses of both, confirming the efficiency of using waste products from the steel industry on low traffic volume roads. Green roads with ash Another study also suggests that the reuse of materials that are usually discarded – at best in controlled dump sites – can benefit road construction. It was conducted at the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro by students Gino Omar Calderón Vizcarra and Lucianne Szeliga under the guidance of Professor Michéle Dal Toé Casagrande. In this proposal, the students evaluated the possibility of mixing fly ash (so called because it consists of light particles obtained from the combustion of organic products) with clay soil to form the base for roadways. They analyzed ash produced at the Green Plant on Fundão Island, Rio de Janeiro, studying its chemical composition and testing its mechanical strength. The conclusion was that the ash can be used to stabilize the base of the pavement by reducing expansion and contraction, and is suitable for roadways with moderate traffic. Better yet, this process could prevent ash from being released into
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the atmosphere, which is the case with many urban incinerators. Fish ladder In a country like Brazil, where an abundance of rivers makes it highly advantageous to build dams for electricity production, the impact of large artificial lakes on fish is a constant concern. The interruption of a watercourse by a large dam usually prevents fish from migrating upstream during breeding season. To minimize this serious risk, ladders are built on the sides of the dams to allow fish to climb them, as they would in natural rapids. However, as three students from the Federal Center for Technological Education at Minas Gerais (Cefet/MG) observed, most often these ladders are made of smooth concrete, making them difficult to climb and even preventing fish from swimming upstream. To address this challenge, Isadora Carvalho da Silva, Guilherme Gonçalves Soares and Pedro Henrique Viana de Araújo Lopes have proposed adding pebbles and clay to these ladders to make them rough enough for the fish to climb. In this project, which was mentored by Professor Hersília de Andrade e Santos, the students proposed a kind of transposition mechanism that, besides adding pebbles and clay to facilitate the propulsion of the fish, can also make the water flow compatible with their upstream movement. The stu-
dents produced concrete parts for this experimental transposition mechanism and measured the flow and turbulence of the water passing through them. All-weather school Students from the Federal University at Santa Catarina have produced a proposal to develop a modular and sustainable school that can provide comfort to its occupants in any of Brazil’s different climate zones. Authored by Gustavo Prado Fontes and Rovy Pinheiro Pessoa Ferreira, and mentored by Professor Enedir Ghisi, the project proposes using modern and conventional building methods and innovative technologies to generate and conserve resources with energy efficiency, while staying within a comfortable range of temperature and light intensity. The project envisages using solar water heating and rainwater, reusing wastewater and providing natural ventilation and lighting. As one of the goals was to make the modules suitable for all types of weather, they selected three cities – Curitiba, Ituaçu and Belém, respectively in southeastern, northeastern and northern Brazil – where climatic conditions are quite different. Based on a computer simulation, their analysis showed the need to adapt the module to the extreme temperatures of each of those regions (freezing cold in Curitiba and intense heat in Belém), which was done.
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Fresh ideas, fresh solutions ODEBRECHT ARCHIVES
The first edition of the Odebrecht Venezuela Sustainable Development Prize mobilizes universities nationwide written by Cláudio Lovato Filho
From left, Jorge Yánez, Fruto Vivas (speaker), Guillermo Bonilla, Joaquin Clausnitzer Paez, Aillen Ferreira Camacaro, Euzenando Azevedo, María Boscan Granadillo, Alvaro Waracao Navaez, José Cláudio Daltro (Responsible for Administration and Finance at Odebrecht Venezuela), Marcos Catillo Rondon, Manuel Briceño, Agustín Marulanda and Emily Marín: the company’s recognition for students, professors and university representatives
Young college students are building their own tomorrow while thinking about their country’s future. A group from Caracas has devised a solution for reducing the environmental impact that can be caused by installing a poorly designed concrete factory. A student from Maracaibo has suggested a way to develop power, water and natural gas at a resort hotel on the Island of Coche. They are the winners of the first edition of the Odebrecht Venezuela Sustainable Development Prize for students of Engineering and Architecture at universities around the country. At the award ceremony held in Caracas on November 16, the joy and vibrancy typical of the university environment set the tone for the festivities. The events room in the Marriott Hotel where the ceremony took place was more like a college campus. The 190 people gathered there including students, teachers, deans, university presidents, representatives of professional associations, media associations and Odebrecht clients.
Joaquin Bertholdo Clausnitzer Paez, Aileen Gabriela Ferreira Camacaro and Marcos Alfredo Castillo Rondon study Civil Engineering at José María Vargas University in Caracas. The advisor who mentored their project was Professor Alvaro Jose Waracao Narvaez. María Daniela Boscan Granadillo, a student of Electrical Engineering at the University of Zulia, in Maracaibo, was mentored by Professor Cesar Francisco Alvarez Arocha. They shared first place in a prize that may be new but had many entries vying to win it. The second edition is already in the works. They received trophies, certificates and a total of BsF 90,000 (strong bolivars), shared by the students, advisors and universities. “We want to motivate young students to produce and implement projects based on sustainable development, generating knowledge and promoting new ideas,” said Euzenando Azevedo, CEO of Odebrecht Venezuela, at the opening ceremony. He underscored Odebrecht’s tradition of seeking the closest possible relationship with academia in all the countries where the company’s teams are present.
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portugal
Isabel and Tatiana: overcoming dislike of school through dialog
A new relationship Business leaders are getting involved in a program that helps change how young people see their schools written by José Enrique Barreiro / photos by Marcella Haddad A year ago, Portuguese teenager Soraia Caetano, a 9th grader from the EB 2/3 Cardoso Lopes School, in the Lisbon district of Amadora, had lost interest in her studies and was about to make a life-changing decision. “I wanted to quit school.” She spent all her time playing soccer and surfing the Internet. As for school, she was unmotivated and had poor grades and worse behavior. Soraia was on the verge of dropping out. But then Isabel Duarte, a schoolteacher who works as a facilitator for the EPIS - Businesses for Social Inclusion program, came into her life. Created in Portugal in 2006
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after President Aníbal Cavaco Silva called on the nation’s business leaders to help improve education, EPIS focuses on improving failure and dropout rates and developing good practices in school administration. More than 80 companies, including Odebrecht Bento Pedroso Construções (BPC), are supporting the program. “We do one-on-one monitoring for struggling students,” says Isabel Duarte. She has managed to turn Soraia Caetano’s situation around at school, and the teen is no longer thinking of dropping out. On the contrary: she has not only started
to enjoy her classes and get good grades but still finds time to practice as the goalkeeper of Benfica, a young women’s soccer team. Another teenager whose relationship with school was transformed through her interaction with Isabel Duarte is Tatiana Mendes, who is also in the 9th year at the EB 2/3 Cardoso Lopes School. According to Tatiana, a year ago, all she did was “just fool around.” Today she wants to become a fashion designer and is at the top of her class in Visual Education. Regarding the facilitator’s work, Tatiana says: “The most important thing she did was talk to me.”
Simple solutions “We are doing complementary work at the school. Through individual extracurricular coaching, we help students adopt simple routines that can be decisive to their development,” explains EPIS Director Diogo Simões Pereira. One of those routines is learning to study by better organizing students’ daily schedules and setting priorities and focuses. “We don’t teach subjects – that’s the teachers’ job. Nor do we change the students’ lives. We want to help them get better grades, transform their relationship with their studies and get them to realize that their only prospect for the future is through school, because that is what provides the certification needed for social inclusion,” says Diogo. To cope with these challenges, EPIS has developed a technology centered on mediation. The facilitators are not teachers at the schools where they operate. They play an external role, focusing on under-
Diogo Pereira: complementary work
standing the issues that students with learning difficulties face in four areas: themselves, their families, their territory (community) and their school. Through dialog and encouragement, they seek the best and simplest solutions to overcome those difficulties. “No matter how
Soraia: “I wanted to quit school”
much they might want to, teachers do not have the time or the means to do this work in the classroom. That’s why we are here,” says Isabel Duarte, one of the 73 EPIS facilitators who mentored 5,812 students from 94 schools nationwide in 2009 and 2010. Schools of the Future The other front of EPIS’s work focuses on school administration. Called Schools of the Future, the project aims to disseminate the best practices of Portuguese schools that get good results. The program has identified 130 best practices. Collected in a book for school principals, teachers and parents, it is a guide for the improvement of school management in Portugal, a country that has one of the highest failure and dropout rates in Europe. “We’re lagging behind in the field of education, in comparison with Central and Northern Europeean countries,” explains Diogo Simões Pereira.
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“One factor was that the Portuguese school system, which was elitist for 20 years, has been universalized, so many young people are the first in their families to go to school. Therefore, average performance declined.” However, he believes that that trend is only temporary. Soon, the overall quality of education will resume its growth. Prompted by Odebrecht Informa to pick two of the 130 best practices that he would implement immediately if he were the principal of a Portuguese school, he recommended the following: - Getting to know the students and their socioeconomic environment very well. Identifying those with special needs (“typically 20% of each class; the others can manage on their own”) and focusing on them. - Building a closer relationship between parents and the school. When parents keep an eye on their children’s education, the students get better results. When they realize their parents are not involved, young people become at risk of leaving school.
LEARNING TO ENTREPRENEUR In addition to EPIS, other nongovernmental institutions are also helping improve education in Portugal. They include Junior Achievement, founded in 1919 in the United States and present in Portugal since 2005, where it runs the Learning to Entrepreneur program, aimed at all areas of the schools. The objective of the program, according to Erica Nascimento, the institution’s Regional Director for Southern Lisbon, is to bring students into the professional world through extracurricular activities. In primary schools, it covers the roles of the family and community and provides practical information about personal finance. In secondary schools, young people learn about companies, banks and professional relationships and are challenged to come up with an entrepreneurial idea. At the university level, students organize and operate a fictitious company. Erica Nascimento: providing the tools
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“Our focus is on education for entrepreneurship,” says Erica. “As our history demonstrates, Portuguese youth are enterprising, but they need the tools that will enable them to build sustainable businesses. That’s what we try to offer them.” The program has the support of Odebrecht Bento Pedroso Construções and other Portuguese companies. In addition to providing financial assistance, the companies encourage their members to visit the schools as volunteers and share their professional experience with students. Anabela Nunes, a member of the Odebrecht Bento Pedroso Construções communication team, is one of those volunteers. In 2007-2008 and 2008-2009, she worked at the São Marcos primary school in Porto Salvo, where she used games to show children the role of money, how to go shopping, why taxes are paid and how to set up a store. “I tried to help them distinguish between wants and needs, the essentials and the superfluous, because I think that is very important in life,” explains Anabel. Erica says the number of volunteers from the companies involved in the program is growing. “They are essential, because they contribute the realities of work, which become part of what students learn in school.” Since Learning to Entrepreneur was created in Portugal in 2005, about 1,300 volunteers have worked with 1,280 classes at 390 schools in that country, sharing their expertise with 28,000 students.
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Victory of determination
Portuguese workers seize an opportunity to improve their schooling written by José Enrique Barreiro / photo by Marcella Haddad November 25, 2010, was an important day in the life of Francisco Rodrigues, 57, better known as Chico Bragança. A Portuguese national, he is a supervisor on the Baixo Sabor Dam construction project in the Bragança district in northern Portugal. He had only studied until the 4th grade, but that day he received a 9th-grade certificate (equivalent to a primary school diploma). At the graduation ceremony held in an office at the dam’s jobsite, Fernando Calado, the Director of the Bragança Office of the Institute of Employment and Vocational Education, the organization that runs the program, explained what Chico Bragança and the other 17 workers who finished the 9th grade knew from experience: “It is not easy to work all day and study at night, when the mind and body just want to rest. Anyone who has experienced it knows how much determination it takes.” Chico and his coworkers had a chance to finish the 9th grade because they enrolled in the Portuguese Government’s New Opportunities program to increase levels of education for people over the age of 23. Life experience is recognized as knowledge through the Acknowledge, Validate and Certify Knowledge (Portuguese initials RVCC) process. The participants also study academic subjects, which allows adults to obtain better educational certification. However, as was the case with Chico and his coworkers at the Baixo Sabor dam construction site, this is not done in schools but in the workplace.
Book of Life Located in the Bragança district, the Baixo Sabor dam will have two large reservoirs to store water from the Sabor River, a tributary of the Douro. They include an upstream reservoir, with a maximum height of 123 m, and a downstream reservoir, with a maximum height of 45 m. Both will be filled as of January 2013. The client for the project is EDP – Gestão da Produção de Energia S.A. The Baixo Sabor project is one of the most important works in progress in the country, and the contractor is the Baixo Sabor ACE, formed by Odebrecht Bento Pedroso Construções and Lena Construções, with BPC as the leader. There are currently about 800 workers at the jobsite, and that number is expected to increase to 1,600 at the peak of construction. This is the backdrop for the New Opportunities program. “The idea of the program is not to study to finish school, but to recognize the skills that people already have,” says António Monteiro, from Odebrecht, the Administrative and Financial Manager at the
Chico Bragança receives his certificate: recognized expertise
Baixo Sabor ACE, who along with Clarisse Monteiro and Filipe Amaral is on the team that took the New Opportunities program to the jobsite and coordinates its implementation. António gives a concrete example of what it means to recognize expertise: “Some of the workers who graduated had extensive experience in using explosives for rock blasting, but could not work in that area because they didn’t have a primary school diploma, which prevented them from getting ‘blasting certificates’ that qualified them to work with explosives. Now they can work in that area.” The workers’ experience is recognized by educators who go to the jobsite once a week (in the first phase) and four times a week (in the second phase) to teach Portuguese, math, computer skills and other subjects. The final stage of the course is the students’ development of their “Book of Life,” which describes their experience up to that point. The New Opportunities program also allows people who already have a primary school diploma to finish secondary school. This was the case with Ricardo Santos Cardoso, 40, who works in the commercial department of Baixo Sabor ACE. He had already been planning to go back to school, and was overjoyed when he realized he could do it at the jobsite without having to go to Bragança or some other location. In addition to the certificate (awarded on December 13), Ricardo explains that the program’s benefits also included interaction in class and the opportunity to exchange information with coworkers from other areas of the project.
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social energy
Mass movement A company, government agencies and the community team up to produce an iconic example of social change written by Fabrício Correa everyone shares the priorities and responsibilities of the projects to be implemented, helping identify partnerships that will maximize results. “We hold monthly meetings, and all participants carry out sustainability education activities. In the early stages of the program, that was an unknown and remote concept for many,” says Carla Pires, the ETH Bioenergy officer Responsible for Sustainability. In the first quarter of 2010, the program held 22 meetings involving 173 people in all five towns. After six months, from July to September, 89 events had been held, including encounters, seminars, meetings and training sessions involving a total of 1,868 people. “Social Energy brings opportunities to include citizens in society as agents of social change.
The program is achieving just that. Everyone can see the possibility of making their town a better place for their children and contributing to future generations,” observes Carla, who points out that participatory management in conjunction with the community is the key to transforming an idea into reality. According to Carla, encouraging involvement is based on the premise that the community can find ways to solve its own problems. “What we need to do is work with the communities to identify local needs, set priorities, make choices and implement projects that are sustainable over time,” she says. After marking its first anniversary, the program is also celebrating the consolidation of its initial projects.
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If anyone should ask residents of Caçu and Cachoeira Alta, Goiás; Nova Alvorada do Sul, Mato Grosso do Sul; and Mirante do Paranapanema and Teodoro Sampaio, São Paulo if they know or have heard of the term “sustainability,” many will show exactly what it is in practice. This is down to the Social Energy for Local Sustainability Program, which ETH Bioenergy launched in December 2009 to bring about social, environmental and economic change in those towns through participatory management involving the company, government agencies and the community. The program is committed to sustainable development and quality of life in the region. Each of the program’s activities is based on open dialog in which of
From left, Adelmo Barbosa de Freitas, from the Caçu Rural Producers’ Syndicate; José Carlos Girot, a community representative; Antonio Carlos Gomes de Carvalho, ETH People Manager - Goiás Hub; André Luiz Guimarães, Mayor of Caçu; Carla Pires, Responsible for Sustainability at ETH, and Eline Petroni Fleury, Mayor of Cachoeira Alta (at the microphone): identifying lasting, sustainable projects
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ODEBRECHT ARCHIVES
Members of the Community Council at Nova Alvorada do Sul, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Flower of Local Sustainability: finding and tackling crucial areas for building an environmental culture in the schools
The priority topics include providing more job skills to create the conditions for taking advantage of work opportunities, building community gardens and nurseries, setting up hotspots of sustainability culture and carrying out local waste management projects, among others. Each town has a Community Council (CC) and four Thematic Committees (TC). They meet monthly and are tasked with mapping and choosing priorities and designing projects. ETH members, local government officials and civil society leaders are on the councils and committees. One innovative outcome has been open dialog with the community. Several agents of society are involved in any given meeting, including the mayor, a municipal secretary, a priest, an ETH leader, a teacher, health workers and private citizens.
The program’s success lies in its basic design. It is grounded on documents, instruments and principles that serve as external and internal guides for building sustainable societies: the Earth Charter, the Eight Millennium Development Goals, Agenda 21, the Odebrecht Organization’s Sustainability Policy and the ETH Code of Ethics, among others. To support the work of the Social Energy Program, surveys were conducted before the activities began to study the social context in each region of operation. The reports were based on interviews with local leaders – an average of 40 people were interviewed in each location – as well as an analysis of demographic indicators such as family income, the Human Development Index (HDI) and schooling. This comprehensive study served as the basis for forming the councils,
bringing the debate closer to local realities. The NGO 5 Elementos Environmental Education Institute provides support for the program. Each town has a facilitator hired by ETH – the person who will be responsible for organizing meetings, implementing measures to encourage the participation of residents and community leaders, and involving local governments. The next steps include introducing Social Energy in four more towns – Mineiros and Perolândia, Goiás; Alto Taquari, Mato Grosso; and Costa Rica, Mato Grosso do Sul – to keep pace with ETH Bioenergy’s growth. It is developing a set of indicators to evaluate the program and projects and launching a website to enhance the exchange of experiences between towns, communication and the program’s transparency.
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na emenda
Part of the group of seamstresses and artisans; opposite, Dona Risolene: success after an 11-year struggle
Stitching a dream In Ipojuca, Pernambuco, seamstresses and artisans are achieving a long-held goal: forming a cooperative written by Sheyla Lima photos by Élvio Luiz
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For eleven years, a group of seamstresses and artisans from the Camela district of Ipojuca in the metropolitan area of Recife has struggled to form the Na Emenda (In the Stitch) cooperative. The name comes from the work that they do: making bed, table, bath linens and clothing from scraps of fabric. In early 2008, Odebrecht Engenharia Industrial (Industrial Engineering) began to mobilize teams and equipment for the PTA PET POY installation project, which involves building three plants for Petroquisa, the petro-
chemical arm of Petrobras. The project is located in the Industrial and Port Complex of Suape, also in Ipojuca, in the northeastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco. This is where the two stories intersect and the future of Na Emenda is starting to take shape. “Our first contact with the group took place in early 2009. We heard about it from the municipal Secretary of Development at the time, Osias Simone, during one of our meetings with the City Government,” says the PR coordinator for the contract,
Ana Carolina Sousa. “We met the group’s founder, Risolene Gonçalves, and learned about the handicrafts the women make. We could see that Na Emenda had potential, so we offered them two entrepreneurship courses in partnership with the SEBRAE (Brazilian Support Service for Small Businesses),” she adds. Although theoretical classes were welcome, they were not the seamstresses’ main focus. They were eager to put their knowledge into practice. “We met with our client, PetroquímicaSuape, the SENAI (National Industrial Apprenticeship Service) and the City Government to build a plan of action,” says Ana Carolina. Odebrecht and the SENAI contributed the educational side, and jointly financed an industrial sewing course with a duration of 340 class hours for 40 women. The course covers subjects such as Fashion Design, Collection Development and Regulations for Labeling Textiles and Clothing. “The goal is to professionalize them so they can meet the demand for uniforms for businesses at the Suape Complex, employees of the hotel chain in Porto de Galinhas, and the City Government,” explains the coordinator. The classes started in November and will go on until February in the Camela district. They are held in two shifts, Mondays through Fridays, in a building that is on loan from the city for two years, by which time the cooperative’s permanent home will have been built on land
that was donated by the City of Ipojuca. PetroquímicaSuape will furnish all the machinery the cooperative requires. According to the company’s Communications and External Relations Manager, Cláudio Paula, one of the things that makes him believe in Na Emenda is the group’s enterprising spirit. “Furthermore, the project falls into two of the three criteria required for our social programs, which are income generation and professional education,” he says.
For the women in the group, the industrial sewing course is a dream come true. “I spent 11 years fighting for an opportunity. Not just for myself but for the other women of Camela,” says Na Emenda’s founder, Risolene Gonçalves, better known as Dona Risolene. “When Odebrecht proposed this program, I started to think that finally we would have more opportunities; that many women who have no income today will be able to earn their own money. If we can get 40 women to make uniforms, it will change 40 families’ lives,” she says, visibly moved. For the PR coordinator for the PTA POY PET installation project, changing the lives of Camela’s seamstresses and artisans is truly gratifying. “I believe the small seed that Odebrecht has planted here will thrive for a long time and bear tremendous fruit,” says Ana Carolina Sousa.
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embraport
Planning for life Embraport’s social and environmental initiatives in Santos, São Paulo, are Brazilian benchmarks written by Miucha Andrade photos by Guilherme Afonso
Ednaldo: passing on knowledge to his children
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Ednaldo Monteiro de Almeida began lobster fishing in Olinda, Pernambuco, at the age of 16. Six years later, he moved to Santos, São Paulo, where he became a professional ocean fisherman and sailed to Uruguay, South Africa and Trinidad & Tobago, among other places. He sometimes had to spend three months away from home at a time, but his homesickness for his wife and three children got too much for him, so he changed course and got a job as a field assistant at Embraport – Empresa Brasileira de Terminais Portuários, an Odebrecht TransPort project being built on the left bank of the Port of Santos in partnership with DP World. Since November 2006, Naldo, as he is known, has been part of the company’s Environment team, helping biologists carrying out environmental programs that have become a benchmark. After a long period in which none had been issued, Embraport was one of the first ventures in that region to receive an environmental license. “That was because the studies done for the terminal
Regina: contribution to science
were performed with the requisite depth, breadth and quality, serving as a model for the next projects,” explains engineer Regina Tonelli, the officer Responsible for Quality, Health, Safety and Environment at Embraport. Since 2006, the company has invested BRL 8 million in 34 programs covering plant and animal life, engineering, archaeology and environmental measures, which were prerequisites for the installation of the Embraport project. Naldo started out as an assistant in the effort to save 34,000 plants, including orchids, bromeliads, cacti, ferns and hosta, among others. These plants were donated to several institutions to be used in restoration and enhancement projects for degraded areas in the surrounding region, as well as contributing to the plant collections of city parks, such as the Orchid Garden and the “Chico Mendes” Botanical Garden in Santos. The company’s work with plant life has made Embraport a pioneer in developing a mathematical model to
determine the biomass of the ecosystems of mangroves, restingas and marshy grasslands. “It was a major contribution to the scientific community because the results achieved through this program have made carbon credit market projects feasible for similar ecosystems,” says Regina Tonelli. Specialized training After working with plants for a year, Naldo underwent specialized training and started working with wildlife. One of his jobs is fishing for the Aquatic Wildlife Monitoring Program. Every two months, Naldo casts his net in the estuary near Embraport and catches catfish, carapeba, parati and blue crabs, among other species. The samples are sent to the Office of Fisheries in Santos, where experts examine them in laboratories to analyze aspects that could be related to the project’s impact on the aquatic environment. One of the highlights of the wildlife programs is monitoring Harris’s
hawks, the first such initiative to use radio telemetry in Brazil. These hawks are an endangered species in São Paulo State, so they merit their own special program. Naldo participates in this activity and uses lures to attract the birds. “I bait them with chickens, quails and guinea pigs,” he explains. After they are caught, the hawks are fitted with a radio transmitter so they can be monitored, and the data is used to develop proposals for the conservation and preservation of these birds of prey on the São Paulo coast. “My job is to keep an eye on the GPS tracker and communicate the birds’ positions to the biologist in charge,” he says proudly. But tracking hawks is not the only part of Naldo’s job that he loves. His favorite task is identifying birds in the vicinity of the project. “We set up a net to catch them, fit them with a ring and then set them loose,” he says. He likes birds so much that he has bought four books on the subject. “I learn a lot here and pass on that knowledge to my kids,” he says.
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“When I go out into the field with the consultants, I’m not ashamed to ask questions.” After four years of work at Embraport and with many skills under his belt, Naldo recently received a welcome reward. “My salary has almost doubled, and now I can invest in a home of my own.” He enjoys going to Guaiuba Beach in Guaruja, plays soccer on weekends and plans to buy a car in 2011. Today, at the age of 35, he realizes that changing his profession has turned his life around. Support for fishing communities In addition to monitoring plant and animal life, Embraport carries out programs for the fishing communities in the region. Support for Artisanal Fisheries aims to empower fishermen with professional education courses and modernize their activities. The program also helps maintain local folk traditions and
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festivities and organizes activities designed to generate income. Since 2006, Embraport has trained 400 fishermen and offered 37 courses on subjects like boat construction and repair and engine maintenance. It also encourages fishermen to get their official papers in order, such as ID cards and Marine Registration (CIR), through courses offered by the Brazilian Navy. “Thanks to the skills Embraport has provided, many fishermen can do other kinds of jobs,” says Edson dos Santos Cláudio, President of the Vicente de Carvalho Fishermen’s Colony. “But they don’t lose their identity. They always have one foot in the water, and fish in their spare time,” he stresses. “It makes me very proud to know that some are helping build the new terminal.” It was thanks to Edson that Naldo got a job at Embraport. At 75, “Seu” Edson, as everyone calls him, has worked as a mechanic, a city councilman, an adviser to the mayor, and a civil servant. “I’ve always been close to the sea,” he says. Despite being retired for 24 years, he has never stopped working. He has taken the helm of the Fishermen’s Colony, which is affiliated with the State Federation of Fishermen, and helps members and their families obtain the basic documentation they need to get Social Security provisions such as childbirth benefits, breeding-season insurance and retirement pensions. His goal is to raise fishermen’s living standards so they can support their families with dignity. “In this sense, the terminal will bring benefits and a better future for all of us,” he says.
Diana Island’s play center: a place where kids can play and learn
DIANA ISLAND: RETRIEVING HISTORY AND CULTURE Diana Island is a peaceful spot in the mouth of the Diana River, 20 minutes by boat from the Port of Santos, near the future Embraport Terminal. It can only be reached by small boats that hold up to 45 people and keep to a schedule set by the TEC traffic engineering company. The 29,463-sq.m island is home to 50 families and a total of about 200 people. “We’re all related here,” says Elisa Maria da Silva Alves, 32, a resident of the island. They are all close cousins who help each other carry groceries home, among other things. Elisa has two children and works at the community play center. There, she looks after children over the age of one from 8:30 a.m to 11:30 a.m. The kids play hide-and-seek, jump rope and play soccer in the field next door. The play center is an old house
that Embraport has refurbished in keeping with the local architecture. “It has improved 100%. There’s nothing better than a place that’s just for kids,” says Elisa. The restoration project was part of the Research and Rescue Program for Archaeological, Historical and Cultural Heritage on Diana Island and the Embraport Terminal area. While the project was underway, experts found some archaeological sites, such as shell mounds, on the island and at Embraport. Shellmounds are deposits of shells left by the indigenous peoples who
sion line on Diana Island. The community currently receives power through an older cable, which causes fluctuations in the power supply that frequently burn out appliances. The company is installing the transmission line with poles and wires that reach as far as a pole-mounted transformer on the island. From that point on, the local government, in partnership with CPFL Energia, will be responsible for internal distribution and public lighting. The route of the transmission line was designed to minimize environmental impacts. The wires have a maximum height of 11 m to clear the existing vegetation and prevent the need to fell trees. The arrival of the new power line on the island will give a significant boost to the community’s quality of life by putting an end to waste, food spoilage and burned-out appliances.
LIA LUBAMBO
inhabited the coastal regions of Brazil between 4,500 and 1,000 years ago. The company currently maintains one of the sites and is monitoring another seven. As part of this program, Embraport has held an Archaeology Week, a heritage education activity including teacher training that involved 1,300 students from local elementary schools. The company distributed 1,400 copies of educational booklets on the subject during that event. Being the closest community to the jobsite, Diana Island residents were offered the first work opportunities at Embraport. Since the company’s arrival, its partnership with the City of Santos has produced many benefits, such as the construction of a retaining wall, the renovation of the dock, landscape design and the donation of a nursery for native plants using specimens retrieved from the terminal area. Silvia Helena de Souza, 42, works at the nursery. Previously, she sold clams and crabs. “My old job was never a sure thing. Sometimes I hardly made anything at all,” she says. “Now my wages are guaranteed,” she adds happily. Silvia is an employee of the City of Santos and gets paid the minimum monthly salary for taking care of plants from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. She loves her job and is thrilled to be able to work just a few steps from home. Silvia and 38 other people underwent 46 hours of training in the basics of gardening, landscaping, cultivation and orchid breeding. “When you do what you love, the plants thank you with flowers.” In 2011, an Embraport initiative will install a new power transmis-
Silvia: doing what she loves
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argentina
Assembly of God School students and, opposite, schoolteacher Maria Cristina Ferrari (left) with her colleague Fannyn Yanacon: previously, Maria Cristina would go to school with buckets balanced on her motorbike
Results come in the form of the FUTURE Dialog with communities in the vicinity of jobsites aims to leave a legacy that can improve their quality of life written by SĂŠrgio Bourroul / photos by Guilherme Afonso
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“We need to give back and leave something for the communities we are living and working with here in Argentina,” says Flávio Faria, CEO of Odebrecht Engenharia Industrial (Industrial Engineering). “We have entrepreneured our business in a sustainable, long-term fashion, living up to the communities’ expectations and sharing the wealth and knowledge generated by our activities,” he adds. Corporate Social Responsibility Coordinator Marina Gonzalez Ugarte observes: “We don’t want to impose solutions. We try to establish dialog with the people who live near our jobsites to jointly develop alternatives to improve the quality of life of those who remain there after our work is done.” Marina spends most of her time on the road visiting jobsites and villages, and networking with representatives of indigenous communities, authorities, NGOs, project directors and members working on the company’s projects. In other words, she is creating the necessary conditions for the legacy Flávio Faria described to grow and flourish. Tartagal Odebrecht’s biggest project in Argentina today is the expansion of the gas pipeline that runs through 15 provinces from north to south in that country. Because of that, the company is facing the challenge of coping with different geographical and social realities. For example, in the far north, 1,700 km from Buenos Aires and just 40 km from the border with Bolivia in the town of Tartagal, in the province of Salta, it only rains four months per year. For six months, the rivers are dry, but summer storms often cause flooding, inflicting severe
damage on urban and rural areas. Populated by immigrants, oil workers and Amerindians from various ethnic groups, it is an isolated area that lacks just about everything, including clean drinking water. That is where the new pipeline will cross the Tartagal River with 700 meters of 30-inch pipe at a depth of 15 meters. It won’t take long to do the job, because it will be carried out with tunneling equipment that consumes about 400 cubic meters of water per day. The only clear solution would have been to obtain the precious liquid from a well, which could have been dug next to the jobsite where the tunneling equipment was installed, set up on a large soy farm. But the management team decided on a different solution that was more complex on one hand, but much more sustainable on the other. The well was dug 2 km away, on the grounds of “Kilometro 6,” a community school attended by descendants of the Wichi, Chorote and Toba ethnic groups. To leave the community with a 182-m well capable of producing up to 37,000 liters per hour, tank trucks make several trips per day to carry water from the school to the work front. “That part of the project lasted less than a month, but the com-
munity will benefit from the water forever,” says Marina Gonzalez, who is clearly delighted. That decision involved discussions with the leadership of the indigenous community, the school board and the Department of Education of the Province of Salta, which runs the schools. From now on, it will also be responsible for the maintenance of the well and its water distribution system. The Assembly of God Primary School where the well and two 2,750-liter tanks are installed has 500 students. Water is also taken to a kindergarten 1.2 km away that is attended by another 120 children under the age of five. Until a few months back, schoolteacher Maria Cristina Ferrari used to carry water to school from her home in buckets balanced on her motorcycle. The Primary School’s principal, Susana Cortes, recalls that the building didn’t have piped-in water: “Today we have plenty of hot and cold running water, which enables us to serve good-quality meals and introduce the students to basic concepts of personal hygiene.” In addition to the well and water tanks, heaters, new pipes and faucets have also been installed in the kitchens and bathrooms in both schools.
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Worker from the technical education program in Dolavon: the power of volunteer work
Dolavon At the other end of the country, in the town of Dolavon, Patagonia, where Odebrecht is completing the expansion of a gas compressor plant, the company’s teams have prioritized the technical education of youth in that region after conducting a survey in partnership with local authorities. Now in his third term, Mayor Martín Bortagaray observes that 30% of the approximately 3,600 inhabitants of Dolavon are 18 or younger, and the unemployment rate is 18%. “There is a job shortage here. Our young people are leaving
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us and moving to more developed regions,” says the mayor. “We have to provide them with job skills and keep them here.” The partnership is working. Vocational Education Center No. 657 was once housed in a room in a family home in Dolavon. The space got too small, so the city government provided a building that was part of the city’s former movie theater to house the new school and began refurbishing it. Odebrecht contributed construction materials, equipment and tools, and encouraged its members to get involved
in this project. When the work got started in September, 14 members from the compressor plant project team volunteered their time and expertise to the initiative. “Engineers and technicians spent a week sanding and painting the walls of our building, alongside the students. It was heartwarming,” says the Center’s director, Maria Albertelli. The company also invited young apprentices to visit its construction site and mobilized some of its engineers to go over the textbooks adopted by the Metalworking/ Mechanics course being offered with Odebrecht’s support. The 120 students, most of whom are 17, attend the Center (which also offers Accounting and Information Technology courses) in the afternoon and go to school at night. The auxiliary Metalworking/ Mechanics course has a duration of 250 class hours per year, including theory and practice, and produces woodworking products such as benches, wastepaper baskets and tables, as well as metal household structures, which are sold to generate revenue that is reinvested in the school. In the end, the students who pass the course will get a diploma and a new impetus to their lives. The future looks promising. The local government plans to acquire the school’s products, such as benches and playground equipments for city parks. Odebrecht want to attract partners and suppliers to the project. And the student Ivan Obarrio has a dream: “I want to build a sawmill here in my hometown and raise my kids with a better quality of life than I have now.”
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Curundu, in Panama City (on this page and following): ending a long period of isolation
Now it’s part of the city The Curundu Project enables the social inclusion of the district with the most precarious living conditions in Panama City written by Lorena Gómez More than 50 years have gone by since the first residents began to arrive and build their humble dwellings on land that the Curundu River floods every year. The neighborhood that has the same name as the river is now the worst in Panama City. It is a settlement of palafittes (stilt houses) made of wood, cardboard and corrugated zinc sheeting. The hardships Curundu’s residents have to face range from the difficulty of getting formal employment, a lack of technical or professional education and the absence of basic services, road infrastructure, drainage systems and sanitation. Because of this, the renewal of Curundu is a priority for the
Panamanian government’s social programs. It will have a dramatic impact on urban and social conditions in an important part of the inner city. Specifically, the goal is ensuring the social inclusion of the neighborhood in the city’s development by improving public safety and security and strengthening the productive capacity of Curundeños, as the district’s residents are called, through professional and business education. Odebrecht has won the public tender to carry out this project, which is based on a master plan that has made infrastructure the basis for a Comprehensive Social Action Plan (PAIS).
More than a construction project, the Curundu Project is a public intervention that seeks to incorporate the district into the city in social, environmental and urban planning terms, taking advantage of its central location and valuing the Curundeños’ talent and entrepreneurial ability. The new infrastructure facilities will link the district to neighboring areas, thereby enabling it to interact with other parts of the city. Curundu will be the first district of Panama City whose design and public spaces are intended to make them a bridge between nearby areas, both structurally and socially.
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The new Curundu will have more sports fields and playgrounds than any other part of the city. It will be enriched with a child guidance center and a training facility for adults, as well as cultural centers (including an amphitheater) and green recreational areas. Additionally, the project will set aside a 2,000-sq.m area for Curundu’s small and micro businesses. As a result, the district will become a new social and commercial hub in the Panamanian capital. Due to all of these factors, the project’s social impact will go well
beyond the 12-hectare area of the construction works, and its beneficiaries will include many more people than the district’s 5,000 residents. Estimates are that it will have a positive impact on the lives of over 20,000 people – the estimated population of Curundu’s neighboring districts. To carry out the project, it was necessary to relocate families while their new apartments were being built. They had two options: a subsidy called Social Rent, with which people could pay rent at a place of
their choice, or temporary housing built by Odebrecht in the project area. At this stage, the households benefiting from this project are already experiencing an improvement in their quality of life, because the temporary housing the company has built will provide all the necessary basic services and rid them of the risk of flooding. Residents who decide to take the Social Rent option can move into houses with better living conditions than they had in their former homes. Skills for a better future Designed by Odebrecht and approved and implemented by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning (Miviot), which is in charge of the project, PAIS’s main objective is the social inclusion of Curundeños. It offers an extensive professional education program that will give Curundu residents the necessary conditions for fully developing their capacity for work and entrepreneurship. Curundeños themselves will use the commercial areas under construction, and their production capacity will be bolstered by
IN HARMONY WITH NATURE Curundeños are used to living near the river, but far from being a privilege, it has been a source of problems and danger, ranging from floods in the rainy season to the stench generated by the still
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waters beneath their palafittes. The Curundu Project includes reclaiming land to level the terrain. The bed of the river that gave the district its name is being adapted, and sewer systems are
under construction. They will be linked to another megaproject underway in that Central American country, the Panama City and Bay Sanitation Project, which is being carried out with the help of Odebrecht.
The Sanitation Project will collect domestic and industrial wastewater that has historically been discharged into rivers and the bay, so those bodies of water can once again be used as public recreation areas.
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The picture shows how the neighborhood will look when the project is completed: new infrastructure facilities and better conditions for achieving first-class citizenship
courses organized in partnership with the Authority for Micro, Small and Medium Businesses, the government agency that is also contributing to the planning of businesses established in the area according to needs identified in the community. Moreover, plans are in the works to provide professional education that will enable Curundeños to seize the job opportunities that already exist in the hubs of activity near their community. Hospitals, ports, hotels and construction projects within a 10 km radius and even some college campuses need workers with different skill sets. The possibility of having access to these job options, starting their own businesses and living in a completely renovated environment, as well as a series of campaigns organized by the State and sponsored by the company to promote a culture of peace, good relations and solidarity, are key elements
that will make Curundu an example of urban renewal and sustainable development. From pasieros to partners The poverty and marginalization that once reigned in the neighborhood made Curundu a dangerous place, where violence and crime were part of everyday life. It created a bad image for the rest of the Panamanian population, a stigma that all Curundeños bore for years. The stereotype of the typical Curundeño was so negative that many residents say they could not get work for the simple fact of living in Curundu. Some people even said that, in order to get work, they had to give a different address or lie about where they lived. To change this situation, the project was designed to include the participation and integration of Curundeños, making them protagonists who are an integral part of the process. Their role as productive
and worthy citizens is preparing them to become first-class citizens when they are reincluded in Panamanian society. In addition to PAIS’s planned activities, the project is also helping local residents enter the job market by offering work opportunities on the construction works. Some of the people who now hold responsible positions at the jobsites were previously caught up in a gang environment where each had his own crew, his pasieros, as well as enemies. Pasieros, which means “friends” in Panama, were bad company, and enemies were the people they had to watch out for. Many Curundu residents have been in prison, and after they served their time, they couldn’t get jobs because they had a criminal record. For many people, this has been their first opportunity to get a real job. Ronny Murillo, a construction supervisor, says he now has a bank card and a driver’s license. Now, when he goes to the bank, he knows that people see him as “one more customer.” “Folks who used to see me as a threat, a danger, will greet me now. They say ‘Good morning, how are you?’ and that makes me proud because they can see I’m a different man.” Many Curundeños are discovering how their quality of life is improving through the construction phase of the Curundu Project, while changing other people’s image of them, because now they are seen as what they really are: members of a community that is eager to work and to become part of the economic and social development of the city.
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united states
Proof of excellence Odebrecht is in the process of obtaining LEED certification in the United States, taking an additional step forward in its sustainable practices written by Renata Pinheiro Human activities are changing the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere. Greenhouse gases remain in the atmosphere for periods ranging from decades to centuries. Measuring our impact on climate change is the first essential step towards achieving a more sustainable society. Keeping track of our “carbon footprint” is a simple step that can be adapted to the way we work, improving our interaction with the environment.
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A “carbon footprint” is the total set of greenhouse gases (GHG) caused by an organization, event or product. For simplicity’s sake, it is often represented in terms of the amount of CO2 or its equivalent in other greenhouse gas emissions. An example of the contribution Odebrecht is making in this regard is through a partnership with MiamiDade County in the construction of the MIA Mover. This project will
provide an alternative public transport system that is both efficient and eco-friendly, removing about 100 buses from the streets and reducing CO2 emissions. The project’s management team is working to obtain LEED Gold Certification for the MIA Mover Station. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It is an internationally recognized certification system for buildings that minimize
using strategies that will improve its performance in areas such as energy savings, water yield and reduction of CO2 emissions to improve internal environmental quality and preserve the planet’s resources. The project is using Renewable Energy Credits that will make up for 70% of the station’s energy consumption for two years, supporting the development of renewable energy options such wind, solar and geothermal. About 780-megawatt hours (MWh) are being negotiated, and estimates are that, as a result, the MIA Mover will prevent the emission of approximately 468 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. The project’s management team has also developed an educational campaign focused on the characteristics of green buildings, sustainable practices and ecological solutions. The campaign includes a program focused on a sustainable lifestyle, using the MIA Mover as an example, and is designed for students in the Miami-Dade Public School System. PHOTOS: ODEBRECHT ARCHIVES
environmental impacts, both during construction and in use. The MIA Mover Automated People Mover system will be the first project in Miami-Dade County to obtain LEED Gold certification. The project includes a 2-km automated transport system that connects Miami International Airport to the Intermodal Center, which includes Miami Central Station – the hub that connects the subway, trains, buses and taxis to the airport, providing an alternative means of transportation for residents and visitors. Odebrecht is also building the AirportLink, an extension connecting the city’s subway system to the Intermodal Center. By seeking LEED certification, Odebrecht is taking an additional step toward ensuring sustainable practices in its construction projects. It involves selecting a set of guidelines to quantify the project’s design and construction in terms of sustainability. The MIA Mover station was designed and is being built
Previous page, students from the Miami-Dade County Public School System during the campaign organized by the Odebrecht team: information on eco-solutions. Above, the MIA Mover project
Water, power and recycling Water conservation is crucial for an LEED project. The project’s team is taking a proactive approach to reducing water consumption during the life of the station. Facilities with low and zero water consumption are incorporated into the project with the goal of reducing water consumption by at least 30%. Furthermore, the design also eliminates the need for watering the grounds because the landscaping uses native plants. The station is designed to maximize energy efficiency and cut down on the amount of electricity needed for its operation. The result is a saving of more than 15% in energy costs. The MIA Mover project has already recycled more than 80% of all debris resulting from its construction. In addition, 20% of all materials installed at the jobite were extracted, processed or manufactured within 800 km of the project. This initiative not only reduces the impacts associated with transportation, but is also a boost for the local economy. “The identification and implementation of green practices that reduce carbon emissions can be easily applied to construction projects, whether or not they are seeking LEED certification,” says Gilberto Neves, President and CEO of Odebrecht USA. “To combat global warming, we have to start investing in ideas that can change the way we do business, generating revenue opportunities that will help us preserve the planet for future generations,” he emphasizes.
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teo
The practice of trust Exhibition in Salvador recounts the conception and development of the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial Technology written by Rodrigo Vilar / photo by Almir Bindilatti In Portuguese dictionaries, “technology” is defined as a set of ideas or scientific principles that apply to a practical purpose. In this sense, the conceptual and philosophical basis of the Odebrecht Organization – the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial Technology (TEO) – goes much further. It is a philosophy of life developed through and applied in practice. The exhibition entitled “Discipline, Respect and Trust - Building the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial Technology (TEO),” held at the Organization’s headquarters in Salvador, Bahia, portrays the process of developing this corporate culture, conceived by the founder, Norberto Odebrecht, on the basis of his beliefs, values and professional experience. TEO is based on confidence in people and their unlimited capacity to grow and develop. It is also an ethical touchstone that guides the work of all members of the Organization, wherever they may be. Gaining a precise understanding of this set of values requires getting to know the life story of its creator. Born in 1920 in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, Norberto Odebrecht received a solid upbringing from his parents, Herta and Emílio Odebrecht, based on the spirit of service, humility and discipline. In 1925, the Odebrecht family moved to Salvador, which the engineer and
entrepreneur Emílio Odebrecht had identified as a promising area of the construction market. The following year a Lutheran pastor named Otto Arnold became Norberto’s tutor, and as such, he was responsible for supplementing the young boy’s education. Through his tutor, who taught him to read and write and gave him religious instruction in German, Norberto learned to view the world critically, interpreting and acting on what he saw. During their weekly walks together, which were actually practical lessons, Pastor Arnold and young Norberto would observe nature and visit rich and poor neighborhoods in Salvador. Through dialog, Pastor Arnold underscored lessons that would last a lifetime, one of the most important values being to serve others instead of being served. On his own initiative, at the age of 14, Norberto learned the crafts of a mason, locksmith and steelfixer at
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“TEO fosters and creates a conducive environment for each member of the Organization to develop the intellectual, professional, financial, family and personal aspects of their lives.” Renato Baiardi, Member of the Board of Odebrecht S.A.
the workshops of Emílio Odebrecht & Co., his father’s construction firm. He also supervised the warehouse and was responsible for transportation. “Don’t think that the tasks I’m talking about were just a pastime for the boss’s son. The allowance I got from my father was based on actual hours worked, as recorded by the foreman who supervised me,” says Norberto Odebrecht. At the company’s workshops and jobsites, he had the opportunity to interact with and learn from the supervisors and workers, who were men of character and professional integrity. Later, he went to engineering school to complete his education, enrolling at the Polytechnic School in Salvador at the age of 18. “My childhood and youth were truly privileged because, without trauma or upsets, I was slowly absorbing Philosophical Concepts and acquiring habits that were very important for anyone who wants to be an entrepreneur and succeed in life,” he says. At university he studied the principles of Scientific Labor Management developed by Frederick Taylor and Henri Fayol, based on the hierarchical division of labor and control. The young entrepreneur rejected those principles. His upbringing and experience at work recommended following another direction: Decentralization, Planned Delegation and Partnership,
Exhibition at the Odebrecht Building: TEO is the Organization’s trademark and sets it apart
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“Valuing people, delegation, relationships based on trust. These are universal themes.” Luiz Rocha, CEO of Odebrecht International
which involves the sharing of results. Once he had identified those pillars, the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial Technology began to take shape. “For a long time, my decisions and actions were based on intuition and experience. Only at age 48 did I come to realize that my beliefs and values had an internal consistency, and that intuition and reason played equal parts.” As a result, the engineer embarked on the pragmatic and disciplined exercise of conceptualizing what he had learned in practice. His initial reflections resulted in What Do We Need?, published in 1968, which sought to strengthen the Organization’s unity of thought and purpose. In that short book, Norberto reaffirms the qualities of the decentralized model of entrepreneurship and delegation, citing the French
journalist and politician Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber: “Decentralization brings the power to make decisions as close as possible to the theater of action. It requires the understanding that several individually good decisions are more valuable for a company than decisions made and controlled by a central body.” As the concepts and principles presented in the first work matured, he launched his second book, Points of Reference, in 1970, which served as a guide for Odebrecht members, especially the young people who were striving to build a large national company in a decade marked by the engineering and construction company’s arrival in southeastern and southern Brazil. Eleven years later, his third book, Survival, Growth and Perpetuity, took shape, published in 1981. In it, Norberto systematized the principles, concepts and criteria that constituted the foundations of the Organization’s culture, which then became known as the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial Technology. Finally, in 1991, while the Organization was tackling the challenge of international expansion, he launched his fourth book, Education
through Work, which provides the basis for intensifying and enhancing the ongoing cycle of grooming the younger generation and disseminating the Organization’s culture. During the preparation of all four books, Norberto Odebrecht mobilized colleagues to help him and contribute ideas and new learnings. Even today, at the age of 90, working at full pace as Chairman of the Odebrecht Foundation, he reiterates that TEO is a philosophy in construction. “TEO is our trademark. It sets us apart. It is a living culture that must be internalized, practiced and updated to maintain the foundation that never changes.”
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“Sustainability is at the root of TEO, whose practice is intended to keep the Organization on the path of Survival, Growth and Perpetuity.” Emílio Odebrecht, Chairman of the Board of Odebrecht S.A.
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southern bahia lowlands
All together! A partnership is helping strengthen rural families written by Gabriela Vasconcellos Like musicians in an orchestra, they share the same stage, harmoniously combining their skills and expertise to make a rural area with vast environmental potential a dynamic and prosperous place to help keep youth in the countryside. Several institutional partners of the Program for the Integrated and Sustainable Development of the Mosaic of Environmental Protection Areas in the Southern Bahia Lowlands (PDIS) are helping build a rural middle class structured around family units, the protagonists of their own sustainable development. They are all driven by the high and noble goal they share in common. Established by the Odebrecht Foundation, the PDIS’s new brand is based on the concept of a mosaic: a combination of elements that form a greater and unique whole. Focusing on the belief that there is no shortage of talented people, but what is lacking is opportunities to realize their potential, civil society organizations, the federal, state and local governments and the private sector are working together as they follow the path of sustainability. Their mission is to ensure that the Eight Millennium Development Goals proposed by the United Nations and endorsed by 192 countries, including Brazil, are achieved in the Southern Bahia Lowlands. Through Participatory Governance, through which the first, second and third sectors work in an integrated and synergistic fashion, the PDIS promotes job creation and the fair distribution of income, high-quality rural education and environmental conservation. According to Maurício Medeiros, the Executive President of the Odebrecht Foundation, this is what sets the Program apart. “Its innovative governance system creates a collaborative space for the construction of social initiatives and benefits all the parties involved,” he observes.
Program for the Integrated and Sustainable Development of the Southern Bahia Lowlands (PDIS)
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“We are already reaping the rewards of the partnership between the Ministry of Social Development and the Odebrecht Foundation. The PDIS has been instrumental in the qualification and training of families seeking productive social inclusion. The performance of the Odebrecht Foundation in this area can serve as a model for other companies to become partners and fulfill their social responsibility.” Márcia Lopes, Minister of Social Development and the Fight Against Hunger
“The Program for the Integrated and Sustainable Development of the Mosaic of Environmental Protection Areas in the Southern Bahia Lowlands is a concrete model for achieving a regional project for everyone, a basic tool of sustainability, guaranteed by the Eight Millennium Development Goals.” André Lisboa Filho, Mayor of Ituberá, Bahia, and President of Ciapra
“The BNDES seeks to work with institutions that demonstrate great executive and investment capacity, thorough local knowledge and strong identification with a model of growth and development that addresses the community and individuals, as well as economic and social aspects, and can be reproduced for generations. The Odebrecht Foundation has been our partner from the outset.” Elvio Gaspar, Director of the Credit and Social Inclusion Area
“State, Federal and local governments, hand in hand with the private sector, must encourage initiatives aimed at technological development and income generation while valuing the environment so that young people can live in the countryside with dignity.” Jaques Wagner, Governor of Bahia
“The aim of the work being done in the Southern Bahia Lowlands is to build a new model of sustainable development. Producers who were once unable to make a living are no longer experiencing social exclusion. The children and grandchildren of many of them, who had migrated to the cities in search of opportunities, are returning to the region and living in dignity.” Alessandro Teixeira, President of Apex-Brazil
“The Bank of Brazil is joining forces with the PDIS because it believes in and values partnerships that seek sustainable development for the Southern Bahia Lowlands. We support productive activities aimed at generating employment and income, improving quality of life and environmental conservation, and keeping people in the countryside.” Edson Pascoal, CEO of the Bank of Brazil in Bahia
“We always seek to produce a measurable impact for our beneficiaries, and we believe that the only way to expand our work is through projects like the one being implemented by the Odebrecht Foundation. The PDIS has helped improve many people’s quality of life. The challenge now is to mobilize partners to replicate this model in other communities in Brazil, Latin America and the Caribbean.” Luciana Botafogo, Sector Specialist at the IADB's Multilateral Investment Fund
“The PDIS is fully aligned with the Brazilian Army. It has the social purpose of educating citizens and transmitting values and virtues. We are contributing to the cultural and personal growth of young people who envision a prosperous future for their community and are guided by principles that are important in the here and now: environmental conservation and a vision of sustainability.” João Francisco Ferreira, Division General and Commander of the 6th Military Region
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by FELIPE CRUZ
Globally responsible leaders Odebrecht has paid attention to social and environmental issues since its inception. In recent years, they have become a permanent part of the business agenda through the adoption of new technologies in our companies’ products and processes, the consolidation of Foz do Brasil and ETH Bioenergy, and the quality and quantity of the projects carried out in the vicinity of our operations. Braskem has inventoried its greenhouse gas emissions since 2006, and other Odebrecht companies are preparing to do so. Throughout the Organization, we have over 500 people working exclusively on environmental projects. We still have much more to contribute! Two factors that are imperative to the success of sustainability programs are the capacity for entrepreneurship and the relationship between the actors in a given region or context. For us, these are essential skills that we have developed over time due the very nature of our business. Without exception, all of our projects begin with extensive dialog on their viability involving clients, governments, financial institutions, private companies and other social actors in order to engage in positive networking that will make them feasible. Solving the most important human issues of our time – hunger, poverty and environmental preservation – requires the development of infrastructure as a tool for accessibility and the creation of new sustainable businesses to generate more work and income opportunities. Leaders with a high capacity for entrepreneurship and communication – in business, government and society in general at all levels – are the key factors for the desired construction of the common good. The deliberate choice of following the Organization’s path of Survival, Growth and Perpetuity, a clear policy regarding re-investment and a strong belief in the continued identi-
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fication, grooming and integration of new entrepreneurs, require a world that is developing, but not at any cost. It is true that we must not and cannot take on roles that pertain to the State. Nor can we restrict ourselves to responding to “demands for compensation,” sticking to legal requirements and complying with the regulations of loan and licensing agencies and interest groups. We all have converging interests, and therefore our business ventures are opportunities. At Odebrecht, Sustainability is the proactive use of our entrepreneurial energy to boost the effects of the ventures we are developing now and will be creating in the future in order to become true inducers of Sustainable Development in the areas where those ventures are carried out. It is important to stress that this is not an act of charity. Sustainable Development requires economic, financial, socio-cultural and environmental results. This stance is consistent with our values and enhances our contribution to society, placing us at the forefront through the creation of new, more comprehensive and ongoing opportunities. From our valued teachers, we have learned to build infrastructure projects with the quality, budgets and schedules our clients require. The “job at hand” requires us to become globally responsible leaders, going beyond the company and competently performing this broader entrepreneurial task for the benefit of a more just society, encouraging more balanced use of natural resources and helping mobilize a movement for Sustainable Development – in our communities, in the countries where we operate and on the planet. Felipe Cruz is Responsible for Social Programs in the Sustainability Area of Odebrecht Engineering & Construction
THE TRAIN SEEKS PASSAGE The tracks of the Transnortheastern Will take progress to the backlands. Works we have always longed for, Like a starving man craves food, Will change the landscape of the hinterland, So the economy, too, will be transformed. When the “Iron Snake” gets rolling, Roaring on the tracks and shaking the ground, Our land will have an engine That will forever change our fate; The tracks of the Transnortheastern Will take progress to the backlands. The Brazil that built Tucuruí Itaipu, Paulo Afonso and many more, Can certainly manage To make this train run here too. And I know the Northeast will applaud When this great work is done. Where now you see the damage of want, A bridge’s beauty will fascinate; The tracks of the Transnortheastern Will take progress to the backlands. From Elizeu Martins in Piauí, From Pecém in beautiful Fortaleza, This train will carry all the wealth Of the Northeast, sweet native land, Cariri, And the junction will be right here! Here in Salgueiro, which I love with a passion, Passing by the birthplace of the outlaw Lampião, To Suape the train will go on its narrow road; The tracks of the Transnortheastern Will take progress to the backlands.
We have more than enough Engineering here! Without neglecting the social side, Good people caring for the environment, Now and when the train runs through. The trouble the works are causing, Like the noise from blasting, Tractors and trucks that stir up dust, The end result makes it all worthwhile; Because the tracks of the Transnortheastern Will take progress to the backlands. That’s why “The Train Seeks Passage” For these important and lovely works That make the Northeast stronger, equipped As a hub of production and exports. The world will see us differently, ending That image of desolation and drought; God bless the engineers and railwaymen Who are building this benison; Because the tracks of the Transnortheastern Will take progress to the backlands.
This is dedicated to all those who, directly or indirectly, are giving their all to carry out this vital project for the Northeast’s development Diógenes Vieira – Social Technician from the Train Seeks Passage Project Salgueiro Pernambuco, July 2010.
To ensure the best solutions for the smooth progress of works along the 1,121-km route of the Transnordestina (Transnortheastern) railroad in the states of Piauí and Pernambuco, Odebrecht and the client (Transnordestina Logística S.A. - TLSAES) have created the Train Seeks Passage Project with the support of both state governments. Built through an alliance agreement between Odebrecht and TLSAES, the railway works involve expropriation, which requires direct monitoring of the families affected. Through a visitation program, the Train Seeks Passage Project, including Diogenes Vieira, the author of this cordel folk poem, is working to ensure effective communication and a harmonious relationship between the expropriating agency and the expropriated people.
PHOTO: GUILHERME AFONSO
A young boy at the Diana Island play center in Santos, S達o Paulo: the building was restored by Embraport. odebrecht informa