POWER February 2012 - 73

POWER IN BRAZIL
quality assessment, ensuring that a permit will
be obtained. "
However, there is room for improvement,
particularly with respect to the assessment of
social impacts. JGP's Piazza noted: " In Brazil
the social aspects of impact assessments
are frequently downplayed. "
Thus, it falls upon companies themselves
to prioritize corporate social responsibility.
" As a part of the environmental impact assessments
that Habtec does for different sectors,
we have to propose a social project to
attend to the needs of the community, " said
Guaraci Sathler, the company's executive
director. According to Sathler, Habtec dedicates
a specialized, in-house team to attend
to the social impact assessments as part of its
environmental work.
Wind engineering firm Mercurius, an
award winner for its community work, believes
that it is essential that companies take
into consideration the effect that development
will have on local communities. According
to Bonorandi, the company's CEO,
" It is important to help the community in
simple ways; for example, when we use concrete
for the bases, we can also build a play
area for children or help a church to rebuild.
As a construction company, we are the first to
get in and the last to get out. Two years ago,
Mercurius won recognition for our help with
the locals. We try to see what we can do for
the community at no extra cost. The community
is very happy with this partnership, and
happy to see that Mercurius is not just there
to build and get out. Of course we have to do
good work and have competitive pricing, but
we believe that if you have this philosophy,
then it is much better for us as the company
and for our clients. "
Odebrecht Energia's Valladares highlighted
his company's commitment to community
development, as one of the largest constructors
of large-scale hydroelectric projects:
" The social and economic join the environmental
challenge. The commitment to the
development of areas in which Odebrecht
operates and the efforts for the interaction of
Odebrecht in these communities are part of
our culture and integrated into the company's
business. "
Odebrecht's Programa Acreditar ( " Aspire
Program " ) trains professionals to work in
the construction industry and promotes the
inclusion of local communities in the labor
market. Initially developed for the largescale
Santo Antonio project, the program
is now replicated throughout Odebrecht's
projects in Brazil and abroad. Today, more
than 104,000 people subscribe from 17 states
across the country. Valladares said: " The
program was the result of a R$25 million
investment, and it emerged from a survey in
February 2012 | POWER
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73
Porto Velho which underlined the low availability
of skilled manpower to meet the great
demand that the construction of the Santo
Antonio hydroelectric plant would generate.
To prevent a flow of migrants and its potential
social impact, Odebrecht developed the
project in February 2008. Today, 80% of the
approximately 17,000 workers employed are
residents of Rondonia, and in addition, about
10% are women. "
Ricardo Botelho, CEO of Energisa, one of
the largest electricity distributors in the developing
northeast region, believes that his
company has a role to play in the economic
growth of the area. " Energisa is involved in
many different areas; for example, if someone
wants to set up industry in our areas, we
are quick to provide the infrastructure. We
help the state in promoting areas, and have
activities in social responsibility. We are at
almost 100% already in rural electrification.
We have a strong presence in culture and
believe that it can move economics. In a dry
area of the northeast, people were stealing
energy to provide water, so Energisa went
beyond our charter to set up a new irrigation
system to save them money. "
As Brazilian energy companies work towards
the development of environmentally
and socially sustainable projects in more
remote regions, the need to preserve Brazil's
natural resources and habitats is becoming
increasingly apparent. According
to Piazza of JGP, the regulations regarding
environmental and social impact assessments
are becoming more demanding.
" Some people believe regulation swings
like a pendulum, " he said. " My view is that
it is a linear process, where everything is
getting more rigorous and professional. I
do not see requirements in Brazil being relaxed,
only increased. The environmental
and social aspects of projects are coming
to be seen as strategically important, and
project developers are becoming increasingly
competent in dealing with them. "
The responsible development of Brazil's
energy industry lies with both the government
and the private sector. As the country
continues to experience rapid growth and
urbanization, public and private participation
remains essential for Brazil to provide
sustainable power to meet the demands of its
flourishing economy. ■
-Written and researched by Clotilde
Bonetto Gandolfi, Angela Harmantas, and
Ovidio Soler-Leonarte of Global Business
Reports (info@gbreports.com).
http://www.powermag.com
POWER February 2012

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