Water is the main raw material for beer and, as a company, we are concerned about managing and conserving this precious natural resource. We have been working at Ambev with water efficiency management for over 20 years and we are proud to be the most efficient brewery in the world.
But our concern for water goes beyond our business. Today, in Brazil, around 35 million people do not have access to drinking water. Using our structure and resources, we take an active role as an agent of change. Earlier this year, we created an innovative product, the first social business of a large company in Brazil: AMA, a mineral water with 100% of the profits donated to water access projects in communities in the Brazilian semiarid region, which is suffering from the worst drought in the last 100 years. AMA contributes to the SDG 6, to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. In addition, it directly impacts the eradication of poverty and the reduction of inequality, SDG 1 It is 10, and in the eradication of hunger, SDG 2, because with access to water, communities can maintain plantations, ensure food and sell different types of food. Access to water also helps ensure a healthy life and promote well-being for everyone, at all ages, as provided for in the SDG 3.
At the beginning of the year, through AMA, we made four projects possible in rural communities in Ceará: Bom Nome, in Aiuaba; Sítio Volta e Caiçara, in Jaguaruana and Carqueja do Sabino Mota, in Capistrano. Together, the projects benefit more than 3 thousand people. Now, the profit from AMA sales recorded to date has already exceeded R$1,450 thousand and will help three new communities, also in Ceará: Escalvado, a community in the municipality of Itapipoca; Quincuncá, in Farias Brito; and Ventura, in the city of Alcântaras. In just over 4 months, more than 6.5 thousand people will have access to water. Thus, AMA also contributes to the SDG 11 to make communities sustainable, ensuring access to essential basic services, even in isolated rural communities. In addition, it is known that women are responsible for collecting water when there is no piped supply, so the project also indirectly works towards gender equality, SDG 5.
We have partnered with the Avina Foundation, an NGO that works for sustainable development in Latin America, and in Ceará, with the Integrated Rural Sanitation System (SISAR) and CAGECE, the state's water supply company. We have also established several partnerships with other government agencies and private sector companies, thus contributing to the SDG 17 of partnerships for sustainable development.
The water systems are managed by SISAR, which created a self-sustainable community model for managing water supply systems, recognized by the World Bank as one of the best water supply management systems for rural communities in the world. The project works to empower communities so that they feel ownership of the project and the supply system and maintain it in appropriate conditions for use. AMA's profits are directed to projects for drilling water wells in the communities, in addition to the installation of micro solar power plants to reduce the cost of distributing water, which uses the network previously built by the local supply company. In this way, it is possible to contribute to reliable, sustainable, modern and affordable access to energy for all, as per the SDG 7. The systems have sufficient flow to supply communities permanently. The execution of the projects, as well as the allocation of profits, are verified by KPMG. AMA is already on sale in the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, Bahia and the Federal District. AMA can also be purchased throughout Brazil through the website www.emporio.com/ama.
The commitment to sustainability is also present in the product process. Before we begin producing water, we conduct a detailed study of water availability to verify whether the region where the source is located has an abundance of the resource. The source where AMA is produced, in Lindoia (SP), was chosen based precisely on this criterion, as the region has an abundance of water.
We know that we play an important role in society and we want to leave a legacy that truly makes a difference in people's lives. In addition to helping impacted communities, AMA also engages our consumers, employees and suppliers. It is a brand that connects people to something common, bringing different worlds together. AMA mobilizes society by highlighting the problem of drought in Brazil and transforms reality by bringing drinking water to those who do not have it. It is an innovative solution that unites people through water.
This initiative is innovative because it brings together efforts both inside and outside the company. We believe in building a better world by bringing people together in a network. This is how the reach and benefits of socio-environmental projects are increasingly greater and allow for an effective contribution to the SDGs. AMA is a brand that unites people through water, connecting different worlds. A small 500ml bottle of water has the power to mobilize society, transforming reality by investing 100% of its profits to bring drinking water to those who do not have it.
