The Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) held its 1st Workshop on the “Social Capital Protocol” this Wednesday, the 28th, at the headquarters of the Votorantim Institute in São Paulo. The event, opened by the Director of Institutional Development, Ana Carolina Szklo, and coordinated by the technical advisor, Henrique Luz, featured presentations by Matthew Watkins of the WBCSD, and Christian Heller, senior manager of corporate sustainability strategy at [Company Name]. Basf, Pedro Capanema, from the social responsibility, brand and reputation department of Eletrobras, and Thiago Terada, Social Responsibility Manager at AEGEA. The workshop was sponsored by Alcoa and support from Votorantim Institute.
The workshop aims to integrate the measurement of social impacts into business, providing a consistent process for companies to assign value and better manage social capital. Based on existing case studies, the 12 steps of the protocol were addressed with the goal of enabling participants to use the document within their organizations.
The Social Capital Protocol is available for download. here.
CASES
During the workshop, in addition to the BASF case study, two more case studies from CEBDS partners were presented to the participants.
Investments in Sanitation in Campo Grande – AEGEA
The Sanear Morena project is the largest basic sanitation program ever implemented in Campo Grande and aims to provide sewage services to 100% of the population by 2025. The project began in 2006, when the sewage network only reached 29% of the population, and today it provides the service to more than 80% of the population.
The project, carried out in three phases, had total investments of R$ 891 million, creating 2,853 km of collector network responsible for 195,500 new connections and benefiting 568,000 people.
According to data from the Ministry of Health, the hospitalization rate for diarrheal diseases, which in 2003 was 157.3 per 100,000 inhabitants, fell in 2015 to 13.7 per 100,000 inhabitants. Hospitalizations and hospitalization costs also showed a decrease of 91% and 65% respectively.
In addition to infrastructure, the project invested in social programs, such as Afluentes, an open channel of communication with community leaders, and the Programa Saúde Nota 10, which raises students' awareness of the importance of water and sewage treatment.
Kayapó Projects – Eletrobras
The project, which has financial and technical support from Eletrobras and Norte Energia, is being carried out with 32 indigenous communities of the Kayapó ethnic group in the mid-Xingu region, southern Pará. Investments are being made in strengthening the institutional capacity of the indigenous associations executing the projects; in supporting territorial surveillance with satellite monitoring; in sustainable economic activities; in valuing culture; and in supporting infrastructure. Beginning in 2009 and scheduled to end in 2023, R$23.25 million has been invested.
A survey conducted by the project shows that 92% of the Kayapó indigenous lands, through which 31% of the Xingu basin's flow passes, are preserved, in contrast to 50% of the basin's total preservation area.
