ENGIE, the largest private power company in Brazil, operating in power generation, commercialization and transmission, transportation of gas and energy solutions, is reinforcing on World Environment Day its commitment to the conservation of water, diversity of the fauna and flora, and to the reduction of waste and emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere. With a footprint in 22 states, the company currently runs a total of 21 programs for reducing, controlling, and compensating environmental impacts at a total annual investment in excess of R$ 21 million.

With a sustainable growth model, ENGIE is alert to the challenges of the energy transition to a carbon neutral economy. The company’s objective is to ensure that its activities cause the least possible impact on the ecosystems and, whenever possible, maximizing gains for the environment.

Integral to this purpose, the programs operating in different regions of Brazil are adapted according to the characteristics and maturity of each project and the degree of conservation and interaction with the local biome.

“Respect for the Planet as well as for people is a commitment reflected in ENGIE’s non-financial objectives and guiding the company’s corporative strategy beyond economic aspects. The company is committed to conducting socioenvironmental questions in a responsible and proactive manner, working in total compliance with the legislation and executing voluntary initiatives that contribute to sustainable development”, declares Gil Maranhão, Communication and Social Responsibility Director at ENGIE.

Protection to the ecosystem
One of ENGIE’s initiatives is the Biodiversity Matrix Program. Its objective is to manage risks, the impacts, and opportunities for the conservation of the Brazilian biodiversity in the areas of the energy company’s entire generator complex.

On another front, the company runs nine forestry nurseries which provide support for the maintenance of the biomes in the regions where these are located through the production and donation of seedlings of indigenous species. In 2020, more than 360 thousand species were planted or donated.

The company also monitors the fish in the rivers and reservoirs where it operates in addition to the headwater springs close to its projects.

Created in 2010, the Headwater Springs Conservation Program protects headwaters and ensures that water of quality is supplied to the local communities. The project has been instrumental in the preservation of more than 1,300 springs and has benefited more than 1,500 families.

The key environmental aspect at the Jirau Hydroelectric Plant on the Madeira River, state of Rondônia, is water management, the Limnological Monitoring Program tracking the quality of the water in the plant reservoir and its affluents. There is also a specific Sustainable Treatment Plan for pirarucu, one of the world’s largest fresh water fish.

Recently, ENGIE signed up to the Brazilian Waters Program, coordinated by the Ministry for Regional Development. Among other initiatives, it covers the revitalization of hydrographic basins. ENGIE’s Headwaters Recovery project of the Brejo Brásida Community in Sento Sé (BA), in the vicinity of the Umburanas wind project, is among the 26 selected under the Program.

Again in the Northeast, Transportadora Associada de Gás – TAG, a company under the ENGIE Brazil umbrella, also runs a scheme for protecting a threatened species. Last year, the company installed canopy bridges in forest sections of the Mata do Sabão, close to the Catu-Carmópolis Gas Pipeline in the state of Sergipe. The aim is to restore the connectivity of the ecosystem and allow for the natural flow of animals inhabiting the region. Among such species found in the region and benefiting from this action is the
Black Fronted Titi money (Callicebus coimbrai), threatened with extinction and a species included in the National Plan for Conservation of the Primates in the Brazilian Northeast.

Atmospheric emissions

In the energy segment, ENGIE has been working towards reducing its own energy consumption and diversifying its renewables. The company has already announced that it is to cease generating coal-fired thermal energy by 2027. In Brazil, the company has already closed down two thermoelectric power plants and put up the remaining two for sale – Jorge Lacerda and Pampa Sul.

The plants in the ENGIE’s generator complex are equipped with instrumentation and control systems for measuring air, soil, and water quality. All activities for installing, operating and maintenance follow rigorous standards of environmental management. In all, 85% of total plant installed capacity is certified under ISO 9001 and 14001 management standards of quality and the environment.

Recently, the Group announced its global strategy for decarbonization. Among the goals that have been established is to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2045 through the reduction of carbon intensity in generation and in the use of products sold to the clients. One of the goals that has been set is to ramp up generation from renewables worldwide to 50 GW by 2025 and to 80 GW by 2030.

“To achieve the corporate environmental goals and objectives, various performance and compliance indicators are regularly monitored, such as emissions of greenhouse gas, management of water and effluent, waste and management of the fauna and flora. ENGIE has reinforced its intention of adopting an increasingly more virtuous environmental approach towards its operations, focusing on the integrated management of socioenvironmental aspects”, Gil Maranhão concludes.