BRK is present in the lives of thousands of people who, every day, experience the benefits generated by sanitation investments. And that is why our purpose is transforming people's lives, taking sanitation far beyond the basics.
Sanitation has a high ESG impact. Our business produces direct positive effects on the environment, social inclusion and involves the practice of governance to ensure the sustainability of concessions.
BRK's ESG Strategy is structured with a focus on building a resilient business model. We have made progress since 2017 through a robust strategy with well-defined goals and transformative initiatives.
Our ESG Report, first published in 2018, has been prepared in line with the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board). In it, we promote the transparency of our ESG Strategy, initiatives and consistent results.
BRK's efforts to embed ESG principles, criteria and practices into its culture and business
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Over the years, we have increased our investments to improve services and restore rivers, streams and springs, helping to maintain people's health and quality of life. We are also aware that climate change can have direct impacts on our business model, so we are committed to zero net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2040. In order to guarantee the journey to Net Zero, we have established intermediate control targets of 10% reduction by 2025 and 30% by 2030. To achieve these goals, we have established a portfolio of mitigation projects that are divided into four main groups:
1) Efficient sewage treatment plants, with the potential to reduce 90% of emissions;
2) Solar sludge dryers;
3) Secadores solares de lodo;
4) Self-generation of electricity from renewable sources.
In energy efficiency, still in 2019, we established a target of energy consumption from renewable sources of 50% by 2021. Thanks to the implementation of photovoltaic energy self-generation plants and the purchase of renewable energy in the Free Market, we overcame this challenge, reaching 54% of electricity consumption in 2021. We have set a new target of 68% electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2030. In our energy strategy, the ESG Agenda is a journey that motivates and challenges us in our daily lives.
Our water security and loss prevention program allowed us to avoid wasting 21 billion liters of water between 2018 and 2021, a volume enough to supply a city with 380 thousand inhabitants for a year. Our operating model, based on innovative programs for identifying and repairing leaks and renewing/replacing networks, has been reducing water losses annually and, to ensure the effectiveness of this journey, we are committed to a target of 25% of losses by 2030. Our model for mapping the entire supply system in the municipalities we serve, ranging from collection to distribution to customers, allows us to identify risks and weaknesses and subsidizes the prioritization of investments and action plans to offer safe and quality water to the population.
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Supporting the socioeconomic development of the regions in which we operate is a strategic pillar of the company, which operates based on a Private Social Investment Strategy (PSI) to enable the generation of employment and income for the benefit of low-income communities in these locations.
The initiatives are structured based on an assessment of the positive impacts of the actions and the potential of each region. The PSI Strategy is based on the concept of “mobilizing society”, a theme that aims to give new meaning to the sector, encouraging the exercise of citizenship and contributing to sustainable development.
We have a social investment platform with projects replicated nationally in the more than 100 municipalities where we are present. A recent example is “Water Credit”, developed in partnership with the NGO Water.org, to promote micro-credit for low-income families to have a bathroom and connect to the water and sewage network. The project has already impacted more than 3,600 families in 4 states.
The DiversifiK movement promotes diversity and inclusion in our company. It is structured in a collegiate committee, bringing together our leaders and four dedicated working groups: Gender, Race, LGBTQ+ and PWDs. We set clear goals to continue making BRK an even more diverse and inclusive company. Thus, we commit to 40% women in leadership positions by 2024. We promote racial equity through career acceleration programs and set a target of 40% of self-declared blacks or mixed race in leadership positions by 2025.
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Our company is a corporation that adopts the best corporate governance and management practices for the business strategy development. Since 2017, we have promoted an evolution of the structure and processes of corporate governance and compliance with a focus on ensuring and increasing the development of water and basic sanitation infrastructure in Brazil. Ethics and transparency are the basis of the relationship we establish with the financial market and are guaranteed by a solid governance structure, policies and internal control procedures. In 2019, we obtained the registration as a publicly-held company with the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) in category B, which allows access to the investors' market for issuance of securities, but without the open trading of shares or any type of securities that can be converted into these papers. We know that the mechanisms and processes we have adopted make decision-making possible, considering in an integrated way the economic, social and environmental impacts on our business and promoting a modern management vision supported by ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) pillars.
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Discover BRK's ESG reports and stay on top of our strategies, programs and initiatives.
Know moreBRK operates in accordance with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and has a direct relationship with 10 of them. Find below those with which we have direct relationships:
