Affiliations and commitments
As an environmentally and socially responsible company, FURNAS has signed countless pacts and commitments to promote citizenship and human development over the years.
Equity is a priority
The movement aims to establish clear goals for companies that are part of the Global Compact Brazil Network to increase the number of women in senior leadership positions. FURNAS is one of the 23 companies engaged in this cause, its goal is to occupy, by 2025, 30% of these positions.
Commitment to Climate Change Efforts
FURNAS publicly accepted the Eletrobras Declaration of Climate Change Commitment. The document is a formal commitment to achieving managerial excellence and implementing a unified strategy across the Group's companies, in order to minimize or offset emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) produced by its businesses.
FURNAS instituted GHG reduction targets in 2013. The company plans to reduce emissions by 0.3% each year by 2021, in line with the target proposed by Eletrobras.
The company also participates in climate change debates as part of the Companies for Climate (EPC) initiative, which led to the creation of a task force (FT1) to address the issue. After intense task force (FT2) discussions in 2016 , FURNAS started to incorporate the emissions and removals arising from changes to land use into its inventory.
Throughout 2017, FURNAS prepared the first Carbon Footprint Project in the Eletrobras system, albeit a pilot project. The initiative was deployed on the Xavantes - Pyrenees 230 kV Transmission Line (LT) to map the environmental impacts of GHG emissions. The project includes everything from the sourcing stage up to the deployment stage, identifying risk management improvement opportunities and mitigating the impact from raw materials and supplies.
Eletrobras Declaration of Commitment to Climate Change Efforts
SDG
In September 2015, heads of state and government and UN representatives met to define the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The initiative is a joint global effort with the ultimate goal of eradicating poverty and promoting a decent life for everyone, within the limits of the what the planet can support. This resulted in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Since then, FURNAS has been a signatory of the UN Develop Program global compact.
As one of the biggest companies in the country, FURNAS proactively participates in sustainable development initiatives. Through partnerships with local institutions, FURNAS has built a sustainable development action plan by supporting initiatives defined by the community. The company supports projects aligned with the SDGs and the new UN 2030 agenda with 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
For more information on the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda, acess the projet website.
Guidelines for implementing SDGs
Gender and Race Equality Committee
FURNAS supports activities that promote gender, race and diversity equality, aligned with government commitments and corporate indicators. The company organizes internal and external actions that foster debate about a fairer and more equal society. Coordinated by the Sociocultural Responsibility Department (GRS.P) and made up of members from all FURNAS Departments, the Gender and Race Equality Committee has been the main driver for these actions.
Since 2007, FURNAS has been one of the Brazilian companies that have been awarded the Pro-Gender and Race Equality Seal every year by the Presidency of the Republic's Secretariat of Women's Policies. In 2016, it won the WEPs Brazil silver award in the Large Companies category.
Campaign Against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents
FURNAS has been a member the campaign organized by the Brazilian Association Terra dos Homens and the National Committee to Combat Sexual Violence against Children and Adolescents, supported by the Office of Human Rights of the Presidency of the Republic (SDH/RP), since 2010. This is a way for the company to combat this serious global problem.
Since 2010, the company has also participated in the Mão Certa Program, which aims to mobilize governments, companies and organizations to more effectively address sexual exploitation of children and adolescents on Brazilian highways. The initiative is coordinated by Childhood Brazil, which was set up in 1999 as the Brazilian branch of the World Childhood Foundation, created by Queen Silvia of Sweden. In 2016, the institution granted FURNAS the Certificate for Combating Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. This certification recognizes companies participating in the Business Pact against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents on Brazilian Highways, which FURNAS has supported since 2010.
GHG Protocol
FURNAS is a founding member of the Brazilian GHG Protocol Program, first created in 2008. The program is a tool developed by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the World Resources Institute (WRI), to measure and manage a company’s GHG emissions using an internationally-accepted methodology. This information is currently required by the corporate sustainability indices in the domestic (ISE Bovespa) and international (Dow Jones Sustainability Index) markets.
In 2017, the FURNAS inventory received the Gold Seal, awarded to corporations that have complete studies of GHG emissions verified by organizations accredited by Inmetro, for the fifth consecutive year. The company is also one of the pioneers of the Emissions Trading System (SCE), established by the Center for Sustainability Studies of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (GVCes), which simulates carbon emissions trading.
Child Friendly Company Program
FURNAS received the Child Friendly Company seal from the Abrinq Foundation in 2016 for its engagement in initiatives aimed at eradicating child labor and promoting the rights of children and adolescents. The seal acknowledges companies that take steps to promote the rights of children and adolescents.
The company also regularly launches an updated digital version of the The Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA). Created by Law nº 8.069, the document details the basic guidelines for the Child and Adolescent Care Policy. FURNAS is also part of a group coordinated by the Ministry of Human Rights, which prepared the Protocol of Actions for the Protection of Children and Adolescents in the Context of Children and Adolescents.
Global Compact
The Global Compact was developed by former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan and sets out 10 principles. The objective is to mobilize the international business community to adopt fundamental and internationally accepted values on human rights, labor relations, environmental and the fight against corruption.
FURNAS joined the Global Compact in 2003. The company is a member of the Global Compact's Working Group on Human Rights and Labor, which creates and improves tools and guidelines to help companies develop mechanisms to respect and value human rights. Since then, the company has been an active member and annually renews its commitment by releasing a statement from the company's CEO and publishing Sustainability Reports on the Pact's website as a Communication on Progress Report.
FURNAS commitment to the Global Pact
Women's Empowerment Principle
Created by UN Women and the Global Compact, the seven principles of Women's Empowerment help the business community incorporate values and practices aimed at gender equity and increasing women's empowerment in business. FURNAS has supported these principles since August 2011.
In 2014, FURNAS received the WEPs Brazil Award for corporations that promote gender equality in their businesses and in the communities where they operate, based on the seven principles of Women's Empowerment. The award carries the seal of the UN Global Compact and UN Women. In 2016, FURNAS won silver in the Large-Scale Company category. Also in 2016, the Real Grandeza Foundation of FURNAS and Eletronuclear employees received bronze in the Medium-sized Companies category.
Eradication of Child Labor
FURNAS works in partnership with public agencies and civil society organizations to raise awareness about the rights of children and adolescents. In addition to developing a series of actions and participating in related events, the company is a member of the Network of Companies for Learning and Eradication of Child Labor. The Network is the result of a partnership with the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MET), supported by Unicef, the Roberto Marinho Foundation and CIEE. The goal is to demonstrate the companies’ engagement with the cause by releasing a public statement to promote this agenda, introducing the benefits, challenges and possibilities of implementing professional learning programs and policies to eradicate child labor.
ISO 26000
FURNAS was part of the Brazilian delegation formed by Brazilian and Swedish experts who drafted ISO 2600. The standard is not a certificate, but offers guidelines for organizations one how to improve their social responsibility performance. It was created to provide guidance to companies of different sizes in different sectors that want to incorporate social responsibility principles into their decision-making processes, in order to assess the positive and negative impacts of their actions. In addition to FURNAS, the delegation included representatives from over 90 countries and 40 international and regional organizations.
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) was created in 1946 and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Its members include standards organizations from about 160 countries and it is a world leader standards development.