The sustainability strategy of Port of Açu is adherent to the UN SDGs, IFC Performance Standards and designed to ensure alignment with the overall business strategy. It is focused on maximizing positive externalities and mitigating negative impacts through legal compliance and private investment in tailor made projects that bond environmental conservation efforts and the surrounding communities, ensuring long-term shared value and strategic engagement with stakeholders.
On the environmental front, Port of Açu has two challenging characteristics, (i) it is located on a priority nesting area for sea turtles and (ii) it is surrounded by a “restinga” ecosystem with sensitive and protected flora and fauna species. On the social front, socioeconomic mapping and strategic dialogue projects guided corporate social responsibility efforts towards education and community outreach. To tackle these challenges with a comprehensive approach, the Company developed the “Port of Açu Conservation Project: Conservation Hand in Hand with Communities”. The project sets three pillars designed to sustain and promote community engagement and shared value: (i) Sea Turtle Monitoring, (ii) Caruara Private Nature Reserve and (iii) Community Engagement Through Environmental Education.
The Conservation Project has the potential to shape not only the local environment in which the Port and communities are located, but also to transform the Port-City dialogue through virtuous synergy for the conservation agenda. The project presents the major environmental challenges to the communities, producing a hand in hand task force to address these issues in a collaborative way, supporting community outreach and dialogue in the process. By tackling these local environmental challenges with the communities, the port may broaden local perceptions of global environmental issues, tying local efforts and global goals.