Sustainability Report 2021
SUMMARY
Presentation
Message from
Management
The Águas do
Brasil Group
Integrity and
Transparency
Fostering
Universal Access
to Sanitation
Water Security
and Climate
Efficient
Water
Our Utility
Companies
About this
Report
GRI
Summary
Corporate
Information
Change
Cycle
GHG management 103-2, 103-3 | 305
Since 2016, the Group has carried out an inventory of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its wastewater treatment
plants located in Rio de Janeiro. The inventory is made following the specifications of the Brazilian GHG Protocol Program,
with the calculation of emissions produced through the GHG Protocol's calculation tool, and also in accordance with the
ISO 14064:2007-1, which details and guides organizations for quantifying and reporting GHG emissions and removals.
Because of the pandemic, in 2020 and 2021, the company performed the inventories only of the five Rio de Janeiro units
that fall into classes 4, 5, and 6 or have a license condition, in line with the provisions of the state resolution. In addition
to the inventories, the documents and information reported were verified by a third-party company, which issued the
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Verification Statement.
GHG emissions inventory*
tCO₂eq emissions
Biogenic tCO₂
Year
Units
Scope 1
Scope 2
Scope 3
Total
2019
5
3,225.511
2020
5
6,552.938
289.235
406.467
3,210.541
410.75
6,725.29
7,370.14
Scope 1
8.38
18.57
Scope 3
Total
30.19
38.57
310.49
329.06
* The gases covered follow the Kyoto Protocol guidelines (CO2, CH4, N2O, SF6, PFCs, and NF3). Scope 1 considers emissions directly
related to the company's operations and activities (direct stationary combustion; direct mobile combustion; fugitive emissions;
liquid effluents). In Scope 2, indirect emissions, considering the purchase, generation, and use of electricity. Scope 3, which
assessment was exclusively carried out at WWTP Icaraí, in Neterói, in 2019 and 2020, covered emissions from transport of waste,
freight, receipt of material, and commuting of employees from home to work. Does not include Zona Oeste Mais Saneamento.
By 2022, the scope of GHG and climate change management, part of the ESG Strategy,
will cover the realization of GHG emissions inventories for all utility companies, fully
covering the operational and administrative units for direct and indirect emissions
(Scopes 1, 2 and 3) regarding 2021.
Attention to biodiversity
103-2, 103-3 304
The Group's efforts in favor of universal sanitation have an
extremely positive impact on the protection of biodiversity,
whether by reversing the degradation of water bodies and
creating better conditions for the preservation of aquatic
life or by protecting and reclaiming the forest cover of
headwaters, springs, and wetlands on which many species
of fauna and flora depend.
Furthermore, in its operations, the Group objectively
analyzes the potential impact, albeit rare, of the main
threats to biodiversity to propose alternatives for
reconciling environmental protection and the provision
of basic sanitation to the population. To this end,
standard procedures are established for each situation.
Control of impacts on biodiversity
In the construction of new plants and units, interventions
are only carried out after authorization from the
environmental agencies, with occasional compensation
for the impacts through initiatives defined in the
environmental licensing processes.
• The monitoring carried out in the effluent treatment
and receiving bodies enable the frequent analysis of the
discharges made to ensure that there are no significant
changes or impacts on the quality of the water bodies.
Emergency generators maintain operation if the power
grid fails, and buffer tanks contain leaks to prevent the
overflow of untreated wastewater into the environment.
There are also awareness campaigns for the population to
avoid the disposal of solid waste in the collection networks.
Sustainability Report 2021
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