Over 13,000 people from 178 communities in Baixo Sul, Bahia, directly or indirectly benefited from the operations of the Norberto Odebrecht Foundation and partner institutions last year. This is one of the indicators released today (6) in the Foundation’s 2020 Annual Report, which demonstrates the achievements in promoting sustainable territorial development in regions of social vulnerability.

The document presents the results obtained by PDCIS, the Foundation’s Social Program, articulated on six fronts: education for sustainable development; economic development; environmental conservation; innovation and technology; citizenship and governance; and social cohesion and mobilization, which, in an integrated and synergistic way, reflect an action in ESG – Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance and aim to contribute to the United Nations 2030 agenda to fight poverty and inequality.

Available in a digital and interactive version, the publication also highlights the Foundation’s strategy to extend this social technology, with well-documented impacts, to other regions. “The expansion of PDCIS has always been a desire of our founder, Norberto Odebrecht. While maintaining  our essence, we are working so that more regions can benefit from the results of our social program”, says Fabio Wanderley, Superintendent of the Foundation.

Learn more about the Norberto Odebrecht Foundation’s 2020 Annual Report here.

Results

Last year, the Social Program accumulated substantial results, even facing the difficulties imposed by the pandemic, thanks to the desire of the assisted communities, the performance of the Civil Society Organizations, and the engagement of several social investors who believe in the transforming potential of the program. In strengthening education, for example, 349 young people graduated from high school courses integrated with technical courses in agribusiness, forestry, and agriculture and farming. In promoting environmental conservation, the program encouraged the recovery of 56 springs on rural properties, as well as contributing to the planting of 70,000 trees, among other results.

On the economic development front, 388 Educational-Productive Projects were implemented (PEPs) by students from the region, an initiative that enables practical learning on food production and the increase of income on their rural properties. “These results exemplify the scope and capacity of our social program”, comments Cristiane Nascimento, responsible for Sustainability, Partnerships and Communication at the Foundation. “By integrating education with agricultural production and environmental concern, we cooperate with the sustainable development of the regions where we operate, benefiting the students, their families and communities”, she adds.

The report also presents the management practices adopted by the Foundation in the coordination of PDCIS, such as: mobilization of resources, accountability to social investors, planning, monitoring, and evaluation of the goals of partner institutions. “Not only do we transfer technology, but we also support our partners so that committed social management is carried out. This reinforces credibility, transparency and responsibility with social investors”, says Ernesto Gonzalez, responsible for Organization and Governance at the Foundation.

Reapplication

The planning to start expanding the Foundation’s work to other regions beyond Baixo Sul, Bahia, is being developed after the conclusion, in 2020, of the systematization of its social technology. The construction of the document, entitled ‘How to Implement PDCIS’, required the analysis of more than 300 documents and the conduct of more than 60 hours of interviews, as well as the participation of almost 20 professionals.

The publication was made available as an interactive PDF document and was the first step to enable the reapplication, from 2021 onwards, of the PDCIS model in other regions marked by social vulnerabilities, as it brought together the important concepts that are in the conception of the program and their respective practices in a step-by-step format.

The year of 2020 also marked the centennial celebrations of the institution’s founder, Norberto Odebrecht, with a special campaign that mobilized all the members of Novonor Group.