Itaipu interacts directly and indirectly with various stakeholders and in different ways, depending on the level of relationship and specific needs of each stakeholder group. There is no formal process in place to carry out engagement, although the company adopts specific practices according to the activity and/or action.
Itaipu’s main communication tools with its stakeholders are the Ombudsman and the Contact Us, corporate website and social networks (Twitter, Facebook), as well as media relations and internal communication tools such as Itaipu Electronic Journal (JIE) and Itaipu Panel Journal (JIM).
The main objective is to get knowledge of the demands and realities of the different partners (such as civil society, local communities, suppliers, employees, power sector) to guide corporate management strategy, as well as regular monitoring of contractual arrangements.
In the 2015 fiscal year, the result of this process can be exemplified by the strengthening and legitimacy of the company’s relationships with its group of suppliers via the [+] Sustainable Procurement Program and Supplier Development Program. This achievement is also reflected in the relations of Itaipu with the regional community through programs, actions and projects developed.
The [+] Itaipu Corporate Volunteer Program – Volunteer Force is another case. All activities involve engagement processes with the community through civil society organizations and public institutions. An example was the realization of free classroom training for managers of 30 social institutions in Foz do Iguaçu as a way to strengthen and professionalize the Third Sector performance. A survey conducted earlier with entities identified key demands, which were addressed in the training that took place throughout the year, with more than 300-hour workload, including: financial management, legal matters, fundraising, development projects and volunteer management.
Internally, the Sustainability Management System is a communication tool that enables binational consolidation of Itaipu’s sustainability values, training and dissemination of sustainability culture. Eventually there are "Sustainable Dialogue” talks are held, in which employees and guests discuss about environmental, social and economic aspects of all business actions and relationships with stakeholders.
Itaipu, through the [+] Cultivating Good Water program, takes actions in the region of the Paraná Watershed 3 (BP3) voluntarily, with all its phases (planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation) conducted in a participatory manner in an ongoing basis. The management with political, economic and social actors involves articulation and co-responsibility, which creates the necessary commitment to the sustainability of the initiative, thus allowing the collective construction. Thus, the commitment to the implementation of actions, involvement, commitment and effective participation are strengthened because they have direct relation to the performance of the individual in the discussions, decisions and practices.
There are 38 management committees, including 29 local management committees established legally and 9 program management committees, all composed of government agencies, community leaders, businesses, universities and representatives of the binational, totaling more than 2,100 partner organizations.
In Cultivating Good Water meetings, annual celebrations of the program characterized by being moments of socialization, training and sharing among the various social actors, local leaders, partners, public administrators, students, guests and stakeholders, the program is evaluated, in addition to setting new step.The preparation of these major events is made with pre-meetings held in the 29 municipalities hosting the thematic workshops, in which partners and program participants assess the actions taken during the year, the difficulties and advances, and plan actions to be taken in the future.
The program also has a “Contact Us” section at in the [+] web site, which receives external demands and questions.
The environmental compliance projects are carried out in each watershed, based on detailed technical diagnosis:
- Awareness: Itaipu team meetings with authorities, leaders and owners of properties where there are rivers, streams and springs that need to be recovered or preserved.
- Future Workshops: with application of Paulo Freire’s methodology, they aim to bring together the entire community to make the commitment of watershed residents to the environment in which and from which they live. There are three stages: Wall of Lamentations, which is to identify the conduct causing damage to the environment and the problems that need to be resolved; b) Tree of Hope, in which the community's aspirations are raised; and c) Way Forward, step in which the community defines the corrective actions to the problems identified and is committed to take a new approach, based on the ethics of care. So far, 250 workshops involving 40 thousand people have been held.
- Water Pact: Time for celebration of the care with the water, where the community symbolically signs the “Water Pact Charter”, a document generated from the Future Workshops, in which the community reveals their problems, dreams and the steps to be taken from that time to ensure the sustainability of Agenda 21. So far, 59 pacts have been signed.
