We manage the socioeconomic impacts and risks that may affect the communities located in the areas where our activities are carried out through environmental licensing or through the management of social and environmental risks and local Social Responsibility plans.

 

Environmental licensing is a legal obligation, in which we strictly follow all the guidelines and rules for its execution, such as Federal Law 6,938/81, Complementary Law no 140/2011 and CONAMA Resolutions nº 001/86 and no 237/97. The environmental licensing process includes an analysis of the potential socioeconomic impacts in the region, considering the survey of all aspects of the activities and their respective impacts, according to the environmental impact studies and current regulations. For those impacts identified as negative, mitigation, monitoring or compensation measures are developed and implemented, while for positive impacts, actions are defined to enhance them.

 

In addition to the legal obligations of the environmental licensing process, we develop social and environmental risk management processes throughout the life cycle of our businesses.  The main objective of processes for managing social and environmental risks is to prevent negative impacts resulting from the interaction between our activities, society, and the environment. 
 

More detailed information about our socio-environmental risk management processes and environmental licensing can be consulted in our Human Rights and Corporate Citizenship Supplement.

An important concern regarding the communities in the coverage area of our operational units is the interaction between our security forces and the communities. In order to prevent possible conflicts, Corporate Intelligence and Security (ISC) management, in the preparation of its studies and other products, complies with legislation and regulations related to human rights. We always recommend that unit managers involve representatives from the Social Responsibility area in situations that require interaction with the community.

In order to contribute to the internal development of our employees, we offer a cycle of virtual lectures on human rights for the entire Corporate Intelligence and Security workforce, with the participation of specialists from Corporate Intelligence and Security, Compliance, Labor Law and Social Responsibility. The topics addressed were: discrimination, moral and sexual harassment at work, sexual diversity and racial diversity. 

 

Information about the performance of our security forces can be found in our Human Rights and Corporate Citizenship Supplement.

In our Local Social Responsibility Plans, we prioritize the so-called traditional peoples and communities of fishermen, caiçaras, quilombolas, indigenous peoples, riverside communities and terreiro peoples. The identification of traditional communities and peoples covered in this section considers the legally established concepts. This scope was anchored in the identification established in Decree 6040/2007, which institutes the National Policy for the Sustainable Development of Traditional Peoples and Communities.

 

The relationship with indigenous peoples and traditional communities takes place both through mandatory actions arising from environmental licensing constraints (such as the Environmental Education Project, Characterization Project for Traditional Territories, and compensation projects for fishing activities), and through actions of a voluntary activities such as corporate social responsibility projects and socio-environmental investments. 

 

Information about our approach to traditional communities can be found in our Human Rights and Corporate Citizenship Supplement
 

We provide direct contact channels to register claims and complaints, such as 0800 728 9001 (Customer Service) and an institutional e-mail directed to the social responsibility teams that serve the Business Units. Regarding claims and complaints from the communities present in the coverage area, the records are made via Customer Service and through the Ombudsman’s Office. We provide assistance through toll-free phones with 24-hour service coverage, seven days a week, through contact channels widely disseminated in the communities where we operate. 

 

This information is categorized by unit and by topic and is monitored by the SAC Panel. In 2022, 1,380 requests were received through this channel. We emphasize that we address 100% of complaints. 

 

In 2022, our Ombudsman’s Office received 397 statements from local communities. Of this total, 58 were reports (12 confirmed, 20 unconfirmed, 14 dismissed and 12 pending); 166 were complaints (116 completed, 49 archived and 1 in progress); 146 were requests (112 completed, 33 dismissed and 1 in progress); in addition to 27 suggestions, opinions, and compliments. These reports included invasion or irregular occupation of Petrobras areas, impacts on the health of the community surrounding the facilities, and environmental impacts and irregularities in projects maintained by the company. The other statements were regarding the gas cylinder donation program, requests for sponsorships and donations, land issues, pipelines, and installations.

 

We seek to respond and deal with recurring requests from communities through actions planned in the social responsibility plans of the business units. In addition, we present and discuss these issues through community committees, which take place in our operating units. We also develop several voluntary socio-environmental projects with the objective of responding to the recurring demands of the communities in the territories where we operate.  These projects are presented below in the topic Socio-environmental investments and sponsorships.

We also develop several socio-environmental projects and sponsorships, with the aim of responding to the demands of communities in the territories where we operate, achieving positive socio-environmental transformations, consolidating the relationship with our stakeholders, and strengthening our reputation. 

The distribution and development of socio-environmental investments and in cultural, sports, and business, science and technology sponsorship over the past three years can be seen in the graph below.

 

SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL SPONSORSHIP INVESTMENTS AND IN CULTURE, SPORTS, AND BUSINESS, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (millions BRL)

*DES = Sustainable economic development

**NCT = Business, science and technology

 

  Of this total investment, BRL 47.4 million were invested via the tax incentive law.

In addition to our socio-environmental investments and sponsorship projects, to increase our contribution to society, in 2022 we made several donations to help families in socially vulnerable situations through the donation of BRL 263 million that contributed to the purchase of cooking gas, accompanied when possible by the delivery of food items. 

In addition, we donated BRL 9 million for emergency actions to support the acquisition of inputs and the recovery of locations affected by floods in the states of Bahia, Minas Gerais, Pernambuco, and the municipality of Petrópolis-RJ. With this, we reached the BRL 272.4 million in donations during 2022

The current priorities of the Program are Education, Sustainable Economic Development, and Ocean and Forests. They all use the recurring demands of the territories where we operate, the strategy of transition to a low-carbon economy and offshore operations as drivers. This is how we prioritize our contribution to four Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): (4) Quality Education, (8) Decent Work and Economic Growth; (14) Life below Water and (15) Life on Land. Early childhood, innovation and human rights are among the cross-cutting themes to be considered in all projects that make up the portfolio of socio-environmental projects that we support.

 

Public selections and the contracting process for projects from new civil society organizations are periodically part of our strategy to strengthen non-profit institutions, provide new institutions with access to company resources, and carry out customized projects to meet the demands of the territories along with business challenges.  

 

In 2023, we launched the largest public selection process in the history of Petrobras' socio-environmental investments. The selection process will be divided into two stages and, in total, BRL 432 million will be invested in more than 50 projects. In the first stage of selection, which began in February, the company will invest in socio-environmental initiatives in the North, Northeast, Midwest and South regions, and the estimate is to contract more than 20 projects that will develop their activities for a period of three years.

 

Our socio-environmental projects have targets and indicators established at contracting, which allow periodic performance evaluation. We highlight some of these results below:
 

 

Information on our socio-environmental projects and their results can be found in our Human Rights and Corporate Citizenship Supplement.

In 2022, we were also present in society through our sponsorships. We work with the current portfolio of projects and new projects were carried out in the cultural, sports and business, science, and technology segments. Sponsorships are selected using the “direct choice” or “public selection” modalities. Each and every sponsorship opportunity undergoes an internal analysis, based on predefined criteria, in order to guarantee the transparency and compliance of the decision.   

Among the projects of various sizes and in different cities carried out during the year, we highlight the calls for public tender “Call for Petrobras Multiple Cultural Expressions” and sponsorships for the Petrobras Symphony Orchestra, the Petrobras Team, the Supertech web series on the Manual do Mundo digital channel, our participation at the events Rio Oil & Gas, in Rio de Janeiro, and Ceraweek, and Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), in Houston.  

 

In the cultural sphere, sponsorships are related to innovative Brazilian projects that are innovative, with potential for return, and alignment with our brand strategy. The sponsored cultural projects focus on music, performing arts, audiovisual and multiple expressions. The public selection process added 15 new projects, aimed at valuing the Brazilian culture in museums and cultural spaces in 10 Brazilian states.

 

In sports sponsorships, the highlight was the continued support for the training of Olympic sports athletes who form the so-called Petrobras Team and will represent Brazil at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024. 

Sponsorships for business, science and technology events intensify relationships with partners, investors, customers, and the academic and scientific community, among others. We sponsor several initiatives that arouse curiosity and promote experimentation and conversations on topics related to innovation and the changing world. 

 

Information about our cultural, sports and business, science and technology sponsorships can be found in our Human Rights and Corporate Citizenship Supplement.