Our engagement with local communities occurs through public hearings and social communication programs, established throughout the environmental licensing processes and through our community relations process.

 

As part of the environmental licensing process for new developments, the environmental agency requests social participation in a consultative manner with a view to analyzing the issue of the license. Social participation takes place through public hearings that we hold with the participation of several bodies and communities within the areas of influence of the enterprise or activity. 

 

In these meetings, based on the disclosure of the environmental study, all sectors of society can express their doubts and, mainly, make proposals to be incorporated into the environmental licensing process, in order to mitigate and compensate for negative impacts and maximize positive ones.

 

In 2023 we had six public hearings held, as shown below:

 

 

Community relationship is developed continuously in communities located within the coverage area of our operational units and are guided by a corporate standard that establishes methodology and recommends specific community relationship actions, which are included in periodically reviewed and monitored local social responsibility plans. One of the main actions established in the community relationship plans are the community committees, present in 14 business units.

Our operations can bring risks (potential impacts), mainly to artisanal fishing and tourism in the event of a spill accident related to offshore oil and gas exploration activities; injuries in the event of accidents during operational activities; disruptions due to the migration of labor in large investment projects or major turnarounds. 

 

In terms of real impacts, the following stand out: the fishing exclusion area defined by the Navy around platforms in offshore oil and gas exploration activities; disturbances resulting from noise, vibration, high flare, or particulate emissions in refining activities; the pressure on traffic in general when moving people and cargo; and the unmet expectation of job and income generation.

 
To prevent and mitigate the risks and negative impacts of our activities and to enhance the positive impacts on local communities, we develop environmental licensing processes, community relationship actions and social and environmental risk management throughout the business life cycle

 

More information about our social and environmental risks and impacts assessment can be found in the Human Rights ans Corporate Citizenship 2023 Supplement.

In our Local Social Responsibility Plans, we prioritize the denominated 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 communities prioritized in Brazil are shown in the following figure:

 

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

 

More information about our relationship actions with indigenous peoples and traditional communities can be found in the Human Rights ans Corporate Citizenship 2023 Supplement.

We develop several corporate citizenship practices, with the aim of responding to the demands of communities in the territories where we operate, achieving positive socio-environmental transformations, contributing to a fair energy transition, protect the environment, through the promotion of conservation, restoration, and biodiversity gains actions and also, consolidate the relationship with our stakeholders and strengthen our reputation. These actions can occur through socio-environmental investments and sponsorships, donations, and volunteering actions. 

 

 

 

VOLUNTARY SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENTS

 

Our voluntary socio-environmental investment, structured within the scope of the Petrobras Socioenvironmental Program, is aligned with the 2024-2028+ Strategic Plan and contributes to the sustainability of our business. Through the program, we develop socio-environmental solutions on topics relevant to the oil and gas industry in the territories where we operate.

Socio-environmental investment planning is structured based on the analysis of the results of socioeconomic diagnoses of the territories, mapped social risks, social and environmental themes relevant to the business, community demands, in addition to evaluating the portfolio of current and completed projects in the period. Based on this information, we identify gaps and opportunities for the composition of our project portfolio, prioritizing the carrying out of periodic public selections or the analysis of projects from our proposal bank.

 

The lines of action of the Petrobras Socio-environmental Program are: Education, Sustainable Economic Development, Ocean, and Forests.

 

Autonomy and Income Program

 

The Autonomy and Income Program focuses on professional training for people in socially vulnerable situations to work in the energy sector. Aimed at residents of cities within the area covered by Petrobras' operations, the Program will prioritize unemployed people and minority groups, such as women, Black and brown people, LGBTQIAPN+ people, people with disabilities and refugees.

 

 

In addition to training in technical careers and initial and continuing education (FIC), participants will have access to actions to develop socio-emotional and personal skills (soft skills), in addition to receiving a stipend during the period in which they are taking the courses. Participating women who have children up to 11 years of age will receive a stipend with an added amount.

 

The Program is aligned with 2024-2028+ Strategic Plan, which includes among its ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Drivers that the company aims to “Be a driver of socio-environmental development”. The training will be carried out in partnership with Sistema S and Federal Institutes of Education, Science and Technology, with resources from Petrobras in the order of BRL 350 million to be disbursed over four year.

 

More information about our socio-environmental investments can be found in the Human Rights and Corporate Citizenship 2023 Supplement.

In 2023, in addition to the current portfolio, we selected new sponsorships in the cultural, sports and business, science and technology segments. Sponsorship selection is carried out through the “direct choice” or “public selection” modalities. The public selection of projects corresponds to a broad and transparent process, with its own regulations, predefined criteria, national disclosure, and collegiate selection committees for choosing projects to be developed.

 

In direct selection, projects are forwarded directly to us using a dedicated system for managing sponsorships, and must meet analysis and suitability criteria for contracting, as well as relevance for achieving the company's goals. Sponsored projects follow lines of action focused on music, performing arts, audiovisual and multiple expressions, improving the company’s reputation and aligned with our brand strategy.

 

Among the various projects carried out during the year, we highlight the sponsorships of the Petrobras Orchestra, Petrobras Team, São Paulo Film Festival, Galpão Group, Pernambuco Book Biennial, Psica Festival in Belém, Porto Alegre Book Fair, Focus Cia de Dança, Vitória Film and Festival, Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro, Team Petrobras at the Olympics, Offshore Technology Conference, CERAWeek, World Petroleum Congress, and Web Summit Rio. 

In addition to investment in socio-environmental projects and sponsorships, we also make donations with the aim of contributing to society with actions that help solve social and/or environmental problems and that involve opportunities to work with our stakeholders. In 2023, we donated BRL 1,6 million, with the main donation made for emergency actions for families affected by the heavy rains that occurred that year in São Paulo. The families covered were selected through a diagnosis conducted by a non-profit institution. 

We also carried 82 volunteering actions throughout 2023, in which over 4,000 hours of volunteer work were performed. Among them, we highlight the actions for the homeless population in downtown Rio de Janeiro. The work that has been carried out since 2021 aims to positively contribute to the improvement of living conditions around our office buildings, through the engagement of our workforce. In 2023, more than 100 volunteers participated in face-to-face actions between the months of June and October.

 

More information about our volunteering program can be found in the Human Rights and Corporate Citizenship 2023 Supplement.

We widely publicize  our contact channels to the communities present in our areas of coverage. Reports and complaints can be made through the channels of our General Ombudsman's Office, community committees and Customer Service  (Contact Us 0800), which provides assistance via 24-7 toll-free lines. 

In 2023, 129 requests were received through the SAC on community issues, which were monitored by the Social Responsibility area. This information is categorized by unit and theme and is monitored by a specific panel. 

 

In 2023, our General Ombudsman's Office received 268 manifestations from local communities of the Petrobras parent company. Of this total 74 were reports (16 confirmed, 38 unconfirmed, 10 archived and 10 under treatment); 102 were complaints (34 answered, 39 not answered, 26 archived and 3 in progress); 74 were requests (37 answered, 20 not answered, 14 archived and 3 in treatment); in addition to 18 suggestions, opinions, and compliments (14 responded to, 3 archived and 1 under treatment). These complaints include reports of invasion or irregular occupation of Petrobras areas.; alleged environmental impacts and irregularities in the conduct of projects maintained by the company. 

 

Specifically in relation to Indigenous communities or traditional peoples (artisanal fishermen, Quilombolas, shellfish gatherers, among others), in 2023, we received 12 calls to our General Ombudsman. There were four complaints about alleged irregularities involving projects maintained by the company and one about oil contamination in a river located in a permanent preservation area, in the village of Biriba in Araçás-BA. Of these, two were unconfirmed and three are undergoing assessment. In addition to these complaints, there was also a request regarding the operation of a social project in a fishing region, which was met.

 

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 to that, we present and discuss these issues through community committees, which gather at our operating units. We also respond to the demands of the communities in the territories where we operate through mandatory actions arising from environmental licensing conditions (such as the Environmental Education Project and Compensation Projects for Fishing Activities), as well as through voluntary actions such as the corporate social responsibility and socio-environmental investments.