Environmental Performance

 

One of Triunfo´s values is respect for the environment. Triunfo continuously dedicates itself to ensuring that this commitment is present in all of its business activities and that its activities create minimum impacts on the environment. Aligned to this organizational value, Triunfo´s companies have developed a series of environmental projects, involving reuse of water, management of greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity protection, use of solar energy, and management and recycling of solid waste. To complete its environmental project the company owns a total of 20.9km2 of protected areas. To take care of this land and make advances using ecologically efficient processes is a permanent challenge for the company.

At present there are various environmental programs being realized by Triunfo´s companies, with very significant results. Concepa and Portonave made major advances in the management of greenhouse gas emissions. In the area of biodiversity protection, Rio Verde conducted an important study, monitoring fish species in the watershed where it operates in Goiás. In the energy generation segment Triunfo owns two hydroelectric plants Rio Verde and Rio Canoas providing renewable energy, which forms the basis of the Brazilian energy matrix. There are also existing projects involving solar energy on the highways operated by Concepa and Concer and at the new passenger terminal at Viracopos Airport.

As well as the segmented projects, a priority in Triunfo´s environmental management process is the preservation of natural resources. Three of its businesses cabotage, ports and hydroelectrics deal with one of the planet´s most important natural resources: water. For this reason, the company is directly committed to act in a way which ensures conscientious use of this resource. Portonave, for example, provides a work of reference with its treatment of effluent and reuse of water.

Constant monitoring of processes and measurement of their results is fundamental to guarantee the best possible practices and the development of the system of management. This is why one of Triunfo´s goals is to incentivize its companies to obtain the certification ISO 14001 (a set of international standards related to environmental management). So far, Concepa, Econorte and Portonave are already certified.

Here are some of the main environmental actions realized by Triunfo´s companies in 2012:

Concepa

In 2012, Concepa elaborated its Waste Management Program, which defines the practices of administration and sorting of waste, and the treatment of effluent. The programs for reducing natural resource consumption, implemented by Concepa in the previous year had their results evaluated in 2012. This is the case with the installation of collection points for batteries and light bulbs in all workplaces; promotion of tree planting along the highway; periodic awareness-raising training, ministered by employees or contractors; and weekly analysis of vehicle fumes from all diesel vehicles, whether directly owned or belonging to suppliers or contractors. GRI EN26; EN29  

The company also elaborated a procedure for protecting the environment from the risk of spillages, which provides orientations for incidents involving oil, fuel and various chemical products. Periodic training is provided to teams of staff and emergency kits made available in the vehicles which attend to the highway. In the case of large scale accidents, a company specialized in containing and mitigating environmental impacts is called in.

To preserve biodiversity during the work of duplicating an eight kilometer stretch of the highway BR-116, between the municipalities of Eldorado do Sul and Guaíba, a study of local fauna was conducted. In the meantime, new culverts were constructed for streams to flow through and to allow small animals to pass through. Fences were also built along some stretches of the highway to prevent access to the road for large animals which could cause accidents or get run over.

Concer

Concer is carrying out the Animal Pathways Project (Projeto Caminhos da Fauna), aimed at reducing the number of accidents involving wild animals which inhabit the Atlantic Rainforest alongside the highway BR-040, principally in the mountain area around Petrópolis.

Econorte

Econorte manages its consumption of water and electricity and operates a system of selective rubbish collection, appropriately disposing of light bulbs, batteries, paper, personal protective equipment (PPE), chemicals and electronic waste. It also carries out the removal of refuse dumped along the highway and cleaning of drainage channels.

In the case of spillages involving toxic substances, Econorte has an action plan to avoid accidents, involving appropriate bodies (such as the Civil Defense and Fire Service) and the employees present in the area (inspectors, tow truck drivers and first responders). The area is immediately isolated in accordance with the rules defined in the Hazardous Products Manual of the Brazilian Association of the Chemical Industry (Abiquim). As a safety measure, kits to restrict contamination by hazardous products are distributed at strategic points along the highway. GRI EN26 

Maestra

So as to prevent possible environmental impacts caused by the operations of mooring and undocking of ships, Maestra has procedures and analyses to identify potential risks and propose preventative actions. Simulation training programs are carried out periodically to deal with situations involving potential contamination of the environment and other possible emergency situations relevant to the activities of cabotage.

Maestra provides a management plan for ballast water on all its ships, describing the necessary precautionary measures to avoid contamination. All of its ships possess the International Certificate for the Prevention of Oil Pollution to meet the requirements of Marpol 73/78, the most important international standard for the prevention of marine pollution. GRI EN26 

By virtue of the rigor with which these precautions are implemented there have been no registered occurrences with environmental impacts in the history of the company. GRI EN29

Portonave

Fuel or hazardous substance leaks are the most significant of the possible environmental impacts related to handling of cargo at Portonave. Occurrences are raised periodically and discussed by the company and preventative actions include the checking of safety items for the transport of hazardous cargos and also of signage and lighting in the handling areas. To prepare the team, there is an operational training for handling of IMO cargo (dangerous goods, as classified by the International Maritime Organization), segregation of IMO containers and routine simulations of a team response to environmental emergency situations. GRI EN29 

 

Brazil Viracopos Airports

As a result of the activities involved in the airports sector, the principle environmental impacts are the generation of waste and the alteration of soil and water quality. Surveys and improvement plans, which aim to minimize and mitigate these impacts are due in the next year, taking into consideration that the concessionaire only assumed the administration of Viracopos at the end of 2012. The formal System of Environmental Management, based on the ISO 14001 standard, should also be implanted in 2013. At present, the concessionaire has a Plan of Solid Waste and Effluent Management, already revised and implemented, which determines the correct destination of used oil, batteries and tires. GRI EN29 

Water

Triunfo pays special attention to the treatment of its water resources. The fact that one of the sectors in which it operates is energy, via hydroelectric generation, and it also owns assets in both the ports and cabotage sectors, explains this priority. As well as taking care not to pollute, the company also promotes projects of water reuse at its companies, including Portonave, and shortly at Viracopos Airport. The overall use of groundwater increased from 107,323.89 m3 (in 2011) to 112,505.57m3 (in 2012). The use of municipal water supplies also increased over this period, from 35,896 m3 to 68,764 m3. GRI EN8 

 


In 2012, there was an increase in water consumption by Concepa, due to the increase in traffic on the highway and at Portonave, due to the increase in thequantity of equipment in operation at the terminal and in the number of staff. However, the port terminal does possess a system for reutilization of water in themachinery and equipment washing area. The management is realized through monthly accounting of consumption by each sector. With this constant control it ispossible to make immediate corrections or alterations. In 2012, Portonave installed a range of water consumption meters and launched an awareness campaignaimed at incentivizing conscientious consumption amongst its employees.

Reusing Water

In 2012, Portonave increased by 30% the volume of water treated and reused. The reuse occurs within the machine and equipment washing system itself, the amount of reused water increased from 225.75 m3, in the previous year to 322.50 m3 in 2012. The washing area uses a cycle of 20,000 liters of potable (tap) water coming from the public mains supply. After use, this entire volume is treated and reutilized in up to five continuous washing cycles, and only after this is the water gradually discharged according to its level of salinity. GRI EN8; EN10 

Maestra increased its shipping fleet to four vessels, resulting in increased water consumption by the company. To try to reduce this consumption, the ships contain equipment to extract and treat seawater for use on board the ship. GRI EN10 

Viracopos Airport will have a new passenger terminal and garage building, currently under construction, modernized and with larger capacity than at present. To mitigate the environmental impact caused by this expansion, the company plans to install water recovery systems.

The reuse of water will be achieved by capturing water from the roofs of the new buildings, aircraft taxiing areas, condensation from air-conditioning systems and from treated sanitary effluent. The reclaimed water will be used for flushing toilets and in the cooling tower for the air-conditioning system. There is also a viability study for the use of this reclaimed water for combating possible fires and irrigation of green areas.

 

Energy

In Triunfo´s businesses, electricity is used for various purposes: highways (illumination of roads, service buildings and toll booths), ports (equipment), hydroelectric plants (illumination of control centers), the airport (office and lighting for operations center) and in Triunfo´s other offices.

As a consequence of Triunfo´s significant growth in 2012, there was also an increase in energy consumption, both direct (fuel combustion) and indirect (electricity) by various companies.

Calculations for consumption of energy from renewable sources such as hydro and wind were based on the participation of these renewables in the National Energy Balance. As such, electricity consumption from hydro increased from 100,603.97 GJ (in 2011) to 123,365.59 GJ (in 2012), and consumption from Eolic sources (wind) increased from 615.69 GJ to 745.99 GJ over the same period. GRI EN4 

 

 

 

Concer increased the amount of lighting using energy from renewable sources by installing 188 solar energy catchment points, with an approximate production of60,912 KW/h per year.

As the effective period of administration of Viracopos International Airport only began in November of 2012, the concessionaire will begin its consumption reductionplans in 2013. The basic construction project involving expansion of the airport already provides a proposal for energy saving. The passenger terminal will beconstructed so as to take advantage of natural sunlight. The stories will be arranged with spaces to allow natural sunlight to pass between them. The top of themain columns supporting the roof of the new terminal will take the form of a tree and will occupy an area of 900 m2. The roof will also be covered withphotovoltaic cells to capture the abundant solar energy available in the region. All equipment to be installed will follow the premise of efficiency.

Fuel consumption also increased during the year, due to the increase in the number of vehicles used by Aeroportos Brasil Viracopos, Concepa, Concer andPortonave, and Maestra´s new fleet of ships. Total direct energy consumption by Triunfo increased from 13,248,707.45 GJ (in 2011) to 15,499,207.16 GJ (in2012). GRI EN3

Concepa carries out monthly fuel consumption checks and periodic maintenance of its vehicle fleet. In 2012, it wasn´t possible to reduce its consumption, as, evenwith improvements there was higher energy use due to an increase of traffic on the highway, and greater demand for work, machinery, equipment and personnel.

The maintenance team at Portonave carries out daily checks of energy consumption and reports back to the environmental management team to evaluateperformance and energy consumption by machinery and equipment. GRI EN4

At Maestra, the ships´ captains are instructed to navigate at “eco-speed” (an average velocity of 15 knots), as a fuel efficiency measure. GRI EN3

 

Biodiversity

In order to mitigate the impacts caused by the diverse operations of its companies, Triunfo maintains areas of environmental protection. The year 2012 saw an expansion in the total protected areas from 20.72 km2, last year, to 20.90 km2 (in 2012). Restoration activities were reduced over this period from an area of 6.2 km2 to 4.13 km2. GRI EN13

The highway administered by Concer passes through the following protected areas: Tinguá Biological Reserve (26,250 ha), Petrópolis Area of Environmental Protection (68,223 ha) and the Caixa D’água Municipal Natural Park (17.03 ha). The company runs the Projeto Caminhos da Fauna (Animal Pathways Project), which monitors the displacement effects on wild animals and adopts measures to compensate for this impact. In 2012, cameras were installed for monitoring the movement of fauna and a survey was completed in preparation for the installation of new fences over the coming year. GRI EN13

 

To contribute to environmental protection in its region, Portonave is providing an investment of R$1.1 million for the Navegantes Municipal Natural Park Unit of Conservation. This amount makes up part of the environmental accord signed with the Prefecture of the municipality. As well as the preservation of fauna and flora of the region, the project seeks to turn the park into an area for ecological tourism and to provide a building housing a handicrafts museum and an orchidarium.

Besides the park that Portonave is helping to recuperate, there are also two green areas integrated into the compound of the Port Terminal itself: an area of permanent protection (APP) possessing 39,105.18 m2, and a green belt with 765 m2, implanted in 2009 during construction of the terminal with the objective of reducing noise pollution from port operations reaching the surrounding area. GRI EN13

The protective areas receive daily inspection, with a register accompanying the growth and evolution of the species present with photographic records which contribute to the company´s basic environmental plan. On a monthly basis, the types of vegetation and their development are monitored. At the end of each quarter, all this information is analyzed and included in the environmental management report, which is then forwarded to the Environmental Foundation of Santa Catarina (FATMA) for approval. GRI EN13  

Since its foundation, Portonave has conducted risk analyses of its environmental impacts. In accordance with the certification ISO 14001, tracking and monitoring is carried out with all the company´s activities. Depending on the results, the impacts are either mitigated or compensated for (as is the case with carbon emissions and the planting of trees for CO² capture). GRI EN26 

The area at Portonaus contains less than one hectare of green area, made up of replanted secondary forest. It is an area that has been heavily affected by human use for more than six decades, including by logging, dockyards and a private port. In 2012, a forest study was carried out - highlighting the species existing in the area, including Brazil nut trees and mahogany which was then sent to the environmental agencies for definition of future actions. GRI EN13 

Environmental issues of significance to Viracopos Airport are covered by existing programs which were already functioning under the old Infraero administration and also by new programs which are being implemented. All these actions meet the legal requirements related to the works of expansion and operation of the airport. At the moment, the company´s effort is directed towards reducing the following impacts: natural resource availability, interference with fauna and flora and alterations to the quality of surface water, groundwater and the soil. Another major concern is to minimize the interference to the community, including in relation to the major sound pressure generated by airport operations.

In accordance with the Basic Environmental Plan for the work of airport expansion, native vegetation occupies 857,000 m², considering areas lying both inside and outside areas of permanent protection (APPs). This area represents 10.14% of the total and is distributed amongst 33 forest fragments. The areas of APP are divided into four different areas and occupy 183,605.86 m². Of this total, 57.06% is covered by native vegetation and 42.94% is covered by exotic vegetation or used for other purposes. The vegetation present in the APPs is distributed as follows:

Semi-deciduous Seasonal Broadleaf Forest in intermediate stage of secondary regeneration (29.98%)

Semi-deciduous Seasonal Broadleaf Forest in early stage of secondary regeneration (12.75%)

Cerradão (densely treed Savannah) in intermediate stage of secondary regeneration (11.45%)

True Cerrado (Savannah) in early stage of secondary regeneration (2.87%)

The current environmental control of the airport consists of various programs which will form the structure of a formal Environmental Management System based on the ISO 14001 standard. GRI EN26 

Program for Recovery of Vegetation: Aeroportos Brasil Viracopos has a program for recovery of vegetation, filed with the State of São Paulo Environmental Company (CETESB), linked to the installation license. The details of the actions constituting the program are still being elaborated and the areas destined for recuperation are still being negotiated.

Compensatory Reforestation: the concessionaire conducted a preliminary study to subsidize the indication of possible areas for compensatory reforestation to be carried out in partnership with the prefectures of Campinas and Indaiatuba. The study found ten existing areas with potential for tree planting projects, all located in the vicinity of the airport and outside the final limits of appropriated land. Another area of compensatory planting, inserted into the area of environmental protection (APA), is the Viracopos Ecological Corridor. In total the corridor covers 387.33 hectares. The company conducted negotiations with the Forest Institute (IF) to approve compensatory measures in public Units of Conservation (UC). GRI EN13

Wild Animal Management (Aeroportos Brasil Viracopos)

Wild dogs are relatively common in green areas in and around the municipality of Campinas. These remnants or fragments of native habitat are often surrounded by rural areas. To minimize the impact to the population of these canines, the company solicited a management scheme from the State secretary for the Environment.

The idea of the project is to capture these individuals and move them to a more suitable area which does not offer the same risks. The opportunity of the animal´s release will also be used to realize continuous monitoring of the population, adding to our knowledge of the species for future conservation projects involving wild dogs, including information related to seasonality of reproduction, feeding habits, and habitat use and occupation. GRI EN26

The company Rio Verde carries out restoration of native habitat in its area of permanent preservation (APP) and has established a good relationship with the local population. Every three months it conducts a survey of fish species in the River Verde, with the collection of specimens in the closed (spawning) season. This program is approved and supervised by the Secretary for the Environment and Water resources of Goiás (SEMARH/GO). The company also collects seeds of native tree species for germination in a nursery, later being transferred to the program for restoration of the APP, also approved and supervised by SEMARH/GO. GRI EN26 

At the Rio Verde hydroelectric plant, the entire protected area is being gradually recuperated. The natural vegetation of the area is native cerrado (savannah), identical to that of the area being restored. The main management processes of this restoration work are treatment of the soil, ant control, mechanical mowing and irrigation. This restoration work will continue until 2017. GRI EN13

The areas that Rio Canoas plans on restoring are currently located within the construction site of the Garibaldi Hydroelectric Plant, as such the planting and recuperation activities themselves will only begin after the demobilization of the works structures. At present, these areas are predominantly heavily disturbed by works activities. The methods to be used for recuperation of the area are contained in the Recuperation of Degraded Areas Project (PRAD), submitted to specialists at the Foundation for the Environment (FATMA).

Rio Canoas established a partnership with the Universidade do Planalto Catarinense (UNIPLAC). The university receives the native tree seeds collected during suppression of vegetation, cultivates them, and uses them for reforestation of degraded areas. The reforestation began with a preliminary area of approximately 10 hectares. The activities are managed through the Recuperation of Degraded Areas Program, contained within the Basic Environmental Project (PBA). GRI EN13 

 

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