Vivo brings forward ESG goals, expands commitments for climate and diversity

Press release from Telefônica Brasil (Vivo)

This is a machine translation of the original release, issue in Portuguese

São Paulo, June 17, 2024 – With operations focused on sustainable development and environmental goals established shortly after the 2015 Paris Agreement, Vivo announces new commitments to boost the ESG agenda for climate and diversity. The company intends to reach net zero (zero net emissions) by 2035, five years ahead of schedule, a challenge considered unprecedented for large companies in the sector.

As a contribution to the circular economy, it plans to increase the volume of accumulated electronic waste collected from consumers by 150% through the Vivo Recicle program, reaching 225 tons in the period between 2024 and 2035.

In Social, another priority pillar for Vivo, the company intends to strengthen its commitments to racial and gender diversity. It targets 40% of women in senior leadership positions and 45% in leadership positions. The company also intends to reach 40% black people in leadership positions and 45% black people in the general workforce, by 2035.

The announcement was made by Vivo's CEO, Christian Gebara, this Monday (14), at an event for guests, at Teatro Vivo. The initiative included the presence of professor Carlos Nobre, climatologist, world reference in climate studies, in a panel on “Climate Change, Challenges for Humanity”.

In another panel, the Diversity and Inclusion leader of the Global Compact, Verônica Vassalo, the general director of the Brazilian Institute of Corporate Governance (IBGC), Valéria Café, and the executive director of the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS), Ricardo Mastroti, debated on “The decisive role of business for Sustainable Development”, with the mediation of Vivo’s vice-president of Institutional Relations and Sustainability, Renato Gasparetto.

“To stop global warming, it is necessary to unite and transform the different sectors of the economy towards zero net carbon emissions. Therefore, we voluntarily announced the anticipation of our main ESG goal, also moving our value chain and bringing new commitments, in circularity of electronic waste and diversity, other important challenges for our society”, reveals the vice-president of Institutional Relations and Vivo Sustainability, Renato Gasparetto.

Protection of the Planet

To reach net zero in 2035 according to science, Vivo must achieve a 90% reduction in emissions across the entire value chain (scopes 1, 2 and 3), including emissions from suppliers, which currently represent 74% of the total. The remaining 10% of emissions will be neutralized through investment, mainly in forest restoration projects in different biomes during the same period.

“The transformation of our supply chain to net zero is our current great challenge and opportunity to make a difference for the planet. Two years ago, we began an important journey with our 125 carbon-intensive suppliers, who account for around 85% of emissions in our supply chain, and now we are looking at new challenges”, highlights Gasparetto.

The company maintains a structured awareness, engagement and consultancy program, to help prepare inventories and action plans so that carbon-intensive suppliers can assume voluntary environmental commitments and targets. In just two years of the program, Vivo managed to double the percentage of companies acting for the climate and already has   61% of them engaged in this purpose.

The company has incorporated sustainability requirements into its purchasing process and, since the beginning of this year, has emphasized in contracts asking its suppliers of carbon-intensive services to establish emission reduction targets in line with the Science Based Targets (SBTi) initiative. . Another measure will be to recognize and reward suppliers, differentiating those that stand out most in the program.

Climate journey

Vivo's performance in the environmental pillar is based on a Climate Action Plan and aligned with the challenges of the Telefônica group, with short, medium and long-term goals validated by science (SBTi). The company was the first in the sector, and in the Telefônica group, outside Europe, to consume energy 100% from renewable sources   still in 2018, 12 years ahead of schedule. That same year, it began expanding its distributed generation plants. It currently has 68 solar, hydro and biogas plants in all regions of the country. Together, they already produce 613 thousand MWh/year, enough energy to supply 293 thousand homes and account for 35.5% of Vivo's total consumption.

In 2019, it became carbon neutral, offsetting emissions that cannot yet be avoided, through investment in preservation and restoration projects in the Amazon Forest in Amapá and more recently, in the north of Mato Grosso. As a result of its broad decarbonization measures, in just eight years, Vivo reduced its own greenhouse gas emissions by 90%, reaching the target whose deadline was 2030, in its last review. The company went from 264 thousand tons emitted in 2015 to 25.5 thousand tons in 2023, even with the expansion of its network and customers.

Circular economy

Circularity is part of Vivo's decarbonization strategy and an important source of raw materials for the technology industry. The company was the first large company in the sector in Brazil to take a broad stance on electronics recycling, with the aim of encouraging conscious consumption among consumers. “We want to help Brazil, one of the largest producers of electronic waste in the world, according to the report “The Global E-Wast Monitor, to overcome this important environmental challenge of the digital era, which is electronic waste, reduce the use of natural resources and protect the environment from inadequate waste disposal”, highlights Gasparetto.

To this end, the company is committed to increasing the accumulated total recycled by 150% since the start of the Vivo Recicle program. The proposal is to go from 150 tons accumulated, between 2006 and 2023, to 225 tons in the next 12 years, reaching 375 tons by 2035. To reach this objective, Vivo intends to mobilize manufacturers, large corporate clients, in addition to promoting actions of incentives in stores, with 1,800 collection points, and mass campaigns with consumers. The company also involves young people from institutions benefiting from Fundação Telefônica Vivo in program actions.

Commitment to diversity

In the Social pillar, Vivo has   diversity as a key factor for innovation. “We understand that to be a sustainable company, we need to be, above all, a diverse and inclusive company. We want to consolidate ourselves as one of the most diverse companies in the country and advance as a reference in racial and gender equality”, reveals Vivo’s Vice President of People, Niva Ribeiro. In its Vivo Diversity program, the company has been developing, since 2018, actions in the pillars of gender, LGBTI+, race and people with disabilities, in addition to professionals 50+, in a transversal way.

The company maintains training programs, accessibility initiatives and affirmative vacancies. In 2023 alone, there were around 2,700 vacancies open for diverse talents, such as People with Disabilities, LGBTI+, women, black people and 50+. In trainee and internship programs, 50% of positions were aimed exclusively at black talent.

In its new challenge, the company intends to increase the number of women in senior leadership positions to 40% and to 45% in leadership positions, by 2035. In the race pillar, Vivo's main challenge for 2035 is to reach 40% black people in leadership positions, with 45% of black people in the workforce. Today, 42.1% of Vivo's employees are black, with 33.1% in leadership positions. “We exceeded our target for 2024, which was 40% black employees and 30% black employees in leadership positions”, highlights the executive.

Governance to ensure progress

To evolve in the ESG agenda, Vivo seeks the involvement of all areas of the company. The company has two Sustainability Committees: one at executive level, with the participation of business managers and chaired by the company's CEO, and another linked directly to the Board. As one of the measures to boost the entire organization in sustainability, since 2019, 20% of Vivo executives' variable remuneration has been linked to ESG goals, such as emissions reduction and diversity.

These and other actions led Vivo to leadership in national and international sustainability rankings. In January this year, it became the most sustainable company in Brazil on the ISE B3, made up of 78 companies, from 36 different sectors. For the 4th consecutive year, it is also present among the leaders in S&P's The Sustainability Yearbook2024 , occupying the TOP 10, with 8th position in the sector's global ranking, and 1st place in the Americas. It is the Brazilian company with the best score in all sectors evaluated (87 points).