Responsibility for the surrounding communities
Performance
Social and relationship capital
alignment to the SDGs
The Ultra Group has always been committed to generating a positive impact for society, and especially for the communities surrounding the operations of its businesses.
With the strengthening of its sustainability strategy, and supported by the discussions of the specific work-group focused on the surrounding communities, the Group decided to further enhance its positive impact by establishing two priority areas for action, namely, education and entrepreneurship. The Group believes that these are two important areas that have the potential to produce lasting structural change in Brazilian society.
To get started on these two major themes, the locations and projects that were most connected to the activities of the Group and its businesses were selected as priorities. In order to select specific projects, the Group analyzed public data and considered the perceptions of the civil society organizations that work in the fields of education and employability, such as: the NGO, Movimento Todos pela Educação; the Ayrton Senna Institute; the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef); and the Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal Foundation. Six locations, all situated around the businesses’ operations, were selected as priorities for carrying out detailed evaluations. The results of these studies will be used to define the Group’s social impact strategy for Brazil (see map).
The strategy will focus on using these evaluations to improve the Group’s understanding of the context of these communities. Subsequently, the Group will coordinate its actions on opportunities to support education and entrepreneurship, with the individual initiatives considered important by the businesses in those same communities. The priority is to leverage the combined impact of all actions and ensure that, going forward, the Group acts in a systematic manner and on a scale compatible with its size.
The Ultra Group is developing a Social Responsibility Policy, which will set the guidelines to be followed by all businesses and units.
The Ultra Group’s new social impact strategy
Priority locations for community evaluations
1. BARCARENA/PA Ultracargo and Ipiranga
2. SÃO LUÍS-ITAQUI/MA Ultragaz, Ultracargo and Ipiranga
3. ARATU-CANDEIAS/BA Ultracargo
4. BETIM/MG Ultragaz and Ipiranga
5. SANTOS-CUBATÃO/SP Ultragaz, Ultracargo and Ipiranga
6. CANOAS/RS Ultragaz and Ipiranga
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GROUP AMBITION
To act responsibly towards the surrounding communities, generating opportunities for local development.
Integrated management
The social impact management model respects the proximity of the businesses to their surrounding communities and gives them the autonomy to identify the main demands of these locations, and to define the initiatives that they have the capacity to structure or support to address these demands.
The Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Directorate monitors the process of all projects that involve tax incentives, verifying that the proposals are aligned to the Group’s social action goals and the availability of resources.
Following the definition of the priority themes, the Instituto Ultra, which reports to the Sustainability Directorate, is being revitalized to act as the hub of the Group’s social impact knowledge base. The objective is to strengthen the overall management of social impact initiatives and expand the initiatives in the priority locations, while at the same time respecting the autonomy of the businesses.
Main actions in 2021
In 2021, R$ 13.3 million was invested, including own resources and tax incentives. This amount did not include the resources allocated to addressing the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The initiatives focused on professional training, female and youth entrepreneurship, combating sexual violence against children and adolescents, and promoting health, education and diversity. In line with one of the Group’s priority causes, Ultragaz invested in a number of female empowerment projects. The Women Entrepreneurs project, which was carried out under its volunteering program, in partnership with the NGO Junior Achievement, organized presentations to groups of women interested in opening their own businesses.
Ultracargo entered into a partnership with the Ayrton Senna Institute to develop the social and emotional skills of pupils in the 6th to 9th grades in municipal junior high schools, in São Luís (MA). In 2021, the objective was to mobilize the school network and, in 2022, it is expected to work with 25% of schools in the capital, impacting up to 7 thousand students.
One of Ipiranga’s social initiatives is its participation in the Ajudôu project. This project, which focuses on providing sporting activities for children, offered judo classes after school hours to 300 public school children in the municipalities of Betim, Governador Valadares and Montes Claros, in the State of Minas Gerais.
Combating Covid-19
R$44.8 million was donated by Grupo Ultra to actions to combat the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. R$7.7 million in 2021.
Main Donations of 2021
The Group’s contributions to joint initiatives with 11 other companies, totaled more than R$ 35 million.
For the acquisition of equipment for the agency's new vaccine production plant.
(refrigeration chambers for vaccines, cooler boxes, and other items). In addition to financing the purchase, the Group provided logistical support for the delivery of equipment to municipalities.
Initiative led by the Brazilian Institute of Oil and Gas (IBP), with the participation of other companies.
The company facilitated the distribution of suppliers to a number of hospitals
Basic baskets, meals (via points redemption in the Km de Vantagens loyalty program), face masks, gel alcohol and personal protective equipment (PPE)
Other initiatives to combat the Covid-19 Pandemic
Ultragaz participated in an educational campaign focused on the prevention of Covid-19. The company’s network of resellers distributed the campaign’s educational material in 50 municipalities, reaching more than 10 million people. In partnership with municipal health departments, Ipiranga provided doses of a Covid-19 vaccine in some of the events of the Saúde na Estrada (Health on the Highway) program. The 2021 edition of this program registered 57,100 attendances in 123 events, which were held at 107 Ipiranga’s Rodo Rede service stations.
Management of Negative Impacts
The management of the negative impacts, both actual and potential, of the Group’s activities in the communities surrounding its operations is carried out directly by the businesses involved, based on principles of responsibility, transparency and actions to mitigate/reduce impacts. In addition to the direct contacts between the businesses and the surrounding communities, when necessary, individuals living in the communities can utilize either the specific communication channels of the individual business or the Ultra Group’s Canal Aberto.
Due to the nature of their activities, the Holding and Extrafarma do not have a systematic process for evaluating impacts on the community.
Ultragaz carries out regular surveys in the surrounding communities, which seek to identify the main demands of the local population and to ensure its actions are in line with its social and environmental investment policy. The health and safety and environmental protection processes maintained by the company also include the management of possible impacts on the surrounding communities.
Ultracargo, regularly monitors its external impacts such as soil and groundwater quality, rainwater discharge and noise and emission levels, and takes steps to minimize any impacts on the surrounding communities. Ultracargo has the technical and operational support of companies specialized in emergency services, which provide, among other items, leak containment barriers and infrastructure for preventing and responding to emergencies. Furthermore, it monitors and maintains its company-owned vehicle fleet and has equipment to control the emissions arising from the storage and handling of volatile products. The company continues to comply with the financial obligations assumed in the Conduct Adjustment Term (TAC) signed in 2019 with the Public Prosecutor to compensate for the impacts on a river estuary in Santos (SP) resulting from a fire on its premises in 2015.
Oxiteno has made a study of the main impacts that could affect the surrounding communities at all its operating units in Brazil. The impacts were classified according to their degree of severity and probability and served as the basis for preparing contingency action plans. At the meetings of the Community Advisory Councils (CCC) for the areas surrounding its operations, the company reported eventual deviations from its operations, informed the negotiations being carried out and listened to the main demands of these communities. In the United States, the company participates in a similar forum, which brings together representatives of the industry sector and the surrounding communities.
Ipiranga also monitored the quality of soil, air, groundwater and surface water and the noise levels of heavy vehicle traffic in its operational units and the surrounding communities. It conducts regular audits of its impacts on the surrounding area using its Integrated Applied Management System (SIGA+). It monitors the indicators of impacts and maintains programs aimed at continuous improvement.
ESG Dashboard
R$ 21 million
Total resources donated by the Ultra Group to society in general in 2021, considering social responsibility initiatives and contributions to combating Covid-19.
Education and entrepreneurship:
priority causes in the Ultra Group’s new social impact strategy