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Social Actions and Projects
Community Relations
Our activities require the construction and operation of projects that, depending on their characteristics and the regions where they are implemented, may generate a variety of socio-environmental impacts.
We seek to engage with the communities surrounding our operations, respecting their specificities and cultures, in order to identify their expectations and needs and thereby compensate for and minimize negative social, environmental, and cultural impacts, as well as to foster positive ones.
The studies carried out may also indicate the need for project modifications to avoid and reduce impacts. In cases where residual impacts remain, we seek to remediate them. For each impact identified in the environmental impact studies, mitigation and compensation measures are proposed; these can be implemented before, during, and after project implementation, as indicated in the basic environmental plan. The studies and programs developed as part of the environmental licensing process – and submitted for evaluation to the authorities responsible for licensing – are presented to the affected communities.
During project operations, monitoring may indicate the need to revise actions and invest in technology and operational processes. All actions are developed in accordance with current Brazilian legislation and are analyzed and monitored by the authorities involved in the environmental licensing process.
Three actions stand out in our projects:
•
Social Communication Plan (SCP): promotes dialogue with communities through activities that include communication campaigns and meetings to diagnose issues and define socio-environmental measures. The SCP continuously maps relevant stakeholders to improve participation. Activities carried out under the communication and social interaction plans include training field teams, providing direct channels – such as the Eletrobras
Ombudsman – and dedicated communication channels for communities and their representatives, and conducting opinion surveys to assess the effectiveness of communication actions. The communication plan also helps identify vulnerable groups and supports community capacity-building so they can express their concerns to the company. Collected statements and the responses provided are recorded and systematized in a database.
• Environmental Education Program (EEP): the planning of PEA activities involves dialogue with local communities and their representatives to identify topics to be addressed during program implementation; the methodology foresees the use of participatory socio-environmental diagnostics (ESD). Priority is given to non-formal educational actions aimed at qualifying and organizing communities to propose, design, and implement socio-environmental mitigation and/or compensation projects, as well as to monitor and evaluate their effectiveness.
• Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for hydroelectric plants: actions related to dam safety are included in the EAP and are supported by Civil Defense and the local municipality. Eletrobras is responsible for the notification and alert system in the Self-Rescue Zone (SRZ), an area defined in accordance with applicable legislation.
Our
Environmental Policy contains specific guidelines for communication and environmental education and for the resettlement of affected populations, with the objective of restoring the livelihoods of affected people to a level of quality equal to or higher than that enjoyed prior to the intervention.
Our
Human Rights Policy states our commitment to negotiations and contracts for granting the use or easement of property for power generation and transmission that support the continuity of affected people’s livelihoods, and it reinforces our commitment to ongoing dialogue and meaningful consultation with stakeholders, respecting their specificities, culture, and way of life, and addressing risks and adverse human-rights impacts on individuals.
In addition to complying with legislation and our internal policies, our Community Engagement Framework includes:
- Strengthening the integration between strategy and governance;
- Establishing principles and guidelines aligned with international frameworks and performance standards;
- Implementing a stakeholder relationship management system (SRM) based on artificial intelligence and georeferencing.
Communication and Social Interaction Activities
Our operations — hydroelectric plants and their reservoirs, wind farms, transmission lines and substations — are present in approximately 1,500 municipalities. Below are some examples of actions carried out at our assets in operation and under planning:
Relations with Indigenous Peoples and Traditional Communities
When making decisions about our projects, we seek to avoid or minimize impacts on Indigenous lands and peoples and on traditional communities. If impacts are identified during the environmental licensing stage, we carry out additional studies and, together with the licensing authority and stakeholders, approve specific programs to preserve cultural aspects and identities and to minimize interferences. Throughout the studies and the implementation of projects, we endeavor to ensure the hearing and inclusion of vulnerable groups, such as Indigenous peoples and traditional communities.
We maintain ongoing contact with national authorities responsible for licensing and for matters involving traditional communities, such as the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) and the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA), as well as with state and municipal bodies focused on these communities.
The
Environmental Policy sets out specific guidelines for communication with Indigenous communities. Engagement actions with this audience must consider ethnic and linguistic issues, aiming to establish a permanent dialogue with those affected by the projects and to build relations of mutual trust.
Our Human Rights Policy commits to respecting the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consultation (FPIC) in relations with Indigenous peoples and traditional communities. Through an internal procedure and in compliance with applicable legislation, we carry out FPIC processes in cases where we implement projects or perform other business activities that may cause impacts on these communities and their territories.
In 2025, we initiated our first formal FPIC process with Eletrobras participation regarding the licensing of the 500 kV Janaúba – Presidente Juscelino transmission line to be built in Minas Gerais. Negotiations with the remaining quilombola communities (CRQs) Mocambo and Sítio, with the state licensing authority — the State Secretariat for Environment and Sustainable Development (SEMAD) — and with INCRA aim to ensure the completion of the Quilombola Component Study (ECQ) and the Quilombola Basic Environmental Plan (PBA-CQ) in accordance with FPIC guidelines, based on community premises for consultation, good faith, and adequate response time.
Actions with Indigenous Peoples and Traditional Communities
We are the company that engages with the largest number of Indigenous peoples in Brazil: 35 ethnic groups across 64 Indigenous Lands. Examples of our initiatives include:
SÃO MARCOS INDIGENOUS LAND
In 2024, we continued to support the São Marcos Indigenous community, which is affected by the Boa Vista / Santa Elena Transmission Line — the Brazil–Venezuela interconnection. The transmission line crosses the São Marcos Indigenous Land for 63 km, causing socio-environmental impacts to the community.
As part of the environmental licensing process with IBAMA for the implementation and operation of the transmission line across the São Marcos Indigenous Land, the São Marcos Program was developed as a compensation/mitigation measure for Indigenous peoples. The program’s actions were implemented through an agreement and terms of commitment between Eletronorte and the Indigenous community, with FUNAI’s involvement.
To comply with the conditions established by FUNAI and accepted by IBAMA, in 2024, under the Operating License (OL), technical studies were included to assess the project’s impacts on potentially affected Indigenous peoples. The studies also include an evaluation of the most recent cycle of actions implemented under the term of commitment, analyzing achieved results and challenges faced during execution.
Based on this process, new mitigation and compensation measures will be proposed, taking into account the transmission line’s operational phase, and will serve as the basis for planning actions in the new cycle to ensure alignment with the needs and priorities of the São Marcos Indigenous Land community.
ASSURINI INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY
In 2024, we advanced two initiatives with the Assurini Indigenous Community, each within a different thematic line. The first concerns Education, Culture and Recreation and involves a cultural strengthening project including various cultural and sports activities negotiated with the Assurini of Tocantins. The second action falls under Income Generation — the “Barriga Cheia” project — which aims to improve the fertility and productivity of family gardens and crops, encourage small livestock production, and support extractive activities.
In addition, we will begin a study to evaluate the socio-environmental impacts of the Tucuruí Hydroelectric Plant (HPP) on the Indigenous community. This study will be guided by the Terms of Reference provided by FUNAI and will inform you about the impact matrix review and the detailing of actions in a Basic Environmental Plan (BEP).
PROJECTS WITH THE WAIMIRI ATROARI COMMUNITY
Since 1986 we have maintained the Waimiri Atroari Program, which aims to compensate and mitigate the impacts of the Balbina Hydroelectric Plant (HPP) and invests in health, education, environmental protection and support for the Waimiri Atroari’s production activities. The program also seeks to broaden the Waimiri Atroari community’s understanding of the Brazilian sociopolitical context and to help restore their economic and cultural independence.
The initiative balances economic and cultural relations between this community and the nation at large, guaranteeing their exclusive use of the area demarcated and recognized as Waimiri Atroari Land, and improving general living conditions according to the aspirations of this people. At the start of the program there were fewer than 400 individuals; today there are more than 2,600. We have also supported local malaria eradication efforts.
The Waimiri Atroari are also affected by the Manaus–Boa Vista transmission line being implemented by a Special Purpose Entity (SPE TNE). In 2024, Eletrobras, TNE and the Federal Government, through Regional Funds, invested approximately R$ 42 million in compensation and mitigation programs for the Waimiri Atroari: R$ 10 million from Eletrobras, R$ 24 million from TNE and R$ 8 million from reimbursements by the Union to TNE.
KURURUZINHO VILLAGE — KAYABI ETHNICITY
Eletrobras donated equipment for the installation of an off-grid photovoltaic solar generation system to the Kururuzinho village of the Kayabi ethnicity in Mato Grosso. The equipment, valued at R$ 117 thousand, will enable a water supply for the village health unit and will serve approximately 175 people.
The donation was made to the Kaiapó Special Indigenous Health District (SIHD, Portuguese: DSEI Kaiapó) and the Kawaip Kayabi Indigenous Association. The resources come from the Indigenous Basic Environmental Plan of the Teles Pires Hydroelectric Plant (HPP), located in the Amazon on the border between the states of Mato Grosso and Pará. Delivered materials included components for an autonomous photovoltaic system, protective and distribution equipment, controllers, lighting, conductors, accessories and water pumping equipment.
The Teles Pires plant was responsible for purchasing and delivering the materials, while the SIHD Kayapó will be responsible for installation and maintenance of the solar system, which will become part of the Indigenous Buildings and Environmental Sanitation Service.
Social Projects in Development
Community Integration Centers Project (CICP)
The Community Integration Centers Project is implemented by the Brazilian Institute of Social and Economic Analyses (IBASE) in the following locations where Eletrobras has assets: Ibiraci (MG); Itatiaia (RJ); Mogi das Cruzes (SP); Mambucaba (RJ); Foz do Iguaçu (PR); and Claraval (MG).
The project aims to jointly build local participatory instruments such as social diagnostics and action plans that encourage collective work, facilitate processes of change and stimulate efforts to improve the territory and the civic rights of the local population.
Local actors, through an Eletrobras partner institution, receive capacity building to better engage with community groups, local government, civil society, and the private sector, among others, so they can claim rights and drive improvements in their own community. At the end of the process a Reference Project is developed, strengthening the company’s legacy in the community. This project is chosen by the community and is designed to sustain the actions developed, allowing autonomous continuation of the initiatives in the territory.
The working methodology follows several steps, monitored by an analyst from Eletrobras’s social responsibility area and coordinated with the community through meetings and technical visits to nurture relationships with the local population and to monitor status and results. The methodology includes: (1) Preliminary study and initial contacts with the local population; (2) Construction of Participatory Dialogues; (3) Consolidation of the Community Forum; (4) Development of the Action Plan; (5) Implementation of the Reference Project; (6) Monitoring of the Community Forum and of the Reference Project.
The project contributes to SDGs 1, 5, 8 and 10.
Novos Caminhos — New Paths Program (NPP)
The New Paths Program is an initiative of the National Council of Justice in partnership with State Courts of Justice. Eletrobras supports the initiative in the State Courts of Amazonas, Pará and Santa Catarina.
In Amazonas, the project — carried out by the Institute for Research and Education for Sustainable Development (IPEDS Institute) aims to promote youth insertion into the labor market through formative courses that develop essential skills for adolescents in situations of social vulnerability. The partnership prepares participants for the job market by providing knowledge in financial education, writing and customer service techniques, among other topics.
In Pará, the project offers weekly individual psychotherapy sessions to children and adolescents linked to the NPP in Belém, Ananindeua, Marituba and Benevides (some municipalities in the Belém Metropolitan Region). In these locations the project is implemented by ADRA Brasil.
In Santa Catarina the project is implemented by the Foundation for Higher Studies in Administration and Management (FESAG), which since 2019 has run a program offering individual psychological care to people aged 14 and above, focusing on employability and psychopedagogical support. Since early 2024, following the signing of Cooperation Agreement No. 0005/2024, the program’s scope has been expanded. Services are provided monthly across 16 coverage regions of the Program.
The project contributes to SDGs 4, 8, 10 and 17.
Education Project in Partnership with RODA EDUCATIVA
Support for education is a priority within Eletrobras’s private social investment strategy. Education is seen as a driver of local development and of inequality reduction, and it aligns with SDG 4 — Quality Education — which aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”
As a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact, by investing in training projects for public school professionals, Eletrobras contributes to SDG 4, target 4.1 — by 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.
In this context, the Continuing Training for Educators project, focused on the regular educational trajectory of students in Basic Education, is a partnership with the Roda Educativa institution (formerly CEDAC), which has 25 years of experience designing and implementing initiatives to improve educational practices in public networks, alongside partners such as Fundação Vale, Itaú Social, Suzano and UNICEF.
The project’s overall objective is to help improve management and teaching practices in school networks, focusing on planning the transition between early and final years of Basic Education so that students in the final years have better learning conditions and stronger ties between families and schools. The project addresses high dropout rates during this transition phase, which was identified as a priority.
In 2024 the project covered 10 municipalities in Minas Gerais: Alterosa, Boa Esperança, Campos Gerais, Cristais, Elói Mendes, Formiga, Guapé, Ilicínea, Lavras and Varginha. It directly reached 466 education technicians, school managers and teachers, and indirectly benefited approximately 8,800 Basic Education students.
Following the project’s success in 2024, we are replicating the partnership and methodology for 2025, this time covering the following municipalities in the Northeast: Paulo Afonso (BA), Glória (BA), Delmiro Gouveia (AL), Porto da Folha (SE), Canindé do São Francisco (SE) and Piranhas (AL), and Itacuruba, Petrolândia, Jatobá and Carnaubeira da Penha (PE). We expect to reach 635 direct participants and 12,227 indirect beneficiaries.
Completed Social Projects
São Francisco Lakes Project
Through the São Francisco Lakes Project we promote sustainable development in rural communities in the Paulo Afonso hydroelectric complex and at the Itaparica and Xingó hydroelectric plants. Family farmers in 12 municipalities across Alagoas, Bahia, Pernambuco and Sergipe benefit from the initiative.
In its first phase the project supported regional development by creating jobs and income for small-scale agricultural producers and their families. The initiative resulted from a partnership with the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) and the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES). Ongoing since 2019, the Project involved an investment of R$ 5.9 million.
In 2024 we began applying the Social Return on Investment (SROI) methodology to the Project, carried out by the Institute for the Development of Social Investment (IDIS), to compare the value of resources invested with the social value generated by the initiative. The study, completed in 2025, demonstrated that the São Francisco Lakes Project yields a positive and relevant social return on investment.
For every R$1.00 invested in the Project, R$2.92 of social benefits were generated.
Alimergia Continuity
Selected in the Eletrobras 2021 Socio-Environmental Projects Call for Proposals, this project implemented more than 370 agroforests, planted over 200,000 seedlings of native species and carried out extensive environmental education work with more than 4,000 people, contributing to increased vegetation cover and biodiversity and influencing the development of state-level socio-environmental public policies. The initiative continued actions from the Territorial Center for Cooperation and Environmental Education, combining forest restoration of degraded areas with native species, increased biodiversity and ecosystem services, and promoting low-carbon agricultural, livestock and forestry practices.
Partner: Cooperativa Mista de Produção Industrial e Comercialização de Biocombustíveis do Brasil
Investment: R$ 434,900.00
Dates: January to December 2022
Location: Seberi, RS
Formiga Verde
Selected in the Eletrobras 2021 Socio-Environmental Projects Call, Formiga Verde combined environmental conservation and social impact in Morro da Formiga in the northern region of Rio de Janeiro city. It comprised a community-based Environmental Education Program (EEP) that trained and raised awareness among children, youth and adults about local socio-environmental problems and ecological solutions. The project integrated agroecology, permaculture and biodiversity conservation, maximizing ecosystem services through environmental education and reforestation actions coordinated with local schools and environmental agencies.
Training workshops for youth and adults were offered in partnership with the Hortas Cariocas program to develop low-cost sustainable technologies and practices linking agroecological and permaculture knowledge. The themes prioritized income generation and household food security and sought to leave a legacy for the community. More than 2,000 seedlings were planted as part of the project.
Partner: Instituto Permacultura Lab
Investment: R$ 429,660.00
Dates: January to December 2022
Location: Rio de Janeiro, RJ
Business School: Entrepreneurship Training for Artisans and Seamstresses in Rio de Janeiro
Selected by direct choice, this capacity-building and income-generation project worked with 60 women from partner institutions and communities near the company’s headquarters in downtown Rio de Janeiro. In addition to online training, the project offered business promotion for artisans, product creation and design consultancy, and sales organization via social media.
Partner: Rede Asta
Investment: R$ 248,300.00
Datas: January to December 2022
Location: Rio de Janeiro, RJ
Community Production Centers (CPC)
The Community Production Centers (CPCs) are units focused on efficient electricity use that benefit small producers through the acquisition of energy-efficient equipment, adding value to their economic activities.
Learn more about the Community Production Centers (CPCs).
How to Submit Social Projects to Eletrobras
The Private Social Investment (PSI) Policy prioritizes investment in initiatives with education and capacity building as the main axis, and with transversal themes such as income generation, environmental preservation, climate adaptation and energy transition.
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