Environment
Odebrecht Members are strongly committed to environmental responsibility, and adopt clean, green technologies in all their business ventures.
Their basic approach is preventive. In addition to complying with environmental regulations, they strive to identify each project's adverse environmental impacts from the outset, with a focus on environmental education. Then, they develop the programs required to eliminate or minimize those impacts and control the risks involved.
Attaining excellence in environmental matters is a constant challenge for Odebrecht teams, whose permanent goal is achieving minimum environmental impacts and getting the most out of non-renewable natural resources such as water and power.
The Chemicals & Petrochemicals business makes an intensive effort to cut down on solid and liquid waste. In 2006, Braskem carried out an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions at all its industrial units. This study resulted in about 25 projects that will significantly reduce that impact. In regard to ecoefficiency, Braskem lowered energy consumption by 3% and water use by 2% in comparison with 2005.
Because major engineering and construction projects often have extensive environmental implications, they develop environmental management plans to show the precautions that need to be taken to preserve the plant and animal life and resources in the vicinity, and, when necessary, remove or resettle nearby communities.
Paulo Henrique Alcântara, Adriana de Araújo and César Augusto Nunes, from the Braskem team that carried out the water reuse project
Less water use and
wastewater discharge
Simple steps can help ensure the future of our planet's water supply. A good example of this can be seen in the Brazilian city of Alagoas, where two Braskem factories (a PVC plant and a chlor-alkali facility) have introduced a wastewater reuse program.
A system of pumps, valves and pipes filters liquid industrial waste and corrects the pH to make it suitable for industrial reuse before it is disposed of once and for all. The project will enable the plants to save up to a billion liters of water per year.
This program has garnered two General Electric awards for Braskem's Alagoas units: Return on Environment and Ecoimagination. The second award is occasional and only bestowed on companies whose efforts to reduce environmental impacts exceed expectations.
© Copright Odebrecht S.A.