Global Compact specific themes

The Global Compact addresses four major thematic groups. In addition to the thematic group dealing with Employment and Labor Relations, included in the first block of this booklet “Common themes of the Global Compact and SA 8000”, we will learn about the three thematic groups that complement the principles of Global Compact: Human Rights, Environment and Fight against Corruption.

Human Rights

This area covers two principles dealing with the recognition and respect of human rights, as well as the commitment to ensure that they are not violated.

Practice 5

Companies should support and respect internationally proclaimed human rights protection in their sphere of influence.

Which means: companies must respect and protect human rights.

They are fundamental rights of the human person, which guarantee the ability to develop and participate fully in life.

The right to life, food, health, housing, education, the right to affection and the free expression of sexuality are among the fundamental human rights.

There is no right more important than the other. To respect human rights is to promote life in society without discrimination of social class, culture, religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation. To have equal rights, differences must be respected.

Article 5 of the Brazilian Constitution guarantees fundamental human rights, which are, in essence: the right to life, equality, security and property.

Practice 6

Ensure non-complicity with human rights abuses.

Which means: working to prevent human rights from being violated.

As human rights are based on the preservation of life and its physical, moral and social integrity, anyone can have their right violated. But in general, the violation of human rights affects far more those who are socially excluded or belong to ethnic, religious or sexual minorities.

Torture, racism, forced labor, domestic violence, discrimination against women and discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation are all forms of human rights violations.

What do we do at Cemig to support human rights principles?

• We work towards development.
• We act in a transparent manner, respecting diversity, the right to life, individual choices and freedom.
• We invest in and encourage social initiatives aimed at improving the communities where we operate and the quality of life of their residents.
• We support the Program for Allocation of Resources to Municipal Councils for the Rights of Children and Adolescents, according to the Statute of Child and Adolescent – Federal Law 8.069/90.

To learn more, please visit: 

United Nations in Brazil
Special Secretary for Human Rights (SEDH)

Environment

There are three principles of the Global Compact which address the relationship with the environment.

Practice 7

Support the precautionary principle regarding environmental challenges.

Which means: care for business impact on the environment must be examined and companies must adopt preventive strategies and processes aligned with the principles of sustainability and environmental challenges. Companies are expected to be proactive in preventing pollution and reducing consumption, minimize waste generation and encourage recycling of used materials.   

Practice 8

Take initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility.

Which means: incorporate its business strategy and processes, policies and practices that encourage environmental responsibility of all employees and suppliers, disclose practices to be adopted in favor of the environment, support preservation projects and present the concern for the environment through environmental preservation practices in the communities where it operates, aiming at strict compliance with current laws.  

Practice 9

Encourage the development and diffusion of clean technologies.

O que significa: o engajamento da empresa na busca e utilização de novas tecnologias e fontes de energia limpa, como a disseminação do uso da energia solar, o uso de frotas com biocombustíveis, energia eólica, etc.

What do we do at Cemig to support this practice?

• The preservation of the environment is one of the themes of Cemig’s Declaration of Ethical Principles and Code of Professional Conduct.
• We recognize and strongly emphasize environmental protection in all of our processes and facilities.
• We invest in the development of new clean technologies, such as wind energy.
• During our planning and activities, we consider the need to protect the environment and contribute to the social development of the populations in the communities where we operate.
• We acknowledge that it is our responsibility and that of our employees to act in accordance with legislation and environmental policy.
• Cemig bases its actions on national and international standards, ISO 14000, and it also maintains a transparent relationship with the inspection agencies.

To learn more, please visi: 

Ministry of Environment
Secretary of State for Environment and Sustainable Development
Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development
Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources

Fighting Corruption

The fourth dimension of Global Compact deals with the fight against corruption in all its forms and instances, including extortion and bribery.    

Practice 10

Fight against corruption

Which means: guiding the behavior of the internal and external public to minimize ethical conflicts, reinforcing the conduct guided by transparency and ethics. To guarantee the existence and support of the Ethics Committee responsible for the management of the ethical culture in the company, contributing to the dissemination of good practices and the existence of procedures that define and make possible the penalty that may be imposed in case of violations to this principle.       

What do we do at Cemig to support this practice?

• We strictly forbid our employees from accepting, offering, promising, soliciting gifts, gratuities or personal advantages from customers and partners in order to gain illegitimate advantage or to induce that rules and laws are violated.
• We protect the ideas, programs and projects developed by the company and respect the right to ownership of ideas developed by partners.
• We rely on the Anonymous Reporting Channel to receive, submit and process reports of irregular practices.    
• We have an Ombudsman‘s Office, a service channel available on the Internet, to establish the between society and the company in search of improvements to the services delivered.
• We have our Information Security Policy that defines a set of standards and procedure instructions based on NBR ISO/IEC 17.799, aiming at reducing and managing risks related to security and information protection.

To learn more, please visit 

Nations Development Program
Institute of Business and Social Responsibility