Corporate Volunteering
Program to encourage voluntary work by the professionals employed, with the purpose of promoting solidarity and well-being for the communities.
Corporate Volunteering is a business social responsibility initiative that aims to encourage and support voluntary actions of its professionals for the benefit of society. It is also recognized in the corporate world as an important instrument for improving the organizational atmosphere and developing skills. In this context, Cemig counts on the “Você – Cemig” Volunteering Program (You – Program), which includes several actions to encourage and support employee involvement in volunteer activities.
The purpose of the “You – Program” is to stimulate and promote solidarity and voluntary work of Cemig´s workforce in order to promote human development and contribute to the welfare of the communities where it operates. Cemig’s Business Volunteer Policy is the guiding instrument for the practice of volunteer service, and the Specific Service Instruction establishes the rules of implementation and guidelines to be followed by “You – program” participants.
Structured to enhance the actions of ongoing volunteer work, whose trajectory gradually migrates from social assistance to participatory citizenship and social transformation, the Company has been investing in projects that benefit young people from communities, public school students and women in situations of social risk. We highlight some of the projects carried out by the Business Volunteering in collaboration with Energy Efficiency and Junior Achievement, a non-profit institution, as a good example:
Mini-company: Provides public school students with knowledge and practical experience in economics and business through the organization and operation of a mini-company. Students learn concepts of free enterprise, market, marketing and production. At the end of the project, a trade fair is held gathering the participants in an event aimed at selling products developed by the actual students during the project, and then it is concluded with a graduation event.
In this project we highlight the “Mini-company Econudos”. Cemig, by means of the Business Volunteering, provided financial investment as well as mentoring the projects with trained volunteers. The students of “Econudos” received four of the seven awards granted (Top Innovation, Top Socio-Environmental, Outstanding Mini-company and Nexa Challenge), and they represented Brazil at COY, an event of Junior Achievement, which selects the 20 best mini-companies in the Americas. The event took place in the Dominican Republic in November 2019, where three students from “Mauricio Murgel” State School attended the competition.
Entrepreneurial Women: it is an initiative to encourage entrepreneurship and aims to develop the entrepreneurial spirit of women in socially vulnerable situations, stimulating the creation of their own businesses and improving their self-esteem.
Attitude for the Planet: Develops concepts related to sustainable development and sustainability, with the purpose of achieving social, environmental and economic balance, preserving the planet’s resources for the future.
The Advantages of Staying in School: The focus is on making teenagers aware of the importance and benefits of continuing their studies by providing educational information and presenting career options.
Let’s talk about ethics: It provides young students with reflections on the benefits of ethical conduct in their personal and professional lives, contributing to a better understanding of their role as citizens.
Energy Challenge: The purpose is to find innovative solutions to a specific energy challenge, focused on the business world, which must be solved by students / participants, organized in teams, through an intense experience.
Entrepreneur with Energy: The program aims to encourage young people to become social protagonists and discover ways to undertake energy efficiency solutions.
Historically, with the effective participation of employees, the Company has always carried out voluntary actions, with occasional campaigns to support civil society organizations or those resulting from natural disasters, as well as developing actions of social scope, defined by the National Electrical Energy Agency – Aneel, the regulatory body of the electrical sector.
We highlight some of the projects:
AI 6% is one of the corporate actions established by employees with strong social impact. Supported by Federal Law 8069/1990 of the Child and Adolescent Statute, the Program aims to encourage Cemig employees to pass on up to 6% of their income tax due to the Child and Adolescent Funds (FIA). Implemented in 2000, the AI 6% also seeks to encourage voluntary work by employees in the institutions supported by the Program.
“V-Day” is the celebration of Volunteer Day. The actions carried out by Cemig to celebrate this date provide the community residents with a series of free benefits, such as the issuance of a work permit and an identity card, medical and eye care, oral health guidance, bazaar, beauty workshop, legal, professional and entrepreneurial advice, as well as a play circuit for children.
The event is always held on the last Sunday of August, and its purpose is to mobilize and encourage solidarity actions, which take place annually in a community previously selected by the coordinating team. This mobilization has been taking place since 2001 under the general coordination of Cemig Health in partnership with several companies of Cemig Group.
This is an occasional volunteer action, focused on issues related to sustainability, in the “Team Building with Social Impact” model, including the revamping of Barbacena Avenue’s central garden, near Cemig’s Head Office. The Sustainable Day program included workshops on sustainability, environmental education, landscaping, entertainment, stimulation of volunteer work, popular participation and the economy of small local producers.
At the beginning of 2020 the state of Minas Gerais was heavily impacted by floods and landslides, causing major damage in some municipalities. Faced with this scenario, Cemig, through its Corporate Volunteering program, carried out an emergency campaign to help those affected by the rains that devastated Minas Gerais and the Southeast region. In addition to collecting donations, the Company freed up hours for employees to volunteer at Servas – Independent Social Service and the Red Cross, helping to sort and make kits (clothes, groceries, personal hygiene products, etc.) for those affected by the rain.
In collaboration with “Servas” – (Autonomous Social Service), letters of children sheltered by institutional shelters in Belo Horizonte were made available, in order to be sponsored by Cemig employees and bring joy to children at Christmas.
Other initiatives are also developed by the Company to encourage employee participation as volunteers. Aligned with the purpose of being, increasingly, a socially committed Company, Cemig is part of entities that promote the development of corporate volunteering: CMVC – CORPORATE VOLUNTEERING COMMITTEE MINAS GERAIS e CBVE – BRAZILIAN CORPORATE VOLUNTEERING COUNCIL
The United Nations (UN) recognizes that volunteering is a powerful way to engage people to make a development front around the world, and that can be decisive in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Cemig has joined the UN Global Compact, which encourages companies to adopt core values related to social responsibility and sustainability. And through the Corporate Volunteer Program, Cemig also aims to meet SDGs, and contribute with actions against poverty, protection of the planet and for all people to have peace and prosperity.
SDGs are goals that have been assumed by all member countries of the United Nations. These goals generated a global agenda adopted during the United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development, and were built as a sustainable agenda that should guide actions of global society until 2030.