In 2020, more than 96 thousand people benefited from the EDP Institute’s education, culture and sport projects
In a year of pandemic, the organization adapted most of its programs, which became remote, and contributed with actions to fight and prevent COVID-19 in the communities where it operates.
On the verge of completing 13 years in the management of the EDP Group’s social and environmental actions, the EDP Institute announces an important number: in 2020, more than 96 thousand Brazilians were directly benefited by the projects managed by the organization and by those it supports, either by incentive or direct funding. Compared to the result of 2019 (about 82 thousand people), the work carried out in a challenging year resulted in an increase of more than 17% of people covered by social initiatives aimed at Education, Culture, Sports, Entrepreneurship, Social Development, Health and Income Generation.
EDP invested more than R$ 6.2 million in 32 projects from nine states where the EDP Group is present: Amapá, Ceará, Espírito Santo, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Rio Grande do Norte, São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul and Tocantins.
Programs such as “EDP in Schools”, “Study and Play at Home”, “Learn and Grow”, “Digital and Social Inclusion”, “Beyond the Street” and “Street Football for Education”, aimed to contribute to education, social integration and digital inclusion, sport and art for children and adolescents. Adults and members of the third age present in the communities were also awarded projects such as "Elderly People of the Future", "Support for the Elderly" and "Longevity with Dignity".
“We face the challenges of the year 2020 with a strong desire to make the programs happen. There were many adaptations, but what made us happier was seeing the commitment of everyone involved - company, employees, partner projects, schools and people benefited. We had one of our best results”, highlights Dominic Schmal, executive manager of the EDP Institute.
Fighting the pandemic
Health promotion has always been one of the objectives of a series of programs at the EDP Institute. However, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic worldwide motivated the organization to carry out, last year, a public selection of projects aimed at preventing and fighting COVID-19.
In 2020, EDP funded more than R$ 10 million in donations, of which R$ 500 thousand came from donations from its own employees, which benefited people in a situation of social vulnerability, hospitals and health professionals from 40 institutions. Among the initiatives are the donation of 97 respirators to ICUs, distribution of more than 350 kg of food to indigenous communities, about 50 thousand protective equipment, including masks and gloves. These actions benefited more than 400 thousand people.
“During much of the year, the programs had to adapt to continue their activities remotely”, explains Dominic. “One of them was 'EDP nas Escolas' [EDP in Schools], which came to carry out some on-site initiatives, such as the distribution of school kits, but, eventually, it had to undergo some adjustments, as was the case of the training of teachers carried out at a distance and other actions that were previously done in groups and became individual ”.
Among the activities carried out by “EDP nas Escolas”, infrared thermometers, masks for students and teachers, 70% alcohol gel and their dispensers were delivered. “In addition, the contact we had with schools through webinars was essential to supply the need for information on how to live with this pandemic problem and keep mental health up to date”.
Volunteering
In 2020, a very challenging year due to the pandemic and social isolation, EDP’s volunteering program had 1,071 volunteers, from 8 states, who invested around 4,100 hours of work in their actions, benefiting around 50 thousand people in 72 entities.
Among these actions, “Write a letter to an elderly person” stands out, whose proposal was to enable employees to have the opportunity to send letters to long-term institutions for the elderly, located in Ceará and São Paulo. The action came about with the purpose of transmitting positive messages and generating more affection in this moment of pandemic and social isolation; the initiative engaged 36 volunteers.
In addition to its voluntary actions, EDP structured an internal platform, “EDP Soma” [EDP Add]. Launched in December 2020, the tool allows the professional to donate an amount of their salary to collaborate with the company’s social actions and, at the end of each month, the company doubles that amount.
About IEDP
Since its establishment in 2008, the EDP Institute has invested more than R$ 100 million in socio-cultural projects, which have benefited around three million people, in around 400 programs spread across the country. In 2020 alone, initiatives supported by the organization benefited more than 96,000 residents of the communities surrounding the areas in which the Company operates. The EDP Institute is responsible for structuring EDP’s investments and social initiatives on fronts linked to the appreciation of the Portuguese language, education, local development with income generation, entrepreneurship and volunteering, through sport, culture and health.