This Thursday evening (21), EDP, a company that operates across all areas of the country’s electricity industry, commemorated wining the “Processes” category in the 36th edition of Brazil’s foremost business sustainability awards, the 2018 ECO Prize. The case the company presented highlighted the company’s Gender Equality initiative. The competition is organized by the American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) and The award ceremony was held yesterday in Sao Paulo.

At the winning case, “Electricians School for Women: Commitment to Gender Equality to Increase the Female Inclusion in EDP’s Business” explained that the company offers free training to women living in the Alto Tietê and Vale do Paraíba regions of São Paulo. The initiative, which includes 550 hours of class work, focused on the future electricians’ proficiency and qualification to prepare them for the energy distribution sector. At the end of the course, all 31 students received a SENAI certificate and a number of students were hired by EDP and are already working as electricians. The other students are now part of EDP’s talent pool and can take part in future selection processes for permanent positions.

This school exclusively for women is a first in the electricity industry and is part of EDP’s commitment to promote gender equality. EDP endorsed the UN’s Principles of Women’s Empowerment in 2017 and has joined the global effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and, subsequently, Gender Equality, one of the major global goals to be achieved by 2020.

About EDP

EDP has over 20 years’ experience and is one of the biggest private-sector companies operating across the entire value chain. The Company has over 10,000 direct and indirect staff and is involved in Energy Transmission, Sales and Services. It also operates 15 hydro power plants and one thermal power station. Its Distribution area serves around 3.4 million customers in Sao Paulo and Espírito Santo. The Company recently acquired a stake in CELESC, from Santa Catarina. In Brazil, the company is noted for its Innovation, Governance and Sustainability and has been included in the B3 Business Sustainability Index (BSI) for 12 consecutive years.