The Petrobras Cultural Program (PP C) is the company’s largest and most important action for incentive to culture, which allocated R$ 206.8 million to the sector and sponsored approximately 1,000 projects during the year
Petrobras was one of the first companies to use the benefits of the Federal Sports Incentive Act
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ACTIONS FOR SOCIAL INCLUSION
In 2008, Petrobras allocated around R$ 500 million to sponsoring and supporting cultural, sports and social projects, which includes R$ 48.5 million contribution to the Fund for Childhood and Adolescence (FIA), focusing on guaranteeing the rights of children and adolescents.
The main investments of the company in social projects in Brazil are concentrated in the Petrobras Citizenship & Development program, which has initial investment goals of R$ 1.3 billion in the period 2007-2012. The program is designed to contribute to local, regional and national development, promoting a decent and productive inclusion of the underprivileged.
All sponsored projects must respect diversity and act in synergy with the Brazilian public policies. The Petrobras Development & Citizenship program supports initiatives that promote development with equal opportunities, valorizing local potential, contributing to reduce poverty and inequalities. The actions are strategic, systemic and multi-institutional, seeking sustainable results. The program encourages social leadership, co-responsibility, associativism, cooperativism and networking, besides collaborating to local development in the areas of influence of the Petrobras System.
In 2008, of the R$ 225.08 million invested in social projects, 95.7% was allocated to initiatives supported by the program in projects throughout Brazil, considering three lines of action:In 2008, of the R$ 225.08 million invested in social projects, 95.7% was allocated to initiatives supported by the program in projects throughout Brazil, considering three lines of action:
Petrobras acknowledges and encourages receiving projects that develop techniques and methodologies to improve community involvement
focus on short term actions that contribute to the productive inclusion of the Brazilian population, seeking more immediate solutions to overcome the conditions of poverty in the country. The sponsored projects have an emancipating nature and aim to further autonomy. The use of technology and a suitable infrastructure in the local productive arrangements are encouraged, with a view to increasing their financial sustainability and competitiveness.
An example is the Fresh Water Shrimp Community Management project. Developed in the Marajoara archipelago, Pará State, North of Brazil, the action trains fishermen in techniques of handling, processing and sustainable exploration of shrimps and undertakes a program of economic management of associative enterprises, to help strengthen community organization. The project, that includes development and re-application of social technology, provides ideal fishing conditions by implementing a shrimp production system for enhancing the shrimp traps. Besides fishing, the project encourages the multiple use of forest resources. Here, 155 families are beneficiaries, representing a total of 950 people. The activity is integrated to the way of life of the inhabitants, generating income and jobs for most of the families. Petrobras acknowledges and encourages receiving projects that develop techniques and methodologies to enhance community involvement
Ed ucation for professional qualification — actions focusing on mid-term results, to prepare Brazilian youth for the labor market through professional training as well as building a life project that considers their vocations and potentials.
This is the case of the project Araçuaí Sustainable Platform for Convergence of Social Technologies and Construction of Sustainable Towns, designed to contribute to the training of young people and adults from the town of Araçuaí, in the Valley of Jequitinhonha (Minas Gerais), Southeast of Brazil. The project aims to promote social change by teaching sustainable attitudes, seeds production and processing used cooking oil. In order to replicate the sustainable actions in rural and urban communities, the project also addresses technical and professional training of the young and adults, in order to build economic solidarity units from regional material resources. The action directly involves 40,000 people.
To guarantee the rights of ch ildren and adolescents — long term projects, to develop respect for the rights of children and adolescents. The projects act together with society and state agencies to prevent any kind of discrimination, exploitation, violence, cruelty or oppression of the young, assuring their physical, mental, moral, spiritual and social development in free and decent conditions.
An important project within this scope is the National Center of Denunciation of Cybernetic Crimes – Against Pedophilia on the Internet, which increases the actions against internet distribution of child pornography throughout Brazil. The initiative increases the capacity for processing, monitoring, generating and forwarding crime news relating to anonymous denunciations to the National Center of Cybernetic Crimes, affecting 18,250 people.
One of the stages of the Petrobras Development & Citizenship program is the public selection which, in 2007, approved 72 new projects. The results were disclosed in May 2008. The selection process undergo a Technical and Administrative Trial, a Selection Committee and Deliberative Council to assure transparency throughout the selective process.
Petrobras acknowledges and encourages receiving projects that develop techniques and methodologies to improve community involvement. The company, member of the Social Technology Network (RTS), valorizes actions which re-apply social technologies mapped by the RTS or develop new technologies with potential for addition to the Network.
In 2008, the Petrobras Development & Citizenship program directly attended 520,000 people, resulting in the generation of 6,865 jobs by direct investment and a 201% increase in the average income per capita of the participants. Thirty-four percent of those attending professional training courses were awarded certificates accredited by the National System of Professional Certification. Moreover, 23% of the public involved was in the 15–29 age group, and 96% of the participants in the projects to guarantee the rights of children and adolescents fully completely the course. This information was obtained from 295 corporate projects.
The sponsored projects are followed up by a set of performance indicators and goals, which make it possible to monitor and assess the results nationwide on an integrated basis. In 2008, a social investment system was set up in Petrobras and a guide to best social investment management practices prepared, considering the three dimensions of sustainability – economic, social and environmental. This system also adopts the principles of the UN Global Compact, GRI, Agenda 21 and WBCSD.
Another Petrobras social action is the contribution to the Fund for Childhood and Adolescence (FIA). In 2008, R$ 48.5 million was allocated to 268 projects. The purpose of the main projects, in partnership with the Special Bureau of Humans Rights and federal, state and local councils for the rights of children and adolescents, is to act in the following areas: child labor, sexual exploitation, domestic violence, socio-educational measures, family and community coexistence, and so on.
SOCIAL INVESTMENT ASSESSMENT SYSTEM
Petrobras has developed an information system for integrated social project monitoring and assessment. It measures the results of the sponsored actions and follows the scope of the defined goals and objectives. The company shares with its social department the learning and management technologies developed by its business department. Through the social investment assessment system, it is possible to guide the organizational units of the Petrobras System in standardizing procedures for analysis, selection, approval, follow-up and assessment of the sponsored social projects, establishing the methodology, criteria and indicators to be adopted for all social investments.
The system complies with the company’s Strategic Plan, Business Plan and Capital Discipline to apply best practices for the in-company enhancement of the social project management process. Based on internationally recognized methodologies, such as that of the Project Management Institute (PMI), the system adopts procedures similar to those of the business projects. The methodology was discussed and presented at the Social Responsibility Management Committee and approved by the Executive Board, and permits the management of Petrobras social investments in an increasingly transparent and effective manner.
The results of the projects are followed up physically and financially using standard tools, such as the Quarterly Monitoring Report, the Budget Execution Follow-up Report and the Final Report of Lessons Learned. Moreover, technical visits and telephone contact provide the follow-up of the Social Investment Results Indicator (IRIS), which is part of the Petrobras Balanced Scorecard (BSC). IRIS is an indicator for measuring the performance in achieving the social goals established by the Petrobras Development & Citizenship program for the portfolio of its sponsored projects, quantified during the process of approving the Strategic Plan, reflecting priorities of the social actions.
IRIS and the indicators which compose the system are accompanied every quarter by the Social Responsibility Management Committee, which every six months submits to the Executive Board a report with the main results.
The system of analyzing and selecting the Petrobras social projects is based on information sent by the partner organizations. This refers to a qualitative measuring process using standard methodology and tools to reduced the relative subjectivity of this data, formatting it in order to compare the alternatives.
In the case of projects with different social targets, an index is adopted that weights different benefits, based on criteria selected in the approval of the Petrobras Development & Citizenship program. Thus, it is possible to consider the actual contribution of Petrobras social investment to its different stakeholders. As the criteria used are dynamic, it is necessary to make adjustments and reassessments whenever the Strategic Plan is revised.
The composition of the index to be used in analyzing the social projects is based on nine criteria selected, considered to be important by Petrobras for the period 2007-2012:
- > Alignment of the project with the Petrobras Development & Citizenship program;
- > Analysis of the social context;
- > Technical, operational and financial feasibility;
- > Expected results;
- > Degree of participation of the community;
- > Partnerships;
- > Interaction with public policies;
- > Project disclosure strategies;
- > Potential performance of the project related to the goals established in the Petrobras Development & Citizenship program.
CULTURAL SPONSORSHIPS
Petrobras seeks to defend and valorize Brazilian culture through a social sponsoring policy, jointly with public policies for the sector and focused on affirming Brazilian identity. The Petrobras Cultural Program (PPC) is the company’s largest and most important action for incentive to culture, which allocated R$ 206.8 million to the sector and sponsored approximately 1,000 projects during the year.
By means of public selection and direct choice, these actions contribute to strengthening the opportunities of creating, producing, disseminating and enjoying Brazilian culture. Moreover, the company also sponsors projects of permanent performance in constructing Brazilian cultural memory, consolidating the work of saving, recovering, organizing and recording our material and immaterial cultural heritage. Priority is given to risk status cases, increasing access to their content.
In 2008, the fifth edition of the PPC allocated R$ 42 million to public selected projects. The PPC consists of three lines of action:
Preservation and memory — projects of protecting the arts memory in Brazil, immaterial heritage and actions in museums, collections and libraries. One example is the project Documents of Slavery in Rio Grande do Sul, which aims to identify and recount the slave trade in documents with a time frame between September 1763, with the oldest public deed in the collection, and May 13, 1888, when slavery was abolished in Brazil. The project prepared and published a research instrument consisting of notes which summarize the contents of the documents, with information about slaves, businessmen, sums involved and types of commercial relations. This project made it possible to preserve the original manuscripts, since the prior inquiry in a catalog of information acts as a filter, with restricted handling of the source documents. The activities were developed on the premises of the Public Archives of Rio Grande do Sul State.
Production and disclosure — projects involving cinema, music, scenic arts and literature, besides actions of difusion and democratic access to culture.
This is the case of the project Bando de Teatro Olodum (Olodum Theater Band), from Bahia and consisting of Afro-Brazilian performers in the 18- 51 age group. The Band participates in a number of stage events in Brazil and abroad, revealing talents such as singer Virginia Rodrigues and actor Lazaro Ramos. This project gave rise to two books and the feature movie Ó Paí, Ò!, based on one of its plays. The project does research and creates plays based on the stories and memories of the oldest members of communities with a strong Afro Brazilian culture. All activities permeate the capacity building of the members, such as, for example, the presentation of the group’s repertoire, workshops and exchange programs in some Brazilian towns.
Art education — projects which combine art and culture with education, increasing the possibilities of critical reception of the arts and other cultural performances.
A representative of this line of action is the project of the São Paulo Point to Point Newsletter (Boletim Ponto a Ponto). The newsletter has a monthly circulation of 2,000 copies, with newspaper and magazine articles and distributed free of charge throughout Brazil to people with visual disabilities, institutions for the visually impaired and public libraries. The project is designed to fill the gap in available Braille material, for learning, information and entertainment. In these three segments, the actions include cinema, literature, scenic arts, digital culture, music, the visual arts and immaterial heritage. The Historic Monuments projects are sponsored by invitation from the company, which makes it a priority to take actions to restore listed buildings of eminent importance for Brazilian culture, architecture and history, also noting the urgency of the restoration.
All projects grant 100% tax benefit to the sponsor, such as short movie productions, and 30% to the sponsor with limited tax benefit, such as the initiatives of popular music. In addition to approval under the Rouanet Act – Federal Law 8,313, which permits a 4% or less income tax deduction by corporate sponsors –, the projects are submitted to the Institutional Subsecretariat Sponsorship Committee of the Presidency of Brazil (Secom) for approval before contracting.
| sport projects investments in 2008 | |
|---|---|
| ACTION LINE | R$ Mil |
| Performance sport | 39.225 |
| Motor sport | 27.120 |
| Incentive sport | 2.598 |
| Others* | 6.900 |
| Total | 68.951 |
* It includes projects of units of the international area and RE FAP.
SPORTS SPONSORSHIP
Petrobras is one of the most active companies in sponsoring and encouraging sports in Brazil. In a study by the international consulting firm Market Analysis, Petrobras brand is indicated as one of the brands most closely associated with Brazilian sports. In 2008, the company invested approximately R$ 61.4 million in projects all over the country under the Petrobras programs for Performance Sports and Petrobras Motor Sports.
In the Petrobras Performance Sports, the company sponsors handball, surfing and tennis, besides soccer, with the sponsorship of the Flamengo soccer team with the largest number of supporters in Brazil. Another incentive for sport is the official sponsorship of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB). Petrobras was also one of the first companies to use the benefits of the Federal Sports Incentive Act to sponsor the preparation of the Brazilian Delegation for the Beijing Olympic Games 2008.
In the Petrobras Motor Sports Program, the company focuses on technological cooperation, using the racetracks to develop its products, under the strictest conditions. The company sponsors competitions in categories such as: rally, kart, truck, motorcycling and prototype. A major example was its technical partnership with the Williams Formula 1 team, ended in late 2008. The result was the development of Podium gasoline, considered to be the best fuel available in the Brazilian market.
In 2008, the plan was to launch the Petrobras Sport & Citizenship program, but the public selection process of sports projects did not achieve its main objectives. Less than 30% of the projects registered complied with the regulations and no proposals were received from North or Northeast Brazil. Nor did it attain the preferred minimum number of 50% of Educational Sport projects.
This is why in 2009 Petrobras intends to launch another Petrobras Sport & Citizenship Public Selection, with new guidelines for participation, considering the Federal Sports Incentive Act, an essential tool for fostering Brazilian sport.

