Sustainability r e p o r t - Sabesp

Main accomplishmentsIn 2009, we made significant progress inenvironmental management to permeateall activities and departments of theorganization and make a variable to beconsidered in all decisions made.Environmental Management NetworkIn April 2007, we started at Sabesp a change process to align the organizational structure,with a strong emphasis of the environmental issues. The Environment function was allocatedto the Technology, Projects and Environment Executive Department, where the EnvironmentalManagement Superintendency was created, consisting of the following departments andcoordinating offices:• Environmental Control and Monitoring Department – consisting of the environmentalmonitoring and control, management, and environmental risks coordinating offices;• Technical and Environmental Development Department – consisting of the environmentalstudies, education, and environmental development coordinating offices;• Water Resources Management Department – consisting of the institutional water resourcesmanagement, and special water resources programs coordinating offices;• Environmental Planning and Management Department – consisting of the environmentalassessment and procedures, and environmental information management coordinatingoffices;• Environmental Communication Coordinating Office;• Legal Assistance Coordinating Office.We also created, at corporate level, an Environmental Legal department subordinated tothe Legal Superintendency. The Environment Committee is in operation since 2007, withrepresentatives from all executive departments for the decision-making and forwarding ofstrategic matters.To have in place an integrated operation line in the company, to manage environmentaldemands, which are specific to each region of operation of Sabesp, beginning 2007, weimplemented 20 “Environmental Management Centers” (NGAs) in the Business Units (BUs),which report to the Environmental Management Superintendency.The NGAs were designed to act close to daily activities and, therefore, support decision-makingat local level, expedite information flow, and help the even organization-wide dissemination ofguidelines. Additionally, they are a key interchange network for the continuous improvement ofenvironmental performance.Aerial view of the Paiva Castro dam in the Cantareira System.During 2009, we invested in the qualification of the 31-professional team of theNGAs using courses, lectures, seminars, and technical visits. We covered topicslike enforced legislation—civil proceedings, environmental civil class actions, andPolicy Adjustment Commitment (TAC)—corporate writing, valuation of possibleenvironmental damages, environmental licensing in the State of São Paulo, andenvironmental expert work, totaling 5,615 hours (including 672 hours of outsidecourses and 4,943 of in-house courses).The different environmental actions and programs are developed by thedecentralized Business Units, which are also responsible for the implementation ofthe Environmental Policy.Beginning April 2007, we invested in the qualification of a team professionalsinvolved in environmental management using training courses, lectures, seminars,and technical visits. These covered topics like enforced legislation, corporatewriting, valuation of possible environmental damages, environmental licensing, andenvironmental expert work, totaling 6,500 hours.94 95