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The engagement of each one in social and environmental causes is capable of transforming the world. To that end, Neoenergia encourages volunteering among its employees, who are the company's main value. For the third consecutive year, the company is part of the International Volunteering Day, promoted by Iberdrola Group, its controlling shareholder. The action will be launched this Tuesday, September 1^st, and in Brazil it will start with a live of the social entrepreneur Fábio Silva, founder of the Transform Brazil (Transforma Brasil, in Portuguese) movement, which gathers opportunities and volunteers from all over the country. For the first time, this year, as a covid-19 prevention measure, the ten initiatives will take place remotely over a week. The actions can be carried out online or in places close to their homes.

"We have a community of volunteers who work to make Brazil a fairer society without inequalities, connected to one of our main values, of being an integrating company. Our time is the most precious good we have and we need to make a personal commitment to collaborate to bring people who do not have the same reality as us to a better reality. Doing good brings happiness. We will go through life and we have to leave our seed, which is the good and a more equal world", says Mario Ruiz-Tagle, Neoenergia's CEO.

VOLUNTEERING WEEK

The worldwide volunteering movement will be held by Iberdrola from September 19 to 26, with the theme "Committed to the environment, inclusion and social emergency". For one week, activities will be promoted to encourage the engagement of the group's employees. All actions take place in five of the countries where the group operates: besides Brazil, Spain (Iberdrola), United States (Avangrid), Mexico (Iberdrola Mexico) and United Kingdom (Scottish Power).

"Volunteering is an experience that contributes to the support of the most vulnerable people and the development of a more collective society, especially in this period when solidarity is even more necessary. But its benefits go beyond, this is a very important work for everyone's personal and professional growth," says Clayton Urbano Freire, Internal Communication manager and Neoenergia's Volunteering Program coordinator.

One of these actions is Solidarity Sports. Through a mobile application, Neoenergia employees will be able to record walks, jogging and bicycle rides. The challenge, including all the volunteers, will be to reach 2,200 kilometers, which will be converted into donations of 2,200 units of milk and geriatric diapers for institutions that serve children and elderly in the states of Pernambuco, Bahia and Rio Grande do Norte.

Also to support these institutions, employees will be able to record videos telling children's stories or with music to entertain the elderly who live in the shelters of the concession areas – Bahia (Coelba), Pernambuco (Celpe), Rio Grande do Norte (Cosern) e São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul (Elektro). Another action will be a social photography contest that, at each registration, the company will donate an education kit (notebook, pencil, pen and backpack) to young people in a situation of social vulnerability.  There will also be a Good Gymkhana, to encourage the collection of personal hygiene materials, which will be aimed at organizations that serve homeless people.

The International Volunteering Week will also have actions of the online environmental journey, to raise awareness in the participants about the importance of recycling. Employees will be able to participate in the vertical garden creation workshops with drip system, growth towers and vertical urban garden. In the "I take care of my space" (Eu cuido do meu quadrado, in Portuguese) activity, volunteers should do a cleaning action with their family in the vicinity of home, collecting garbage from the streets and following the company's safety recommendations

HOW TO BECOME A VOLUNTEER

The incentive to volunteering work at Neoenergia goes beyond the initiatives of the International Volunteering Week. The company has a Program that permanently offers opportunities for civic engagement through its own online platform, used by Iberdrola Group companies. In addition, Neoenergia also has an online space with jobs offered directly by NGOs, in partnership with Transforma Brasil. The platform crosses the vacancies available in Brazilian institutions with the information registered by those who wish to volunteer, connecting opportunities and facilitating engagement.

In both, employees can find positions linked to five Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) promoted by the United Nations and adopted as company commitments. Neoenergia's mission are the SDGs 7 (clean and accessible energy) and 13 (action against global climate change). In addition to these, the opportunities available on the platform are related to: 4 (quality education), 5 (gender equality) and 10 (reduction of inequalities).

From March to August 2020, during the pandemic, the program had 685 volunteers who participated in 38 actions in six states, benefiting 58 organizations.

Access to Neoenergia's Volunteering Portal:

• For Neoenergia´s employees: voluntariado.neoenergia.com

Access to Transforma Brasil:

• For the society in general: www.transformabrasil.com.br

TRANSFORMA BRASIL FUND

Neoenergia employees collaborated with the Transforma Brasil Fund, an initiative of the Transforma Brasil movement to receive donations and help people in vulnerable situations affected by the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In the first stage, from March to July, donations from the company and employees totaled almost R$ 1.05 million. The second stage of the initiative was launched last Friday, August 28, National Volunteering Day, and aims to generate employment and income through training, mentoring and acceleration of projects.

Website for donations: www.fundo.transformabrasil.com.br

This initiative is part of the Iberdrola group answer to Coronav​irus .