Brooms Factory Inauguration

ATE II has donated a small factory for the production of brooms using discarded PET bottles, to the Balsas Center Defense of Life and Human Rights.

The donated machinery cuts both top and bottom of the bottles and then makes PET strings. A press puts the bristles together in order to make the broom.

The Center is an institution created by organized society that defends life, human rights and citizenship. It was founded in 1999, at Balsas – MA, one of the cities crossed by the Power Line.

The center attends 335 children and teenagers, where they are able not only to perform sports and artistic and cultural activities, but also to attend courses and professionalizing workshops.

They also help 85 families through the participation in community vegetable gardens and in groups to support drug addicts.

The city of Balsas has among its waste a large amount of PET bottles, which are responsible for contaminating Balsas River and its affluents. That is why PET recycling is of great importance for the environment protection.

Besides that, the broom factory donated by ATE II is an instrument for the recovery of self-esteem, social inclusion, awakening of business spirit and income generation for the children and teenagers attended by the Center.

A campaign in July has obtained 10,000 PET bottles in Balsas schools that, among many others in the future, won't be polluting the rivers and the soil and will represent a great contribution to the society of Balsas.

Construction of the Santa Clara Municipal School

ATE III Transmissora de Energia S.A. ended greatly the year of 2007 when it comes to CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). In addition to all the actions performed during the year, we were responsible for the reconstruction of a school in Nova Olinda – TO.

Nova Olinda is one of the municipalities crossed by the Transmission Line Itacaiúnas – Colinas. The planned route for the line used to cross the old Santa Clara Municipal School. As soon as ATE III became aware of what the school looked like and how it worked, the decision was to maintain the original route and build a new school for the community.

The old school used to hold 17 children and it was also a church and a place for community reunions. It didn't have electricity, piped water or sewers and the conservation status was terrible.

The new Santa Clara Municipal School was built in a nearby area and was made for up to 20 children. The school was connected to public distribution of electricity and water and to sewerage, making possible to install the ceiling fans and to build the bathrooms. The opening ceremony was attended by the Mayor of Nova Olinda and the Municipal Secretary of Education. Now, the school is able to hold in a more appropriate way the religious celebrations and community reunions.

Educational Campaign for the Environmental Awareness

Abengoa´s Power Transmission Concessionaries in Brazil make environmental education campaigns in order to reduce forest fires.

In Brazil, months between June and October are critical to some regions because dryer weather increases the occurrence of forest fires. This can happen either on purpose by land owners to clean soil with fire or by accidents. Fire drains soil fertility on medium term, reduces air quality and damages transmission lines, besides other things.

Thinking about environmental protection and security of energy supply, power transmission concessionaries in operation- ATE, ATE II and ATE III, launched the 2008's Environmental Education Campaign. This was possible because of a partnership between ATE and IBAMA/PREVFOGO, the National System for the Prevention and Fight of Forest Fires. The campaign focused on safe dealing with power lines and prevention of forest fires.

The 2-week long campaign happened on schools located nearby the power lines. It consisted on moving students, parents and teachers through workshops that stimulated their participation and on the distribution of scholar kits with telephones to report forest fires.

Tree Seedlings Donated

ATE has donated 400,000 tree seedlings to Bauru City Hall, municipality crossed by the Power Line in the state of São Paulo. The seedlings represent the natural flora of the region and so, are a mix of different species. This biodiversity helps recovering the forest, mainly the areas closer to the riversides.

The tree seedlings are part of a Commitment Term signed with the State Department for the Protection of Natural Resources of São Paulo, and will be sent to the State's Environmental Protection Area of Rio Batalha

The riverside vegetation, the main preservation target, is a very important part of the ecosystems; since it avoids the carrying of sediments into the river and maintains the biodiversity. The species were chosen so that the structure and diversity of the natural flora could be respected, speeding up the process of ecological succession and consequently the recovery of the area.

The donation follows a timeline of 100,000 annual tree seedlings, from 2007 to 2010, and will enforce the environmental protection of degraded areas and the maintenance of ecosystems.