Votorantim Siderurgia’s (Steel) Environmental Education Program merges environmental education as a company’s cultural value, aiming at developing knowledge, attitudes and abilities required to the conservation of our natural resources. The Program has three fundamental pillars: VS’s employees, their family members and the communities where they live, located near VS’s units.
Since its inauguration (2006), the program involved more than 6,000 people: public school teachers were trained in environmental education, employees’ and outsourced employees’ children qualified as environmental monitors and all the employees and outsourced employees had five types of environmental training.
Following the guidance given by Ibama (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Natural Resources) and the Chico Mendes Institute of Biodiversidade (ICMBio), Votorantim Siderurgia (Steel) is planting a green belt which comprises 32% of the total area of the new Resende Unit – which has 4.3 million square meters. In all, more than 200,000 native species will be planted in an area of one million and four hundred thousand square meters. In 2008 alone, 60,000 seedlings of native species were planted. The project is estimated to be concluded in five years.
Focusing on assessing possible impacts generated by the installation of its units in the cities where it operates, Votorantim Siderurgia (Steel) maintains constant monitoring of the air quality. In the cities of Barra Mansa, Resende and Itatiaia, it has five stations strategically installed which make the monitoring of the air quality in the areas of direct influence These stations permanently monitor the air quality obtaining precise data in real time, thanks to the high technology used in equipment.
Data are directly sent to the state environmental body and may give municipal governments important information for the definition of public policies focused on municipal environmental management, in addition to creating subsides for environmental control actions carried out by VS itself.
Recycling is fundamental for preserving the environment, for it reduces the volumes destined to sanitary landfills, for it consequently minimizes the environmental impact. Recycled materials also help decrease the use of raw materials, consumption of water and energy , in addition to generating jobs and income. The units of Votorantim Siderurgia adopted selective garbage collection and dispose of specific collectors to help in the separation of materials. Currently, more than 90% of the waste produced by VS are used as raw materials in other processes, privileging the reuse and recycling of materials.
The Paraíba do Sul River monitoring, carried out by the Resende Unit, has indicated that the Funil-Resende segment presents good water quality as to most of other segments. The monitoring – a partnership between VS, Feema (State Foundation of Environmental Engineering) and UFRJ (Rio de Janeiro Federal University), is monthly carried out in various segments of the Paraíba do Sul River.
This action has been carried out since April 2007, helping qualified environmental bodies to define strategies for environmental control. In addition, it can be used as an incentive to other studies similar in segments not monitored until then.
The Paraíba do Sul River is one of the superficial wellsprings of higher importance in Brazil, supplying nearly 14.2 million people.
VS has in water consumption one of its priorities in the Environmental Management System, privileging the reuse of this important natural resource. Over the past ten years, the Barra Mansa Unit increased its water re-circulation index from 50% to 96%. The new Resende Unit, currently under construction, is projected to re-circulate more than 96% of all water volume used in its production process, also collecting rain water as a means to optimize the use of this resource.