Santa Catarina, February 25, 2020 — In recent days, Klabin attended meetings with the mayors and secretaries of Otacílio Costa, Correia Pinto and Lages to present the social and environmental projects it carries out in these regions. These programs are focused on supporting the cities in management planning, education and family farming. The meetings were also a way for the Company to further strengthen its relations with the municipal governments, further expanding its efforts to benefit the communities. 

 

Of the programs presented, one is already underway in Otacílio Costa since last year (Social Forests – Planning Sustainable Properties), while three more will be rolled out this year (Support for Public Administration, Klabin Sowing Education and SPI – Social Progress Index). In 2020, Klabin also provided technical and specialized assistance in health management to Otacílio Costa and Lages in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, which is set to continue.

 

 “Klabin has a robust Sustainability Policy based on the premise of implementing actions that benefit the communities surrounding its operations. We will continue firmly in our purpose of supporting the progress of these regions,” said Uilson Paiva, Social Responsibility and Community Relations Manager at Klabin. 

 

According to Edilson Germiniani dos Santos, Mayor of Correia Pinto, the meeting with Klabin provides important tools for the city to build the partnership together. “We will have benefits in the accounting area, with technical support from a consulting firm; in acquiring food from family farming to supply the company’s restaurants, and in providing professional training to our faculty,” he concluded, highlighting the trust and respect he has for Klabin.

 

The Mayor of Otacílio Costa, Fabiano Baldessar de Souza, emphasized the importance of Klabin’s outreach at the start of his term. “The partnership is quite comprehensive, with countless opportunities for the town, such as the training programs offered to professionals, the initiatives in education, the project focused on agriculture, and all this will result in a follow-up to ensure greater transparency and efficiency in public administration.”

 

According to Juliano Polese, the Deputy Mayor of Lages, Klabin has been the city’s partner on all fronts, including during this atypical year. “I like to draw comparisons between the towns, as it challenges us to keep improving, without reinventing the wheel, but by seeking different solutions and by learning and applying good practices. We have the structure and teams in place to tighten our bonds and build an increasingly better city, where we want to live in the future, because our duty is to improve people’s lives.” 

 

Below is a summary of the projects implemented by Klabin in the regions:

 

Social Forests – Planning Sustainable Properties

 

Social Forests, which reached Santa Catarina late last year, aims to strengthen family farming. The initiative supports small and midsized rural producers at all stages of production – from environmental adaptation to selling the produce in local markets, including professional training, diversification of properties and encouragement to the culture of associations / cooperatives.

 

Support to Public Administration Program

 

The goal is to help balance the public accounts by reducing expenses and improving the use of public funds, with an emphasis on assisting the preparation of Multi-Year Plans (PPA). The actions are monitored periodically through meetings with all government departments and the findings are reported to the mayor to help in decision-making. The program, which is already in place in Paraná, was rolled out in Santa Catarina in 2020, but had to be adapted to the pandemic scenario. 

 

Klabin Sowing Education

 

The Klabin Sowing Education Program aims to improve the management of public resources for education, with the emphasis on results, seeking a balance between school administration, infrastructure, resources and academic practices. The initiative, which is already well established in Paraná, will be brought to Santa Catarina this year and should benefit the schools and students in Correia Pinto, Lages and Otacílio Costa.

 

Social Progress Index (SPI) 

 

SPI is an internationally recognized methodology for analyzing social and environmental data, created to measure the quality of life and well-being in communities, cities, countries and regions. The initiative is currently being put up in Santa Catarina cities where Klabin operates and should be launched soon. Data is published on a website so that both the government and civil society can steer efforts and investments to contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and jointly work towards an increasingly better region. This intuitive is a novel partnership between Klabin and Fundación Avina, an organization present in 20 countries with the mission of promoting large-scale changes for sustainable development across Latin America.