September brings sustainability awareness to Brazil. The Enel Group launched a series of initiatives (that will continue until the beginning of October) in the South American country, in order to promote sustainability with three keywords: inform, educate and mobilise. In this framework, the Ecoelce project promoted by the Enel distribution company Coelce, continues in its commitment with the opening of three new collection points in the municipalities of Itapipoca, Apuiarés and Horizonte (State of Ceará). The latter centres are the result of a collaboration with the wholesale food store Assai and Solar, the leading Coca Cola manufacturer in Brazil.
Ecoelce was launched in 2007 as part of Enabling Electricity, the programme drawn up by the Enel Group to secure access to energy for people living in remote, rural or suburban areas. The initiative offers Brazilian citizens discounts on energy bills, by simply bringing their waste to special centres, thus contributing to the creation of a sustainable business and to the development of the recycling industry.
Ecoelce also promotes social benefits, by promoting energy efficiency and reducing the incidence of diseases caused by poor waste management, as well as environmental benefits, by reducing the consumption of raw materials and the impact of waste.
Based on the weight of their waste, customers automatically receive a discount on their energy bills. If the bonus exceeds the total bill, the surplus will be credited on the next bill. So far the project has involved a total of 114 collection centres in 33 municipalities and over 72 million households, contributing to the disposal of 20,161 tons of waste.
Coelce, which came first in the “Social Responsibility” category of the Abradee Awards in 2014, had already launched the Troca Eficiente energy saving programme in Brazil, which consisted in replacing low-income families’ old appliances (including refrigerators) with more efficient models, reaching out to 31,752 families last year and reducing electricity consumption by 20,403 MWh.