sustainability > Society > Social Engagement > Social Engagement

Social Engagement

Two of the most important areas of community intervention are social solidarity and health. This is done mainly through the EDP Foundations, which base their work around three main concepts: cooperation and synergies (gathering institutions under the same causes); partnerships (co-financed projects); and scale (long-term interventions).

This is how EDP is helping to improve the organisation of the tertiary sector.

Some of the projects we have implemented involving the decentralisation of initiatives and institutions:

EDP has a patronage policy based on the following main criteria: multi-annual initiatives, high number of participants, promoted by solid institutions of recognised scientific and pedagogical merit, ongoing action and activities aimed at interactive museums and evenly distributed around the country.

> Fundação EDP - Parcerias

> Fundação EDP - Programas

In 2009, EDP joined a number of volunteer campaigns allowing many employees to participate in different social programs.

> ”Aprender a Empreender” (Learning to Undertake) – educational volunteering under the agreement with Junior Achievement Portugal, which aims to nurture entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation in future generations by encouraging proactivity among schools and companies. In the previous school year, EDP had 83 volunteers working in programmes focused on families (primary school), community (primary school), economics for success (lower secondary) and companies (upper secondary).

> Gift Collection Campaign - This Christmas, give what you have too much of to those who have too little – a campaign run by EDP employees in Portugal to collect non-perishable goods. All it took to improve the quality of life of the disadvantaged was a little time, a gesture and a donation.
          • Collection points around the country: 40
          • EDP volunteers: 110
          • Non-perishable goods collected: 11 tonnes
          • Beneficiaries: 14 institutions reaching 300,000 people
EDP had many partners that supported the campaign free of charge, without which it would not have been possible. They included Ativism, TSF, Jornal de Negócios, Jornal I, Media Edge:cia, APS Media, MOP, Urbanos and Lógica.

EDP’s active participation in different organisations whose principles and rules permit ongoing improvement is described on www.edp.pt > Sustainability > Approach to Sustainability > Participations, with special focus on partnerships in the areas of R&D, human capital and biodiversity, presented in the appropriate chapters.

Through EDP Internacional, EDP is involved in projects to expand and restore electricity systems in Angola, with a high impact on the quality of life of large sectors of the population. The main data are 100,000 beneficiaries in the Lobito/Benguela region, 90,000 in Malange, 60,000 in Namibe, 20,000 in Caxito/Bengo and 120,000 in Cabinda.

In 2009, EDP, in partnership with United Nations High Commission for Refugees - UNHCR, announced the lauch of the pilot project for the Kakuma Refugee Camp, in Kenya, during the Clinton's Global Initiave 5th annual conference, from September 22nd to the 25th, in New York.

Know more about it here.


Find out more about the activities of the EDP Group’s Foundations:
 
> In Portugal, Fundação EDP.

> In Brazil: Instituto EDP.

> In Spain: Fundacion HC.