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.

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The EDP Volunteering Programme (PVEDP) was created to promote citizenship among employees. EDP gives each of its employees the ability to perform voluntary actions during working hours, providing four to eight hours per month for this purpose. This potential is managed according to a concept of an “hour pool.” The major news for 2011 relate to the launch of:

> the www.voluntariado.edp.pt site, through a pro bono partnership with Microsoft and Accenture,

> raising the awareness of 790 managers in Portugal, Spain and Brazil to the PVEDP,

> the development (in Portugal) of the “Parte de Nós” campaigns (Hospitals and Christmas).

In 2011, these initiatives enjoyed two major moments, one in September with “Parte de Nós Hospitais” and the other in December with “Parte de Nós Natal”.

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.

Fulfilling this objective led to the creation of a non-profit facilitating unit within the EDP Foundation, operationally coordinated with the sales activities of the EDP companies and the market in order to procure new projects, continuing the virtuous cycle initiated in Kakuma.

This specialised area, called Power for Development, aims to implement programs that provide access to energy in developing countries, based on renewable energy solutions, mainly solar, in order to contribute towards breaking the cycle of poverty and to promote social, economic and environmental development, while imparting social responsibility and a business approach.

This activity enables needy families to relieve the pressure on their scarce family budgets, given that in developing countries, a significant part of their revenue is spent on fossil fuels (for ex. oil for lighting, diesel, wood, etc.), thereby helping reduce health hazards caused by the daily burning of these resources and reducing the time and risk associated with collecting them.

At the same time, governments and other institutions perceive these projects as tools for rural electrification or corporate social responsibility projects, while the manufacturers and service providers see a business opportunity in these projects, in the field of distributed generation and energy efficiency.

The EDP Foundation acts as a non-profit facilitator, identifying opportunities, helping raise funding, managing the execution projects and ensuring the activity’s financial self-sufficiency.