LAVCA awards Latin American fund managers
IG4 Capital is one of the winners for its sustainable investment in Iguá Saneamento. The concessionaire’s initiatives in the environmental, social and governance areas are highlights
LAVCA, the Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America , announced the winners of the Ninth Annual LAVCA ESG Deal Award (https://lavca.org/2023/05/25/ninth-annual-lavca-esg-deal-awards/), which recognizes exceptional investments by fund managers in the region, focused specifically on environmental issues, social diversity and gender initiatives. Among the winners is IG4 Capital, specialized in investments in emerging markets, which received the 2023 Environmental Responsibility Award for its investment in Grupo Iguá Saneamento. Present in more than 39 municipalities in six states, Iguá consolidates its focus on ESG and its importance in the management and operation of water supply and sewage systems in Brazil, becoming one of the main private operators in the sector, with 15 concessions and 3 public-private partnerships (PPPs) and more than 7 million people served.
The numbers achieved by the company in 2022 help explain winning the award. Throughout the year, there were more than 48 km of water distribution networks, almost 15 thousand new connections and more than 13 thousand new domiciles supplied with clean water. Furthermore, more than 61 km of sewage collection networks were implemented, more than 9.5 thousand new connections and 11.1 thousand new sewage systems. Sustainable management was also prioritized, with adherence to the Global Compact movements (Net Zero, +Água, Transparência 100% and Elas Lideram 2030), to the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) platform, to the CEBDS Brazilian Business Commitment to Biodiversity and to Business for Nature. The company was also recognized for tackling climate change by the IWA (International Water Association), in addition to having won the Gold Seal of the Brazilian GHG Protocol Program and 90 points (out of a total of 100 points) in the GRESB Assessment, an international ranking which assesses the commitment of large companies to sustainability.
A leading player in improving also waste management, Águas Cuiabá (Iguá’s concessionaire), uses the material produced from the sludge from the Sewage Treatment Stations (ETE) in the capital of Mato Grosso, which is transformed into high-quality agricultural fertilizer. The initiative, improves exponentially the soil quality, increasing milk production by up to 150%. In partnership with the City Hall and Mato Grosso Research, Assistance and Rural Extension Company (Empaer-MT), the biosolid is donated free of charge to family farming.
In addition to Cuiabá, four other Iguá concessionaires also adopted a sustainable method for disposing of the sludge generated in the water and sewage treatment process, transforming it into ecological bricks and clay to produce ceramics, reducing the environmental impact and ending the cycle from the sewer. In Agreste Saneamento, the biodegradable blankets (geobags) responsible for the waste treatment process are also reused and donated (with the indications for use) to rural producers and can be used for soil fodder, a technique known as “mulching”, which makes it possible to optimize the producer’s work, reducing costs and generating up to 40% water savings.
Other initiatives that reaffirm Iguá’s commitment to ESG principles are also worth mentioning. In the state of São Paulo alone, the operators Sanessol, Águas Andradina, ESAP and Águas Castilho, located in the cities of Mirassol, Andradina, Palestine and Castilho, respectively, use renewable energy to treat sewage and bring water to more than 150 thousand inhabitants of the interior of São Paulo.
In Rio de Janeiro, a little over a year ago, Iguá also carried out the reactivation of a structure that intercepts the sewage irregularly dumped in the stormwater galleries to take it to the Barra Sewage Treatment Station. The equipment has been preventing the discharge of more than 17 million liters of raw sewage each month, the equivalent of approximately 2 Olympic swimming pools per week. The company also continues to invest in actions that contribute to the revitalization process of the Jacarepaguá Lagoon Complex. As a short-term initiative, the concessionaire built a nursery with 40,000 red mangrove seedlings that began to be planted in Lagoa do Camorim to restore the ecological corridor between Massif da Tijuca and Pedra Branca. In addition, Iguá has already carried out the removal of more than 170 tons of waste and the fencing of 5.2 km of the banks of the Lagoon to prevent the return of waste.
In the social area, Iguá also leveraged its power for social transformation, assuming leadership in the municipalities where it operates and prioritizing underprivileged communities in the vicinity of its operations. Last year alone, more than 360,000 people were impacted by the group’s actions. Initiatives like these show that Iguá is building a new scenario in the sanitation sector and continues, with the estimate of exceeding the investment value this year.
About Iguá Saneamento: A company controlled by IG4 Capital, Iguá manages and operates water supply and sewage systems through concessions and public-private partnerships. One of the main companies in the sector in the country, it is present in 39 municipalities in six Brazilian states – Alagoas, Mato Grosso, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina, São Paulo and Paraná – with 18 operations that benefit just over 7 million people. A signatory to Rede Brasil of the Global Compact (an initiative of the United Nations), the company assumed the Brazilian business commitment to biodiversity, from CEBDS in partnership with wbcsd. It received the certification of the first green bond in Latin America for water infrastructure by the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI). For its sustainable water management, in 2022, it was one of the recipients of the IWA Climate Smart Utility Recognition program and, in the same year, it earned points that earned it entry into the GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) ranking. It was also present as 1st place in the sanitation, waste management and infrastructure category, according to the TOP Open Corps 2022. Also this year, eight of the group’s concessionaires were recognized with the National Quality Award in Sanitation (PNQS). It was elected, in 2022, for the sixth consecutive year, a great company to work for by the Great Place to Work (GPTW) consultancy.
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