On Wednesday, at the Altice Forum Braga, the Conference: On the Path to Integral Sustainability took place, organized by AGERE as part of the company's 25th-anniversary celebrations.
The opening session of the event, aimed at exploring strategies and discussing the challenges inherent to sustainability, featured an address by Rui Sá Morais, Chairman of AGERE's Board of Directors. He highlighted the work done throughout the company's history and the key milestones of its 25 years of existence. Rui Sá Morais also mentioned the planned events for 2024 to celebrate AGERE's anniversary, emphasizing that the company "plays a crucial role in the Braga community, impacting the common good through its purpose in urban management." He also took the opportunity to honor and commend the "work of the employees, which has greatly contributed to a 25-year journey filled with successes and to charting and fulfilling a path that we wish to pursue together towards integral sustainability."
José Pimenta Machado, Vice-President of the Portuguese Environment Agency, was also present on the conference panel. He praised AGERE's journey and highlighted investment areas such as the new ETAR do Este, describing it as "a project with the best technologies in this field." The Vice-President of APA also challenged the search for strategies to reuse "wastewater from ETARs for non-potable uses," stating that "this is the path we need to follow."
The morning session included reflections on key ESG trends for 2024 and how these aspects should be considered in business decision-making, fostering economic development sustainably.
The conference addressed the sustainable development strategy of Braga and support for public and private organizations to incorporate the principles and values of sustainability.
Sofia Vieira, General Director of AGERE, presented the path AGERE has taken over these 25 years in its various areas of operation towards sustainability, emphasizing that sustainability has always been part of the company’s DNA. She also referenced the major strategic lines and goals set for the future to achieve integral sustainability.
In the Economic pillar of sustainability, topics such as the growth of the circular economy, energy communities, and the challenges and opportunities of using biomethane in the wastewater sector were discussed.
In the Environmental pillar, the panel covered issues such as Human Sustainability and the importance of nurturing the earth to ensure the future, as well as the challenges of implementing water reuse.
Regarding the Social pillar, the conference explored Corporate Social Responsibility and how to implement a people management strategy from theory to practice, including concrete ideas for valuing end-of-life clothing with a social purpose.
Closing the presentations, Ivone Rocha, President of the Sustainable Growth Platform, spoke about the “local, social, governmental, and economic path that sustainability represents” and mentioned that “there is no social and environmental economy without sustainability.” She also emphasized that “the great transformation occurring today is the moral change” and that each individual must have “awareness of the positive influence they can have on a distant future.”
The closing session featured Ricardo Rio, President of the Braga City Council, who stated that “AGERE is a vehicle for promoting sustainable development, a long-assumed goal of the Municipality of Braga.” He also reinforced that the goal is “for Braga to meet all the stages leading to sustainable development” and that “AGERE’s strategic and future vision is fundamental.”
Braga, February 22, 2024