The Brazilian sanitation market has a lot of space to grow. Millions of Brazilians still need clean water and treated sewage to guarantee citizenship and quality of life. We want to associate our business with addressing historical sanitation difficulties in the country and, simultaneously, with economic development, thus providing greater dignity for the population. Considering this context and the skills we have developed in 2022, we structured our Strategic Planning 2023–2027, which will direct our efforts over these five years in line with what we have implemented so far.
Águas do Brasil has defined strategic objectives that include capturing the full potential of its operations and consolidating itself as a reference for operational excellence in the country. To materialize this strategy, the Company rely on a value-creation agenda based on a management system oriented towards high performance, supported by governance and internal processes.
The Águas do Brasil Group’s strategy is based on three pillars:
These pillars are supported by enablers projects that permeate the organization, of which we can mention: innovation, information technology, ESG, and performance management.
The robust growth in 2022, with the entry into operation of Rio+Saneamento, confirms the Group’s strategy and capacity to bring quality services to the population, including low-income communities.
The “Perda Mínima” program, implemented at the concessionaire, is part of the management efficiency pillar and aims to reduce hydrological risk due to reduced consumption reduced water volume purchased.
A crucial benefit of this program is the significant reduction in water leaks and losses, resulting in more reliable customer service. This initiative not only strengthens operational efficiency but also ensures consistent and reliable delivery of services to users.
In addition, the Company also has the Água de Valor program, that seeks optimization and operational excellence in all concessionaires in filed and monitoring activities. This project brings relevant benefits to the group, which includes, in addition to those mentioned above, the reduction of costs with purchases of chemical products and materials for water production.
Other projects underway are part of the pillars defined in the Company's strategic planning that seek to generate value for stakeholders in the day-to-day operations of the concessionaries.
The Group directed its focus to projects and assets based on the quality of contracts and the vision of sustainability, aiming to guarantee healthy concessions and efficient services. The Group has established itself as an efficient operator capable of turning around low-profit assets. Its loss is one of the smallest among Brazilian players, and its water quality and coverage are market benchmarks.
Águas do Brasil’s strategy is aligned with new opportunities, such as innovation initiatives and ESG practices. The advancement of these actions generates value and reinforces its proactive stance in defense of the principles of innovation and sustainability.
With this, SAAB, Saneamento Ambiental Águas do Brasil, has established itself as one of the best sanitation operators in Brazil from the point of view of operational and financial performance..
Our investments
Our investment policies and guidelines go beyond the objectives established in current concession agreements to generate value for the company and society. In 2022, we invested R$337 million¹ in our concessionaries, representing an increase of approximately 4% of the amount financed in 2021 and demonstrating our responsibility to continue seeking year after year to maintain and improve our commitment to the population served. From 2020 to 2022, we invested R$860 million in our concessions without considering the contributions made to Rio+Saneamento.
All our investments align with concession agreements, seeking the universalization of services and improving operational systems. In 2022, the Group diversified these investments between implementations and improvements in the water supply system (new water treatment stations – WTSs, treated water pumping stations, expansion of the water coverage network, as well as increased production of existing structures, implementation of new pipelines and new water connections) and sewage treatment and collection (new STSs, sewage pumping stations, expansion of the collection network and improvements to existing networks, new interceptors and discharge lines).
¹ Considering 50% interest in Zona Oeste Mais Saneamento and 60% interest in the Águas de Votorantim concessionaire. We have not considered Rio+Saneamento’s investments for comparison purposes with the previous year (more information in Operation Excellence).