Talent in Sustainability Awards

1. The awards

The Talent in Sustainability Awards were created to recognize the work of Votorantim employees, interns and contractors on innovative activities and projects that contribute to demonstrate the companies’ commitment to sustainability.

The objective is to recognize people, from all levels, who contribute to the implementation of practices that generate benefits to the business and to society, mobilize partners, create networks, and make a difference, contributing towards excellence in management and sustainability.

It is important to highlight that the Talent in Sustainability Awards are not linked to professional advancement or financial compensation of any kind.

2. Sponsor

The Awards are sponsored by the Votorantim Institute, with support from Votorantim Companies, with the goal of strengthening the culture of sustainability at Votorantim. As such, this competition is both a strategy to recognize people who contribute to it and also a map of good practices.

3. Context

The Talent in Sustainability Awards, now in their sixth consecutive year, aim to enhance everyday actions and/or innovative projects already implemented or currently being implemented that contribute to improving the performance of Votorantim companies and units and that strive for a balance among economic, social and environmental results.

The analysis of the projects will take into account alignment with one or more of the following categories, identified as issues of relevance to Votorantim businesses:

• Environment: this category considers innovative projects with factual and measured results and takes into account compliance with current legislation, maintenance of biodiversity and sustainable use of natural resources. The idea is that projects in this category relate to concepts of a Circular Economy, which consists in the reduction, reuse, recovery and recycling of materials and energy. In other words, they must propose a change in consumption, from raw material to the final product, including the reuse of waste as raw material. The idea is to replace the end-of-life concept that is part of a linear economy with new circular flows of reuse, restoration and renewal, in an integrated process, contributing to disassociate economic growth from increased resource consumption. Note that the award in this category does not compete with or replace recognition initiatives already in place within the companies.
• Social Engagement: innovative individual or group initiatives, formally linked to Votorantim, such as those aimed at local education, which have contributed significantly and directly to the social investment planned for your unit. This category also includes initiatives or activities aimed at managing the unit’s social projects, initiatives to promote community relations, and volunteer work. In addition, this category also considers the application of Votorantim Institute’s social technologies, such as the Partnership for the Enhancement of Education (PVE), and the Engagement with Stakeholders project, among others. Note that the award in this category does not compete with or replace recognition initiatives already in place within the companies.
• Productivity and Efficiency: innovative projects with solutions applied to units that stand out for their operational efficiency and are noteworthy for the gain in competitiveness delivered to the company over time, and that can serve as an example to other business units and Votorantim companies. This category considers initiatives, processes, products and new or significantly improved methods that have already been or are currently being implemented. This includes modifications in the unit’s activities, innovations in the production line/process or in preventive maintenance, new projects or pioneering improvements in control systems, or internal applications of external innovations, among other initiatives that contribute to increasing productivity and efficiency in the unit. It would be interesting for projects in this category to include the concept of Shared Value Creation, which involves the generation of economic value in a way that also creates value for society (by addressing its needs and challenges). Note that the award in this category does not compete with or replace recognition initiatives already in place within the companies.
• Health and Safety: this category will consider innovative projects aimed at preserving the health and physical safety of employees, contractors, interns and partners of the units and Votorantim companies, that have directly impacted the results of the operation and that can be replicated. Projects can be based on four pillars: (i) leadership and responsibility; (ii) system; (iii) behavior and performance; (iv) synergy and knowledge. Note that the award in this category does not compete with or replace recognition initiatives already in place within the companies.

In general, projects must consider “innovation” as a keyword. By innovation we mean the creation of and/or change in initiatives, management models, techniques or processes that contribute to improve the initiative.

4. Scope

Aiming to promote the diversity of projects developed and implemented at Votorantim companies and units by employees, interns and contractors of any rank or position, the Talent in Sustainability Awards accept the applications of projects that are based on the sustainability principles, are aligned with the defined categories, and have generated benefits to the business, to society and/or to the environment.

Projects for consideration must be formally linked to Votorantim and must be in progress or have been concluded after 2015. Projects completed prior to 2015 are not eligible to participate.

5. Participants

Employees, contractors and interns of Votorantim Cimentos, Nexa, Negócio Aço, CBA, Votorantim Energia, Banco Votorantim, Citrosuco, Votorantim S.A, Reservas Votorantim, regardless of function, hierarchical level, years of employment with the company, or region, are eligible to participate in the Talent in Sustainability Awards, individually or in teams, provided they have conducted or participated in initiatives related to the theme of the contest.

In case of team entries, members can belong to different units; however, they must be from the same company. In addition, all members should fulfill the requirements included in these Rules.

Upon registration, team members must elect from among themselves a representative that must be formally linked to the company in which the project is being submitted. This will be the contact person. This person does not necessarily need to have a specific position.

There is no limit on the number of entries per participant.

In case of multiple entries of the same project, only the last entry will be considered.

Employees who leave the company before the date when the awards are presented (even if by their own will) will be automatically disqualified. If he/she is part of a team, the team may continue to participate, however, he/she will not be considered part of it. If the employee leaving the company is the team representative, the team must name another team representative from among its members.

Employees, contractors and interns of the Votorantim Institute are ineligible to participate in the competition. In addition, members of the Judging Committee of any of the phases of the Talent in Sustainability Awards are not allowed to submit projects.

Winning projects of the Votorantim phase (formerly known as the Group phase) in previous years cannot participate in the Talent in Sustainability Awards. Finalists and participants in previous years can apply again, provided they meet all the selection criteria of the current competition.

5.1 Participating Countries

All countries in which Votorantim companies operate are eligible to participate in the Talent in Sustainability Awards, as indicated in the first paragraph of item 5.

6. Submission

Submissions for the Talent in Sustainability Awards were extended until September 16th 6:00PM Brasília time (-3 GMT), 2019, exclusively via the electronic form available on the contest website, at www.talentoemsustentabilidade.com.br.

Submissions for the Talent in Sustainability Awards will be made through the SurveyMonkey platform. The registration form must be completed in a single session, since the system will not store information of unfinished registrations.

To submit a project, participants must have the contact information of the project Representative, including country, state, town/city, company and unit where he/she works, number of team members and name of the project. The representative must also indicate the category in which the project falls and the sustainability principle(s) to which the project relates, and fill out the fields with information on the following topics:

In addition to the form, participants can also submit documentation of activities. Materials that illustrate or attest to the carrying out of initiatives, such as pictures, videos, testimonials, communication materials, and results, among others, will be considered for analysis. Materials must be sent together with the submission form, in a single .PDF, .DOC or .DOCX file, which may not exceed 16 MB.

Upon completion, a message confirming the entry will appear on the screen.

If the same project is submitted more than once, for evaluation purposes only the last entry will be considered.

6.1 Changes in the submissions

Changes can only be made to the contact information of participants. If needed, changes must be sent via e-mail, together with the project, to contato@institutovotorantim.org.br

7. Evaluation criteria

The evaluation process will consider the benefits generated by the project, both to the business and to society. The initiatives will be analyzed in light of their transformative potential for the company, its production chain and the community where it operates. In practice, the Talent in Sustainability Awards will recognize employees according to the following criteria:

• Alignment with the Sustainability Principles and the categories of the Awards: how does the initiative contribute to the fulfillment of the Sustainability Principles, in the categories of Environment, Social Engagement, Productivity and Efficiency, and Health and Safety, and to what extent does the initiative fit with the company’s field of activity;
• Innovation and differentiation: how does the initiative propose a new approach and create opportunities for an area, unit or business, and in which ways is it differentiated from other initiatives;
• Potential for mobilization: how does it mobilize and encourage the participation of various stakeholders (internal and external) and how does it get disseminated internally, encouraging the participation of employees;
• Benefits to the business and society: how is the initiative placed within the local context, which demands does it address, and which measurable contributions does it bring to the company and to society;
• Commitment to goals and monitoring results: how does the project propose to monitor and measure its contributions to the company and to society;
• Entrepreneurial attitude: how is the initiative sustainable in the long run and what is its potential for replication;
• Leadership and proactivity: what is the role of the team members in the process and how do they contribute to the success of the initiative.

8. Evaluation phases

The evaluation of the Talent in Sustainability Awards entries will take place between September and November 2019, and will be divided into two phases:

• Company Phase
• Votorantim Phase

8.1 Company Phase

In this phase, projects compete only with those submitted within the same company.

All projects will be reviewed by Evaluation Committees, formed by employees within each of the companies, who will verify compliance with the Rules, exclude from the selection process projects that do not qualify, and select, based on the evaluation criteria, the winning projects of each participating company. Each company may select up to four winning projects, restricted to one from each category (Environment, Social Engagement, Productivity and Efficiency, and Health and Safety). The winners of the Company Phase will automatically qualify to compete in the Votorantim phase.

If in any of the companies no project qualifies to be the winner of the Company phase, no project will be nominated.

8.2 Votorantim Phase

In this phase, representatives of qualified projects must submit a video of up to three minutes about the project. A guide with the information that should be included in the video will be sent to the project teams that will compete in this phase. The video must be submitted between October 28 and 6:00 PM Brasília time (-3 GMT) on November 12, 2019, via e-mail to contato@institutovotorantim.org.br. Along with the video, the representative must submit information regarding the other members of his/her team, if there are any.

If the file is larger than 5MB, it must be sent via WeTransfer (https://wetransfer.com/) or similar services (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.), or uploaded to YouTube, with the link shared by e-mail with the Talent in Sustainability Awards Organizing Committee, respecting the deadline.

In this phase, finalists will compete among themselves in two categories:

• Final Jury
• People’s Choice

If the winning project was submitted individually by an employee who leaves the company before the date of the award announcement (even if by his/her own will) the winning project will be the one with the second-highest vote ratio.

In case of team projects, if one of the members of the team leaves the company before the date of the award announcement (even if by his/her own will) the team will still be eligible for the award, provided that another employee working for that same company is also part of the team. However, the former employee will no longer be considered part of that team.

IMPORTANT: the same project can win both the Jury and the People’s Choice awards.

9. Awards

Prizes in the Company Phase are optional and will be decided by each participating company. The Talent in Sustainability Awards Organizing Committee suggests that the members of winning project teams in this phase receive:

• Certificate of recognition for all team members, in an event to be defined by each company;
• Recognition plaque for the winning team, with the words “Company Phase”.

Authors of winning projects in the Votorantim Phase (Final Jury and People’s Choice) will receive the following prizes:

• Participation of the Representative or team members in a one-day training course on Sustainability, to be held in São Paulo;
• Certificate of recognition for all team members;
• Recognition trophy for the winning team in each category.

The one-day training will take place in December 2019 (date to be announced). Travel, accommodation and food expenses of the winning project representative will be paid by the company where he/she works.

9.1 Other considerations

If the team members of the winning projects cannot or will not receive the prizes offered, they will not be entitled to any other prize as a replacement or compensation.

11. Consent to use of image

Participants in the Talent in Sustainability Awards authorize the use of their image to promote and publicize the Awards. The consent to use of image is free of compensation, according to Law nº 9.610, from 2/19/1998.

12. Final information

By entering the Talent in Sustainability Awards competition, participants agree entirely with its rules and authorize the use of the information provided at registration by the Votorantim Institute, for non-commercial purposes. Their project submissions are under the custody and responsibility of the Votorantim Institute.

Suspected unethical conduct in the development of initiatives, as well as disrespect of these rules will be reviewed and judged by the sponsor and may result in disqualification of the competitor.

Each participant is responsible for the accuracy and integrity of the information provided, as well as the authenticity of the submitted initiatives.

Decisions taken during the evaluation phases, as well as decisions taken by the Talent in Sustainability Awards Organizing Committee are final and undisputable; competitors are not allowed to challenge such decisions or their results.

For questions, comments or suggestions, please send an e-mail to: contato@institutovotorantim.org.br.