Environmental responsibility is one of the directives that guide SEFAC’s decisions and activities and finds its expression in all the activities undertaken by the company, right from the operating procedures it adopts to the carrying out of projects aimed at conserving the environment and improving the quality of life of the population. In addition to complying with environmental legislation the Serra do Facão Hydroelectric Power Plant implementation project prioritized the preparation of socio-environmental programs and activities, the aim of which was to help with environmental preservation and promote sustainable development in the municipalities affected.

Socio-environmental programs are being deployed that are based on fundamental principles, like conserving biodiversity, the application of natural resources, valuing regional knowledge and culture and promoting socio-economic sustainability. These projects include everything from actions in the area of environmental monitoring and management to aspects related to tourism and public security, and also including activities like managing water resources, cataloguing and conserving fauna and flora, environmental education, handicrafts, support for commercial and service activities and fostering local production activities. One of the highlights of the environmental initiatives worth emphasizing is the publication of the Serra do Facão Hydroelectric Power Plant Region - Fauna Guide. This illustrated catalogue has information about 58 species of fauna that live in the cerrado biome and that were inventoried when the basic environmental program was being developed. The publication that has been distributed to schools in the municipalities that come under the influence of the power plant records, in a simple and easy-to-read language and in a visually-agreeable format, scientific knowledge about the region’s rich fauna.

The Environmental Operating License has 34 requirements, such as:

• Monitoring water and fish;
• Reforesting preservation areas;
• Installation of a Culture Center;
• Technical and social assistance for relocated families.

Planting trees in the reservoir’s permanent preservation area is one of those activities provided for in the Operating License, which must be undertaken over the next 15 years.