Sustaintability

Sustainability Report 2021

The social pillar of sustainability suggests the equality of individuals, based on the well-being of the population. For this to happen, the participation of the population is necessary in order to strengthen the proposals for social development, access to education, culture and health.

In this sense, Sequoia has developed some programs, shown below:

• Training of young people through the programs: Seeds (apprentices) and Talents (interns) and continuous expansion of new classes;

• Reduce inequalities through the Internal Utilization program, mainly for the initial career paths and internal succession planning.

In addition, we are committed to respecting and valuing our employees, applying the guidelines of our Manual of Ethical Conduct.

The environmental pillar of sustainability covers the preservation and maintenance of the environment. It is important to note that, for environmental sustainability to be effective, people need to be in harmony with the environment. This pillar aims to ensure that the interests of future generations are not compromised by meeting the needs of the current’s one.

In this sense, Sequoia has taken some initiatives to reduce the environmental impact caused by our activities:

• CO2 emission reduction;

• Waste reduction, through the Recycling program;

• Reduction of organic waste;

• Reduced use of plastic, through a program to eliminate plastic cups in administrative environments;

• Reduction of papers, through the mobile download process and awareness of the correct use of materials.

Our actions already implemented:

• Selective Collection, through eco-points strategically spread in our largest Distribution Center – Embu das Artes, with the objective of promoting the recycling of materials minimizing environmental impacts by saving raw materials, water and energy, in addition to reducing the sending of landfill waste;

• Implementation of a biodigester machine in the Mega CD restaurant, a system where the degradation of organic matter is done by microbiological action, which generates two products: biogas and biofertilizer. With this process, we will correctly dispose of organic waste generated in the restaurant, in addition of reducing the bills for cooking gas and biofertilizer for green areas;

• In strategic operations, we exchange stretch films for reusable straps, with a focus on reducing the impact caused by the use of plastic in accommodating products in the warehouse;

• We implemented a habit change campaign, encouraging the use of mugs and squeezes instead of the traditional plastic cups, which are more offensive to the environment. The employees went through an awareness communication and received a kit with a personalized mug and squeeze;

• We trained more than 77 young people through the Seeds (apprentices) program. The program aims to identify potential young people in the communities around the company sites and prepare them for the professional market, as well as to provide qualified professionals to take on future positions within the company. The target audience are apprentice, adolescents from families in situations of social vulnerability, that live around company’ site.

• We trained more than 21 young people through the Talents (interns). The program aims to identify and develop young potential university students in the communities around the company’s locations aligned with the Sequoia’s Culture, which can contribute to the company’s results with an innovative vision. We were awarded in 2019 by the Euvaldo Lodi Institute (IEL) as the best internship program in the state of SP and National.

• Internal Utilization (Grow With Us): we create opportunities for internal utilization, as we believe that Sequoia’s growth is only possible if we grow together, through the preparation / training of our employees for future positions (Leadership and Collaborators Academy). In this program we announce the operational and administrative vacancies available and employees following prerequisites apply and go through the selection process, the same is true for leadership positions. Every month, after all the movements made, the internal communication area introduces all the employees moved through the “Grow With Us Program” to the company. We went from 14% of internal utilization in 2017 to 69.3% in 2019.

We have a lot to do, because sustainability is an attitude and constant reflection…