Voluntary Action Program, developed since 2004, whereby all Copel employees have the possibility to use, on a voluntary and spontaneous basis, up to 8 hours of their professional work time, every two months, for carrying out social action or community interest activities.
Volunteering at Copel comprehends themes such as human rights, education, inclusion, health, environment, sustainability, among others, aligned to commitments voluntarily assumed by Copel, such as the Global Compact and the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development of the United Nations, summarized into 17 Sustainable Development Goals – ODS, with 169 targets.
Copel registers, through a Permanent Public Call, since 2016, Social Institutions, Education Institutions and Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs), nonprofit entities, for the purpose of participating in volunteering activities, events, fairs, among others.
In 2024, the Program celebrated its 20th anniversary and was recognized in the category “Best Practices in Volunteer Management in Companies” at the VoL Awards.
Since its creation, EletriCidadania has mobilized more than 3,800 volunteers, totaling more than 32,000 hours of activities and benefiting more than 235,000 people.
Find out more about the EletriCidadania Program:
DRC Permanent Public Call 01/2022 – Volunteering
Copel is registering non-profit Social Institutions, Teaching Institutions and Civil Society Organizations (OSCs), with the purpose of participating in events, fairs, volunteer activities, actions for transferring materials/products from volunteers and/or Copel, linked to campaigns and/or specific projects.
| Responsible Area | Corporate Sustainability and Corporate Governance Coordination (CSG) |
| 2024 Targets |
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| Results and impact indicators |
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| Main results | See tables below |
| 2024 RESULTS | |||
| SUBSIDIARY | Quantity of Volunteers | Quantity of Hours | Average Hours / Volunteer |
| HOLDING | 50 | 301.95 | 6.04 |
| DISTRIBUIÇÃO | 184 | 1,212.55 | 6.59 |
| GERAÇÃO E TRANSMISSÃO | 58 | 532.97 | 9.19 |
| MERCADO LIVRE4 | 4 | 15.63 | 3.91 |
| TOTAL | 296 | 2,063.1 | 6.97 |
| HISTORY | |||||
| Year | Number of Volunteers | Number of Voluntary Work Hours | Number of Employees | % of Volunteers | Average Hours / Volunteer |
| 2024 | 296 | 2,063.1 | 4,389 | 6.74% | 6.04 |
| 2023 | 235 | 1,854.1 | 5,804 | 4.05% | 6.83 |
| 2022 | 261 | 1,648.4 | 5,875 | 4.44% | 6.32 |
| 2021 | 192 | 1,109.5 | 6,383 | 3.01% | 5.78 |
| 2020 | 155 | 1,002.25 | 6,667 | 2.32% | 6.47 |
| 2019 | 359 | 3,013.7 | 7,095 | 5.06% | 8.39 |
| 2018 | 367 | 2,974.93 | 7,602 | 4.83% | 8.11 |
| 2017 | 338 | 3,044.8 | 8,538 | 3.96% | 9.01 |
| 2016 | 232 | 2,034.7 | 8,502 | 2.73% | 8.77 |
| 2015 | 190 | 1,513 | 8,628 | 2.20% | 7.96 |
| 2014 | 153 | 1,229 | 8,592 | 1.78% | 8.03 |
| 2013 | 185 | 1,473 | 8,647 | 2.14% | 7.97 |
| 2012 | 177 | 1,182 | 9,468 | 1.87% | 6.69 |
| 2011 | 170 | 2,152 | 9,400 | 1.81% | 12.66 |
| 2010 | 105 | 1,136 | 9,041 | 1.16% | 10.89 |
Partnership
Migration and Refuge Project
Since 2020, Copel has been developing initiatives to facilitate access to energy services and social benefits for migrants and refugees. To this end, it has made informational booklets available in six languages and, starting in 2022, expanded its actions with training, volunteer activities, and strategic partnerships, including the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and Cáritas Brasileira Regional Paraná. As a result, the Company participated in two editions of the UN’s Empowering Refugees project, consolidating its position as an active agent in the social and economic inclusion of this population.
With Paraná among the states that receive the most migrants in Brazil, Copel reinforced its commitment to the training and integration of these people in 2024 through the Migration and Refuge Project. In November, volunteers from the EletriCidadania program participated in the Prisma Project, an initiative that served 13 migrant women in Curitiba, in partnership with Cáritas Brasileira Regional Paraná and the IBGPEX Institute. The meeting addressed labor rights, resume writing, and access to essential services, as well as topics such as the Maria da Penha Law and combating gender violence. As part of the support for financial autonomy and employability, participants had the opportunity to conduct job interviews with three companies, increasing their chances of entering the job market.
Migration and Refugee Support had 60 volunteers who did 198 hours of volunteer work in 2024.
In 2023, the project got the SESI SDG Seal, which aims to recognize and share innovative practices for reaching the Sustainable Development Goals.
The project, the result of a partnership between the UN Agency for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Global Compact in Brazil and UN Women, has support from Copel, Cáritas Brasileira Regional Paraná, Cáritas Arquidiocesana de Curitiba, Fiep and Sesc.
SOS Rio Grande do Sul
Faced with the worst climate disaster in the history of Rio Grande do Sul between April and June 2024, Copel demonstrated its solidarity and capacity for mobilization by promoting a broad humanitarian aid campaign. The Company organized the collection of donations at all its centers, in addition to coordinating the logistics for shipping the materials using its own vehicles and those of partners.
Among the items collected and sent to the affected communities, the following stand out: 131,800 hygiene and cleaning items, 2.4 tons of food, 3,300 liters of mineral water, 4,400 pieces of clothing, 1,264 mattresses, 360 kg of animal feed, 70 pallets, and 3 pallet cages with wood from Copel’s warehouses.
Copel engaged its employees by promoting 10 joint efforts in partnership with the Paraná Civil Defense. In total, 149 volunteers dedicated 644 hours to organizing and sending donations, reinforcing the Company’s commitment to social responsibility and support for communities in critical moments.
Empowering Refugees
The first edition of the “Empowering Refugees” program in the South of Brazil was carried out in 2022 by UNHCR, the UN agency for migrants and refugees in Brazil, in partnership with Copel, Cáritas Paraná and Cáritas Curitiba and was attended by 15 refugee women. and 40 Copel volunteers.
The second edition started in November 2023, with the participation of 18 refugee women and 28 volunteers from Copel and partner institutions. Copel volunteers gave workshops on topics such as Brazilian culture; financial education; socio-emotional skills and mental health; Brazilian legislation and support institutions; preparing curricula and safe use of electricity.
Cycle of Professions Project
In 2021, the EletriCidadania Program, in partnership with Tecpar, started the Project Cycle of Professions, which aims to help high school students from public schools to plan their careers, providing the opportunity to learn about different areas of activity so that they can evaluate the careers with which they identify. This project mobilized, in 2021 and 2022, 190 volunteers who did 852 hours of volunteer work, being divided into two phases:
Professions Showcase – 2021
An opening lecture about Career Planning and videos about several professions, showing how the professionals’ daily lives are, the necessary training, etc. The videos of the Professions Showcase are available on the Tecpar Official Youtube Channel.
Results:
- 3376 views on the videos in 2021.
Mentoring – 2021 and 2022
Online meetings with a mentor, that is, a professional volunteer who offers advice related to planning and/or developing the professional life of high school students, reporting learnings and obstacles overcome by him/her, expanding views on the different realities that surround them.
Results:
- 144 High School students enrolled;
- Average score of 9.1 in the mentors’ evaluation;
- Average score of 9.75 in the students’ evaluation.
Iluminando Mentes Project
In 2018, the EletriCidadania Program was awarded by the Federal Government, in the category Volunteering in the Public Sector, of the Viva Voluntário Award. With the award money Copel developed, in 2019, the Illuminating Minds project, which took place in 5 cities divided into two fronts of action:assistants.
Mentoring
Three institutions in Curitiba that serve people with disabilities chose 3 managerial areas they would like to develop. Then, Copel employees acted as mentors, guiding and supporting them in their development, for 6 months.
Results:
- 1200 PcD benefited;
25 volunteers.
Volunteering Actions
In parallel to this movement, Volunteer Actions took place in institutions in 4 cities in the interior of Paraná: Ponta Grossa, Cascavel, Londrina and Maringá. Copel employees received awareness about the cause of people with disabilities in the morning, and in the afternoon they carried out activities with those served by the institutions.
Results:
- 93 PwD benefited;
31 volunteers;
136 hours of volunteering.
