Being a Responsible Business

At Atlas, we consider the safety, treatment, and wellbeing of our employees, customers, and business partners as central to our work.

As a provider of renewable energy, we are also aware of the part we play in reducing carbon emissions from fossil fuels. To maximize the benefits of this work, we have sought to strengthen sustainability in the communities where we operate.

Finally, as a company focused on having a positive impact on the people we interact with and the environments we operate in, we have worked hard to strengthen diversity, inclusion, and development as a whole.

This section provides an insight into our work on these key issues to ensure that we operate responsibly as a business.

Health & Safety
at Work Ecosystem
Considerations Contributing to Communities
where we operate Recruiting
Fairly Diversity, Inclusion &
Economic Empowerment Tackling Gender
Diversity in our Industry

Health and Safety at Work

We aim to deliver a safe and reliable work environment for all our employees, whether they work in an office, on a construction site, or at a fully operational solar plant.

We have a clear objective to achieve excellence in environmental, health, and safety issues which we achieve through ensuring that the right systems are in place to create a safe working environment for our employees and contractors.

In practice, this means several things. Central to a safe work environment is quality health and safety training which is provided to all our employees. We provide this across several areas.

As a company with active construction sites, we have delivered training on:

Electrical safety
Fall protection
Work excavation
Confined spaces
Scaffolding
Use of lifting support accessories
Lifting operations

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) – 2020

Life Threatening Incident (LTI)*	0
Lost Time Incident	1
Injury Severity Rate (ISR)	0.1
Injury Frequency Rate	5.9
Near Misses	124
Safety Walks	458

As a result of these efforts and a continued focus on health and safety, our operations in 2020 resulted in no Life Threatening Incidents being reported.

Ecosystem Considerations

As a renewable energy platform, our work is designed to reduce or avoid carbon emissions in the countries where we operate. In total, our projects are set to avoid over one million tons of carbon dioxide emissions entering the atmosphere per year.

Internally, we have also started to take steps to improve our carbon footprint, including:

Avoiding the use of paper in our offices.
Improving recycling schemes.
Switching plastic bottles and disposable coffee pods for green alternatives.
Putting in place car sharing policies for commuting to and from work.
Measures to enable and encourage more flexible forms of working, including working from home to reduce emissions from commuting.

The Atlas DocuSign Initiative

Through our DocuSign initiative that has been implemented for about a year, we have been able to reduce the time spent obtaining signatures and have reduced the following metrics, making it environmentally friendly as well:

1,156 K trees saved

Reduction in Paper Consumption

21,281 L

Reduction in Water Usage

2,701 K

Reduction of Carbon Emissions

187 K

Reduction of Waste

We have always wanted to go further, so we have taken additional steps to preserve and protect the environments in which we operate. This includes protecting biodiversity through community reforestation programs and wildlife conservation projects, as well as safeguarding ecosystems through initiatives to reduce the carbon footprint of our operations. Initiatives in past years include:

An apiculture project created to strengthen beekeeping skills.

The creation of an environmental education center and nursery garden near our Sertão Solar plant, as well as additional nursery gardens near our São Pedro plant.

The conservation of 1,229 ha of forest and grassland habitat to protect local species such as the yellow headed parrot and the Black howler Monkey near our project being developed in Campeche, Mexico.

Contributing to Communities where we operate

We believe firmly in operating the right way, both as a company and in how we engage with the communities where we operate.

Partly, this is about going above and beyond local regulations. If we set higher standards, others will have to follow. It is also about the role we play in local communities.

How we operate with local communities

Each of our projects has a dedicated social and environmental budget and we work along the communities in which we operate to design programs to meet local needs and solve local challenges.

Across our communities we focus on education and sustainable living. This includes programs to address educational gaps in rural areas, provide educational supplies including digital equipment to local schools, and undertake environmental education in the communities.

Our Community Investment Programs

Our programs focusing on education and sustainable living function across every project where we operate in Latin America.

Working in partnership with The Pale Blue Dot, an organization that promotes long-term educational projects, we designed and built a digital classrooms program in eight schools and a public library in the local area.

The program delivered internet access for these classes through satellite and reception equipment; provided tablets and virtual reality equipment which enabled a novel learning experience for school children in the area; and delivered a new set of content for lessons to be taught from.

Atlas and the Actis Initiative

Actis Acts is a program launched by our sponsor Actis, which is committed to offer grants on a yearly basis to support charitable activities. The grants are drawn from the foundation and support activities of Actis’ investee companies, including Atlas Renewable Energy.

How Atlas has used Actis Acts to support communities

We launched Project Carmen as a way to help a community of 300 people from which only 80 have access to the public health system and the nearest hospital is 40km away.

This initiative will provide medical infrastructure and training to local women to increase health standards and provide a basis for healthcare service that can be sustained by the local community for the benefit of all.

Marcela Pizzi
Head of People and Communications

“ We believe that humans are at the center of success. In a year where daily routines regarding wellbeing, relationships, and work were disrupted, we made every effort to ensure continuous professional development. We did this by providing personal support, guidance, and a concrete work environment and culture. With this, our people can give their best selves to work, be creative, and keep physically and mentally healthy. ”

Recruiting Fairly

As a company, we recruit on merit and make every effort to ensure we attract the best people to our business. Since our founding, we have taken several steps to ensure that every applicant receives fair and equal treatment.

Measures we have introduced include:

Neutral language We do not use gender-specific pronouns in our job adverts or related communications. We also ensure the language used is balanced to increase the appeal of each position and reduce the chance of missing out on high-caliber applicants. Promoting access to under-represented groups Where candidates hold similar or equal qualifications and experience, we will also consider whether any candidate is from an under-represented group. For example, whether they have a disability or are from an under-represented ethnic group.	Equal weighting of qualifications We recognize the qualifications of every candidate, regardless of the institution or country in which qualifications or experience is attained. Gender equity We consider at least one female applicant within the final stage of an application process. To achieve this, we work to ensure that our job adverts do not include gendered language that may act as a disincentive for potential female applicants. Applicant confidentiality Every candidate’s data, including their application, is protected and secured.

Promoting Employment Opportunities in our Communities

Job creation and economic empowerment is a key part of the contribution we make in the communities where we operate.

We track closely the number of jobs created by our contractors for residents living in the communities near our projects and aim to have a high percentage of total jobs filled locally. For example, during the construction of our Guajiro plant in Mexico, nearly 900 jobs for the local labor force were created. This stimulates local economies and reduces the carbon footprint needed for employees commuting to work over longer distances or having to relocate from other countries.

On average across all our solar projects, 70% of jobs created so far.

Diversity, Inclusion and Economic Empowerment

With offices and operations across five countries, we understand the value and benefit which diversity brings to society and business.

We are committed to ensuring this is the case for all our employees and stakeholders, including the communities where we operate.

We do not discriminate on grounds of gender, ethnic, religious, cultural, educational, or sexual orientation. Nor do we discriminate on the grounds of someone’s political views, age, marital status, or any other factors.

We believe that our diversity makes us stronger and better equipped to meet and overcome the challenges faced by people across all the countries where we have a presence.

We promote and operate an inclusive workplace for our employees. As a business, we take a firm stance on any behavior or attitudes that run counter to our values and our People Department is trained to identify if and when discrimination is apparent in any form.

Increasing our Gender Diversity

The role of women in the renewable energy sector and more generally in communities where we operate is a strong focus for us. Sadly, women are still under-represented in our industry and we intend to help change that. Since 2017 we have more than doubled the proportion of women working in our company.

As part of our efforts to increase female participation and create a welcoming environment to work in, we continue to run several initiatives:

Updated internal material such as staff handbook and code of conduct.
Worked with employees to improve awareness of what is considered acceptable behavior, what constitutes unconscious bias, harassment, and inappropriate attitudes and behavior towards women.
We promote female inclusion in all our operations and relationships with contractors and stakeholders.
Female Workforce Program – We have expanded our belief in gender equality beyond Atlas by setting up the program “We are all part of the same energy”.

Tackling Gender Diversity in our Industry

As we prioritize local labor in our projects, we also seek to account for the underrepresentation of women in the energy sector. By empowering women through skills training and participation, we believe a more diverse sector can be realized.

In particular, we undertake programs to tackle female participation in renewable energy. Our Female Workforce Program “We are all part of the same energy” is at the center of these efforts. Launched in 2020, it is designed to improve local female access to technical skills training so that these women can target new employment and entrepreneurial opportunities, and to increase female representation in our own value chains.

“We are all part of the same energy” is a joint-funded initiative between Atlas and the Inter-American Development Bank. It is focused on developing skills such as electricity, mechanics, HSEQ and environmental management for the women that live near Atlas construction sites.

We have set a target to upskill around 700 women, allowing them to take on qualified positions at Atlas projects under construction in Chile, Brazil, and Mexico. Already, we have begun to hire women at both the Jacaranda and Sol del Desierto projects with plans to continue hiring as more projects begin construction.

We are all part of the same energy – Progress Tracker

Project	Details	Total Number of Training Programs	Number of Women Hired	Number of Women in Training
Jacarandá	Expected that at least 10% of female workforce is hired during construction At least 50% of these positions (5% of that total) will be women of color At least 30% of the remaining 90% of the total workforce are men of color	6 (Civil construction, electrical and administration)	150	Training began November 2020
Lar do Sol – Casablanca I	15% of total workforce must be women	8 (Civil construction, Electrical and Administration)	150	Training expected to commence February 2021 (Expected to be 200)
Sol del Desierto	Expect at least 10% of total workforce will be women	2 (Electrical system and Panel mounting)	50	66
Campeche	15% of total workforce must be women	2 (Electrical system and Panel mounting)	300	358

Sustainability Report 2017-2020