MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil launches Sustainability Pact for ports and airports

Costa Filho also spoke about the potential merger between Gol and Azul

Brazil's Federal Ministry of Ports and Airports launched an unprecedented sustainability policy for these facilities as well as for waterways in a move to encourage sustainable practices, promote transparency, and strengthen social inclusion.

For the public sector, the Annual Sustainability Policy Agenda will be created, with projects, studies, and possible regulatory changes. For the private sector, the policy will be implemented through the Sustainability Pact, for companies interested in adopting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices.

“We are seeing important initiatives in the sector, aimed not only at reducing environmental impact but also at transparency in management and social inclusion. It's our role to encourage these actions, which directly benefit Brazilian citizens, even those who don't use air or water transportation,” Ports and Airports Minister Sílvio Costa Filho explained.

The official also addressed the announced merger plans of Azul and Gol. He underlined that if achieved, it would preserve restructuring companies and jobs while bringing about additional benefits to Brazil's aviation industry as a whole, although that definition would be up to the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) which “must be respected.”

“We met with the president of Azul and Gol and we're going to meet with the president of Cade in the next few days. We want to find a way to strengthen aviation in Brazil,” the minister said while noting that “more than 35,000 direct jobs” hang in the balance. “If one of these companies went bankrupt overnight, it would severely affect the entire industrial services and tourism sector,” he also noted.