Out now is the fourth episode of the Sparks podcast: it narrates the story of a young Brazilian couple that, by uniting their skills, gave life to an NGO that deals with sustainability, communication and technology, collaborating with big companies like Heineken and Klabin.

From a marriage to an NGO

Ana Carolina and Rafael are a young Brazilian married couple. They are very dedicated and passionate about the work they do together. In fact, from the moment they got to know each other, they discovered that not only a family could be born from their union but also a further contribution to their society: an NGO. And thus, it was: Agir Ambiental is a nongovernmental organization that collaborates with big companies with the aim of making them more sustainable, combating the so-called “greenwashing“, which involves transformations that are only cosmetic.

The three pillars

Agir Ambiental stands on three great pillars: sustainability, communication and technology.

Ana Carolina is a journalist, while Rafael is an environmental manager who has been engaged in the third sector since his teen years. By putting together their passions, they realized that they could offer a service still little known: an NGO that would deal with sustainability, be able to communicate well what it does, and efficiently use the latest technologies available.  Thanks to this intuition and the commitment and passion of the couple and their current employees, Agir Ambiental collaborates today with big companies, including Klabin, the largest producer and exporter of packaging paper in Brazil, and Heineken, one of the largest beer companies in the world.

Regarding the collaboration with the latter, Rafael narrates how one can contribute to rendering such a large company more sustainable by reintroducing the water utilized in the production process back into the territory. “Along with the Avina Foundation, we developed a method based on different technologies – he clarifies – like rainwater harvesting, productive yards and gardens, ecological restoration, modular composting and more. In this way, today, we can calculate exactly how much water we are returning to each territory. And the great thing is that many of these technologies also generate income for the community”.

Riguardo alla collaborazione con quest’ultima, Rafael racconta come si possa contribuire a rendere più sostenibile un’azienda così grande, reimmettendo nel territorio la quantità d’acqua che è stata usata nel processo di produzione. «Insieme alla Fondazione Avina abbiamo sviluppato una metodologia basata su diverse tecnologie – chiarisce – come la raccolta dell’acqua piovana, i cortili e gli orti produttivi, il restauro ecologico, il compostaggio modulare e altro ancora. In questo modo, oggi possiamo calcolare esattamente quanta acqua stiamo restituendo a ogni territorio. E il bello è che molte di queste tecnologie generano anche un reddito per la comunità».

Act now and act together

The secret of this enterprise’s success? To persevere in front of the difficulties and not fear if, in the beginning, the desired results are not seen. The couple confesses that the most difficult moments were at the beginning of their activity. Not surrendering made it possible to realize very big and unexpected projects. “One must believe that giving way to a significant change in the world is possible – says Ana Carolina – and as much as it is an individual initiative, it is possible to have an impact starting individually and then, together with others, in the community”.

Do not miss Ana Carolina and Rafael’s story: click here to listen now!

What is Sparks, and where can I listen to it?

Sparks is the new English podcast produced by the United World Project. It tells stories of changemakers who, like sparks, triggered a change to improve their society. We remind you that you can find each episode on the main platforms for podcasts: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Amazon Music, Audible, Anghami (click on the name of the platform to listen now). 

Let us know what you think of it on our social media pages or at the email address mediaoffice@unitedworldproject.org.