Learn about the results of a pioneering initiative created to engage experienced employees in supporting the positive social and environmental impact business ecosystem
Through a robust strategy made up of four complementary journeys – the Vale Impact Network, the Impact Mentoring Journey, the Impact Investing Journey and the Cubo Impact Journey – Fundo Vale, in partnership with Ago Social, launched a pioneering program in 2024 with the aim of engaging Vale’s employees and contractors in the positive social and environmental impact ecosystem, promoting knowledge, connections and concrete actions. The goal is to form an active community of collaborative agents who support innovative businesses with a positive impact.
“Through four journeys, we have been promoting knowledge, strategic connections and concrete measures, strengthening innovative and sustainable businesses. The results show that when we combine purpose and collaboration, we can achieve real transformations,” said Giovana Gohr, head of Fundo Vale’s innovation area.
Learn about this strategy and the results of each journey, which were recently presented in an analytical report produced by Ago Social to identify opportunities to improve the program.
Vale Impact Network
The aim of the Vale Impact Network is to inform and engage employees in different areas and positions at Vale on the subject of positive social and environmental impact. In the first stage, a series of videos was made available on global social and environmental challenges and how impact businesses and strategic investments can become solutions for a sustainable, fair and inclusive economy.
The Vale Impact Network also held monthly meetings with experts and representatives of companies such as Natura and Gerdau to discuss solutions and present global trends in the impact ecosystem. Over the course of eight meetings, the inspiring stories of social entrepreneurs, business initiatives and internal Fundo Vale experiences were shared. The program takes an inclusive approach, accessible to all hierarchical levels and areas of activity, valuing a wide range of skills and perspectives.
To improve results, Ago Social recommends linking participation in the Vale Impact Network to employees’ corporate goals, creating an exclusive program for senior leaders and reformulating the meeting model to enable a better connection between participants.
Impact Mentoring Journey
The Impact Mentoring Journey aims to connect Vale employees with social entrepreneurs, especially in the Amazon. With a focus on training to act as mentors, the journey is structured in two main stages: asynchronous online training and a cycle of mentoring for businesses selected by the CERTI Foundation and the Green Wave platform. In 2024, over a three-month period, the mentors took part in six sessions with the entrepreneurs, concentrating on specific business challenges and proposing solutions and action plans.
There were also five complementary meetings: one to connect the entrepreneurs, another for an initial presentation for mentors and businesses, a third to share initial experiences, a class on impact monitoring with Fundo Vale’s Nathalia Cipoleta, and a final meeting to share lessons learned and wrap up the program.
In 2024, the journey trained 52 employee mentors, who dedicated a total of 112 hours to mentoring. The impact has been significant, as 100% of the entrepreneurs reported that they were better prepared to run their businesses.
“The journey was incredible. We ran into some issues at first, but that was part of the learning curve. Overcoming the initial hurdles made us happy, safer and closer. We were able to offer support, ideas and help, and the mentees were amazing,” said Graça Ferraz, who mentored startup Cacauaré, a family business composed of women who are making a cocoa-based product.
“I discovered skills that I didn’t use in my routine activities and I was able to apply my competencies to work on our issues,” said Suyan Borges, who mentored Biospin, an innovative startup that combines cutting-edge technology with bioactive products from the Amazon Rainforest.
“The journey provided me with extremely valuable contacts and insights at a crucial time, as I start to make and launch my first product,” said Bianca Oglouyan, an entrepreneur at foodtech company Cuica.
For the next edition, Ago Social’s recommendations include moving up the online training as part of the mentor selection process, holding a live meeting to delve deeper into different topics and offering specific training for entrepreneurs, similar to that designed for employees, to better prepare them for the mentoring sessions and optimize the results of the journey.
Impact Investing Journey
The Impact Investing Journey was created to engage Vale employees interested in investing in social and environmental businesses supported by Fundo Vale and its partners.
The initiative consisted of two stages. First, there was online and asynchronous training, divided into two modules: one on financial education and planning, taught by Valia, Vale’s corporate pension system; and the other on impact investing, taught by Sitawi. This was followed by meetings with prominent organizations such as Din4mo, Estímulo 2020, Sitawi, Trê Investindo com Causa and Vox Capital, which presented investment platforms and opportunities, helping inspire the participants and bridging the gap between theory and practice in impact investing.
For the Impact Investing Journey, Ago Social suggests providing even more practical experiences for employees. One way of doing this could be to align the dates of the meetings with the period in which investment products and entrepreneurs are seeking to raise capital.
Cubo Impact Journey
The Cubo Impact Journey was created by Fundo Vale in partnership with Cubo Itaú ESG Hub, with support from Ago Social, to train startups to integrate technological and innovative solutions that promote positive social and environmental impacts. In all, 73 startups signed up for the training, and through a selection process that assessed criteria such as impact generated, business maturity, geographical location and racial diversity, 32 businesses were selected.
The training stage included 10 weekly meetings, each lasting two hours, divided into three modules: “Roots and Horizons,” exploring the purpose and opportunities of impact investing; “Restructuring the Economy,” focusing on impact investing and measurement; and “Shaping the Future,” integrating social and environmental impact into business. The meetings were led by experts and leaders from the impact ecosystem, including Diogo Quitério, Iglá Generoso and Carolina Aranha.
Of the 32 startups that took part, 14 were selected to present their final pitches to a panel made up of representatives of investment funds and experts from the ecosystem. The evaluation considered criteria such as size of impact, scalability, viability, innovation and the connection between impact and business model.
In terms of engagement and impact, 26 businesses completed the training stage, 20 impact plans were built, more than 50 hours of mentoring were carried out, and the journey received a net promoter score of 9.81. Startups such as O Celeiro and LunaGreen stood out for developing structured impact plans and implementing sustainable practices in their operations.
“The journey showed us that generating impact is not a linear process, but a dynamic thing that requires adaptability and constant innovation. We also learned that impact goes beyond indicators; it lies in how we build our relationships, strengthen the community around us and engage partners and customers in our mission. As a result, we came away more confident that it is possible to align purpose and results, and we reinforced our commitment to contributing to a more sustainable and equitable world. We had the idea that this process would take a long time, but thanks to the journey, we have seen that it is possible right now,” said Nathalia Barbosa, founder of LunaGreen.
Ago Social’s recommendations for improving the Cubo Impact Journey include strengthening dissemination work through partnerships with players in the innovation ecosystem, promoting more moments of interaction between participants and facilitating connections with impact investment funds.
To celebrate the completion of these journeys, Fundo Vale and its partners held the Cubo Impact Summit at Cubo Itaú in São Paulo, which was transmitted live. The event brought together the journeys’ participants, including representatives of startups and Vale employees, as well as strategic partners who helped build these initiatives, offering a forum for exchange, connection and celebration of the results achieved over the course of the year.