RISK MANAGEMENT
Santos Brasil adopts a series of actions to mitigate risks and reduce the incidence of factors that may interfere with its operating, environmental or economic-ἀnancial performance. The Company maintains a multidisciplinary work group that identiἀes and evaluates in-house procedures and also controls the potential risks or non-compliance situations which are handled using speciἀc action plans.OPERATING RISKS
LABOR FORCE
The lack of specialized and trained labor is one of the main risks that may affect Santos Brasil's operations. To minimize the effects of a possible scarcity of professionals capable of operating equipment and ensuring the continuity of operations, the Company operates preventively, offering continuous training to its team, which permits the keeping of a talent bank formed by professionals with the capacity to undertake new challenges in key positions for business operations.EQUIPMENT
Santos Brasil invests in preventative maintenance to protect itself from the risks associated with equipment use. At Tecon Santos, which depends on electrical power in order to run a range of activities including the operation of quay cranes, reactive compensators are used to increase the transmission capacity and to reduce electromagnetic oscillations. As a result, damages due to electrical faults are mitigated and power consumption demonstrates a relative reduction.TECHNOLOGY
Santos Brasil invests in technological updating and modernization, aiming at the best return and control of the various operations involved in our business. The continuity of this process is guaranteed by a backup infrastructure with network and database redundancy, capable of ensuring electronic data integrity in our operations, minimizing possible information loss.ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
The Company is committed to mitigating these risks both in cases of prevention and emergency actions. To do so, a series of initiatives focusing on environmental prevention are adopted.
At Tecon Santos there are two effluent treatment plants: one for sanitary effluent and the other for chemical effluent, capable of ensuring the safe disposal of oil and grease resulting from operations (at the other units, systems interconnected with the public grid or septic tanks are safely used). In the event of oil spillages, either from terminal equipment or vessels, Tecon Santos has containment barriers to reduce potential environmental impacts. For solid waste, besides minimizing the volume by reduction at the source, the business units rely on a collection, segregation, classification and transport system to the waste treatment or final disposal facilities.
Reach Stacker operating at Tecon Santos.
LEGISLATION
More than complying with the specific laws of the regions where it is located, Santos Brasil follows a policy of anticipating environmental demands, establishing goals for a range of indicators at levels that go beyond those specified by the controlling authorities. This is a commitment that requires expertise, qualified professionals, constant training and adaptability. In this way, Santos Brasil works to ensure that its operations respect the environment in an intelligent, safe and efficient manner.CERTIFICATION
The Company holds the ISO 14001 certification for its main business unit, Tecon Santos. The rules and procedures of identification, prioritization and management of environmental risks are adapted to the nature, scale and environmental impact of the operations and aim at continuous improvement focusing on the prevention of pollution, compliance with legal requirements and commitment to the environment and society.STUDIES
Since 2008, Santos Brasil has run GEE (Greenhouse Gas Emissions) inventories at Tecon Santos and Santos Brasil Logística. In addition to this, the Company seeks opportunities that offer the reduction of environmental impacts in ongoing studies such as the electrification of RTG, the revision of the electric matrix and projects focused on the reduction of power and water consumption, such as the insulation of presence sensors, faucet flow regulators, ecological flushes, and the reuse of water at workshop washing ramps.FINANCIAL RISKS
The Company has and follows a policy set forth in its Bylaws that restricts the taking of isolated decisions by the Board, establishing safe limits of flexibility for its Executive Board. The policy presents guidelines in relation to loans, investments and guarantees, etc., and must be submitted for approval to the Board of Directors. In accordance with the terms of this policy, the nature and overall position of financial risks are regularly monitored and managed by different administrative bodies with the aim of assessing the results and the financial impact on the Company's cash flow.
The administration of operations with financial instruments is conducted using operational strategies and in-house controls, seeking to ensure liquidity, profitability and security. The contracting of these instruments for the purposes of protection is done through the periodic analysis of risk exposure that the Board intends to cover (exchange rate, interest rates, etc.), which is approved by the Board of Directors. The control consists of the permanent monitoring of the conditions contracted versus the applicable market conditions.
Santos Brasil and its affiliates do not make investments of a speculative nature in derivatives or any other risk assets. Currently, the Company owns financial derivative instruments to protect risks related to the interest rate and exchange rate variations, primarily to protect amortizations in the short term on debts in foreign currency (up to 12 months).
The results obtained with these operations are conducive with the policies deἀned by the Company Board. The estimated realizable values of the ἀnancial assets and liabilities of Santos Brasil and its afἀliates were determined using information available in the market and appropriate evaluation methods.
In 2011, the Company was recognized by Standard & Poor's Rating Services, which raised the long-term corporate credit rating of Santos Brasil in its National Brazil Scale from "brAA-" to "brAA".