Award recognizes community currency earned by staff for sustainable and social activities, which they can exchange for items from the community garden
The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) won first place in the company category of the 18th RAC/Sanasa Sustainability and Environmental Responsibility Awards. The award recognized the creation and circulation of the Teiú, a community currency created in 2023 that is part of CNPEM’s Seriema sustainability program in which sustainable and social activities by the staff can be exchanged for produce from the institution’s community garden as well as fertilizer and seedlings.
Teiús (named after a local species of large lizard) are awarded to employees who participate in different initiatives like donating clothes, medicine blister packs and bottle caps, using ethanol fuel and taking part in sports activities. Later, these Teiús can be exchanged for vegetables and fertilizer produced at CNPEM. The collected materials are periodically sent to non-profit organizations that work to benefit society.
Through these efforts, by the end of 2024 CNPEM was able to recycle 7 tons of plastic and 1,800 electronic devices, donate over 12,000 items of clothing, and convert 220,000 aluminum pop tops and 250,000 plastic bottle caps into wheelchairs.
The RAC-Sanasa Environmental Responsibility Award is a partnership between the RAC/Correio Popular Group and Sociedade de Abastecimento de Água e Saneamento S/A (Sanasa), and is intended to publicize initiatives for the common good aimed at sustainable development and community well-being. The award-winning institutions were announced at an event held by the RAC and Sanasa in the auditorium of the Correio Popular newspaper last Wednesday, May 21.
Teiús at Ciência Aberta
During Ciência Aberta, the open science event when CNPEM opens its laboratories to visitors, the currency will be used to encourage the public to take part in fun activities that bring the community closer to the research carried out at the Center. Visitors who participate in these activities will receive Teiús, which can be exchanged for gifts from the institution and plant seedlings; this reinforces the notion of the circular economy by valuing engagement activities that give back to the community in the form of useful and sustainable goods.
The seventh edition of Ciência Aberta will take place on May 30 and 31. The first day is reserved for school groups and excursions, while the second day is open to the general public, who can visit the CNPEM campus and take part in the activities .
See the full program for Ciência Aberta here.
Social community created by CNPEM operationalizes the exchange of sustainable and social actions of collaborators for items from community gardens
About CNPEM
The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) is home to a state-of-the-art, multi-user and multidisciplinary scientific environment and works on different fronts within the Brazilian National System for Science, Technology and Innovation. A social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), CNPEM is driven by research that impacts the areas of health, energy, renewable materials, and sustainability. It is responsible for Sirius, the largest assembly of scientific equipment constructed in the country, and is currently constructing Project Orion, a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research. Highly specialized science and engineering teams, sophisticated infrastructure open to the scientific community, strategic lines of investigation, innovative projects involving the productive sector, and training for researchers and students are the pillars of this institution that is unique in Brazil and able to serve as a bridge between knowledge and innovation. CNPEM’s research and development activities are carried out through its four National Laboratories: Synchrotron Light (LNLS), Biosciences (LNBio), Nanotechnology (LNNano), Biorenewables (LNBR), as well as its Technology Unit (DAT) and the Ilum School of Science — an undergraduate program in Science and Technology supported by the Ministry of Education (MEC).
