Sustainability

Transforming environments and thrilling people.

As one of the largest producers of ceramic in Brazil, Portobello is the country’s leading brand and a major global competitor in the sector.

Design and innovation are key competencies of the Portobello Group. It’s what drives our products and services in our all of our factories as well as with our outsourcing partners.

Portobello takes an integrated approach to sustainability, focusing on environmental, social, and economic factors. We have a conscious and regenerative manufacturing process in place. As we grow, we continually emphasize sustainability, striving to implement best practices and inspire a more sustainable future across the entire supply chain.

Sustainability for Portobello means being aware of our actions and
the impact of our choices. It means understanding the responsibility that
comes with being an integral part of our society and ecosystem.
It means being committed to our entire production and distribution chain,
helping to create a future in which we can all evolve together.

The environment we live in is the essence of our business

Planet Earth is our home. And, for thousands of years, we have been using its natural resources to build our houses. Now we number over 7 billion. The only future worth imagining is one in which our management of architectural resources is smart, optimised and sustainable.

Ceramic tiles replace non-renewable resources in a manner that is much more logical, technically and environmentally-wise. In the case of Portobello, they are exceptionally sustainable.

We worry about the way mineral deposits are explored and restored, about where the water we use comes from, about repurposing waste, about creating a positive impact for our communities.

Our People

The actions and projects we create or support with a view to strengthening the people and communities we are involved with. It represents our continuous effort to value human beings, believing in their ability to evolve and change the world for the better.

 

Guidelines that steer the company’s actions:

  • Promote people’s health, safety, well-being and development;
  • Prioritise children and sports in social projects;
  • Act as a partner of the community, supporting good initiatives of social responsibility;
  • Promote culture and encourage employees to participate in volunteer actions.

 

 

Through the pillar called “Our People”, Portobello contributes to the following UN Sustainable Goals

Projects that make the OUR PEOPLE pillar tangible:

Growing Up Program

The Growing Up Program is a project promoted in the city of Tijucas/SC in partnership with the Sports Association of Employees of Ceramic Companies in Tijucas (ADEC), and for over fifteen years, it has been annually engaging approximately 200 children and adolescents aged 6 to 13 years in sports and educational activities. This represents approximately 70% of children and adolescents of the community and 30% of students who are children of Portobello employees, 90% of whom are students in public schools in the region.

The Program aims not only to encourage the practice of physical activities, but also to develop motor skills and physical fitness, stimulating the positive values of sports, such as responsibility, cooperation and respect, which also occurs by discussing socio-educational subjects such as health, education, entrepreneurship and sustainability. All participants receive free transportation, food, uniforms and school supplies.

The Growing Up program also serves as a means to prepare teens for the professional world, directing these young people to Portobello’s Young Apprentice Program.

Choir

Founded in 2004, Anjos Luz Choir is a project promoted in the community of Tijucas/SC that has already involved more than 300 children and adolescents aged 6 to 13 years. Currently, the group has 35 members who perform at popular events, festivals, parties, concerts also in partnership with other musical groups.

The relationships developed since childhood are extremely valuable for Portobello, especially since many of these children are the children of employees and who today are also part of the company’s staff.
Anjos Luz Choir is an initiative that brings the beauty and transformative power of music to different generations.

Volunteering

The basis for keeping people active and increasingly involve them in Portobello’s different social programs is the Volunteer Program, which currently has the participation of more than 200 employees.

The program that has been encouraging the engagement of employees in social actions since 2017 aims to contribute to improving the quality of life of the community in general.

To this end, the initiative is currently organized into four different work fronts that the volunteers can choose according to their availability and interests:
• Voluntary actions, in which the employee assists in corporate events such as the worker’s day party, children’s party, events held by the city of Tijucas/SC.
• Solidarity campaigns focused on collecting donations for the Christmas Campaign, the Winter Clothing Donation Campaign, visits to hospitals, nursing homes, daycare centers and schools.
• Solidary donations, in which volunteers assist employees who face difficulties due to illness or natural disasters.
• Pro-Life Actions, which focus on people’s health and well-being and develops actions such as blood and platelet donation, assistance in health-related events, such as Pink October and Blue November.

Sports Sponsorship

ADEC (Sports Association of Employees of Ceramic Companies of Vale do Rio Tijucas) is a Portobello partner that promotes various programs and activities with the purpose of bringing together companies and the community.

With this, more than 4,000 members and their dependents enjoy a large area with preserved nature and complete infrastructure for sports and leisure.

Other Projects

Ceramic Tiles Donation

Portobello donates ceramic tiles, with an annual average of 25,000 m², to approximately 40 institutions that meet the requirements of the Ceramic Tiles Donation Policy.

Projects promoted via incentive laws

The company allocates funds to projects in the communities where it operates, through the Culture Incentive Law, the Sports Incentive Law, Pronon, Pronas, the Childhood and Adolescence Fund and the Elderly Fund.

Environmental Education

The program aimed at employees and residents of the region near the Portobello plant in Tijucas/SC disseminates good environmental practices in internal and local social media, as well as promote awareness campaigns and monthly training for employees.

Bello Olympics

Held in partnership with ADEC, Bello Olympics encourages employees to participate in 14 sports modalities, providing well-being and moments of relaxation and fun among co-workers and family members.

Worker’s Day Party

A traditional event held with the support of Portobello Volunteers, attended by approximately 2,500 people, including employees and family members at each edition.

Children’s Party

Event held at Tijucas/SC and Marechal Deodoro/AL units with the support of Portobello Volunteers, in which employees, participants in social programs and their families offer recreational activities, games and cultural presentations.

Volunteer Christmas Campaign

Portobello’s largest social program has been promoted since 2003 and relies on the participation of company employees, who become godparents and godmothers of underprivileged children and elderly people in Tijucas/SC and Marechal Deodoro/AL, donating gifts to their godchildren.

Our Product

We understand that our home extends beyond four walls. We have rendered our unwavering dedication to improving our production processes tangible with the purpose of being able to take care and helping restore the planet we live on.

 

Guidelines that steer the company’s actions:

  • 100% closed-loop water systems in the manufacturing process;
  • 100% natural gas used in furnaces and dryers in Tijucas;
  • 1800m3 of water from human consumption saved with the “Let’s Take Care of Water Too” Campaign;

 

 

Through the pillar called “Our Product”, Portobello contributes to the following UN Sustainable Goals

Main stages of Portobello’s Production Process:

Regenerative Extraction

Portobello is responsible for the environmental regeneration of deposits, respecting the natural vocation of each area. It also follows pre-established criteria for managing social impacts and the deposits licenses, with periodic audits in order to promote the preservation of biodiversity, the control of water quality and the reduction of CO2 emissions.

Water Reuse

In addition to having its own collection sources, Portobello reuses 100% of the water in the production process through the application of a closed circuit, which avoids the rampant use of such an essential and limited resource on the planet.

Clean Energy

The heat from the production process of ceramic tiles is reused as an energy source. Portobello constantly invests in clean energy (100% natural gas in the production process) and technology for an increasingly rational use of natural resources.

Waste Repurposing

99.9% of the waste generated by Portobello is repurposed or recycled, promoting a circular and responsible economy. In addition, the company encourages repurposing third-party waste by using, for example, glass that would be discarded and plastic packaging waste as raw material for making trash bags.

Portobello Products Journey:

Check out the path that Portobello products take and how the company handles each step.

All Portobello products are developed in a sustainable manner, respecting biodiversity and the use of natural resources. Among the main characteristics of Portobello tiles are:

Regenerative Extraction

Recyclable

Non-toxic Product

fire resistant

Our Business

The success of our business is not measured just by financial aspects, but also by the well-being of the people and the environment that our products and services create. We have reaffirmed our commitment to adopting sustainable measures as an integral part of our business strategy.

 

 

Guidelines that steer the company’s actions:

  • Compliance: Periodic evaluations
  • Satisfaction survey with at least 87% satisfied respondents
  • Maintenance of RA1000 certification awarded by consumer protection website Reclame Aqui in 2018, 2019 and 2020
  • Win Época Reclame Aqui Award in the Home & Construction category
  • Training and Corporate Education Programs

 

 

Through the “Our Business” pillar, Portobello contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals shown:

Portobello’s activities in this pillar are divided into:

Value Added

Portobello shares the Statement of Value Added among the economic agents that contribute to its generation such as employees, community, government, shareholders, and creditors.

Investments

Constant investments in people and technologies keep Portobello ahead of the market and allow for continuous improvement in an increasingly sustainable process.

Customer Satisfaction

Every six months Portobello conducts a customer satisfaction survey with architects and designers, specifiers of the brand, to measure their degree of satisfaction with the company’s processes, products, and services to enable the company to deliver an increasingly complete service, always exceeding the customer’s expectations.

Download Reports

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