Corporate Social Investment in the Environment in Brazil: an Overview of Actions Related to SDG 6 – Water and Sanitation

Objective: Investigate the Corporate Social Investment (CSP) in the environment in Brazil, focusing on the UN's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 – Water and Sanitation. Theoretical Framework: Achieving SDG 6 in Brazil requires partnerships between governments, companies and citizens to guarantee water resources for future generations, and the CSP can contribute in this aspect. Method: Documentary research on BISC Reports (Benchmarking em Investimento Social Corporativo) from 2008 to 2023; GIFE Censuses (Grupo de Institutos, Fundações e Empresas) from 2005 to 2022-2023; and Sustainability Reports of participating companies. Results and Discussion: In BISC surveys, CSP in the environment had a better moment in 2012, representing 12% of investments, when it decreased continuously until 2020, reaching 0.1%, and rising to 5.8% in 2022. Environment prevailed in companies' mandatory socio-environmental applications, meaning legally imposed investments to compensate for environmental impacts. In the GIFE censuses, the average number of companies with CSP in the environment was 42%, but the volume of resources in 2022 was only 5.8% of the total. Only 10 companies had an CSP related to SDG 6, with target 6.6, about protection and restoration of water-related ecosystems, having the greatest performance. Research Implications: The private sector is a large consumer of potable water and the growing demand for water security requires new forms of corporate water management, beyond company walls and legal impositions. Originality/Value: The CSP in the environment in Brazil is still not very representative, but there are success stories to be studied and made a reference for other companies.