Sustainability strategy
In recent years, we have seen society and the market mature and become more aware of the social, environmental and climate challenges facing current and future generations. We believe that Sustainability needs to be directly linked to the Company’s strategy for it to be effective and, at Afya, this is intrinsically connected to its DNA.
- UN Global Compact in Brazil
We have been signatories to the UN Global Compact in Brazil since 2020 and we contribute to the 2030 Agenda, which establishes the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our priority SDG is number 3 (Health and Well-being). Although our main alignment is with SDG 3, we work across the other goals.
- Our social and economic contribution
We effectively contribute to the social and economic development of the locations in which we operate. By training doctors and offering free health consultations and health promotion and disease prevention initiatives, we have had an impact on the lives of thousands of people in different parts of Brazil. This happens specially in the countryside and in the North and Northeast of the country, where the number of physicians is below the national avarege.
Another social impact we promote concerns the movement of local economies, as they also start to use the services and products of suppliers operating in the states where they are based. Check out more details on the internalization of medicine and the transformation of communities here.
- Environmental impact
In the environmental dimension, we seek to minimize the impacts of our operations through processes and routines, prioritizing initiatives such as investment in clean energy, especially solar energy, generated in plants installed in our own schools. Click here for more information on how we minimize our effects on the environment.
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How we generate value
Big Numbers as of December 31, 2023
| Intellectual capital | Productive capital | Human capital |
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| Natural capital | Social and relationship capital | Financial Highlights |
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Environmental management
To ensure the continued improvement of our environmental activities and pay attention to our impacts, we have implemented an Environmental Management System (EMS) at a pilot unit, which is currently under preparation to provide new reference certifications. This work has been improved and will be expanded to other units in the future.
We also rely on the Sustainability Technical Commission to exchange information on best practices, and seek improvements in a joint manner.
- Environmental Policy
This is a document that contains guidelines and orientations for the environmental management routines, adopted by schools and healthtechs.
- Waste Management Commission at Brazil level
A pilot project was created in 2021, aimed to enhance the processes and procedures adopted by the units in environmental management. The following year, this practice was expanded to all of our business units.
Climate changes
Climate change is today the most urgent environmental concern worldwide. And, beyond the obvious impacts on cities and populations, the crisis generated by climate change affects one of Afya’s main objectives: the promotion of health. Climate change, therefore, is relevant from both an environmental and social point of view, and so mitigating the impacts that contribute to its intensification is among our priorities.
At our schools, we have developed initiatives focused on emissions management, energy and water consumption, and the generation and proper disposal of waste. Learn about our environmental engagement and awareness cases.
Environmental Sustainability Goals*
| SDG | Goal** | Year for completion |
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30% reduction in Scope 1 emissions intensity | 2035 |
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40% reduction in electricity consumption intensity | 2035 |
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25% reduction of solid waste sent to landfills | 2035 |
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30% reduction in water withdrawal intensity | 2035 |
*The goals have a 2023 base year
**For more information, refer to pages 59-61 of Afya 2023 Annual Sustainability Report.
Metrics
ESG commitment is an important part of Afya’s strategy and permeates the Company’s core values. Afya has been advancing year after year on its core pillars and, since 2019, ESG metrics have been disclosed in the Company’s quarterly financial results.
| 1Q24 | 1Q23 | 2023 | ||
| GRI | Governance and Employee Management | |||
| 405-1 | Number of employees | 9,914 | 9,567 | 9,680 |
| 405-1 | Percentage of female employees | 58% | 57% | 58% |
| 405-1 | Percentage of female employees in the board of directors | 36% | 40% | 36% |
| 102-24 | Percentage of independent member in the board of directors | 36% | 30% | 36% |
| Environmental | ||||
| Total renewable energy generated by own photovoltaic plants (MWh) | 1,794,215 | 732,767 | 4,510,637 | |
| 302-1 | Total energy consumed (MWh) | 5,831,206 | 5,468,733 | 24,036,608 |
| 302-1 | % of renewable energy consumed from own generation | 26.8% | 13.0% | 16.0% |
| 302-1 | % of energy consumed from the power grid | 30.8% | 79.0% | 60.3% |
| 302-1 | % of energy consumed from the free market | 42.3% | 8.0% | 23.7% |
| Social | ||||
| 413-1 | Number of free clinical consultations offered by Afya | 147,757 | 116,979 | 586,611 |
| Number of physicians graduated in Afya’s campuses | 20,220 | 18,126 | 20,197 | |
| 201-4 | Number of students with financing and scholarship programs (FIES and PROUNI) | 10,815 | 9,619 | 10,584 |
| % students with scholarships over total undergraduate students | 14.2% | 14.2% | 16.0% | |
| 413-1 | Hospital, clinics and city halls partnerships | 518 | 718 | 649 |
Environmental
Check out the environmental highlights of 2023:
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of the electricity consumed by our undergraduate and graduate units in 2023 was drawn from clean and renewable sources* | 53% |
of the undergraduate operations use self-generated solar energy
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16% |
of the total electricity necessary for the operations was supplied by solar energy in2023 | Emissions in 2023:** Scope 1 – 3,192.45 tCO2e Scope 2 – 0 Scope 3 – 7,391.16 Total 10,583.16 |
In 2023 Afya included in its inventory of GHG two Scope 3 emissions categories: goods and services acquired, and transportation from home to work. Together, these categories represented 50.20% of the year’s total emissions |
Social
Check out the social highlights of 2023:
| 6 hours and 40 minutes is the average number of training hours per employee | 69% |
of employees receive regular performance and career development appraisals | 6 |
specific programs for training and developing leaders |
47% |
of employees declare themselves to be black or brown | 45,1% |
women leaders in 2023, compared to 40.6% in 2022 |
72% |
of unit managers are from local communities | 40,000 |
consultations in 16 medical specialties, a major bottleneck for the SUS | 2 million+ |
free healthcare consultations provided for communities over the course of five years |
Governance
Check out the governance highlights of 2023:
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independent members are on Afya’s Board of Directors | 30% |
of Board of Directors are women | Annual Sustainability Report assured by a third party |
Quality of the education service
90% of Afya’s undergraduate medical courses score 4 or 5 in the MEC evaluation. Representing around 85% of Afya’s gross revenue, undergraduate courses are periodically evaluated by the regulator of higher education in Brazil, the Ministry of Education (MEC). Evaluating the quality of courses promotes Sustainable Development Goal (“SDG”) number 4 – Quality Education, and Afya recognizes the importance of this crucial instrument for monitoring and improving the quality of higher education in the country.
- Enade
Afya obtained one of the best results amongst the publicly-traded groups operating in the National Students Examination (Enade), held every year, directed to Higher Education students. 5,219 Afya students, from 117 courses, took part of Enade. In the area of Medicine, the number of courses evaluated rose from five to 21 compared to the previous edition, that was held in 2019 (+420%).
- Relationship channels
Afya provides the “Ombudsman” and “Contact Us” relationship channels to receive questions, complaints, suggestions or criticisms from the public who consume its products and services, especially the academic community. The complaints received are dealt with by an area dedicated exclusively to providing the best experience for our audiences.
- Net Promoter Score
Our solutions hub showed NPS scores in the range of excellence (scoring between 71 and 100 on a scale of zero to 100). The significant improvement of the Undergraduate NPS, especially in relation to the medical courses and the area of Continuing Medical Education, reflects the success of our engagement strategies and the effectiveness of an approach to education that is centered on the student. Afya has also increased the quality of its medical practice solutions.
- International publications
In 2023, the number of articles published internationally by our professors hit a record high in the Company’s history: 1,775 – an increase of 32% compared to 2022, when 860 articles were published.
Check out all Afya’s practices to ensure the quality of the education service here.
- International certification
In 2023, the Center for Simulation in Health (CSS) at one of our schools received the Seal of Accreditation from the Society for Simulation in Health (SSH). This was the first undergraduate medical school in Brazil to receive this recognition. The certification attests to the fact that the simulation teaching practices at our center are on the same level as those found at the best international institutions, such as Stanford, Harvard and the University of California.
Following this achievement, other schools with medical courses began to operate their CSS in the same quality standard, so that students can learn in practice, in a simulated and controlled environment, how to practice their profession.
Privacy and Data Security
Ensuring the privacy, security and protection of personal data is a very important issue for Afya. We follow strict policies for the processing of personal data, in compliance with the relevant legal and regulatory standards.
Compliance and Adaptation to the LGPD
Created in 2021, the Privacy Office is under the management of the Data Protection Officer (DPO) and aims to ensure compliance with the LGPD (General Personal Data Protection Act) for processes that process personal data, as well as establishing guidelines, procedures and policies in line with best market practices.
LGPD compliance policies
- Data Privacy Management
- External Privacy Policy
- Internal Privacy Policy
- Privacy by Design
- Data Storage and Disposal Management
- Security Incident and Personal Data Breach Response Policy
Risk Management
We maintain a detailed incident response plan to deal quickly with any security breaches:
- We have a dedicated Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) to minimize impacts and restore security and operations in the shortest possible time;
- We comply with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules on the cyber crisis management process, detailing the processes and responsible parties for dealing with significant cyber security breaches;
- We carry out regular information security risk assessments to identify vulnerabilities and implement proactive measures to mitigate them. We continuously monitor and manage emerging threats to ensure effective protection;
- We have a recurring agenda with senior management to follow up on information security and data protection work and monitor the most significant corporate risks.
Our practices
- Registration of operations: the Privacy Office regularly maps out the processes involving the processing of personal data;
- Training: We have mandatory training and courses in our Corporate University to deal with data privacy and security;
- Awareness: We carry out recurring phishing campaigns with associated training and the dissemination of knowledge pills on the company’s official channels;
- Data subjects’ rights: We have adopted measures to ensure transparency regarding the processing of data of all our users, employees, third parties and suppliers;
- Supplier evaluation: Based on best market practices, we evaluate our suppliers to ensure that they are also aligned with the principles of the LGPD;
- Website adaptation: The websites of the Afya group companies have notices about the use of cookies and links to the cookie and privacy policies;
- Consent (Opt-in): Our forms have checkboxes where the user is informed about the purposes of the data collection and must consent to the privacy policy before continuing to send the data;
- Contracts: All our contracts have specific clauses on the processing of personal data.