Sustainability Strategy

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
1,800 international scientific publications 253 projects approved by the Brazilian Medical Congress 150 courses in the continuing education portfolio 32 million+ visits to the principal digital platform for medical decision-making	69% of the schools are located in the North and Northeast Regions 63% of our medical schools are located outside metropolitan regions 203 medical seats authorized by the MEC 11 healthtechs	9,000+ employees throughout Brazil 36 employees were awarded scholarships for undergraduate, language and graduate/MBA courses 60% of the unit directors are drawn from the local communities 52% of the teching staff and 24% of the employees hold Martes and/or Doctorate qualifications
Natural capital	Social and relationship capital	Financial Highlights
16 units have solar power generation facilities 16% of the total sum of the electricity required by our operations was supplied by solar energy 100% of the electricity consumed by the group’s 45 operations is sourced from clean and renewable origins	21,000+ medical students enrolled 66,034 undergraduate students 4,976 continuing medical education students 268,000 active users of medical practice solutions (at the end of 2023) 2 million+ free healthcare consultations since 2019 100 contracts with 40 large pharmaceutical companies R$ 43,46 million in investments focused on healthcare infrastructure in the municipalities where we operate	R$ 1,088.8 million in cash flow from operating activities R$ 2,874.1 million in Adjusted Net Revenue R$ 1,165.7 million in Adjusted EBITDA R$ 591.1 million in Adjusted Net Income

Our commitments

Since 2020, Afya has been a signatory to the UN Global Compact – Brazil Network. In 2022, it made a public commitment to promote gender equality (SDG 5), to achieve 50% of leadership positions held by women by 2030.

The company has also joined the Mind in Focus Movement, which aims to stimulate discussion about mental health and establish concrete actions to support employees in creating a healthy working environment.

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
	30% reduction in Scope 1 emissions intensity	2035
	40% reduction in electricity consumption intensity	2035
	25% reduction of solid waste sent to landfills	2035
	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.

Awards and recognition

Valor 1000 Award	Valor Executive
We were named Best Education Company in the Valor 1000 awards. In this edition of the awards, the ESG quality seal was an important factor in the evaluation and definition of the finalist companies.	Our CEO, Virgilio Gibbon, was recognized as the best in the area of Education in the form of ‘Executivo de Valor’, from the ‘Valor Econômico’ newspaper. The winners are chosen by a jury from a list of names provided by 15 companies focused on executive selection, all of which are members of the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC).

Valor Innovation Annual Yearbook	TOP Open Corps Ranking	Valor Women in Management Award
We came first in the ninth edition of the Brazil ‘Valor Innovation’ Award For the first time, we were named the most innovative company in the country in the Education category	We were once again included amongst the select group of companies that work most on open innovation with startups in Brazil. As well as being amongst the TOP 50, in 2023, we were placed second in the ranking of Education companies.	We were one of the winners of the ‘Women in Management 2023’ award, which recognizes companies with the best practices offering opportunities for women to rise to leadership positions, and we were recognized as having the best performance amongst organizations in the Education sector.
Bloomberg Gender Equality Index 2023	Época 360° Business Yearbook	Empresa que Dá Feedback seal
We were included on this index for the second year running – of the 16 Brazilian companies on the list, Afya is one of the few representing the health and education sectors.	The Época 360° Business Yearbook named us as one of the three best Brazilian companies in the Education sector. Of the Education companies, Afya was ranked second. In the area of Financial Performance, the Company was once again placed first amongst companies in its sector	Since 2021, we have been recognized with the ‘Empresa que Dá Feedback’ (‘Company that Provides Feedback’) seal, awarded by the human resources management platform, Gupy. The eligibility criteria are: to provide at least 90% feedback on closed or canceled seats and for at least 90% of the externally publicized seats to be active.
Great Place To Work (GPTW)	Stanford University Ranking	Afya in Time magazine
We were amongst the best companies to work for in Minas Gerais, according to the Great Place to Work survey of employees.	Our professor on the UNIGRANRIO Graduate Program, at the Barra da Tijuca (RJ) campus, Dr. José Siqueira, was recognized as one of the ten Brazilian scientists having the greatest impact on the world.	Our company was elected the third best edtech in the world in 2024 by the US magazine ‘Time’. The classification is based upon a form that evaluates the company’s financial strength and its impact on the market. We are the first Brazilian edtech to appear on the list, which includes just 50 companies from all over the world.

Sustainability Strategy