Case study: How Cosan creates economic value for its stakeholders
Cosan is a holding company committed to Brazil’s sustainable development that increasingly invests in businesses dedicated to integrated logistics and the diversification of the Brazilian energy matrix. Cosan’s purpose is to influence and enable the journey to reduce its clients’ carbon footprint, creating sustainable value across its value chain in all sectors in which it operates.
This case study is based on the 2021 Sustainability Report by Cosan, prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards, that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Generating and sharing value in and around its value chain, such as the creation of direct and indirect jobs and returns to shareholders, is a top priority for Cosan. Tweet This! In order to create economic value for its stakeholders Cosan took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for shareholders
- create economic value for the government
Subscribe for free and read the rest of this case study
Please subscribe to the SustainCase Newsletter to keep up to date with the latest sustainability news and gain access to over 2000 case studies. These case studies demonstrate how companies are dealing responsibly with their most important impacts, building trust with their stakeholders (Identify > Measure > Manage > Change).
With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Cosan has identified;
- How Cosan proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Cosan to create economic value for its stakeholders
Already Subscribed? Type your email below and click submit
What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2021 Sustainability Report Cosan identified a range of material issues, such as corporate governance and capital allocation, climate change, people management, diversity, and inclusion, people and assets safety. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for Cosan.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups Cosan engages with:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Investment and development banks | · Constant face-to-face group meetings · One-on-one meetings · Conferences · Conference calls · Emails · Telephone |
| Insurance companies and brokers
| · Face-to-face group meetings · One-on-one meetings · Conferences · Conference calls · Emails · Telephone |
| Assets | · Face-to-face group meetings · One-on-one meetings · Conferences · Conference calls · Emails · Telephone |
| Fiduciaries, trustees, exchange brokers, and rating agencies
| · Conferences · Conference calls · Emails · Telephone |
| Shareholders and potential national and foreign investors | · Disclosure of public information · One-on-one and group meetings · Conferences · Results conference calls · Email and telephone · Updating of the Investor Relations website |
| Employees
| · “Você Fala” Survey · Engagement campaigns · Internal communications |
| Press | · Relationship meetings · Interviews · Proactive releases · Articles · Notes in ON · Mapping forums and livestreams · Mapping of awards and rankings · Monitoring of the group’s articles through media monitoring · Relationship with paid media · Industry campaigns |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics Cosan engaged with its stakeholders through interviews or forms, with priority given to the former whenever possible.
What actions were taken by Cosan to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2021 Sustainability Report Cosan reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In 2021, Cosan spent R$ 142,101.00 (in thousands of Brazilian Reals) for payroll and social charges.
- Creating economic value for shareholders
- In 2021, Cosan paid R$ 1,454,263.00 (in thousands of Brazilian Reals) in dividends.
- Creating economic value for the government
- In 2021, Cosan paid R$ 611,053.00 (in thousands of Brazilian Reals) in taxes and contributions.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed
Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.1, 8.2
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Targets: 9.1, 9.4, 9.5
78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards
SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.
Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.
7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started
Any size business can start taking sustainability action
GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom (venue: London School of Economics)
- Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
- Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
- Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP.
- Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement
See upcoming training dates.
References:
This case study is based on published information by Cosan, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the following link:
Note to Cosan: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.