Braskem launches today, in Paulínia, the cornerstone of the Recreational Park, which will be built to serve the population of Paulínia and its region. With an area of 300 thousand m² granted by the city hall, Braskem's partner in the project, the park will be built within all of the concepts of sustainability, from its conception to its operation. "Our expectation is that the project will generate social capital and quality of life for the people of the region near the park, said Eduardo Carnaúba, manager of the Braskem Polypropylene Plant in Paulínia.
 
Besides the environmental aspects, the project aims to integrate the promotion of leisure to cultural activities of citizenship and education, with a target public of about 15 thousand inhabitants living around the park, where the are six districts located - Jardim Amelia, Leonor, Alto de Pinheiros, Parque das Árvores, Morro Alto and Chácara São Domingos. A permanent preservation area (PPA) will be kept in it, next to several springs; and also preservation of a stretch of Atlantic Forest, one of the richest forests in biodiversity in the world.

To enable the construction of the park, Braskem is investing more than R$3 million on the project, fulfilling part of the compensation agreement with the government of São Paulo to grant the environmental permit. In order to encourage people's involvement with the project since its inception, the company will put to popular vote the choice of the name of the recreational park in the coming months.

"It is essential that the community is part of the construction process, it is the only way we can ensure that they feel identified and fulfilled with their expectations, as the venue is in a region of neighborhoods with public housing and often without much access to equipment and public services", Carnaúba explains. "The participation of communities in the design of the park will contribute to the sustainability of the area and also for environmental education of local residents", he adds.
For the mayor of Paulínia, José Pavan Júnior (DEM), the park will create synergy of coexistence between the municipal departments, allowing integrated service to meet the needs of the population. "Our objective is to increase the activities to be carried out on the site. It will be an important project for Paulínia to promote job generation and quality of life for the population, in addition to implementing actions to protect the environment", Pavan emphasizes.

Among the future attractions of the park, the ones that stand out are the multiuse rooms, library, event spaces, cafeteria, recreational squares, playgrounds, areas for games, picnic areas with tables and benches, event squares with differentiated floor, courts, skateboarding rink, grass court, recreational area and gym equipment, including an access trail for the population, bathrooms and administration rooms, among other things.

In addition to offering a choice of leisure to the population, the park will also be a place where children can learn in practice the importance of preserving nature and living in harmony with the environment. "That way, we will contribute to the growth of the region in social aspects as well as in relation to culture and citizenship", Carnauba said.

Sustainable development permeates the whole construction of the park. Both, the landscaping plan, prepared by Benedito Abbud, and the equipment were designed from the concept of recovery and full integration with nature. The ConcretePVC building system, a sustainable technology, will be used in buildings, designed to make the best use of the lighting and natural ventilation of the site.

Scheduled to open in the second half of 2010, the park is aligned with the sustainability strategy of the company, which also guided the entire industrial unit project of Paulínia. Starting with the technology used in the plant, of minimal environmental impact, but also including care for the optimization of energy consumption by the use of intelligent building systems that minimize the use of natural resources. Currently, a rainwater utilization system that can substantially reduce the need for external water capture for industrial operation is under implementation process.

"The commitment to sustainability is part of the business strategy and growth of Braskem, which is promoting a structured continuous improvement of all its environmental and social indicators", says the head of sustainability at Braskem, Jorge Soto. The development of the first polyethylene of an 100% renewable source, in July 2007, was a real example of responsible environmental performance, besides the conversion of MTBE plants to ETBE (additive for gasoline from a renewable source) ones, inaugurated in August.
 
Another important initiative being developed in the region of Paulínia is the recovery of riparian zone of the Jacaré stream, which lies on the edge of the land where the Braskem unit is located. As part of this project, about 1000 native species were planted, with regular monitoring to allow the full development of the forest.

To manage the implementation of the park, they hired Gaia - Group of Interdisciplinary Application to Learning - which has been operating for 20 years on environmental projects and social responsibility. The performance of Gaia will cover a socioeconomic and environmental diagnostic of the population and also the coordination of training workshops for residents in vocational skills, entrepreneurship, art and education, leadership training in environmental projects and institutional development for third sector entities, and the classification of manager team of the park in management and sustainability.

"The integration between companies, governments, communities and NGOs is an important step for environmental management towards sustainability", concludes Soto.