In 1963, Companhia Mineira de Água e Esgoto – COMAG was created by the State of Minas Gerais to provide water and sewage services to the municipalities of the state.
With the creation of the Financial System for Sanitation (Sistema Financeiro do Saneamento) and the National Sanitation Plan (PLANASA), the State Basic Sanitation Companies were founded. At that time, the Municipal Water and Sewage Department (DEMAE), which was responsible for the sanitation services of Belo Horizonte, was absorbed by COMAG. Thus, following mergers of municipal companies and massive growth, COMAG changed its corporate name to Companhia de Saneamento de Minas Gerais – COPASA MG in 1974.
Milestones
2000
Amendment of the State Law no. 6084/1973 (Company’s creation law), which expanded the Company‘s incumbencies, allowing it to also collect, recycle, treat and dispose of urban, domestic and industrial waste. The Company was also authorized to establish partnerships with domestic and foreign companies, and enter into agreements or contracts with entities of the Federal, State and Municipal government entities or entities of the indirect administration in any government level.
2003
Registration as a closely held Corporation.
2006
IPO, with shares listed in the Novo Mercado segment of B3 – Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão, a segment that requires higher commitment to transparency and corporate governance rules.
2007
Creation of three wholly owned subsidiaries: COPASA Serviços de Saneamento Integrado do Norte e Nordeste de Minas Gerais (COPANOR), COPASA Águas Minerais de Minas and COPASA Serviços de Irrigação.
Approval of Federal Law 11,445/2007 (Sanitation Law), which established new rules and guidelines for the regulation, monitoring, planning and rendering of services.
2008
Secondary public offering of shares (follow-on), in which the municipality of Belo Horizonte, the second largest shareholder until then, disposed of all of its shares. The State of Minas Gerais, which continued to be a controlling shareholder, sold part of its shares.
2009
Establishment of the Minas Gerais State Water and Sewage Regulatory Agency (ARSAE-MG), through State Law 18,309/2009, with the purpose of regulating and monitoring sanitation activities, as well as determining the tariff structure.
2011
Establishment of the methodology for calculating the tariff adjustment of public water supply and sewage services subject to regulation by ARSAE-MG (Resolution 03/2011), which was repealed in june 2021.
2015
Organizational restructuring, with a reduction in the number of Executive Officers, commissioned positions and employees.
2016
The activities of subsidiaries COPASA Serviços de Irrigação and COPASA Águas Minerais de Minas were discontinued, since their purposes were not in line with the Company‘s Corporate Strategy.
2017
Conclusion, by the Regulatory Agency, of the Company’s first tariff revision.
Signature of the first concession for the landfill operation with the municipality of Varginha, whereby Copasa is entitled to receive, treat, and the final disposal of waste.
2018
Improvement of Corporate Governance, with the creation of the Superintendence of Conformity and Risks, implementation of the Statutory Audit Committee and revision/institution of Governance Policies. In addition, the Annual Report on the Activities of Internal Audit (RAINT) and the Annual Chart of Governance and Public Policy were published for the first time.
2019
The Company began making profound transformations, designed to prepare it to face the new environment that has been emerging in the sanitation sector. The Company has been extensively restructured, the strategic planning has been reviewed and the organizational structure has been adjusted, with a reduction in the maximum number of executive areas from 8 (eight) to 5 (five) and a decline of almost 20% in the number of organizational units. The Relationship and Market executive area was created to increase the efficiency of actions related to relationships with clients, whether they are consumers or the granting authority, as well as to better organize the process of prospecting and attracting business opportunities.
In line with the Integrity Plan, the Company created and implemented several policies related to Internal Control, Gifts and Presents, Conflict of Interest, Corporate Governance and Related-party Transactions.
2020
Adoption of an emergency initiative due to the COVID-19 pandemic by setting up a Multidisciplinary Committee -COVID-19 Prevention, aiming at preserving the integrity and health of its employees. Implementation of initiatives to ensure the provision of services and to reduce the impacts for the population by relaxing commercial practices, mainly not cutting water supply or charging interest and fines from customers under the Social Residential category, as well as preventive measures concerning the relationship with the public, including the closing of service branches. Approval of the New Basic Sanitation Framework in July 2020 (Federal Law 14,026/2020), introducing profound changes to the sector, among which the establishment of goals to make our service provision universal by December 31, 2033, with 99% of drinking water coverage and 90% of sewage collection and treatment; goals for nondisruption, improved treatment processes; service expansion; loss reduction; quality service provision; efficiency; and responsible use of natural resources. In May 2020, Arsae-MG began the procedures for Copasa’s Second Tariff Revision, effective on August 1, 2021, when a new tariff cycle of four (4) years will be initiated. Still in 2020, a number of initiatives have been taken, highlighting:
- Redefinition of Copasa’s strategic positioning, emphasizing that all employees had the opportunity to contribute to this process aimed at incorporating innovative transformation, customer focus and business sustainability elements into the organizational identity of the new Copasa.
- Ratification of the Company’s commitment to sustainable development by becoming a signatory to the UN Global Compact and engaging in its initiatives, participating in the Rede Desafio 2030 (2030 Challenge Network) in partnership with Rede Brasil do Pacto Global.
- Stock split of all Copasa common shares, in the proportion of one (1) common share to three (3) shares, in order to increase liquidity, expand and fragment the shareholder base, as well as access different investor profiles.
- Continuous improvement in Governance by establishing and revising policies, carrying out assessments and providing training to the members of the Board of Directors, the Fiscal Council, the Executive Board and the Statutory Audit Committee.
2021
2021 highlights:
Held in May 2021, Copasa Day aimed at strengthening the relationship with investors and the public in general. The online event was attended by all Company executives. The results for the first quarter of 2021 were presented, as well as Copasa’s view and perspectives on the actions taken to make it more solid, efficient, and prepared to face the new challenges imposed by the new sanitation framework.
Implementation of the Company’s Voluntary Separation Plan (PDVI), which was joined by approximately 1,100 employees.
Conclusion, by Arsae-MG, of Copasa’s Second Tariff Revision, with a four-year term. The new annual tariff adjustment calculation methodology was then disclosed.
Investments of R$1.0 billion in 2021.
2022
In 2022, we highlight:
Investments of R$1.3 billion in 2022, under the Parent Company.
Progress of operations to reduce costs, featuring the contracting, for the first time, of energy in the free market.
Disclosure, by Arsae-MG, in November 2022, of the Tariff Adjustment applied by COPASA MG as of January 01, 2023. The Average Tariff Effect (ETM, or ATE) was 15.7%.
2023
The 2023 highlights are as follows:
Implementation of the Company’s Voluntary Separation Plan (PDVI), which was joined by approximately 730 employees.
Increase of 35% in EBITDA and 63.6% in Net Income, whose annual values came to R$2.7 billion and R$1.4 billion, respectively.
Reach, in December 2023, a default level of 2.97%, the lowest level observed in the last 7 (seven) years.
Investments totaling R$1.6 billion.
Continued service expansion, with water coverage remaining above 99%, higher than expected by the New Sanitation Framework. Regarding collected and treated sewage, the global coverage rate came to 75% in the year, 2.9 p.p. (percentage points) higher than in 2022 (72%).
Inclusion in B3’s Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE) for 2024, in recognition of its ESG strategy and commitment to sustainability matters.