Annual Report
2022 Sustainability 
MRS

Materiality

GRI 3-1, 3-2

Materiality definition process

MRS materiality was defined based on a market analysis based on reports from foreign and domestic peers of the Company. The companies considered were those listed in international indexes, that are benchmarks for sustainability, and, on ESG-related aspects and risks, are classified by ratings that assess the long-term resilience of companies.

GRI guidelines were also considered in the process, as well as an assessment of Sustainalytics, Corporate Sustainability Assessment (SAM CSA), SASB e Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) analyzes. The process also included the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) and the sector study “SDG Industry Matrix – Transportation”, conducted by the Global Compact (UN) in partnership with KPMG.

The topics included in the consultation with stakeholders were identified based on a diagnosis performed by an external consultancy, considering relevant topics for the sector, according to a previous MRS matrix, peers and ESG frameworks.

The approaches to stakeholders were made in different ways, through contact from the Communication area, with a customized approach or through the Finance area. In this process, customers, suppliers, community representatives and internal leaders were consulted.

In the last materiality definition process, in 2021, MRS expanded the consultation to stakeholders, with the engagement of internal leaders (managers and general managers), achieving a more detailed view of the internal audience perception. The subsequent steps involved the validation of the priority topics by the MRS Executive Board and, finally, the consolidation of materiality and the correspondence between the material topics and GRI performance topics. The topics are reported over this report.

Impact study

GRI and SASB Disclosure
GRI 3-3 | Management of material topics
SASB TR-RA-540a.4. | Critical incident risk management
Impacts

Risk Management refers to mechanisms to identify, assess and reduce risks on a structured basis and in all areas and processes of the organization. The real positive impacts for MRS are the mitigation and prevention of accidents and stoppage of operation, increased influence on credibility with stakeholders, and financial impact (increased revenue, decreased costs, penalties, etc.).

Actions

Actions are carried out by the Audit Committee, with technical support for the Chairman of the Board of Directors in the analysis of topics related to risk management and internal audit, including the assessment, guidance and recommendation for approval of the Annual Audit Plan, mapping of corporate risks, Compliance activities, which seek to ensure that policies and standards are in place.

Process causing the impact

Impacts are caused by activities related to railway operation, maintenance and workshops.

Stakeholders

Employees, communities, customers, suppliers, leadership, shareholders, manufacturers and public bodies.

GRI and SASB Disclosure
GRI 3-3 | Management of material topics
Impacts

The company’s corporate governance concerns the set of processes and institutions that regulate how MRS is directed or managed. The positive impacts resulting from a good management of the topic are the application of the strategic direction, the definition of the ESG Goals for the Company, improvement of the relationship and communication with stakeholders, transparent management and an increased market perception. The potential negative impact is the existence of a conflict of interest.

Actions

MRS actions are the establishment of a Whistleblowing Channel and a Community Relationship Channel, meetings of the Board of Directors and the financial, strategic, sustainability and audit committees, management rituals, preparation of Internal Audit and Reports of results. In addition, the Company has in force its Related Party Transaction Policy, which creates criteria for carrying out transactions and establishes guidelines to ensure that these transactions are conducted within market parameters.

Process causing the impact

Internal processes impacting governance are: appointment of the CEO and Executive Board, decision on investments, ESG Goals setting, management rituals, Policies setting, Internal audit, structuring of the governance calendar, results reports, contracting and pricing of railway services.

Stakeholders

Employees, communities, customers, suppliers, leadership, shareholders, manufacturers and public bodies.

GRI and SASB Disclosure
GRI 3-3 | Management of material topics
GRI 205-1, 205-2, 205-3 | Anti-corruption
GRI 206-1 | Anti-competitive behavior
Impacts

The material topic of Ethics and anti-corruption practices is highly important to MRS. The management of the topic allows the generation of real positive impacts for the Company, such as the development of an organizational environment, control of conflicts of interest, human rights and integrity and good corporate conduct, guarantee of confidentiality of information, development of third-party relationships and commitment with diversity.

Actions

The actions applied by MRS to manage impacts related to corruption are the application of Policies of Conduct and the Code of Ethical Conduct and the Policy for Relationship with Public Bodies and Anti-Corruption; relationship with customers, suppliers and others; contractual clauses; availability of the Whistleblowing Channel; commitment to comply with Brazilian General Data Protection Law and promotion of the Company’s diversity.

Process causing the impact

Impacts are related to the processes of application of the Policies of Conduct and the Code of Ethical Conduct; management of the relationship with customers, suppliers and other third parties; contractual clauses; management of the Whistleblowing Channel; commitment to comply with Brazilian General Data Protection Law; fostering diversity at all levels of the Company.

Stakeholders

Employees, communities, customers, suppliers, leadership, shareholders, manufacturers and public bodies.

GRI and SASB Disclosure
GRI 3-3 | Management of material topics
GRI 302-1, 302-3, 302-4 | Energy
SASB TR-RA-110a.3 | Greenhouse gas emissions
Impacts

Fuel management and fleet eco-efficiency focuses on controlling fuel usage in a efficient way. The management of this topic positively impacts the company in the short term by reducing diesel consumption and increasing the energy efficiency index.

Actions

Aiming at energy efficiency, MRS trains are allocated in big groups: ore, agricultural, and general cargo. Therefore, it is possible to perform analyses using KPIs responsible for measuring the best way of performance of the operation for these cargo groups. In this way, the teams are able to see where opportunities to reduce fuel consumption are.

Process causing the impact

These impacts arise from MRS’ rail operation.

Stakeholders

Employees, customers, suppliers and leadership.

GRI and SASB Disclosure
GRI 3-3 | Management of material topics
GRI 305-1, 305-2, 305-4, 305-7 | Emissions
SASB TR-RA-110a.1, ‌TR-RA-110a.2, SASB TR-RA-120a.1 | Greenhouse gas emissions
Impacts

This topic is addressed at MRS to manage the emissions directly and indirectly generated by the Company’s operations. The positive impacts are the awareness of the MRS supply chain regarding climate change; implementation of hybrid and electric locomotives with improved efficiency; consumption of renewable energy; climate risks and opportunities. The negative impacts are the emissions of greenhouse gases and particulate matter.

Actions

To mitigate the impacts from gas emissions, MRS annually prepares its emissions inventory including scopes 1, 2 and 3. Thus, a diagnosis can be made for all the company’s emissions and actions can be structured to manage and reduce emissions. The preparation of the emissions report involves a specialized consultancy with the support of the Environmental Management and other internal areas of the Company. The results are disclosed in the Company’s Sustainability Report, on the CDP platform and on the GHG Protocol platform.

Process causing the impact

Among the main processes of GHG emissions are diesel consumption by the fleet (scope 1 and 2) and energy consumption by railway operation and maintenance activities.

Partes interessadas

Employees, communities, customers, suppliers, leadership, shareholders, manufacturers and public bodies.

GRI and SASB Disclosure
GRI 3-3 | Management of material topics
GRI 403-1, 403-2, 403-5, 403-7, 403-9 | Occupational health and safety
SASB TR-RA-320a.1 | Employee health & safety
Impacts

The topic of Occupational Safety covers accidents, occupational diseases and preventive measures. Positively, the company is able to invest in training, qualification, Personal Protective Equipment – PPE, promote the employees’ physical and mental well being, more incentive to prevention and health treatments (through health plans, discounts at drugstores, etc), promotion and maintenance of hearing health, immunization campaigns, promotion of drivers’ health and prevention of alcohol and drug use. The potential negative impact for the theme would be the lack in risk mapping.

Actions

The company has its safety management model mirrored in ISO 45001, and adopts a training matrix and distribution of PPE. In addition, it offers Gympass and, in partnership with Bradesco health plan, it offers a psychological support program for employees, called “Oriente-me”.

Process causing the impact

The positive impacts of the topic rise from the processes for performing MRS activities, preventive medicine guidelines, medical guidance for vulnerable people and maintenance of the Risk Management Program.

Stakeholders

Employees and leadership.

GRI and SASB Disclosure
GRI 3-3 | Management of material topics
GRI 404-1, 404-3 | Training and education
Impacts

Employee training and development at MRS entails the implementation of programs that foster the qualification and education of the company’s employees. The topic can generate several positive impacts, such as: increasing the intellectual capital of employees, reducing turnover, ensuring training in critical activities with a possible impact on safety, increasing productivity and internal engagement from trained professionals, and professionals trained to work in positions related to railway operations.

Actions

MRS carries out several actions to manage the impacts related to employee development topic, among them: survey of the company’s climate and monitoring of the turnover rate.

Process causing the impact

Survey of training needs, performance assessment, demand for professional needs and management of demand inputs.

Stakeholders

Employees, leadership and shareholders.

GRI and SASB Disclosure
GRI 3-3 | Management of material topics
GRI 405-1, 405-2 | Diversity and equal opportunity
Impacts

The real positive impacts of managing the Diversity topic are the development of a diverse and collaborative environment, contribution to racial and gender equity, increased diversity on the board and the employer brand associated with diversity. The negative impacts may be associated with bad performance in diversity, equity and inclusion, an environment prone to harassment and non-compliance with Law n. 8.213/1991 on Social Security Benefit Plans.

Actions

The People Management teams – including the People Development and Training Management, the Recruitment Coordination and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team – are responsible for implementing DE&I actions and manage the topic indicators, performing quarterly calculations and checking the achievement of annual goals.

Process causing the impact

Employee hiring & promotion and Board composition policies, work performance and external communication processes.

Stakeholders

Company’s employees and Board of Directors.

GRI and SASB Disclosure
GRI 3-3 | Management of material topics
GRI 202-1 | Market presence
GRI 203-2 | Indirect economic impacts
GRI 411-1 | Rights of indigenous people
GRI 413-1, 413-2 | Local Communities
Impacts

The relationship with surrounding communities takes place through engagement actions and dialogue with the population residing in the surroundings of MRS operations. The real negative impacts are the disturbance of community life with construction and noise, the risk of vehicles colliding with trains and the expense of displacing families living near the railroad tracks. We also have a positive impact by carrying out actions to inform and raise awareness in the community.

Actions

MRS has the “Social and Environmental Communication Program” which includs actions performed under the Community Relationship Process and events called “Open Spaces”. These actions enable the community to have a better understanding of the railroad operation aiming to increase community participation and the communication channels between the company and the population.

Process causing the impact

These impacts arise from MRS’ rail operation.

Stakeholders

Communities and MRS Logística.

GRI and SASB Disclosure
GRI 3-3 | Management of material topics
SASB TR-RA-540a.1, TR-RA-540a.2 | Accident and safety management
Impacts

The material topic of railway safety and accident prevention refers mainly to the maintenance of railway transport infrastructure for accident prevention. Potential negative impacts are related to fines for non-compliance with legislation and standards. The positive impacts are the reduction of repair and construction costs and the implementation of fence walls, flow controllers and automatic signaling.

Actions

MRS has specific programs focused on the railway topic, such as the “Terminals Safety Program” (inspecting the physical conditions and the track at customer terminals), the “Track Safety Program” (focused on the reliability of railway maneuvering yards) and PREVER (auditing of critical items in the maintenance and operation processes).

Process causing the impact

Impacts can be caused by rail accidents and budget management.

Stakeholders

Communities, customers, suppliers and leadership.

GRI and SASB Disclosure
GRI 3-3 | Management of material topics
Impacts

The unfolding of the positive impacts generated by MRS for the Customer Relationship topic are related to increased customer satisfaction, higher value and safety in customer transportation, enhanced social and environmental responsibility, improved relationship with society, increased quality of service provided by employees and generation of fixed and spot volume demands.

Actions

MRS conducts its satisfaction survey to monitor its performance in the opinion of General Cargo customers, monitoring of the SLA (service level agreement) between the Operation and Heavy Haul customers and studies and investments to expand and improve the logistics solutions offered.

Process causing the impact

The topic impacts arise mainly from the Company’s relationship with customers.

Stakeholders

Communities, customers, suppliers, employee and leadership.

GRI and SASB Disclosure
GRI 3-3 | Management of material topics
Impacts

The positive impacts generated in the topic are the improvements in processes and increased efficiency, increased useful life of materials, development of new forms of production and maintenance, new MRS products and development of MRS intellectual property, as well as health and well-being and increased employee development. The negative impacts, on the other hand, may be related to damage to the previously developed intellectual property, non-accountability for developments and difficulty in relationship with startups.

Actions

Several actions are implemented to manage impacts, such as: detailed analysis of market potential and intention for new products, process management through the value map, active participation of employees in the development and testing of solutions, among others.

Process causing the impact

The impacts of this topic are related to the flow of Innovation at MRS.

Stakeholders

Communities, customers, suppliers, employee and leadership.

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