Netza CEO talks about how live marketing is moving towards practices that make sense in ESG
Fabiana Schaeffer, who has been in the live marketing market with the Netza agency for 24 years, says that at a certain point she stopped taking part in the dismantling of events, her flagship product, because “they generate a lot of waste”. It was in 2016 that she decided to make a change. Today, according to the executive, all the tarps from the events are used to make school backpacks and 80% of the wood that is broken and cannot be reused is shredded and turned into plywood for donations to affordable housing, among other actions focused on ESG practices. “To give you an idea, there have been more than seven million actions already carried out since 2016”, says Fabiana. In this interview, the CEO of Netza also talks about business, the sponsorship market, the strength of the events sector and how the segment is moving (and demanding) towards practices that make sense in ESG.
What are the ESG-focused actions at Netza today?
Netza is 24 years old. Until 2015, the main focus was events and most of the things we did, I preferred not to participate in the dismantling, because it generates a lot of waste. So, I said: I’m not going to watch, because what the eyes don’t see the heart doesn’t feel. Then, I met a friend of mine who was a former client and for many years she was the director of the third sector at FGV and I told her: I really want to do something, I’m buying squeeze bottles for everyone. Then, she said: you’re completely wrong. What you’re doing is closing your eyes to your business. That way, you’ll do something scattered and it will never be sustainable. For me, it was a cold shower. She said, if you really want to, I’ll help you.
How did it start?
We started to understand my business, which at the time accounted for 80% of our revenue from events. And then I started to see what our waste was. And, starting in 2016, we joined forces with the UN. We were one of the first agencies to do this, so we could start learning. And, among many things that I learned there at the UN, because we went to New York, is that you need to define the size that you can carry consistently. Because if you do something and you stop tomorrow, it won’t make a difference. So, since 2016, all the tarps from our events have been turned into school backpacks. I would say that 80% of the wood that is broken and we can’t reuse is shredded and turned into plywood that we donate to affordable housing. During the pandemic, we built a school with event waste. Since 2016, we have been very active. In 2019, we won the UN Global Compact award for most sustainable actions. And, since then, we have not stopped our actions. To give you an idea, there have been more than seven million actions already carried out since 2016. We also have a cooperative for leftover food, with the support of the Health Surveillance.
And what about the governance issue?
We train our suppliers a lot so that they know how to do it, and we provide legal assistance. Of the three letters, governance is the one we are most advanced in.
And the S, for Social?
We have our networks of artisans, for example, who make our bags; they are women in vulnerable situations. But that’s not all, right? Today, we are able to take this to our clients. Until last year, it was something very internal; we paid for it. But last year, two of our clients started paying for their actions. They made toiletry bags to give to influencers and several actions, both PR and social. On the E side, we also support an indigenous community that plants a food forest in the Amazon, through a partner NGO in Mato Grosso. Unlike what I thought, the indigenous people don’t want food. They want to plant so they always have food. So, we promote this planting, and we also give backpacks to the village schools. I can’t turn the world around, but I’m sure I’m doing my part.
How is diversity handled at the agency?
Among our projects, we have an initiative that is already in its third edition, which involves bringing young students over 18, LGBTQIA+ and black people to participate in a class with professionals from the market that we bring in to teach. Called ‘Libélula’, the idea is to teach about the disciplines of the market, such as media and creation. The problem is that when they enter the job market, in addition to suffering prejudice, they have no experience. So, we bring people from Google, Meta, and the agencies themselves, to talk a little about their experiences.
Read the full interview in the July 8th print edition.
