Walking the Walk: Making Sustainability Tangible

The energy transition requires more than deploying solar panels and wind turbines — it needs a new approach to doing business. Atlas Renewable Energy is setting a blueprint for the industry by integrating sustainability principles into every stage of development, from site selection to supplier engagement.

In remote areas across Latin America, solar construction sites are becoming unexpected hubs of social transformation. Women who had never worked in the formal job market are learning technical skills, operating heavy machinery, and earning wages that support their families. Meanwhile, degraded land is being restored with thousands of native seedlings, and mobile solar-powered cinemas are delivering education and entertainment to communities.

These aren’t feel-good side projects. They’re integral components of renewable energy development that demonstrate what happens when companies treat environmental, social, and governance principles as a core business strategy rather than mere compliance obligations.

Building human capital in energy’s new frontiers

Across Latin America, in rural regions where formal employment opportunities have been historically limited, comprehensive workforce development programs are creating pathways to economic independence, while strengthening the skilled labor force that the energy transition requires.

“We have an established portfolio of socio-environmental actions that can directly address diverse local needs,” explains Raquel Azevedo, Global Sustainability Senior Manager at Atlas Renewable Energy.

 “One example that’s been a real highlight is our Women’s Workforce Program. It runs at all our construction sites, regardless of location, and we tailor it to what we learn in each territory.”

Raquel Azevedo, Global Sustainability Senior Manager – Atlas Renewable Energy

Since 2019, this program has trained over 1,500 women, opening up new job opportunities for them in solar construction roles. Its core objective is to boost female participation in the sector from the industry average of 2% to 15% – a target that has already been exceeded in one project, where women made up an astounding 22% of the construction workforce. The success of this initiative addresses a dual challenge: closing the gender gap in renewable energy employment while developing local capabilities that reduce projects’ dependence on imported expertise.

Investing in systematic capacity building also creates safer, more efficient operations. Atlas delivered 5,986 hours of training across six countries in 2024, with over 1,500 individuals upskilled as safety and health leaders, resulting in a 29% reduction in reportable incidents.

Developing in partnership with the community

Infrastructure projects in remote locations face predictable challenges, from permitting delays to local opposition, operational disruptions, and reputational risks. Traditional approaches often treat community relations as a compliance exercise: conduct required consultations, pay compensation where mandated, and hope for minimal interference.

Atlas Renewable Energy chose a different path: genuine community engagement designed to catalyse broader social and economic development in regions that have historically lacked such opportunities.

“The open channel of communication that Atlas implements at every project site tells a story of evolving relationships between renewable energy development and local communities. What begins in the early phases as reports of dust and traffic gradually transforms into conversations about social initiatives and shared development goals,” Azevedo explains.

“What we want to show, not just to communities but to workers on the project as well, is that we’re there and very willing to work together and understand what they want to tell us,” she says.

In 2024, Atlas’s social programs reached over 14,000 people and created more than 5,200 jobs. The “Energize to Transform” program has improved the lives of over 300 people through the revitalization of artesian wells, addressing critical water access issues in rural communities. Meanwhile, the innovative CineSolar initiative brought solar-powered mobile cinema to over 5,000 students, combining entertainment with education about renewable energy and environmental stewardship.

These programs mark a fundamental shift: instead of treating communities as stakeholders to be managed, they recognize them as true partners in the energy transition—delivering benefits that endure long after construction.

Elevating industry standards through collaborative development

Individual companies implementing sustainable practices alone cannot drive long-lasting transformation. Atlas’s approach to supplier relationships demonstrates how comprehensive ESG standards can propagate throughout industries, creating multiplier effects that benefit the broader renewable energy ecosystem.

“Our view across market sectors is to position ourselves as the best option for clients and partners—not only for the energy transition, but also to build everyone’s capacity—ours and theirs—to achieve other goals that are good for the planet, for business, and for people,” Azevedo explains.

Rather than simply auditing supplier compliance, Atlas invests in developing supplier capabilities with tailored action plans. The impact extends beyond immediate partners. When renewable energy developers require social and environmental criteria evaluation for all major contractors, these standards propagate throughout the construction and equipment sectors. Across the value chain, suppliers invest in training, enhance business practices, and implement reporting to remain competitive.

The result is a gradual yet systematic improvement in how renewable energy infrastructure is built.

Making the energy transition tangible

Renewable energy’s carbon benefits are well-known. In 2024 alone, Atlas’s projects avoided over 716,000 tons of CO2 emissions while generating 5.1 GWh of clean energy—enough to power 1.4 million homes. But in regions where drought and land degradation are daily realities, the link between solar panels or wind turbines and local ecosystem health is often more abstract than visible.

“These are new technologies for many people, especially in remote regions or places less familiar with renewables,” explains Azevedo.

To overcome this, Atlas Renewable Energy focuses on hands-on ecosystem restoration that communities can see and understand. In 2024, the company reforested 985 hectares of land and planted nearly 21,000 native seedlings, demonstrating what renewable energy development can accomplish beyond electricity generation.

Financial resilience as a natural outcome

Companies demonstrating strong environmental, social, and governance practices typically exhibit lower operational risks, stronger stakeholder relationships, and better regulatory compliance—all of which directly impact financial performance over project lifespans measured in decades.

“I don’t think it’s only about sustainability; it’s how we conduct ourselves as a company that opens doors,” reflects Azevedo. “It’s opened doors for us across markets—in innovation, in financing, and in technology.”

The financial results follow naturally when sustainability is built into the way we work. Training programs empower people and create safer, more efficient sites. Partnerships with communities open new opportunities and strengthen trust. Developing supplier capabilities lifts entire value chains. Together, these actions make our projects more resilient and, as a result, more attractive to investors and partners.

“We build closer relationships by talking about the things we find difficult and are working to improve, rather than withholding information and appearing less transparent,” notes Azevedo.

Doing business sustainably by default

“I don’t see sustainability as a department; it’s how business is done,” emphasizes Azevedo. “We are a sustainable business—we work in the energy transition. But any business can be sustainable: in its processes, in how it forms alliances, in how it builds capabilities, and in how it treats its employees.”

This perspective explains why Atlas’s sustainability practices create systematic advantages rather than compliance overhead. When environmental considerations inform project siting decisions, when community engagement shapes social programs, and when supplier development influences procurement choices, sustainability becomes integral to operational efficiency rather than an additional burden.

“I’m always surprised, at the end of the reporting cycle, by how much we accomplish in a year,” reflects Azevedo.

With evidence spanning multiple dimensions, Atlas’s 2024 Sustainability Report demonstrates what happens when environmental, social, and governance principles become fundamental to how a company operates—renewable energy projects that communities embrace, workers build with pride, suppliers deliver consistently, and investors finance with confidence. 

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This article was created in partnership with Castleberry Media. At Castleberry Media, we are dedicated to environmental sustainability. By purchasing carbon certificates for tree planting, we actively combat deforestation and offset our CO₂ emissions threefold.