As of 2009, Odebrecht began to consolidate its operations in the segments of industrial waste and effluent treatment, sanitation (water and sewage) and solid urban waste under the Foz do Brasil brand . These assets originally belonged to Construtora Norberto Odebrecht and, in 2008, had been split up into Odebrecht Engenharia Ambiental.
Foz aims to invest and operate environmental projects and provide services focused on three segments:
- Water and Sewage – partnerships and public water and sewage concessions;
- Industrial Operations – outsourcing of Utilities Centers;
- Waste – diagnosis and remediation of contaminated areas, monitoring of surface and groundwater; energy recovery of urban solid waste.
The company operates, invests and participates as a partner in projects that guarantee the improvement of the quality of life of more than eight million people in the country and the development of companies that have sustainability as the basis of their actions. It is controlled by the Odebrecht Organization (73.47%) with a stake in FI FGTS (26.53%).
Foz do Brasil is a partner of several state sanitation companies in public and private projects:
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- Sabesp (Basic Sanitation of the State of São Paulo), at Aquapolo, the largest reuse water project in Latin America, and also at the Mairinque concession (SP);
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- City Hall of Rio de Janeiro: together with the company Águas do Brasil, Foz is responsible for the investment and operation of the sewage system in the West region of Rio de Janeiro;
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- Copasa (Companhia de Saneamento de Minas Gerais), at Vallourec & Sumitomo Tubos do Brasil Utilities Center, in Jeceaba-MG;
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- Embasa (Bahia Water and Sewage Company), in the Jaguaribe Ocean Disposal System;
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- Cesan (Companhia Espírito Santense de Saneamento), in the Operation and Maintenance of sewage treatment networks and stations in the Metropolitan Region of Vitória; and
- Sanasa (Society of Water Supply and Sanitation), in the lease of ETE Capivari I.
Foz do Brasil is part of the private block that controls Saneatins (Companhia de Saneamento do Tocantins), a company that has a shareholding in the government of Tocantins and operates in 125 municipalities in the state and five in Pará.
Foz is also a partner of the São Paulo municipalities of Rio Claro, Limeira, Mauá, Mairinque, Santa Gertrudes and Porto Ferreira. In Espírito Santo, it operates in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim and Grande Vitória, metropolitan region of Vitória; in the state of Rio de Janeiro it operates in Rio das Ostras and in the capital of Rio de Janeiro; in Santa Catarina it is a partner of the municipality of Blumenau and, finally, in Rio Grande do Sul, Foz do Brasil serves the municipality of Uruguaiana.
In the industrial area, Foz do Brasil provides services to major industries in the metallurgy, oil, paper and cellulose, mining, steel, chemical, and petrochemical sectors, with Petrobras, Braskem, ThyssenKrupp Companhia do Atlântico, Transpetro, Dow, as its main clients. Dupont, Rhodia, BattreBahia, Shell, Klabin, among others.
The Organization’s activities in the sector began in 1994, when Construtora Norberto Odebrecht took over the country’s first private sanitation concession, in the city of Limeira (SP) . The deal was made in association with the French company LyonnaisedesEaux. Since then, other projects have been added to the area.