Regenerative Fridays (for Future)
November 20, 2025
Concept
Regenerative Fridays is a public policy mechanism that grants tax incentives to companies that allow employees to take one day off per month to devote part of their working hours to volunteering in certified regenerative and socio-environmental projects.
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How it Works
A new law supplementing the National Volunteer Policy establishes that participating companies receive tax relief proportional to the number of employees who join the “Regenerative Fridays” program.
Employees receive one paid Friday per month, conditional on participating in at least four hours of volunteer work in social and environmental projects registered in accordance with Law No. 9,608/1998, which defines volunteer work as unpaid activity without an employment relationship.
Workers interested in joining the program can register through the RFFF program's public platform, which brings together a database of certified social and environmental projects and allows project managers to record the hours worked.
The certification generated by the platform serves as formal proof for the company to obtain the tax benefit, ensuring legal certainty and transparency.
Based on positive results, the program may be expanded to two or more Fridays per month, strengthening the country's regenerative culture and amplifying the positive impact of the projects.
Proposed formula for calculating the ICMS discount for companies participating in the program.
ICMS Discount = P × F × T
P = percentage of enrolled employees (between 0 and 1) Ex.: 10% → 0.10
F = adjustment factor for company size (F = 1 / √N where N is the total number of employees)
T = maximum discount allowed by law (T = 0.5 corresponding to a maximum 50% discount)
Document containing the complete study of the discount rate.
Proposed wording for the Bill - Regenerative Fridays
Objectives
Create a public policy instrument that integrates development, regeneration, and social inclusion without relying on budgetary funds.
Expand the volunteer workforce in socio-environmental initiatives, strengthening and expanding the impact of regeneration in the country.
Generate public and measurable data on environmental and social impact.
Integrate volunteer work into the work routine, promoting mental health, well-being, social engagement, and citizen participation.
Increase belonging, social cohesion, and strengthen care networks.
Reduce productive pressure and stimulate an economic pace compatible with planetary limits.
Create a pioneering national precedent in regenerative public policies, aligned with ESG guidelines and the climate commitments of Brazil and other countries that implement the program.
Solution Context
The National Volunteer Policy encourages citizen participation, but depends on budget availability, institutional capacity, and voluntary participation by companies and organizations.
Law No. 9,608/1998 establishes volunteering as an unpaid practice, but does not provide mechanisms to integrate the productive sector or facilitate participation on a national scale.
The SFR functions as a natural evolution of these policies, capable of mobilizing a critical mass of volunteer work—at no additional cost to the state and with enormous social and environmental returns.
Contemporary economies operate under patterns of overwork, hyperproductivity, and overconsumption, exceeding ecological limits and exacerbating inequalities.
To rebalance the system, policies are needed that slow down the economy, value human time, and increase citizen participation.
The SFR converts a minimal part of the work week into regenerative social energy, without significant loss of macroeconomic productivity.
Taking Action
Create an interministerial technical group (Labor, Environment, Human Rights, Finance) together with representatives from NGOs and the Fridays For Future movement to structure the regulatory framework that defines tax incentives, project certification, and responsibilities of the parties for the Regenerative Fridays Bill.
Integrate the proposal into the instruments already provided for in the National Volunteer Policy Bill.
Develop the pilot SFR digital platform and begin accrediting socio-environmental initiatives.
Conduct fiscal, social, and environmental impact studies to support the legislative process.
Engage companies with ESG policies and large existing volunteer networks.
Build a national awareness and advocacy campaign.
Potential Partners
Ministries (Labor, Environment, Human Rights, Citizenship)
City halls and state governments
B Corporations and corporate sectors committed to ESG
NGOs, collectives, and socio-environmental movements
Unions and workers' associations
Research institutions and universities