SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES ADOPTED BY INDUSTRIAL COMPANIES

PRÁTICAS DE SUSTENTABILIDADE ADOTADAS POR EMPRESAS INDUSTRIAIS

ABSTRACT

Objective:

This study aims to examine the efficiency of sustainability practices in industries in the region of Chapecó-Santa Catarina.

Design/Methodology/Approach:

The research is descriptive, conducted through a survey with 63 companies. The questionnaires administered shows the perception of top managers with respect to the economic-financial, social and environmental dimensions. For treatment of data, a quantitative approach and information entropy analysis were used with ranking by TOPSIS.

Results:

The results show that the companies have different practices and concerns about corporate social responsibility. The companies are drawn up in a rank, allowing to observe and compare that the sustainability actions and practices are weak in 20 companies, which exhibit a performance below 0.50; 24 companies are ranked between 0.51 and 0.70; 14 companies have practices between 0.71 and 0.89, and only 5 companies are ranked above 0.90. In general, the results indicate that some companies have been using sustainable practices, but an alignment of the business strategies with the sustainability dimensions is still lacking. Also, the analysis shows that companies have not yet realized that natural resources are scarce, their leaders are not committed with sustainable management, which would provide an evidence of the efficiency of business practices with sustainable development.

Originality/value:

The study shows comparatively distinct positionings of the companies studied, indicating that 70% of the companies still have weak or rare initiatives in regard to sustainable management. The study indicates the need for actions and initiatives to improve the managers’ knowledge through training, qualification and awareness-raising toward sustainable development.

Keywords:
Corporate sustainability; sustainability performance; sustainability assessment