The article analyses the content of 136 Environmental Policies - EPs of companies operating in Brazil and which have been certified in accordance to the requisites of NBR ISO 14001:1996. These companies were identified in the "certified companies listing" in the magazine Revista Meio Ambiente Industrial - Edição Especial, May/June 1999 and July/August 2001 issues. The EPs actual texts were obtained through direct requests made to the companies, via e-mail and/or postmail, and, also, captured from the companies' websites when at the disposal of interested parties. The content of the EPs was analysed from the point of view of whether or not there was an explicit indication in the EP text that an economical and financial criterium has been employed in the management decision process, in face of the other expressions expliciting the companies' stand in relation to meeting legal requisites and to offering benefits to society. It has been verified that the tools provided to the interested parties are inadequate and, mainly, that company outside communication is inefficient and ineffective. It has been found that 73% of the EPs do not reveal an environmental management concern regarding economical and financial aspects. Furthermore, it has been found that 58% of the EPs are included in the category of those that voluntarily commit to an environmental performance which is beyond the compulsory minimum required, however they do not submit their actions to any cost and benefit analysis of an economical and financial nature. Finally, the results found permit one to infer that there is a difference between the environmental performance expressed in the writings (the "theory") and the management practices experienced and described at work.
Content analysis; environmental policy; environmental management accounting; environmental performance
