Corporate Environmental Responsibility Grows in Brazil
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 12.18.07
(Picture: Charts from Exame magazine translated to English) According to a poll carried away by Brazilian magazine Exame, companies are more exposed than ever regarding environmental action in that country. “The times when the subject was barely linked to ideas and good intentions is definitely over. To support that with measurable actions is more important everyday”, says the magazine.
The conclusion comes from a study about environmental practices, in which 72% of 140 Brazilian companies that were polled claimed to have an annual sustainability report. Among them, 46% of the enterprises claimed to fix higher standards against those results.
Keep reading to find out what the Brazilian companies are doing. Via Exame guide.
This poll is supposed to be the most important survey about corporate responsibility in Brazil, and involves companies from 15 productive sectors, from petrochemicals to retail. Among the polled companies, 39% were multinationals, 30% Brazilian listed, 25% of Brazilian with closed capital, and 6% state companies.
One of the most interesting changes the magazine notes is the disposition to elevate the subject to financial level and link environmental results with executive’s salaries. Even though a minor portion, the companies that have adopted this measure represent 31% of the total. Itau bank has started to implement this with high executives and plans to extend it to all employees in the next years.
While 46% of the companies see business opportunities in green products and services, 72% of them have goals to reduce their energy consume in the next years.
“Unilever’s factory in Goiania, for example, has been changing the oil that feeds its ketchup and mayonnaise boilers for biomass. Today, 95% of the vapor used in the machines comes from the burning of sugarcane and wood scraps, saving 17 million Reais (about 10 million US dollars),” says the magazine.
Regarding global warming and carbon emissions, 40% of companies have audited their emissions and 32% of them have settled measures to reduce those numbers. Cosmetics brand Natura, for example, has announced the total neutralization of its emissions by this year. One of the initiatives to achieve that was to change the cars that transported workers inside their factory for natural gas vehicles. For those emissions that the company won’t be able to reduce, it will invest in reforestation and renewable energy programs.
Another data that came out of the Exame poll was that even though 64% of companies watch the environmental impact of their productive activity, only 28% do that in what refers to their providers. However, 81% of the companies watch for the social action of those providers, specially in matters regarding child or slave work.
The whole study of Exame magazine can be seen in their website, in Portuguese. ::Original article
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