Swedish companies have invested a lot of time, effort and resources into becoming moreenvironmentally friendly. The primary focus of this on-going process has been to implementenvironmental management systems and to develop more environmentally friendlytechnologies. Measuring the effects of these actions has proven more difficult. Theintroduction of environmental indicators is emerging as a simple, yet effective way forcompanies to measure their environmental performance, increase the control of theirenvironmental activities and help the decision making process when developing new productsand processes. The aim of the project is to study to what extent eight Swedish companies in three differentbranches of industry use environmental indicators, if there are any similarities and differenceswithin and between branches and if any conclusions can be drawn. The companies chosen arethree companies within the pulp- and paper producing industry, three companies within theiron- and steel producing industry and two companies within the car manufacturing industry.The primary method of analysis is to study the environmental report from one factory of eachcompany, the environmental section of the financial report and/or the environmental report ofthe entire company or business group and environmental information on each company’s website. No interviews were conducted with any of the companies, since it was deemed that therewas not enough time if they were to be meaningful. Before the evaluation, the concept of environmental indicators needs further examination. Theindicators are comparative, comparing an environmental quantity to a financial one. Examplesof common indicators are energy use per quantity of produced product or emissions of CO2-equivalents per tonne of produced product. Since the denominator is the same, companieswith significantly different sizes of production can easily be compared to each other. Today itis hard if even possible to compare companies within the same branch to each other and evenharder to compare ones in different branches to each other or to branch indexes. The lack ofcommon guidelines for measuring, processing and presenting the results of environmentalperformance data is the biggest problem when using environmental indicators today. The environmental indicators can be used in a number of different roles. Today they are usedto measure and compare the environmental performance of a company as well as tools forcommunication to various stakeholders. If the companies continue to develop the indicators,they can be used pro-actively in the decision making process as well as to highlight problemareas and to track the progress towards goals set by the company. Some of the companies inthis report are already using indicators in one or more of the advanced roles. All the companies were evaluated in two different ways, qualitatively and quantitatively atthree levels of reporting. The three levels were the environmental report from a single factory,the environmental report for the entire company/business group and the environmentalinformation on the Internet from each company. The qualitative evaluation analysed how the companies used environmental indicators, if thecompanies used them explicitly, if they used them to track goals and if there were differencesbetween the different levels of reporting. The analysis showed that only a few companies usedenvironmental indicators at the single factory level, but that all companies used them in thebusiness group reports and on the Internet. There was also a much higher degree of coherencybetween the companies financial reporting than there was in their environmental one. Thequalitative evaluation also showed that the pulp- and paper companies used the mostenvironmental indicators, the iron- and steel companies used them most effectively and thatthe car companies used them to their fullest extent. The quantitative evaluation analysed each company by itself to examine how each individualcompany used the environmental indicators. The differences between the use of indicators atthe different levels of reporting also became more evident. The pulp- and paper companieswere the most consistent while the iron- and steel companies had the biggest differences withthe car companies somewhere in between. The analysis also showed that companies that werepart of bigger business groups had bigger differences, especially if they were not part of themother company. There are two major conclusions that can be drawn from the report. The first one is thatcompanies use environmental indicators to measure and present their environmentalperformance because they see them as effective tools. The second one is that commonguidelines are necessary to develop the indicators further. The first conclusion can be drawn from the fact that all the companies use environmentalindicators as a tool for reporting their environmental performance in their primary channels ofinformation, the business group reports and on the Internet The second conclusion can be drawn from the fact that even though the companies werechosen because they produced different products, they turned out to have very similar types ofemissions but very different environmental indicators. Since all the companies are verysincere in their efforts to limit their impact, on the environment and the fact that they have allchosen environmental indicators to measure their impact the need for coherency is great forfurther development. It is doubtful that the companies themselves can develop the indicatorson their own which means that the authorities and possibly the branch organisations have towork together to develop common guidelines. The biggest challenges are to decide on thecommon rules of reporting and to put financial values on the environment. If these problemscan be resolved, environmental indicators can be used to their fullest potential in the future. / www.ima,kth.se

On a national level, the Swedish Transport Administration (STA) constitute the responsibleauthority for national long-term infrastructure planning in Sweden and therefore has animportant role for limit the environmental load from domestic transport. STA Road Ferries isresponsible actor within STA, for national infrastructure planning connected to public marinetransport and has formulated the goal of net zero GHG emissions by year 2045 for the ferryfleet. Today, yearly operation causes around 38,400 tons CO2-equivalents. Emissions fromconstruction, maintenance and deconstruction of road ferries are yet unknown. In order to reachclimate neutrality, identification of emissions from a life cycle perspective is needed. This study analyses environmental performance of a standard road ferry from an LCAperspective to be used as a baseline in future work towards climate neutrality. The LCA wasconducted in SimaPro 8.4.0 and evaluated thorough EPD (2013) methodology according to theEN 15804 standardisation. The report gives initial baseline values for the road ferry Neptunus and identifies daily operationas major hotspot in terms of total environmental impact from analysed impact categories, butalso construction phase is of importance to consider. The study further concludes that based onlong term goal and vision as STA Road Ferries has formulated them to today, a combination ofchange in construction in terms of material choices and design, together with changed fuelalternative is considered necessary in order to reach Vision 45. Future studies are recommended on this subject to reach the long term goal and vision. Forexample, studies that complement the developed model with more project specific process dataand include more components, and comparative LCA’s between different fuel alternatives. / Trafikverket är den aktör och myndighet som ansvarar för den långsiktiga, nationellainfrastrukturplaneringen i Sverige och som därför har en viktig roll i begränsandet avmiljöpåverkan från landets transportsektor. Färjerederiet är ansvarig aktör inom Trafikverketför nationell infrastrukturplanering och drift kopplat till den statliga inrikessjöfarten i form avfärjedrift. Färjerederiet har idag formulerat det långsiktiga målet att nå nollnetto utsläpp förfärjeflottan till år 2045. Idag orsakar färjedriften 38,400 ton CO2 ekvivalenter årligen vilket dåenbart är utsläpp kopplat till driften. Emissioner från konstruktion, underhåll ochdekonstruktion är dock fortfarande okänt. För att nå total klimatneutralitet behövs såledesidentifiering av emissioner ur ett livscykelperspektiv. Den här studien analyserar miljöprestandan av en standardfärja från Färjerederiets färjeflotta urett livscykelperspektiv med syfte att använda detta som utgångsläge i framtida arbete motklimatneutralitet. Livscykelanalysen genomfördes i SimaPro 8.4.0 och metoden EPD (2013)användes för utvärdering av potentiell miljöbelastning enligt EN 15804 standardiseringen. Resultaten från denna rapport är en utgångspunkt för vidare specialisering, och är baserat pådata från vägfärjan Neptunus. Studien identifierade den dagliga driften som en betydandehotspot för den totala miljöpåverkan utifrån de analyserade påverkanskategorierna, men ävenatt konstruktionen är en viktig del av livscykel att ta hänsyn till. Studien visar vidare att ettkombination av en förändrad konstruktion samt val av bränsle är nödvändigt för att nå delångsiktigt uppsatta målen som finns inom Färjerederiet i form av Vision 45. Framtida studier inom detta område är rekommenderat för att nå de långsiktigt uppsatta målen.Till exempel kan vidare studier göras för att komplettera den upprättade modellen med merprojektspecifik processdata och inkludera fler komponenter, samt utföra jämförandelivscykelanalyser mellan olika bränslealternativ.

Kayaking is a watersport activity that involves paddling performed within leisure purposes. Although kayaking provides pleasure to the practitioners, there are some adverse environmental issues concerning the site used to perform kayaking due to the equipment. This paper identifies and analyzes the lifecycle stages in which negative environmental impacts are generated. Melker of Sweden is an outdoor company specialized in delivering high-quality kayaks. This study aims to present an overview of the current environmental performance of Melker of Sweden’s kayaks. For this purpose, two environmental assessment tools are applied: material flow analysis and life cycle assessment. The Material Flow Analysis (MFA) results show that the transport of material to the manufacturing unit generates a considerable amount of emissions. Additionally, hull manufacturing and assembling accessories were found to be the least resource-efficient operation among all. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) results identify the transport of material and the manufacturing phase as the primary sources responsible for environmental impacts. On the one hand, the use of epoxy resin and gel coat is the root cause of high contribution of the manufacturing phase. On the other hand, the use of flax fiber found to be the least contributing material to adverse environmental impacts. This report also presents a list of recommendations regarding the import of material, the efficacy of the manufacturing operations, the type of raw material, and waste treatment alternatives. / Fysisk aktivitet kan innefatta olika fritidsaktiviteter, däribland friluftsliv. Kajakpaddling är en sådan friluftslivaktivitet, alltefter utövares syfte. I denna rapport är kajakpaddling en fritidsaktivitet där där utövarens naturupplevelse främjas. Oaktat fördelarna vid utövandet av denna aktivitet kan ej förbises faktum att det också kan medföras vissa negativa konsekvenser. Denna masteruppsats har som mål att identifiera och analysera den miljöpåverkan och dennes efterspel som orsakats av en kajaks tillverkning. Melker of Sweden är ett utomhusföretag specialiserat på att leverera kajaker av hög kvalitet. I linje med företagets vision syftar denna studie till att undersöka den nuvarande miljöprestandan samt kvantifiera den potentiella miljöpåverkan från en kajaks livscykel. För detta ändamål tillämpas det två miljöbedömningsverktyg, nämligen en materialflödesanalys och livscykelanalys. Materialflödesanalysen visar att mängden av utsläpp som genereras från transporten av material till tillverkningsenheten är enorm. Utöver detta var den hulltillverkning samt den montering av tillbehörsverksamheter bland de minst resurseffektiva tillverkningssteg. Livscykelanalysen identifierar import av material och tillverkningsfas som de viktigaste källorna till miljöpåverkan. Å ena sidan är användningen av epoxiharts och gelbeläggning i tillverkningen grundorsaken till huvudbidraget. Å andra sidan är användningen av linfiber det minst bidragande material då det gäller negativa miljöeffekter. I denna studie ges rekommendationer rörande import av vissa material och materialval, sätt att öka tillverkningseffektiviteten, typ av råmaterial samt avfallsbehandlingsalternativ.

Under det senaste decenniet har artificiell intelligens fått allt större uppmärksamhet. Företag väljer att implementera system med kognitiva egenskaper för att kunna reglera energianvändning och därmed reducera det ekologiska fotavtrycket. Fyra stora internationella företag har intervjuats för att undersöka hur AI i produkter påverkar det ekologiska fotavtrycket och hur integreringen av ekologiska faktorer tas i beaktande under produktutvecklingsprocessen. Utöver intervjustudien har en kvalitativ litteraturstudie genomförts för att både belysa hur företag arbetar kring ämnet men också för att återspegla olika synvinklar från olika forskare. Studien visar att respondenterna delar en likvärdig mening om att ekologisk hållbarhet innefattar tillvaratagandet av resurser över hela produktutvecklingsprocessen. Företagen tillämpar både linjära och cirkulära modeller för hållbarhet. Verktygen som används för att integrera ekologisk hållbarhet förhåller sig både storskaligt på hela produktionskedjan och småskaligt på specifika produktegenskaper. Det visar sig att metoderna inte är säregna för AI-baserade produkter utan snarare för ekologiskt hållbara produkter. Drivkrafterna till att implementera denna konstgjorda intelligens är att systemet möjliggör för hantering, sortering och utplockning av meningsfull data som används för att optimera produkter under längre användning. Dessutom kan produkter agera självorganiserat, självstyrt och vara fullt anpassningsbar vilken kan möjliggöra tjänstefiering. En förutsättning för att AI-baserade produkter ska bidra till reducering av det ekologiska fotavtrycket, jämfört med applikationer utan artificiell intelligens är integrering av den kognitiva beslutsfaktorn. Tillämpningen av AI-baserade produkter bygger främst på teknisk acceptans, att användaren tillåter systemet att ta beslut. / In the last decade, artificial intelligence has received increasing attention. Companies are choosing to implement systems with cognitive properties to be able to regulate energy use in order to reduce the environmental footprint. Four large international companies have been interviewed to explore how artificial intelligence in products affects the environmental footprint, and how integration of environmental factors is taken into account during the product development process. In addition to the interview study, a qualitative literature study was conducted to elucidate how companies work on the subject but also to reflect different viewpoints from different researchers. The study shows that the respondents share an equal opinion that environmental sustainability includes the utilization of resources throughout the product development process. The companies apply both linear and circular models for sustainability. The tools used to integrate environmental sustainability relate to large-scale operations throughout the production chain and small-scale to specific product traits. It turns out that the methods are not specific for AI-based products but rather to environmentally sustainable products. The driving forces in implementing artificial intelligence is that the system enables the managing, arranging and extraction of meaningful data that can be used to optimize products for longer use. In addition, products can act self-organizing, self-running and fully adapting which can enable the products being remotely. A prerequisite for AI-based products to contribute to reducing the environmental footprint, compared to applications without artificial intelligence, is the integration of the cognitive decision-making factor. The application of AI-based products is mainly based on technology acceptance, that the user allows the system to make decisions.

For more than 40 years, a tremendous number of studies have empirically explored the relationship between Corporate Environmental Performance (CEP) and Corporate Financial Performance (CFP). This study considers the relationship from a new perspective—via a qualitative research approach based on expert interviews. First, practitioners are queried for their view on the link between CEP and CFP and how to measure it. Since the vast majority see a positive relationship, this study contributes with a new form of evidence that it pays to be green. The chosen qualitative approach also allows a more detailed analysis of underlying cause-and-effect mechanisms. For instance, interviewed practitioners emphasize a direct and indirect impact from CEP on CFP. Second, the study conducts interviews with experts from research and associations (non-practitioners) and compares the viewpoints of the two interview groups. One prevalent difference refers to the fact that non-practitioners do not focus on the two impact levels. Moreover, business experts perceive the link between CEP and CFP as much less complex and reveal more pragmatically oriented considerations. The study then discusses how the interview results and identified differences can be used to direct future research and to support corporations in their move towards sustainability.

As informações acerca da performance e impacto socioambientais do fornecedor e do produto são necessárias para o exercício do consumo de forma sustentável. O conhecimento dos impactos socioambientais advindos da produção, uso e pós-consumo é requisito para a livre escolha dos consumidores por produtos que apresentem impactos socioambientais positivos em qualquer dessas fases de seu ciclo de vida. Um dos instrumentos para o alcance do desenvolvimento sustentável é possibilitar o consumo de produtos que utilizem menos recursos finitos da natureza e que tragam melhorias sociais como suas consequências. No Brasil, o fundamento para a inclusão dos dados socioambientais do produto nas informações veiculadas ao consumidor está presente no ordenamento jurídico, na garantia de acesso à informação e no direito à preservação do meio ambiente, ambos inseridos no rol dos direitos constitucionais fundamentais, ao lado do princípio da dignidade da pessoa humana, bem como em preceitos do Código de Defesa do Consumidor e da legislação ambiental. A função social da empresa decorrente do princípio constitucional da função social da propriedade também justifica o dever de veiculação dos dados referentes ao impacto socioambiental de seus produtos e acerca do comportamento socioambiental da empresa. A veiculação desses dados beneficia a concorrência, acarretando o aperfeiçoamento dos próprios meios de produção para atrair os consumidores que optam por produtos sustentáveis. Os deveres de clareza e veracidade, decorrentes do princípio da boa-fé objetiva previstos no CC e CDC, necessitam ser observados na veiculação dessas informações para evitar a maquiagem socioambiental, que é a divulgação da falsa imagem de preocupação socioambiental ao produto. A essencialidade ou utilidade das informações é o parâmetro para sua veiculação sob o risco de ocorrer seu excesso, que impede a correta compreensão de todos os dados apresentados. Até os riscos de impactos socioambientais ainda não comprovados cabem ser informados em atenção ao princípio da precaução. O repasse dessas informações pode e deve ocorrer por todos os meios de comunicação utilizados para a divulgação dos produtos, ressaltando-se o papel da rotulagem. / The information concerning the social-environmental impact of the product and the of the producers performance are necessary for the exercise of the sustainable consumption. The knowledge of the social-environmental impacts of the life cycle impact of the product is a requisite for the free choice of the consumers for products that present positive social-environmental impacts in any of these phases of its cycle of life. One of the instruments for the reach of the sustainable development is to make possible the consumption of products that use less finite resources of the nature and that they bring social improvements as its consequences. In Brazil, is possible to conclude that the legal system establishes the inclusion of the social-environmental data of the product in the information propagated to the consumer. Brazilian Constitution imposes the guarantee of access to the information, the consumer protection and the right of the preservation of the environment, as well as the dignity of the person human being. The social function of the companies, based in the constitutional principle of the social function of the property also justifies the duty of propagation of the referring data to the social-environmental impact of its products and concerning the social-environmental behavior of the company. In the legislative basis, there are strong rules concerning information in the Code of Defense of the Consumer and the environmental legislation. The propagation of these data benefits to the competition, creating incentives to the companies improving the means of production to attract the consumers that opt to sustainable products. The duties of clarity and veracity, attached with the good-faith principle established by Civil Code and Consumer Defense Code, need to be observed in the propagation of this information to prevent the greenwashing, that it is the propagation of the false image of social-environmental concern to the product. The essentiality or utility of the information is the parameter for its propagation under the risk to occur its excess, which hinders the correct understanding of all the presented data. Until the risks of social-environmental impacts not yet proven, they fit to be informed in attention to the Precautionary Principle. The view of this information can and must occur by all means of communication used for the spreading of the products, standing out itself the paper of the labeling.

This Green IT case study commissioned by Försäkringskassan (FK), the Swedish National Social Insurance Agency, quantifies the environmental performance of the IT infrastructure (IT-IS) in use during 2010 in a lifecycle perspective. Adopting a system view in Green IT analysis can mitigate risks of problem shifts. IT-IS concerns the equipment that enables office automation and external web application services. The size of the FK IT-IS is in the order of 300 branch offices with 14000 pc’s, 2100 printers and a 1 MW data centre hosting 1200 servers, 5 Petabyte of central data storage and serving about 80 key business applications. The carbon footprint of the FK IT-IS in 2010 accounts to 6.5 kiloton CO2-equivalents. The total environmental impact is calculated across 18 themes and expressed as a single indicator eco score amounting to 822.000 ReCiPe points. The contribution of capital goods is large with 44% of the carbon footprint and 47% of the eco score linked to emissions embedded in material equipment. The environmental effects from distributed IT deployed at local office sites, dominate at two thirds of the total FK IT-IS impacts. Important drivers in the local office sites category are the relatively short economic life span of pc equipment and the significant volume of paper consumed in printing activities. Within the data centre category, operational processes dominate the environmental impacts and are linked to intensive power use. In comparison to industry benchmark scores, the data centre infrastructure energy efficiency (DCiE) is relatively low at 57%, or 59% when credited for waste heat utilisation. Airflow containment measures in computer rooms are identified for efficiency improvement. Enhanced airflow controls also act as a prerequisite to better leverage opportunities for free cooling present at the location in northern Europe.  With regards to the data centre hosted IT, environmental impacts linked to storage services dominate and remarkably exceed those of servers. / Denna fallstudie inom Grön IT på uppdrag av Försäkringskassan (FK) kvantifierar IT-infrastrukturens (IT-IS) miljöprestanda i ett livscykelperspektiv under 2010. Att införa ett systemperspektiv inom Grön IT analys kan lindra riskerna av problemväxling. IT-IS avser utrustning som möjliggör kontorsautomatisering och externa webbapplikationer. FK IT-IS omfattar 300 kontor med 14,000 datorer, 2,100 skrivare och ett 1 MW datacenter med 1,200 servrar, 5 Petabyte central datalagring och 80 huvudsakliga applikationer. Koldioxidavtrycket av det totala FK IT-IS utgör 6,5 kiloton CO2-ekvivalenter för 2010 . Den totala miljöpåverkan är beräknad över 18 miljöteman och anger som en enda indikator ekobetyget på 822,000 ReCiPe poäng . Kapitalvaror bidrar stort, med hela 44% av koldioxidutsläppen och 47% av ekobetyget kan härledas till inbäddade utsläpp i material utrustning. Miljöeffekterna av de lokala kontorens IT dominerar med två tredjedelar av den totala FK IT-IS miljöpåverkan. Viktiga faktorer i kategorin lokala kontor är kapitalvarornas relativt korta ekonomiska livslängd samt de betydande volymer av skrivarpapper som används.   Inom datacenterkategorin domineras miljöpåverkan av de operativa processerna som är kopplade till intensiv el förbrukning. I jämförelse med branschstandarden är energieffektiviteten av datacentrets infrastruktur (DCiE) relativt låg, med 57%, alternativt 59% när användandet av spillvärme inräknas. Luftflöde inneslutningsåtgärder i datorsalar identifieras för effektivisering. Förbättrad luftflödesinneslutning i datahallarna är identifierad som en energieffektivisering. Den förbättrade luftflödeskontrollen är också ett krav för att bättre kunna utnyttja möjligheterna för fri kyla som finns i Norra Europa.  Med avseende på datacentrets IT, domineras miljökonsekvenserna kopplade till lagringstjänster och överstiger anmärkningsvärt effekterna från servrarna. / Miljöutredning Grön IT på Försäkringskassan - examensarbeten

As informações acerca da performance e impacto socioambientais do fornecedor e do produto são necessárias para o exercício do consumo de forma sustentável. O conhecimento dos impactos socioambientais advindos da produção, uso e pós-consumo é requisito para a livre escolha dos consumidores por produtos que apresentem impactos socioambientais positivos em qualquer dessas fases de seu ciclo de vida. Um dos instrumentos para o alcance do desenvolvimento sustentável é possibilitar o consumo de produtos que utilizem menos recursos finitos da natureza e que tragam melhorias sociais como suas consequências. No Brasil, o fundamento para a inclusão dos dados socioambientais do produto nas informações veiculadas ao consumidor está presente no ordenamento jurídico, na garantia de acesso à informação e no direito à preservação do meio ambiente, ambos inseridos no rol dos direitos constitucionais fundamentais, ao lado do princípio da dignidade da pessoa humana, bem como em preceitos do Código de Defesa do Consumidor e da legislação ambiental. A função social da empresa decorrente do princípio constitucional da função social da propriedade também justifica o dever de veiculação dos dados referentes ao impacto socioambiental de seus produtos e acerca do comportamento socioambiental da empresa. A veiculação desses dados beneficia a concorrência, acarretando o aperfeiçoamento dos próprios meios de produção para atrair os consumidores que optam por produtos sustentáveis. Os deveres de clareza e veracidade, decorrentes do princípio da boa-fé objetiva previstos no CC e CDC, necessitam ser observados na veiculação dessas informações para evitar a maquiagem socioambiental, que é a divulgação da falsa imagem de preocupação socioambiental ao produto. A essencialidade ou utilidade das informações é o parâmetro para sua veiculação sob o risco de ocorrer seu excesso, que impede a correta compreensão de todos os dados apresentados. Até os riscos de impactos socioambientais ainda não comprovados cabem ser informados em atenção ao princípio da precaução. O repasse dessas informações pode e deve ocorrer por todos os meios de comunicação utilizados para a divulgação dos produtos, ressaltando-se o papel da rotulagem. / The information concerning the social-environmental impact of the product and the of the producers performance are necessary for the exercise of the sustainable consumption. The knowledge of the social-environmental impacts of the life cycle impact of the product is a requisite for the free choice of the consumers for products that present positive social-environmental impacts in any of these phases of its cycle of life. One of the instruments for the reach of the sustainable development is to make possible the consumption of products that use less finite resources of the nature and that they bring social improvements as its consequences. In Brazil, is possible to conclude that the legal system establishes the inclusion of the social-environmental data of the product in the information propagated to the consumer. Brazilian Constitution imposes the guarantee of access to the information, the consumer protection and the right of the preservation of the environment, as well as the dignity of the person human being. The social function of the companies, based in the constitutional principle of the social function of the property also justifies the duty of propagation of the referring data to the social-environmental impact of its products and concerning the social-environmental behavior of the company. In the legislative basis, there are strong rules concerning information in the Code of Defense of the Consumer and the environmental legislation. The propagation of these data benefits to the competition, creating incentives to the companies improving the means of production to attract the consumers that opt to sustainable products. The duties of clarity and veracity, attached with the good-faith principle established by Civil Code and Consumer Defense Code, need to be observed in the propagation of this information to prevent the greenwashing, that it is the propagation of the false image of social-environmental concern to the product. The essentiality or utility of the information is the parameter for its propagation under the risk to occur its excess, which hinders the correct understanding of all the presented data. Until the risks of social-environmental impacts not yet proven, they fit to be informed in attention to the Precautionary Principle. The view of this information can and must occur by all means of communication used for the spreading of the products, standing out itself the paper of the labeling.

Submitted by Marco Antônio Amaral (marco.amaral@fgv.br) on 2013-08-30T16:43:10Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Marco Antônio Teixeira de Amaral.pdf: 2105372 bytes, checksum: 22ca9c4fb5f213a3960d00b580e590de (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Janete de Oliveira Feitosa (janete.feitosa@fgv.br) on 2013-09-02T12:23:00Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Marco Antônio Teixeira de Amaral.pdf: 2105372 bytes, checksum: 22ca9c4fb5f213a3960d00b580e590de (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marcia Bacha (marcia.bacha@fgv.br) on 2013-09-10T12:22:12Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Marco Antônio Teixeira de Amaral.pdf: 2105372 bytes, checksum: 22ca9c4fb5f213a3960d00b580e590de (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-09-10T12:22:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Marco Antônio Teixeira de Amaral.pdf: 2105372 bytes, checksum: 22ca9c4fb5f213a3960d00b580e590de (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-07-31 / A preocupação com o esgotamento dos recursos naturais e a conscientização sobre as questões ligadas à sustentabilidade provocaram o estudo em um setor que tem sido apontado como de grande importância para a transformação do meio ambiente: a construção civil. Com isso percebemos o surgimento de um conjunto de práticas e procedimentos visando as chamadas 'construções sustentáveis', que introduziram uma nova realidade comercial no segmento da construção civil. Para avaliar se uma construção é ou não sustentável surgiram os eco-labellings, que através de sistema de pontuação ou conceitos permitem avaliar qualitativamente em que grau de sustentabilidade uma edificação encontra-se. Em especial, o mercado brasileiro vem, desde 2004, buscando a certificação ambiental LEED; sendo assim, a presente dissertação tem como objetivo identificar, após quase uma década desde a primeira submissão de projeto brasileiro ao USGBC, quais ainda são as dificuldades enfrentadas no processo de certificação LEED. O referencial teórico reforçou que o segmento da construção civil contribui de duas formas para a degradação do meio ambiente: no consumo de recursos naturais e energéticos, e na geração de grande quantidade de resíduos. Por esse motivo, estudos nessa área são extremamente importantes para a transformação do meio ambiente, que, através da adoção de práticas construtivas sustentáveis poderá minimizar os impactos gerados. Neste trabalho, optou-se pela utilização de pesquisa exploratória quanto aos fins, uma vez que existe pouco conhecimento acumulado sobre a avaliação do processo de certificação LEED, e bibliográfica, complementada com pesquisa de campo, quanto ao meio, pois fundamenta-se em estudo desenvolvido com base em material publicado, complementado por entrevistas no campo. Este trabalho caracteriza-se por se um estudo introdutório à compreensão do tema e convida a estudos complementares mais abrangentes, dada a relevância do assunto nas três esferas de sustentabilidade: social, ambiental e econômica. / Concern about the depletion of natural resources and awareness of sustainability issues led the study in an industry that has been shown to be important for the transformation of the environment: construction. Thus we see the emergence of a set of practices and procedures for so-called 'sustainable buildings', which introduced a new commercial reality in the construction segment. To assess whether or not a building is sustainable eco-labellings emerged that through scoring system or concepts allow qualitatively evaluate the degree to which sustainability is a building. In particular, the Brazilian market has, since 2004, seeking LEED certification, so in this thesis aims to identify, after nearly a decade since the first submission to the USGBC Brazilian project, which still are the difficulties faced in the process LEED certification. The theoretical stressed that the construction industry contributes in two ways to the degradation of the environment: the consumption of energy and natural resources, and the generation of large amounts of waste. Therefore, studies in this area are extremely important for the transformation of the environment, which, through the adoption of sustainable building practices can minimize the impacts. In this work, we chose to use exploratory research as to the purposes, since there is little accumulates knowledge on the evaluation of the LEED certification process, and literature, complemented with field research, about the middle, because is based on a study supported on published material, supplemented by interviews in the field. This work is characterized by an introductory study to the understanding of the topic and invites further studies are more comprehensive, given the relevance of the subject in the three spheres of sustainability: social, environmental and economic.

For more than 40 years, a tremendous number of studies have empirically explored the relationship between Corporate Environmental Performance (CEP) and Corporate Financial Performance (CFP). This study considers the relationship from a new perspective—via a qualitative research approach based on expert interviews. First, practitioners are queried for their view on the link between CEP and CFP and how to measure it. Since the vast majority see a positive relationship, this study contributes with a new form of evidence that it pays to be green. The chosen qualitative approach also allows a more detailed analysis of underlying cause-and-effect mechanisms. For instance, interviewed practitioners emphasize a direct and indirect impact from CEP on CFP. Second, the study conducts interviews with experts from research and associations (non-practitioners) and compares the viewpoints of the two interview groups. One prevalent difference refers to the fact that non-practitioners do not focus on the two impact levels. Moreover, business experts perceive the link between CEP and CFP as much less complex and reveal more pragmatically oriented considerations. The study then discusses how the interview results and identified differences can be used to direct future research and to support corporations in their move towards sustainability.