Thesis (M.Env.St.) -- University of Adelaide, Mawson Graduate Centre for Environmental Studies, 2000. / Bibliography: leaves 92-98.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:50:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 3589.pdf: 890913 bytes, checksum: cbd3dd2239730ca2e0f03f2ad055bd43 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-21 / In the process of dissemination of social and environmental practices, companies have realized that sugarcane social responsibility initiatives can be used to reduce costs, increase competitive advantage, manage risk and reputation and turned the green initiatives on business strategies. Thus, sugarcane industry use monitoring mechanisms and accountability sought at the promotion and progress transparency to social and environmental practices developed. The objective of this thesis is to analyze the limits and possibilities of social statement in the process of dissemination of social and environmental practices in sugar and alcohol. The question this thesis answers is to what extent social reports published by the companies are valid instruments for the analysis of social and environmental practices of the units of ethanol production. On completion of the thesis were worked data and information collected through field research conducted with the plants, and secondary information from the social reports published by the sugar and alcohol in the period 2001 to 2008. The thesis conducts analysis of social and environmental practices at the industry, through the social reports published by them, with the views of supporters of the institutes of social reports (Brazilian Institute of Social and Economic Analysis, Ethos Institute for Business and Social Responsibility and Global Reporting Initiative) attend in the following issues: social, environmental responsibility, sustainable development and sustainability. / No processo de tornar público as iniciativas socioambientais, as empresas sucroalcooleiras perceberam que práticas de responsabilidade socioambiental podem ser usadas para aumentar as vantagens competitivas, minimizar os riscos, administrar a reputação e transformaram as iniciativas socioambientais em estratégias empresariais. Assim, as usinas sucroalcooleiras passaram a utilizar mecanismos de acompanhamento e de prestação de contas que visam promover a transparência das práticas socioambientais desenvolvidas. O objetivo da presente tese é analisar os limites e possibilidades dos balanços sociais no processo de divulgação das práticas socioambientais nas usinas de açúcar e álcool. A pergunta que essa tese pretende responder é até que ponto os balanços sociais divulgados pelas empresas são instrumentos válidos para análise das práticas socioambientais das unidades de produção sucroalcooleira. Na realização da tese foram trabalhados dados e informações coletados através de pesquisa de campo realizada junto às usinas, e informações secundárias provenientes dos balanços sociais publicados pelas usinas de açúcar e álcool no período de 2001 a 2008. A tese realiza análise das práticas socioambientais das usinas, através dos balanços sociais divulgadas pelas mesmas, com as opiniões dos institutos incentivadores de balanços sociais (Instituto Brasileiro de Análises Sociais e Econômicas, Instituto ETHOS de Empresas e Responsabilidade Social e Global Reporting Initiative) atendo-se nas seguintes questões: balanço social, responsabilidade socioambiental, desenvolvimento sustentável e sustentabilidade.

Most theories that attempt to describe the relationship between corporate sustainability strategies and a company’s triple bottom line also make the assumption that there is insufficient evidence to produce generalizable conclusions. This study contributes to the overall body of knowledge, as there is a lack of significant generalizable knowledge on corporate sustainability strategies and a company’s triple bottom line. To provide a methodologically more rigorous review, we performed a meta-analysis on 18 scholarly articles from top-tier academic journals containing 64 experimental treatments that measured an observed (not self-reported) behavioural outcome, which yielded a sample size of 23,871 observations. Most studies combined multiple treatments, which preclude definitive conclusions on the most effective treatments. The findings suggest that there is a positive medium to strong relationship between sustainability-oriented strategies, for both reactive and proactive behaviours (Dyllick et al., 1997; Gminder et al., 2002), and a company’s “triple bottom line.” Furthermore, regardless of the firm type (e.g., multinational corporation or local establishment, emerging economy firm or developed nation business), proactive sustainability-oriented strategies tend to have a higher payoff than firms that adopt reactive sustainability-oriented strategies. This meta-analysis establishes a greater degree of certainty with respect to corporate sustainability strategies and a firm’s triple bottom line relationship than currently assumed by many business scholars. To conclude, the sustainability concept has significantly expanded the scope of measuring organizational performance according to economic, social, and environmental components (Robins, 2006), which are collectively described as the “triple bottom line.” Organizations have determined that specific products and processes can have serious environmental and social implications beyond providing typical economic benefits (Sarkis, 2001). Based on the results of this study, companies should develop more diversified sustainability strategies that will help them to identify and capture value (McMullen, 2001). The results demonstrate that sustainability can provide companies with a strategic advantage, which is vital for the organization’s long-term viability and success (Orlitzky et al., 2003). This study also examines the balance between reasonable return on investment and long-term organizational viability, which greatly impacts organizational decision-makers that contend with numerous stakeholder issues, pressure from environmental agencies, and increased social consciousness that affects workers, consumers, and communities. It supports the conclusion that being proactive in responding to these conflicting pressures and barriers helps organizations to achieve higher levels of performance.

Most theories that attempt to describe the relationship between corporate sustainability strategies and a company’s triple bottom line also make the assumption that there is insufficient evidence to produce generalizable conclusions. This study contributes to the overall body of knowledge, as there is a lack of significant generalizable knowledge on corporate sustainability strategies and a company’s triple bottom line. To provide a methodologically more rigorous review, we performed a meta-analysis on 18 scholarly articles from top-tier academic journals containing 64 experimental treatments that measured an observed (not self-reported) behavioural outcome, which yielded a sample size of 23,871 observations. Most studies combined multiple treatments, which preclude definitive conclusions on the most effective treatments. The findings suggest that there is a positive medium to strong relationship between sustainability-oriented strategies, for both reactive and proactive behaviours (Dyllick et al., 1997; Gminder et al., 2002), and a company’s “triple bottom line.” Furthermore, regardless of the firm type (e.g., multinational corporation or local establishment, emerging economy firm or developed nation business), proactive sustainability-oriented strategies tend to have a higher payoff than firms that adopt reactive sustainability-oriented strategies. This meta-analysis establishes a greater degree of certainty with respect to corporate sustainability strategies and a firm’s triple bottom line relationship than currently assumed by many business scholars. To conclude, the sustainability concept has significantly expanded the scope of measuring organizational performance according to economic, social, and environmental components (Robins, 2006), which are collectively described as the “triple bottom line.” Organizations have determined that specific products and processes can have serious environmental and social implications beyond providing typical economic benefits (Sarkis, 2001). Based on the results of this study, companies should develop more diversified sustainability strategies that will help them to identify and capture value (McMullen, 2001). The results demonstrate that sustainability can provide companies with a strategic advantage, which is vital for the organization’s long-term viability and success (Orlitzky et al., 2003). This study also examines the balance between reasonable return on investment and long-term organizational viability, which greatly impacts organizational decision-makers that contend with numerous stakeholder issues, pressure from environmental agencies, and increased social consciousness that affects workers, consumers, and communities. It supports the conclusion that being proactive in responding to these conflicting pressures and barriers helps organizations to achieve higher levels of performance.