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This paper aims to introduce a new sustainable business excellence model, called Knowledge Management Excellence Model 21 (KMEM21), a theoretical framework that combines Knowledge Management and Business Excellence Models (BEMs), proposing an approach applicable to organizations to directly contribute towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The paper through a qualitative-exploratory methodology makes an analysis and benchmarking, emphasizes the integration of Knowledge Management and three specific Business Excellence Models (Management Excellence Model (MEG) from Brazil, Baldrige Excellence Framework, and EFQM). This integration uncovers relationships between organizational concepts associated with Knowledge Management and BEMs, which contributes to new insights in the literature regarding these concepts' interplay. BEMs are presented as tools that can catalyze the power of Knowledge Management towards achieving SDGs. However, it's noted that the existing BEMs might not be adequate, as the goal extends beyond organizational improvement and excellence to encompass sustainable development aligned with SDGs. The article suggests that specific organizational concepts, identified through a literature review and aligned with Knowledge Management and BEMs, can be selected as indicators associated with the constructed KMEM21 and the SDGs. These indicators are intended to form a bridge between the new model and the SDGs. However, given the comprehensive nature of the theory, model development, application, result acquisition, and analysis, the article's primary contribution will be in its focus on elaborating the instrument and technique, demonstrating the creation of a theoretical framework for the SDGs. Future works will showcase the application of the proposed KMEM21 method in five Brazilian organizations, members of Global Compact, to compare the achieved objectives and the results obtained with the organizations' performance and their sustainability reports. [Display omitted] • There is a visible relationship between knowledge management and business excellence models, aided by shared organizational concepts. • Achieving the SDGs in organizations can be done by using the traits incorporated into knowledge management and business excellence models. • The Knowledge Management Excellence Model 21 represents an original approach, acting as a new sustainable business excellence model. • A comprehensive model can be constructed using a methodology that incorporates an instrument, a technique, and a method. • KMEM21 presents a strategic path that aligns with business excellence principles and the sustainable development objectives, offering a framework for organizational success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the Participatory Master Plan of the municipality of Petrolina as a local development policy and its dialogue with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) present in the 2030 Agenda with a view to achieving sustainable territorial development. Through a qualitative bibliographical study and document analysis, it was possible to understand and identify convergences of the themes of sustainable development and territorial development policies, as well as crossings of the SDGs and proposals of the Master Plan analyzed. It was evidenced that, of the 17 (seventeen) objectives agreed upon in the 2030 Agenda, 13 (thirteen) are included in the drafting of the Master Plan, although, by the analysis of the Sustainable Development Index of Cities - Brazil (IDSC-BR), only 2 (two) were fully achieved. The study revealed that most SDGs are present in the Municipality management planning, but have not been effectively implemented at the municipal level. In this perspective, it will be necessary to deepen this dialogue between the Manager Plan of the Municipality and practical actions for the effective fulfillment of the SDGs with the participation of governments, civil society, and private initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable global energy production is back-stopped by hydropower which is responsible for a significant share of the green energy produced worldwide. Hydropower, however, does not come without some environmental impacts but has worked to reduce those impacts. Here, we discuss the historical, legislative, and design configurations of hydropower facilities located in three of the world's most important producers: Brazil, Canada, and Norway. The background is intended to inform the collection of scientific papers from each country aimed at assessing and improving the sustainability of hydropower production that form the core of this special issue on sustainable hydropower. We review the development and key legislative history for hydropower in each country and point out the common backgrounds and interests each nation has in the continued sustainable development of its hydropower resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green Buildings Labels (GBL) are indicated as one of the means with the potential to contribute to sustainable development. Worldwide, more than 850,000 green buildings have already had their project and development helped by just three of the GBLs (LEED, BREEAM, and BASIX). Brazil, however, has only 874 LEED-certified projects. Aiming to propose strategies to foster the adoption of GBL in the country, this paper developed an interpretative model involving barriers to them in Brazil. For this, the technique of Validated Interpretative Structural Modeling (VISM) was developed aiming to add statistical validity to interpretative models even in situations of research with small sample sizes. VISM is a modeling technique that incorporates the simplicity of Interpretative Structural Modeling (ISM) with the significance testing procedures of Partial Least Squares - Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Adopting the VISM, the barriers model was then developed in five steps: (1) identification of indicators; (2) definition of constructs; (3) identification of relations between constructs; (4) validation of relations between constructs; and (5) creation of the conceptual model. As a result, VISM proved to be an effective innovative modeling technique in the development of models for exploratory research and presents results consistent with the reality studied. Regarding the model developed, the main barriers identified by the study to the adoption of GBL in Brazil are: "environmental protection mechanisms"; "costs and return on investment"; "mistrust of the benefits from GBL"; "corporate and public awareness"; "maturity and market economics"; and the "project, construction, and operation of green buildings". • The paper develop a model of barriers to adoption of green buildings labels in Brazil. • The paper present the technique of Validated Interpretative Structural Modeling. • The technique can help exploratory research with small sample sizes. • ISM models with circular and cross relationships can be validated. • Environmental protection mechanisms and costs hinder green buildings labels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research is to analyze the relationship between the social innovation and the sustainability in the family agro-industries allocated to the Local Productive Arrangement of Agroindústria Familiar e Diversidade do Médio Alto Utuguai e Rio da Várzea located in Rio Grande do Sul – Brazil. The method of this paper is quantitative based on data collected in a questionnaire applied to the owners of agro-industries. The relationship between the dimensions of social innovation and sustainability provides positive results in economic, social and environmental aspects, identifying priority for the economic bias of sustainability in the analyzed sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism in conservation units is a special section in ecotourism that helps in the development of a sustainable site. The deductive method, doctrinal survey and documents in official sites, such as documents and reports directly or indirectly produced by organs of the public authorities, are employed to discuss the following question: Can concessions for the exploitation of tourism in conservation units be sustainable development vectors through the generation of income and employment of communities living in the area? Current paper analyzes the legal and economical overview of public policies for the development of tourism in conservation units in Brazil and demonstrate the capacity of this type of tourism to positively impact the economy. Law 13,668/2018 authorizes federal authorities to concede services, areas or establishments of conservation units to third parties through bidding. It is expected that such concessions, based on the new legal diploma, may boost the segment's public policies by environmental, social and economic benefits. Public administrators have to meet the challenge to produce income and, at the same time, the conservation of biodiversity. Although only a few agreements have been signed, at recent dates and for long-term duration, an analysis of the contracts evidences true compatibilization and positive results sought by the new juridical instrument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzed, for the Brazilian case, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The concept of negative externality and market failure was used to understand the need for environmental policies capable of favoring the sustainable development of countries. The results show the importance of scale for the registration of projects. The energy sector, for example, has more small-scale projects that were created to simplify procedures and lower costs. It was concluded, in general, that the CDM has become an international historical landmark, as it is an innovative tool in contributing to the mitigation of climate change. However, despite its importance being recognized globally, it was observed that the mechanism has weakened over time and there are uncertainties regarding the validity of the Kyoto Protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to analyze Green IT practices adopted by technology-based organizations. Methodology: The study had a quantitative approach and the data were collected through a questionnaire, which was answered by 105 managers working in companies in the IT sector in Brazil Findings: Evidence collected showed that companies have a reactive behavior towards Green IT because they do not have, as their strategic objective, an increase in the general perception of value that consumers have about the company, nor do they seek competitivess based on sustainable development. Originality/value: In the Brazilian research scenario, the search for the keywords "Green IT", "Green Informa- tion Technology", "Green IT" and "Green Information Technology" on the Scielo search platform, found only five articles, on July 15th, 2020. In a search on the SPELL portal and CAPES Portal of Journals, also on July 15th, using the aforementioned keywords, four articles were found, in addition to those already found on the Scielo portal. Such results demonstrate how the topic is still little explored in the context of research in Brazil. It is important to note that Green IT comes up as a way of combining the available resources with the sustainability and economy policies in organizations, generating benefits for the environment and companies, providing opportunities for new business platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the significance of international conferences for higher education institutions (HEIs)’ promotion of sustainability. The paper has undertaken a detailed review of the scientific literature on strategies of HEIs to promote sustainability, hence identifying eight HEIs strategies that these institutions can adopt to become more sustainable (developing an Institutional Agenda, promoting Research, improving Teaching, enhancing green Campus Operations, stimulating community Outreach, and promoting Knowledge Dissemination). Based on this review, and focusing on knowledge dissemination, particularly on the academic events (conferences, seminars and workshops), 69 international academic conferences on sustainability were selected for analysis (from 2012 to 2016). From these conferences 21 proved suitable for a text mining analysis due to the data availability - i.e. articles published online. These articles were organized and submitted to the Collocations Extraction process, creating a list of important terms for each conference, based on their frequency in the articles. Furthermore, the relevance of these terms was tested using the Google Trends tool, to evidence the frequency of their Google searching. Finally, two conferences were selected for a more in-depth analysis, exploring their results and contributions (REGSA and LINKS conferences) to promote sustainability. The main results of the paper outline that international conferences have become important HEIs’ strategies to promote various issues of sustainability, through sharing knowledge, experiences, projects, initiatives and methods. It can be noticed a high interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary character of these events, illustrated by the multitude of promoted topics and participation, but also an increasing interest to actively involve stakeholders in discussing and promoting sustainability and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternative fuel vehicles (AFV) are a promising alternative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector and ultimately, to contribute to a more sustainable society. Within the current commitments of the Brazilian Government to international agreements, in terms of emissions reductions by 2030, some new policies have been implemented, in order to incentivize the diffusion of AFV in the country. Yet, how will these policies contribute to the goal of increasing its fleet in the long-term, how long will it take and what are the differences (if any) among the policies, in terms of their effectiveness, are questions that remain unanswered. In this sense, the main aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of public policies in the long-term diffusion dynamics of AFV in Brazil. In order to do so, a system dynamics model is developed, based on the Generalized Bass Diffusion model, the Cobb-Douglas function and the learning curve theory. The model is used to test four different policies and some uncertainties related to: (i) the exemption of the import duty; (ii) the reduction of the motor vehicle property tax; (iii) the exemption of the tax on manufacturing goods; and (iv) a banning regulation for internal combustion engine vehicles in the long-term. The results highlight the importance of the current incentive policies but at the same time call for reinforcing efforts in order to increase the AFV fleet to significant values by 2030. Conversely, the banning regulation obtains a higher diffusion rate, but only achieves significant values by 2060. The paper concludes by showing the main contributions and policy implications of the effectiveness of the four policies studied as well as some suggestions for future work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to reflect on the challenges and perspectives related to the first phase of the construction of interdisciplinary research, a discipline of the Postgraduate Program of Sustainable Territorial Development, Federal University of Paraná - Brazil (PPGDTS/UFPR), which aims to diagnose and identify the research problem. This discipline meets the objectives of the Program and aims fundamentally to promote, through interdisciplinary perspective, the dialogue with theoretical and methodological approaches that articulate natural and social sciences and consider the diversity, complexity, local knowledge and different livelihoods in the analysis of reality. The proposed interdisciplinary exercise requires the formation of a new perspective on reality, formed by the dialogue between different areas and forms of knowledge; a look that, open to new possibilities, goes back to the territory and to sustainable development. The objective of the first stage of interdisciplinary research was reached with regard to the territorial diagnosis and the identification / construction of research problems. The collectively constructed observation and diagnostic work allowed each individual student to exercise reflexivity, maturing his or her research object; not obviously in the same territory, but within the theme of Sustainable Territorial Development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper exposes and analyzes some results of the research "Territorial Governance in Brazil: institutional specificities, spatial logics and development policies", guided by the following question: do governance structures reinforce institutional inertia or, on the contrary, are they signs of political modernization? Assuming that the basic function of structures is cooperation, the hypothesis can be expressed by following statement: institutional inertia and tendency to stability present in relations between actors hinder cooperation and participation by legitimizing relatively inadequate behaviors in search for sustainable territorial development. However, cooperation difficulties may also indicate a process of political modernization. The data analysis and development of hypothesis were made through a simplified reality model, the game, formed by the interactions between actors and institutions. Changes in institutional legitimacy modify actors' behavior and can be described as a process of political modernization. However, data collected indicate that cooperation and participation are truncated within the structures during the period studied (2002-2014), suggesting that their functioning can be characterized more by institutional inertia and less by political modernization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to understand how contemporary Technical Assistance and Rural Extension (ATER by its acronym in Portuguese) in Brazil has been shaped, seeking to find the determinants for its configuration. To achieve this objective, the legislation that regulates ATER - PNATER, PRONATER and ANATER public policies - was verified. Relevant events for extension service were also investigated, such as the creation of INCRA, CATI, ACAR, EMBRATER, EMBRAPA, CNDR, CNDRS and CONDRAF. The discussions, based on documents and literature review, have revealed that contemporary ATER is based on sustainable rural development, although the practice is not yet a reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to analyze a tiering scoping approach developed to identify critical multidimensional sustainability issues and impacts of a large infrastructure project: the land transport project linking northern Brazil with a new port on Guyana's coast. The Inter-American Development Bank awarded a technical assignment to develop the terms of reference of a country environmental assessment, a strategic environmental and social assessment and an environmental and social impact assessment of the project(s). The complexity of the issues at stake lead to the design of a tiered assessment process supported by wide-ranging participative sessions involving 170 individuals from Guyana and Brazil and from diverse sectors. The process identified ex ante conditionalities, critical factors for decision-making and valued socioenvironmental and governance components. Such complex and determinant planning initiatives for the future of a country need to be supported by comprehensive, well-sequenced scoping processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a brief contextualization of the recurrent Public Policies in Brazil, adopted as a guarantee of access to housing, as a right guaranteed by the Federal Constitution of 1988. The analysis is also made of how these Public Policies were reflected in the Municipality of Erechim, and it is evaluated how the City Hall, responsible for planning the land uses and manager of Public Policies, according to the City Statute of 2001, has acted in the regulation of these policies. The study was performed through non-systematic interviews with the technical staff of the Department of Housing and it was verified that the model adopted in the municipality is limited, due to the great complexity of the problem and the emerging demand. This study concludes that other measures could be taken concurrently, such as the mechanisms provided for in the City Statute to remedy the deficit for medium-sized cities, and in fact contributing to a housing policy and a more sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to analyze the objectives of sustainable development (OSD) established in September 2015, in an agreement signed by 193 countries at the United Nations General Assembly, from the perspective of Critical Environmental Education. The specific objectives were: to present the concept of Environmental Education in the critical perspective; to know the objectives of sustainable development; to analyze the OSD in the perspective of Critical Environmental Education. The research question listed was: are there possible approaches to think of the achievement of OSD, through an Environmental Education in its critical aspect? In the present work we start from the assumption that Environmental Education in its critical aspect is defined in Brazil from a matrix that sees education as an element of social transformation, inspired by dialogue, in the exercise of citizenship, in the strengthening of subjects, in the overcoming capitalist forms of domination and understanding the world in its complexity. At the end, it is evident that Environmental Education, in its critical, emancipating and transforming aspect of reality, shows itself as a viable path for the pursuit of the sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2015, the United Nation (UN) launched 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as part of an Agenda to be achieved by 2030. The target is having a global plan of action, aiming at universal peace and social and environmental justice. For this, 169 goals were drawn. The objective of this research is to discuss the congruence between mining activity and the SDG, starting from experiences of the scientific literature and the observation of one mining activity. For this purpose, the Web of Science and Scopus databases were used, with the keywords "sustainable development goals" and "mining". The Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) Portal was used to search papers that relate each one of the SDG to mining. Visits were made to three crushed stone mining industries, located in Monsenhor Gil, Piauí, Brazil, in order to follow the production process of the diabase mineral. From the research in the literature, it was possible to verify that there are several possibilities of reaching the 17 SDG in the mining sector, such as in the promotion of jobs (SDG 8), contributing to the reduction of poverty (SDG 1) and hunger (SDG 2), among others. From the visits, it was observed that the compliance with SDG related to the promotion of jobs, the improvement of income for community's residents, and the infrastructure of the environment are common to all mining or business activities that reach remote and poor areas. This is clear when identifying mining regions that have lost their economic importance once the local development ceases. If the visited industries left the place, it would cause great loss to the residents that depend on them for their jobs. There is a small number of women on the staff, setting up disrespect for SDG 5 regarding the achievement of gender equality. The nature of the activity itself does not justify the asymmetry that possibly happened under the influence of a sexist culture that imposes what is a man's job or a woman's job. Another point is the lack of investment in inclusive education for employees and for residents of the region. In addition, these industries do not recover the degraded areas, compromising the achievement of SDG 13, in regard to combat climate change and its impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fundamental differences between the dimensions of sustainable development have been identified by researchers and many assessment tools have been developed in several countries. This paper introduces the development of a methodology for determining the weight of each dimension employed in sustainable construction assessment through the use of assessment tools that use the Brazilian indicators of sustainable development in accordance with the Commission on Sustainable Development, and also through the utilization of a database provided by the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute (IBGE). Firstly, the Sustainability Panel tool was employed to reveal separately the status of dimensions in sustainable development (environmental, social and economic) and then it was made a statistical analysis of the results for each region in Brazil (north, northeast, midwest, southeast and south). The solution presented in this paper aims to reduce the inconsistencies found in the adjustments of the assessment tools considering regional differences based on political actions included in governmental agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During almost 20 years of political debate on the nature of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES), these schemes have been characterized mostly as a non-market approach, even though attempts to transform them into market instruments has persistently recurred in these debates. One notable example is the materialization of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) in Brazil, where a sustainable development discourse dominates national forest governance at the expense of a carbon commodification discourse. This research paper adopts a Foucauldian approach to plot the epistemological foundations of the market logics that still influence REDD+ institutionalization in Brazil to a large extent and thereby reproduce what we define as a ruptured dependence on nature. More specifically, we recognize ruptured dependence in the three building blocks of market instruments, namely singularization, monetary valuation and appropriation. Our analysis shows that REDD+ institutions have retained the singularization and monetary valuation of emission reductions, even though the appropriation processes have rejected the possibility of exchange and instead emphasized the national ownership of emission reductions. However, appropriation remains a highly politicized process that is sensitive to criticism and open to calls for alternative approaches that are closer to ruptured dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The objective of this paper is to test a procedure for assessing the adoption of sustainable practices in higher education technological institutions services, known as institutes of technology and polytechnic universities. The model, named Sustainability Assessment for Higher Technological Education (SAHTE), consists of 134 criteria that cover five aspects: 1) Governance/Policies, 2) People, 3) Food, 4) Energy/Water, 5) Waste/Environment. This structure is based on international frameworks and standards as GRI, AISHE, SAQ, GreenMetric, Green Report Card, and Campus Ecology. Seven higher technological education institutions are studied, providing data for testing the SAHTE model, as well as auditing the adoption of sustainability practices. The case studies, besides direct observations and document analysis, collected data from 170 interviews to faculty, staff, and students, and they show the lack of governmental incentives toward sustainability in Higher Education Institutions (HEI). Although, there is no external incentives that contribute for the adoption of best practices as green offices, the studied institutions show isolated initiatives that mostly are related to solid waste management. There is a consensus among the studied HEI directives that their educational programs does not address properly sustainability issues, which create a barrier for the academic community to perceive the importance to develop a sustainability model for managing HEI institutions. Sustainability in these organizations could be approached in the perspective of service operations and connect their contribution to value creation. In turn, that hinders the implementation of selective waste collection, for instance, a basic service operation that is still incipient in at least six of the seven institutions analyzed. In technological education, the correct treatment and disposal of laboratory waste offer a great opportunity to raise awareness among students, collaborators, and the community while preparing students for situations they will possibly face in companies. The results obtained by the SAHTE model may be useful for planning and developing policies concerning sustainable development, especially in service operations at the HEI examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This research paper identifies and quantifies the main criteria that define Corporate Sustainability (CS) based on data from large Brazilian companies participating in B3 (Brasil , Bolsa , Balcão), the Brazilian stock exchange. The data is derived from the 2015/2016 Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE) report. Initially, we applied Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on a sample comprised of sixty companies. Then, we organized and classified the scores for each criterion. Doing so, we are able to create a list of eighteen preponderant CS criteria, with respective components and dimensions. This list can be used as a reference for academic or practitioner studies. Notwithstanding, the main contribution of the present research is to unveil the inefficiency with which the social dimension is managed on CS issues. This gap related to the difficulties of assess and valuate social actions invites new studies on the way these aspects are being addressed on corporate level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education institutes (HEIs) have made a deep commitment to prioritizing sustainable development (SD). Their task is to support practices that improve conditions in societies with respect to ecological, economic, and social issues, e.g., tackling the wicked problems of the world. In this case study, which took place at Feevale University (Feevale), Brazil, and at Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK), Finland, the following topics were studied: (1) whether there are international and national SD steering policies that might be relevant to higher education development in these particular universities; (2) whether this steering has impacted HEI's own SD policy and steering; (3) whether such in-house operations are affecting SD content within curricula; and (4) how a pedagogic approach influences the incidence of SD-oriented content at the bachelor's degree level. The analysis of policy level data was based on international and national policy papers recognized separately in both universities. As an indicator of the university's level of commitment to sustainability activities, we measured the incidence level of UNECE's SD themes in the curriculum. A hermeneutical approach was applied to the analysis to demonstrate possible systemic interactions between (inter)national SD policy and SD education at HEIs. At HAMK, some evidence was found of a national level top-down steering process in the university's SD activities. At Feevale, the enhancing of SD education is more of a bottom-up process. International steering appeared to be weak in both universities. The study uses unique quantitative data to show how the incidence of SD content in the curriculum is related to the pedagogical approach in each university [content (Feevale) vs. competence (HAMK)]. It was concluded that differences in national SD steering policy and pedagogical approach in the HEI led to divergent curricula structures in relation to the volume of the SD education between the two HEIs. Regardless of such a divergence, an appropriate balance between epistemic and ethical SD competences should be guaranteed for all bachelors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The consolidation of the biorefinery concept has the potential to contribute to the sustainable development of agro-industrial regions, particularly in developing countries. The industrial symbiosis (IS) approach can leverage this potential through industrial cooperation, fostering new businesses, innovation and job creation coupled with reduced environmental impacts. We argue that coupling the biorefinery concept and the IS approach would invigorate traditionally agricultural regions, relying on endogenous vocation to promote sustainability. The purpose of this study is to examine the potential for development of an agro-industrial symbiosis network (ISN) from the construction of a biorefinery in the Norte Fluminense region (Brazil) – a region that has become highly dependent on oil & gas revenues but still has a tradition in agriculture and agro-industry. In this paper, we present the scenario analysis performed to design the agro ISN and an initial quantification of potential benefits. Four scenarios were developed (reference, short, mid and long terms) with the support of a synergy matrix and material flow analysis. Eighteen waste streams were identified and sixteen were addressed through the scenarios. In the long-term scenario, 14 productive activities could compose the agro-industrial symbiosis network, 8 of them as newcomers. “Quick-wins” were identified as residues in the reference scenario (CO 2 , fusel oil and used yeast) that could be absorbed by industries currently operating in the region. The emission of respectively 350 thousand and 55 thousand tonnes per year of solid waste and CO 2 would be avoided in the long term. Also, the production of succinic acid would provide additional revenue of at least US$19 per tonne of bagasse, adding higher value to the feedstock in comparison to electricity production. This study can prompt current recycling regulation towards multi-sectorial arrangements, which can better contribute to regional resilience than the single-sector reverse logistics’ arrangements that became recently mandatory with the National Policy on Solid Waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A constant evolution in the efficiency of production systems and government policies has enabled the control of the environmental impact of production activities and encouraged companies to develop strategies to achieve more sustainable operations. Despite this, more needs to be done to reduce the risks of globalised production activities. In this context, evidence suggests that Lean Manufacturing (LM) and Cleaner Production (CP) make a positive contribution to the environmental performance of organizations. However, very little has been reported in the scholarly literature regarding the convergence and divergence of these two approaches. This work therefore attempts to take advantage of the synergies of LM and CP by proposing a Lean Cleaner Production Benchmarking (LCPB) method to assess the practices and culture regarding the application of CP in companies. The method considers the management aspects of people, information, products, suppliers and customers, management and processes, as well as the LM practices that contribute to a more eco-efficient production. LCPB uses a methodology based on benchmarking that was applied to 16 Brazilian manufacturing companies in order to assess their practices and performances regarding CP. The method seeks to provide a diagnosis to verify whether CP is effectively carried out by the companies, and what their performances are regarding actions beneficial to the environment. The application of LM practices that contribute to CP was also evaluated through the proposed LCPB method. The paper contributes to the theory by proving further evidence of the compatibility and synergies of LM and CP. In addition, it proposes a novel method that enables the analysis of companies' practices and performances related to CP, assesses their actions associated with sustainability, and contributes to identifying points where there is a lack and difficulty regarding CP. The proposed method helps to relate LM and CP activities, indicating that companies that seek to apply LM concepts are those that present high CP practices and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop-livestock-forest (CLFi) and crop-livestock (CLi) systems are among the most recent agricultural developments in Brazil, and aligned with the principles of cleaner production. Such integrated systems can provide at least three types of product from the same land area over a defined period. This paper presents a holistic sustainability evaluation using life cycle assessment to compare combinations of integrated and conventional systems in the Brazilian Cerrado region. The study assesses a comprehensive set of indicators in the three sustainability dimensions: environmental, economic, and social (socio-eco-efficiency). By prioritizing CLFi, the production area to meet the demand of grains, meat and energy for 500 Brazilians, from 2007 to 2014, reached 70 ha, while the conventional systems would need 420 ha to meet the same demand. This result shows that it is possible to increase production to meet the growing food global demand without the need of expanding the agricultural frontier, preserving the remaining forestland. CLFi combinations systems decreased 55% in climate change potential (2389 t of CO 2 equivalent), when compared to the conventional systems. It was also observed that the more integrated systems improved the quality of employment, promoted future generation investments in society, and decreased the total production costs in 54%, when compared to conventional systems. Therefore, intensification achieved through good practices such as association, rotation, and succession by an agroforestry system, optimization of inputs (including water, energy, fertilizers, and crop protection agents), land use, soil quality, biodiversity and social aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper builds a sustainable development index based on environmental, social, economic and institutional dimensions and presents a spatial assessment of municipalitties inequalities in the State of Ceará. Sustainability indices force institutions and governments to question their standards and act as "driving forces" for public policy-making. The validity of sustainability indexes is heavily dependent on how their components are weighted and aggregated. The research is quantitative developed through secondary data acquired in public agency databases of the country (Brazil) and federal unit (State of Ceara). Data analysis included confirmatory factor analysis for the construction of general sustainability indexes, descriptive analysis of these indices and spatial econometric modeling to represent on the map of Ceará municipalities. The survey results reveal a regular adjustment of the sustainable development index. The model allows a geographical view of sustainable development indicators and presents with a tool in the definition of public policies for social equity, environmental and economic. The analysis of social, economic, environmental, institutional and general indices revealed that the most urban areas of the State of Ceará have a greater sustainable development and confirms the fragility of public policies in promoting regional balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The city of Curitiba, located at Southern Brazil, is recognized by its urban planning structured on three pillars: land use, collective transportation, and traffic. With 3.8 million people in its metropolitan area, the public transport system deals with approximately 2.5 million passengers daily. The structure and properties of such a transportation system have substantial implications for the urban planning and public politics for sustainable development of Curitiba. Therefore, this paper analyzes the structure of the public transportation system of Curitiba through the theory of complex networks in a static approach of network topology and presents a comparative analysis of the results from Curitiba, three cities from China (Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou), and three cities from Poland (GOP, Warszawa, and Łódź). The transportation network was modeled as a complex network with exact geographical coordinates of its bus stops. In all bus lines, the method used was the P-Space. The results show that this bus network has characteristics of both small-world and scale-free networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to evaluate the perception of experts on the contribution of the Brazilian industrial sector in terms of sustainable development, focusing in particular on three of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) presented by United Nations (UN). A survey was conducted with professionals from Brazilian industry in order to identify their perceptions. It obtained sixty one answers and the collected data was evaluated technically and descriptively by TOPSIS analysis. It was found that Brazil has been carrying out some relevant actions, both sporadic and planned, with significant opportunities for improvement. Comparatively, the most cited contributions are those related to increasing productivity and technological modernization, which contributes to the inclusion of young people in the labor market, improving resource efficiency and the minimization of environmental degradation. Conversely, the least cited contributions are those related to the stimulation of sustainable consumption and negotiation with small companies. Therefore, the authors believe that the findings of this research could be useful for professionals and academics as guidance. It is also important to mention that no similar paper was found with an academic basis, which reinforces the originality and the contribution of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cement industry has been under pressure due to the environmental impact of high cement production, which demands a significant amount of energy and results in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In many developed countries, the cement industry has sought to replace conventional fossil fuels with alternatives to minimize GHG emissions; however, Brazil has underexploited this possibility. Considering the potential of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) to reduce the non-recycled waste disposed in landfills, and its suitable performance as an alternative fuel for cleaner cement production, this paper presents a reverse logistics network analysis for RDF production planning with respect to local economic incentives, social euqity and justice, pollution prevention, and global environmental concerns regarding carbon emissions reduction. The reverse logistics network involves important stakeholders related in waste management in Espirito Santo, Brazil, especially harmonizing social sustainability concerns between waste pickers' cooperatives and waste retailers. By considering the waste generated in 78 municipalities in the Espírito Santo state, the possible levels of fuel replacement in cement industries reflects the economic sustainability of the timeframe of the solid waste management policy implementation. The results showed that the RDF to be produced varies from 42,446.5 tonnes in 2024 with a small fuel replacement by cement industries, to 567,092.1 tonnes in 2040 if all non-recyclable waste available can be used to produce RDF. The avoided annual disposal costs via this network analysis vary from $3,855,412.0 in the initial years to $47,822,876.8 in the year 2040 under optimistic conditions, representing around 25% of the total cost in the network. The cost and GHG emitted reduced significantly in all simulated scenarios; however, the financial incentives are essential for achieving the network social sustainability. • Reverse logistic network is suitable for RDF flow control in an eco-industrial cluster. • Synergies of sustainability factors help improve RDF production planning. • Topology optimization concept helps generate adaptive RDF management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2003, Brazil has striven to provide energy access to all, in rural areas, in an effort to economically empower the communities. Unpacking fuel stacking behaviour can shed light onto the speed of transition toward the exclusive use of advanced fuel types. This paper presents findings from surveys that were carried out with 14 non-electrified communities in a rural area of Rio Negro, Amazonas State, Brazil. We identify the fuel choice determinants in these communities using a multinomial logistic regression model and more generally discuss the validity and robustness of such models in the context of statistical validation and evaluation metrics. Specifically for the Amazonas communities considered in this study, the research showed that the fuel choice determinants are the age of household, the number of people at meals each day, the number of meals daily, the community, education of the household head, and the income level of the household. Moreover, given the Brazilian policies related to energy and sustainability, this region is not likely to reach the Sustainable Development Goals proposed by United Nations for 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, environmental protection is one of the major challenges. It is necessary to ensure the protection of the environment and the conservation of natural resources, in accordance with the requirements of a sustainable economic and social development. The most important impact of modern human activities is the release of large amounts of different compounds after burning of fossil fuels, which are responsible for increasing of greenhouse gases (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere. The depletion of fossil fuels and necessity to increase energy reserves, especially for the propulsion of transport, contributed to search and use of alternative fuels. Partially or completely substitution of gasoline with bioethanol is an alternative method to reduce GHG emissions. Currently, biofuels (first generation) are produced from sources which are used to feed the population. The competition between food vs. biofuel could be solved if biofuels were obtained from renewable resources, such as lignocellulosic biomass (LCB). Second-generation biofuels are obtained from raw materials such as agricultural (straws, sugarcane bagasse, corn stalks and cobs) and forestry residues (sawdust, bark, branches, etc.) which do not interfere with global food production. In 2019, the main producers of bioethanol were USA, Brazil and EU which produced about 54%, 30% and 5% respectively of the worldwide bioethanol. This paper reviews the most important steps in bioethanol production are pretreatment, hydrolysis and fermentation of the mash. There are a lot of pretreatments, such as physical, chemical, physicochemical, biological and combined pretreatments. The combined pretreatments have been shown to be more effective compared to single pretreatments, and there is a wide range of combinations which can be applied in the future. Hydrolysis step contributes to the release of fermentable sugars, which are further converted by microorganisms into bioethanol. There are a lot of hidrolysis methods, such as Separated Hydrolysis and Fermentation (SHF), Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation (SSF), Simultaneous Saccharification and co-Fermentation (SSCF) and Consolidated Bioprocessing (CBP). The liquid fraction obtained after pretreatment and hydrolysis contain various predominant carbohydrates such as glucose and xylose. Therefore, special microorganisms are needed to perform co-fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainable development has had an important contribution from United Nations across the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Goal 17 is called Partnerships for the Goals and is considered a way to figure out paths to stablish projects that can bring benefits to the environment, society and the economy. One of the purposes is encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of multi-stakeholder partnerships.Considering mining industry, it is possible to observe that social license to operate is one critical issue that is affecting reputation and performance of some companies in Brazil. This is due to some environmental impacts and difficulties to stablish a reasonable relationship with communities around mined areas.The paper presents the results of a multi-stakeholder discussion promoted with the participation of around 50 people from different organizations and civil society related to the mining industry. The initiative identified some opportunities that can make easier the social and legal permits related to the mine projects in Brazil. Some outcomes of the meeting were:• The participants agreed that this is an important initiative for mining sector in Brazil;• It is necessary to work together to make mine projects more inclusive and related to the regional development planning. • With good management and governance, the mine projects have an important structural role in society, contributing to economic and socio-environmental development.• There is a relationship between small-scale and large-scale mines in Brazil. Improvements in sustainability in small-scale mines can benefits large scale ones and vice-versa.• Mining companies in Brazil needs to rely on public policies considering socio-environmental and political aspects in order to ensure a balanced coexistence with the society.• Brazil has a geological setting that can make mine sector stronger than nowadays: mining like a driven of regional sustainable development.The experience in this research demonstrates that the concepts of the Goal 17 can be a strong tool to provide the development of mine sector, since promote partnerships that consider aspects related to the different parts of the society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latest studies estimate land use intensity of wind-powered electricity around 0.3–1.3 m2 MWh-1 [1]. This is significantly lower compared to biomass-powered electricity, which land use intensity is estimated around 450-800 m2 MWh-1 [1]. Hence, the significant contribution of biomass energy to land-use change, particularly in countries like Brazil, is widely known. In contrary, low land use intensity of wind-powered electricity suggests that contribution of its infrastructure to land-use change is minor. However, some studies point out the potential restriction of land use for human settlements, negative impact on biodiversity [1] and occurring land conflicts [2] due to wind-powered electricity infrastructure. Better knowledge of wind-powered electricity infrastructure impact on land use change require investigation of related land cover patterns. For discovering those patterns, we focus on two major questions:- What land cover is favourable for VRES infrastructure deployment?- What land-use changes follow the VRES infrastructure deployment?Our case study focuses on wind parks deployed during past 25 years in Brazil. For spatiotemporal analysis of land cover patterns in Brazil, we combine annual land-use and land cover time series – available from 1985 to 2017 – with locations of wind generation infrastructure, transmission grids and transportation network [3].Land cover patterns related to wind parks deployment will improve our understanding of its role in current land use change, and allow the assessment of future land use change in case of extensive wind parks deployment. [1] Uwe R. Fritsche et al. „Energy and Land Use". Global Land Outlook Working Paper (2017).[2] C. Brannstrom, A. Gorayeb, J. S. Mendes, C. Loureiro, A. J. A. Meireles, E. V. Silva, A. L. R. Freitas, R.F. Oliveira. Is Brazilian wind power development sustainable? Insights from a review of conflicts in Ceará state. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (2017), 67, p. 62-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.08.047[3] MapBiomas Project - Collection v.3.0 of the Annual Land Use Land Cover Maps of Brazil: http://mapbiomas.org/map#coverage [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]