Environmental practices and strategies assessmente model: results of its application to the automotive and pulp paper sectors in Brazil/Modelo conceituai para avaliacao de praticas e estrategias climaticas: resultados de sua aplicacao nos setores automotivo e de papel e celulose no Brasil

The high concentration of green house gases is causing climate changes that have a strong impact on the competitiveness of firms. Some businesses are adopting environmental practices and strategies not only because of carbon restrictive regulations, but also to ensure their competitive advantage. However, there is a lack of adequate managerial tools to evaluate the effectiveness of these practices and strategies. This article presents a conceptual model based on international benchmarks, developed to help firms assess their environmental practices and strategies. It shows how the model was applied in Brazil in two representative sectors of the its economy: automotive and pulp & paper sectors. It also identifies the environmental practices and strategies that should be improved by these firms, when compared to international benchmarks. In the scope of the model's application, five hypotheses related to its main variables were tested statistically. The t-student test was carried out to compare the firms' practices to international benchmarks, while the non-parametric KruskalWallis test was used to check differences between the averages of the two sectors under investigation. Based on the results, recommendations are made both for future research and for other firms concerned with adopting efficient environmental practices and strategies. Key words: strategy; climate change strategy; climate change; greenhouse gases (GHG); climate change assessment; climatic best practices; automotive industry; pulp & paper industry. A alta concentracao de gases de efeito estufa esta provocando mudancas climaticas com forte impacto, inclusive no ambiente competitivo das empresas. Assim, algumas empresas ja estao adotando praticas e estrategias climaticas em funcao nao somente das legislacoes restritivas ao carbono, mas tambem para assegurarem sua vantagem competitiva. Contudo, ha uma escassez de ferramentas gerenciais para avaliar o quanto tais praticas e estrategias sao adequadas a esse novo contexto. Este artigo apresenta um modelo conceitual desenvolvido com base em benchmarks (melhores praticas) internacionais, para auxiliar as empresas na avaliacao das suas praticas e estrategias climaticas, e mostra como o modelo foi aplicado no Brasil em dois setores representativos de sua economia: o automotivo e o de papel e celulose. Identifica as praticas e estrategias climaticas que precisam ser melhoradas nesses setores, quando comparadas com as internacionais. Na aplicacao do mo