Environmental practices and strategies assessmente model: results of its application to the automotive and pulp & paper sectors in Brazil

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 Kruskal-Wallis 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.