Research by IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) considers companies with more than 100 employees
Data from IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) show that, last year, 8,758 of the 9,827 industrial companies with 100 or more employees – or 89.1% – implemented at least one environmental initiative or practice in water resources, solid waste, energy efficiency, recycling and reuse, land use and atmospheric emissions. The information is contained in the “Semiannual Innovation Survey – Pintec 2023: Thematic Indicators – Environmental Practices and Biotechnology”, released on Wednesday (September 18, 2024).
Initiatives related to solid waste and recycling and reuse were the most cited, respectively, by 79.6% and 75.1% of companies. Energy efficiency and water resources appear next, with more than half of companies reporting having such initiatives and practices (respectively, 61.5% and 57.1%). Atmospheric emissions and land use appear as the least used initiatives.
Environmental practice
The results indicate that environmental initiatives and practices have been spreading in industrial companies, albeit with different intensities. Among the sectors with the highest proportion of companies that had at least one environmental initiative and/or practice related to the topics investigated, the following stand out: beverage manufacturing (100%), coke manufacturing, petroleum products manufacturing and biofuels manufacturing (99.4%), rubber and plastic products manufacturing (95.9%), computer equipment manufacturing, electronic and optical products manufacturing (95.8%) and pharmaceutical and pharmachemical products manufacturing (95.1%).
On the other hand, the economic activities with the lowest proportion of companies were manufacturing of wood products (81%), manufacturing of clothing and accessories (75.1%) and maintenance, repair and installation of machinery and equipment (56.4%).
The research shows that the larger the size of the companies, the greater the proportion of those with at least one environmental initiative or practice in 2023. The IBGE points to greater engagement of companies with 500 or more people employed in some activity related to reducing negative impacts on the environment.
In all ranges of employed personnel, the greatest highlights were in the themes related to solid waste and recycling and reuse, respectively: 93.6% and 90.2%, in companies with 500 or more employed people, 87.7% and 82.5% in companies with 250 to 499 employed people, and 72% and 67.3% in companies with 100 to 249 employed people.
On the other hand, and because it is the least used topic in companies, land use was observed in 40.2% of companies with 500 or more employees and only 17.6% of companies with 100 to 249 employees.
The IBGE says that both water resources and atmospheric emissions, despite being practices used by a high proportion of larger companies, recorded only 47% and 34.8% incidence, respectively, in companies with 100 to 249 employees.
Regarding expenditure related to the material topics under analysis, the Semiannual Pintec shows that of the 9,827 companies, 7,194 (73.2%) made some expenditure aimed at environmental initiatives/practices in 2023.
Pintec lists the sectors in which the largest proportion of companies invested in environmental practices, with emphasis on the manufacture of beverages (92.6%), manufacture of coke, petroleum products and biofuels (88.4%) and manufacture of tobacco products (87.6%). On the other hand, those in which the lowest percentage of companies reported having spent on their respective environmental issues were the manufacture of wood products (57.8%), the manufacture of miscellaneous products (57.5%) and the maintenance, repair and installation of machinery and equipment (31.1%).
With information from Brazil Agency.
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