Abstract
The sugar cane and ethanol agricultural industrial sector has emerged as one of the most prominent industrial sectors in developing countries like Brazil. Sustainability issues are now more and more important and companies from this sector have been structured their operations to achievepositive results. One of the ways of doing that is by implementing an integrated quality and environmental management system. In this context, this paper aims at identifying the relevant practices related to integrated management systems in four organizations that belong to the sugar cane and ethanol industrial sector. Data were gathered through a questionnaire and semi-structuredinterviews. The paper highlights relevant issues in policy of the four units. An individual case description is made in addition to a cross-case comparison. As a result, an analysis of management systems in those units enables to raise important issues on how the studied companies take careof their environment economically and with their use for continuous improvement. Finally, the evidence shows a general concern for the environment although this is demonstrated by a culture of reducing residuals and the control of waste of natural resources.
Highlights
The sugar cane and ethanol agricultural industrial sector has emerged as one of the most prominent industrial sectors in developing countries like Brazil, both in the domestic and international markets
This paper aims at demonstrating the results of an investigation whose objective it is to identify relevant practices related to an integrated management system in an organization that belongs to the sugar cane and ethanol agricultural industrial sector
The assessment of management systems associated with sustainability enables the raising of important issues on how the studied companies take care of their environment economically and with the use of the principles of continuous improvement
Summary
The sugar cane and ethanol agricultural industrial sector has emerged as one of the most prominent industrial sectors in developing countries like Brazil, both in the domestic and international markets. Brazil is one of the world’s largest sugar and ethanol exporters, a market with many growth opportunities. Until 2006, the country was the world’s main producer. The US has assumed the leading position. Brazil’s ethanol production is expected to triple by 2020. There has been a lot of discussion about how to recapture the lead either in terms of technological or managerial issues
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