Title: The sustainable persuasion: analysis of practices for sustainability reported by large companies in Brazil

Authors: Gustavo Oliveira Scherer; Ana Paula Pereira Maiato Nascimento; Nathalia Crispim Cardoso Cristino; Tharcisio Cotta Fontainha

Addresses: Production Engineering Program – PEP, Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute for Graduate Studies and Research in Engineering – Coppe, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ, Brazil ' Production Engineering Program – PEP, Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute for Graduate Studies and Research in Engineering – Coppe, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ, Brazil ' Production Engineering Program – PEP, Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute for Graduate Studies and Research in Engineering – Coppe, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ, Brazil ' Production Engineering Program – PEP, Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute for Graduate Studies and Research in Engineering – Coppe, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ, Brazil

Abstract: The constant usage of the term sustainability has generated a perception of misalignment between what organisations report and their practice. This research aims to analyse evidence of practices related to sustainability in the voluntary environmental disclosure (VED) reports of Brazilian companies. The research adopts the case study method and analyses seven issues regarding sustainability in the report of four large companies in relevant sectors of the Brazilian economy (i.e., oil and gas, textile, processed food, and private education). The company in the textile sector addressed six issues, followed by oil and gas and private education companies tied with five issues, with the processed food sector company addressing only three issues. The research provides evidence reinforcing the gap between organisations' reports and their practices in terms of sustainability. Future research might explore other sources of evidence (e.g., interviews), and expand the investigation to other organisations and economic sectors.

Keywords: environmental, social, and governance; ESG; sustainable development goals; SDG; supply chain; SC; sustainability; Brazil.

DOI: 10.1504/LAJMSD.2024.141377

Latin American Journal of Management for Sustainable Development, 2024 Vol.6 No.3, pp.209 - 223

Received: 20 Sep 2023
Accepted: 26 Feb 2024
Published online: 09 Sep 2024 *

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