Small
lessons in sustainability
Good environmental management is seen
as an issue to be tackled by large corporations
that have the financial, technological,
and human resources for implementing social
and environmental improvement projects.
However, it’s usually considered
that micro, small and medium enterprises
(MSMEs) are incapable of observing the
environmental legislation or being socially
responsible, for they encounter several
obstacles on the way to social and environmental
improvement. . But these enterprises could
join forces and work together in trying
to overcome such obstacles.
José Antonio Puppim de Oliveira
Eco-business
The
age of eco-economy
The global urban population has grown
from 150 million in 1900 to 3 billion in
the beginning of the new millennium–20
times in one century. The percentage of
people living in urban areas has increased
from 10 to 46% and continues to grow fast.
The progress of unsustainable economy has
agglomerated man in urban areas over the
past century, setting up a trap for man’s
own survival.
Eduardo Athayde
Energy
Hydroelectric
power matrix: to have or not to have?
Water-based electric power matrixes,
such as the Brazilian matrix, need to
have an installed capacity higher than
the actual market demand because of hydrological
variation. However, the analysis of the
Brazilian scenario shows that implementing
new hydroelectric and generation developments
using diversified sources hasn’t
sufficed for keeping up with the increase
in demand over the past years, putting
the supply of this input at risk
Rogério Gollo e Ernesto Cavasin
Financial
market
Green
is also the color of money Good news
from the Equator: money is also green.
Financial institutions from the whole world
define increasingly stricter requirements
for avoiding socially and environmentally
irresponsible projects. That is the intent
proven by 42 banks, four of which are Brazilian,
by adhering to a stricter version of the
Equator Principles.
Tourism
Sustainable
tourism: a journey to local development
The tourism industry has been experiencing a change
in its social, cultural and economic perspectives, thus
influencing the creation of public policies and national
plans, such as the Brazilian Plan for Tourism.
Citizen
Company
GSK:
the best remedy is social responsibility
Successfully combining research, development, and production
of high-quality medications with environmental and social
responsibility is the goal of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.)
This philosophy is translated into investments in health
and education with the purpose of providing a positive
sustainable contribution for all.
João Domenech Oneto
Year
7- # 25
July / August / September 2006
EDIÇÕES ANTERIORES
Agriculture
Young
farmers: a bridge to rural development
Combining sustainability and development in
the rural area is a challenge for Brazil in the
economic, social, and environmental spheres.
The acknowledgement of family agriculture as
a productive industry was an important step in
this sense. However, there’s still a long
way to go. And it involves fostering agroecology
through cost-effectiveness, environmental balance,
and social justice practices, as well as valuing
and redeeming the role of young rural workers.
This could be the link between generations and
a critical factor for the sustainable development
of rural areas.
Leticia Lemos Sampaio and
Marcos Marques de Oliveira
Challenge
Development
x preservation: a Tupiniquim tale if the Earth came
with prescribing information, man wouldn’t
have taken so long to find out that unplanned
growth was in the list of contraindications.
It took a long time for us to realize that.
Only in the 60’s did the international
community realize that the planet’s
degradation would render development unfeasible.
However, in the recipe of economic growth,
the environment is an essential ingredient:
two cups of entrepreneurship and a spoonful
of natural resources would make the cake
rise. Therefore, preservation wouldn’t
be always sustainable.
Kelly Nascimento
