Evaluation of the Effect of Environmental Management Strategies on the Financial Performance of Brazilian Companies

Abstract

Since the last decades of the 20th century, companies have been pressured by new demands of society in order to present more conscious and sustainable behaviors. Adapting to this new paradigm, many of the medium and large companies have directed their strategies and actions to social and environmental aspects. Environmental management figures as an indispensable tool to guide such actions. The purpose of this article is to understand the environmental practices of Brazilian companies and to analyze if these practices influence their financial performance. Data were collected from Análise Gestão Ambiental magazine about the environmental initiatives of enterprises as well as from financial indicators (Exame magazine, BOVESPA, and official financial statements of the companies). Data were statistically analyzed using SPSS 17.0 software. Initially a TwoStep cluster analysis was used in order to identify groups of firms practicing distinct environmental strategies. Then, the financial indicators of companies clusters found were analyzed by means of ANOVA and MANOVA statistical tools to check for differences between the financial performances of these clusters. The results of this analysis of a sample of 142 firms suggest that environmental management practices can be classified into two distinct categories - reactive and proactive - but no significant differences between the financial performances of these clusters were found.