• Highlights

• In 2023, 89.1% (8,758) of the 9,827 industrial companies with 100 or more employees implemented at least one environmental initiative or practice. Of the companies with environmental initiatives/practices, 53.0% were influenced by regulations, especially in the areas of solid waste, water resources, atmospheric emissions, and soil use. Only 1,984 companies (22.7%) of the 8,758 with environmental initiatives or practices were influenced by public incentive policies. The most reported topic was solid waste (79.6%), followed by recycling and reuse (75.1%), energy efficiency (61.5%), water resources (57.1%), atmospheric emissions (46.3%), and soil use (23.9%). Most of the companies surveyed (more than 60%) implemented initiatives related to at least four topics, and 18.0% mobilized all six topics. Only 9.7% adopted only one theme, most of them smaller companies.
• Companies with 500 or more employees lead in all six themes of environmental initiatives or practices.
• Most companies (more than 40%) have structured action plans in all six themes. The minority stated that they are still in the initial stages of studies.
• The beverage industry leads the rankings for the themes of water resources (93.3%), energy efficiency (87%), recycling and reuse (93.4%) and is in second place in solid waste (93.4%), only behind pharmaceutical and chemical products (94.4%).
• Of the 9,827 companies considered, 73.2% (7,194) made expenditures on environmental initiatives and practices. Among the themes that received the most resources are solid waste (56.6%), recycling and reuse (51.3%), energy efficiency (44%) and water resources (40.2%). Most companies should maintain their spending on environmental practices in 2024
• Thirteen activities had expenditures above the industry average (73.2%), with emphasis on Beverage manufacturing (92.6%), Coke and coke products manufacturing (88.4%), and Tobacco products manufacturing (87.6%). Maintenance, repair, and installation of machinery had the lowest percentage (31.1%) of expenditures.
• Most companies (88.6%) implemented environmental initiatives and practices to comply with regulations. The second factor for implementation was autonomous strategy (87.7%).
• Complying with legal standards (89.5%) and improving operational efficiency and reducing costs/risks (84.4%) were the most reported benefits.
• The high costs of solutions hinder environmental initiatives and practices.

In 2023, 89.1% (8,758) of the 9,827 industrial companies with 100 or more employees carried out at least one environmental initiative or practice, with those related to solid waste being the most reported one (79.6%). The other themes of the environmental initiatives and practices investigated were: recycling and reuse (75.1%), energy efficiency (61.5%), water resources (57.1%), atmospheric emissions (46.3%) and soil use (23.9%).

The unprecedent data are from the thematic module on Environmental Practices and Biotechnology of the Semiannual  Survey of Innovation (PINTEC 2023), which also investigates public policies related to the topic. The experimental survey is being conducted in partnership with the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI) and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). The survey will be released this Wednesday at 10 am at Casa Brasil-IBGE, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ). The event will also be broadcast on the Institute's official social media channels (Youtube, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok).

“The survey was conducted in the first half of 2024 to collect data from 2023 on the topic of environmental initiatives and practices, with the aim of outlining an overview of the adoption of environmental practices related to the production processes of industrial companies that aim at reducing the negative impact on the environment. It is not a study on sustainability, a broader concept that also encompasses social, economic and institutional aspects,” explains the thematic survey manager, Flávio José Marques Peixoto, who also reported that in 2017, the triennial PINTEC carried out a module on environmental innovation.

Of the total of 8,758 industrial companies that used at least one of the initiatives investigated, the majority (more than 60%) used at least four themes investigated and 18.0% implemented all six themes. Only 9.7% adopted only one theme, most of them smaller companies.

Regulation is still the public policy with the best results

Of the companies with environmental initiatives/practices, 53.0% were influenced by regulation, especially in the areas of solid waste, water resources, atmospheric emissions and soil use.

Only 1,984 companies (22.7%) of the 8,758 with environmental initiatives or practices were influenced by public incentive policies.

“Public financing instruments aimed at stimulating environmental initiatives and practices related to energy efficiency were considered the relatively most appropriate in all the analyzed aspects. There is ample room for increasing the influence of public incentives aimed at environmental initiatives and practices, since more than 80% of the companies did not use and/or were not aware of the incentives”, highlights Mr. Peixoto.

Beverage manufacturing is the activity that mostly implements environmental practices

In terms of sectors, the activities that mostly implemented nitiatives and practices were: Beverage manufacturing, which leads the rankings of activities related to water resources (93.3%), energy efficiency (87%), recycling and reuse (93.4%) and is in second place in solid waste (93.4%), only behind  pharmaceutical and chemical products (94.4%); and Refining and petroleum derivatives, coke and biofuels, which stands out in soil use (83.5%) and atmospheric emissions (82.7%). On the other hand, those that carried out less environmental practices were: Manufacture of wearing apparel and accessories (26.8% in water resources; 65.3% in solid waste; 50.8% in recycling and reuse; 1.3% in land use and 17.7% in atmospheric emissions) and Maintenance, repair and installation of machinery and equipment (28.2% in water resources; 43.2% in solid waste; 31.7% in energy efficiency; 41.4% in recycling and reuse; 26.3% and atmospheric emissions).

“An activity such as maintenance, repair and installation of machinery and equipment is naturally less active in environmental practices, as it is an activity more focused on industrial services than on transformation”, highlights Mr. Peixoto.

Of the 9,827 companies surveyed, 73.2% had expenditures in the environmental area and most intend to keep them

Regarding the allocation of resources, of the 9,827 companies, 73.2% (7,194) made expenditures in environmental initiatives and practices in 2023. Among the practices that received resources, solid waste (56.6%), recycling and reuse (51.3%), energy efficiency (44%) and water resources (40.2%) stand out.

Among the activities, 13 had expenditures above the industry average (73.2%), with a highlight to Beverage manufacturing (92.6%), Coke and coke products manufacturing (88.4%), Tobacco products manufacturing (87.6%), Chemical products manufacturing (86.1%), Machinery, equipment and materials manufacturing (85.2%), Basic metals (84.8%), Mining and quarrying industries (83.9%) and Leather and artifacts preparation (80.7%).

On the other hand, another 13 activities invested below the average. Machinery maintenance, repair and installation had the lowest percentage (31.1%) of expenditures.

Most companies (88.6%) implemented environmental practices to comply with regulations

Compliance with Brazilian environmental standards was the main factor influencing environmental initiatives and practices, followed by autonomous strategy (87.7%) and influence from suppliers and/or customers (63.9%). Compliance with environmental standards of foreign markets was mentioned by 44.1% and influence from public opinion/organized civil society was cited by 44.9%.

98.7% of companies with environmental practices had benefits

Of the 8,758 companies with environmental practices, 8,642 (98.7%) reported having had benefits from environmental initiatives and practices. Compliance with legal standards was the most cited benefit (89.5%), followed by operational efficiency and cost reduction (84.4%), improved reputation/image (78.8%) and customer relations (71.6%).

High costs of environmental solutions are the biggest challenge

Among the 8,758 companies with environmental initiatives and practices, 7,669 (87.6%) reported having faced difficulties in environmental projects. Among the factors that most hindered the implementation of environmental initiatives and practices were the high costs of environmental solutions, followed by a lack of public support and development programs and a lack of financial resources for companies. The same three factors were also pointed out by companies that do not invest in environmental initiatives and practices.

93.8% of companies collaborate on environmental initiatives or practices

Among the companies that adopted environmental initiatives or practices, 93.8% had some type of cooperation relationship, mainly with customers/consumers (63.3%) and suppliers (61.0%) and with consultants or consulting firms (59.3%).

96.1% of companies with biotechnology activities invest in environmental practices

Of the 1,001 companies that declared having carried out some activity associated with the use, production and R&D in biotechnology, 962 (96.1%) also had initiatives or practices related to the environmental issues investigated in the survey.

The number of companies publishing sustainability reports is growing

Among the companies that published the most sustainability reports, 36.7% belonged to the Beverage Manufacturing industry, while 69.6% of those that integrated ESG criteria (an acronym in English for Environmental, Social and Governance, a concept that evaluates a company's performance in three areas: environment, social and governance) into their corporate strategies are part of the Chemical Manufacturing industry. As for those certified by ISO 14001 (the most recognized international standard for environmental management systems) or related standards, 61.5% of the companies were present in the Automotive vehicle, trailer and body manufacturing industry.

“The adoption of some environmental initiative and/or practice in industrial companies is widespread. More regulated sectors have a higher proportion of companies acting to reduce negative impacts on the environment from their industrial processes. It is worth noting that, in general, the practices are carried out based on a structured action plan and most companies spend money on related material issues. More than 60% of companies carry out at least four material issues simultaneously. In addition, compliance with Brazilian environmental standards was, at the same time, the main motivating factor for and the main benefit obtained from the adoption of environmental initiatives and practices in companies. However, high costs and the lack of public support were the main difficulties faced. There is a significant influence of existing regulations, but little influence of incentives, especially public financing”, summarizes Peixoto.

More about the survey

The experimental survey – conducted in partnership with the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI) and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) – investigated a sample of 1,611 medium and large-sized companies – with over 100 employees – in the manufacturing and mining and quarrying industries. The Semiannual PINTEC is related to the year prior to the collection, with two semiannual investigations. In the first semester, rotating thematic indicators are investigated and, in the second, basic indicators of innovation and R&D. Its objective is to complement the traditional IBGE Survey of Innovation (PINTEC) – which has already added up to seven editions, having been published every three years since 2000, and which will continue being released.