Green teams: Understanding their roles in the environmental management of companies located in Brazil

Green teams are frequently considered in the state-of-the-art literature as an essential factor for companies aiming to implement and improve environmental management approaches and practices. However, most of the available literature on green teams is conceptual and theoretical by nature. Therefore, the main purpose of this article is to evaluate the main characteristics of green teams in Brazilian companies and to analyse the relationships between green teams and the maturity level of environmental management in those companies. Based on a conceptual background on corporate environmental management and green teams, a research was done in two complementary phases: a survey of 94 companies with ISO 14001 certification; and a multiple case study of four industrial companies. Survey results suggest that 82% of the studied companies have cross-functional green teams, i.e. involving various companies' departments; and 65% have functional green teams, i.e. individual department teams. The results of the case study suggest that the use of green teams is an instrument to the greening of companies with ISO 14001 in Brazil. The company with the most proactive and advanced environmental management is the same company which uses green teams more intensely. Green teams are especially necessary for implementing more technical environmental management practices, e.g. Life Cycle Assessment. Since this is one of the first studies analysing green teams, the results presented can be useful for companies and public policies aiming to implementation of environmental initiatives. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Composition and quantification of the anthropogenic and natural fractions of wastes collected from the stormwater drainage system for discussions about the waste management and people behavior

A study was made of the composition of wastes collected from the pipes of the stormwater drainage system of Sorocaba, SP, Brazil (600 thousand inhabitants). A total of 10 samples weighing at least 100 kg each were sorted into 19 items to determine the fraction that can be considered natural (earth/sand, stones, organic matter, and water, the latter determined after oven-drying the samples) and the anthropogenic fraction (the remaining 15 items, especially construction and demolition wastes and packaging). Soil/sand was found to be the main item collected (52.5 % dry weight), followed by the water soaked into the waste (24.3 %), which meant that all the other wastes were saturated in mud, whose contents varied from 6.4 % (glass) to 87.2 % (metalized plastics packaging). In general, 83 % of the collected wastes can be classified as natural, but the remaining 17 % represent 2,000 kg of the most varied types of wastes discarded improperly every day on the streets of the city. This is an alarming amount of wastes that may clog parts of the drainage systems, causing troubles for all the population (like flooding) and must be strongly considered in municipal solid wastes management and in environmental education programs. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

Prospects for the use of municipal tree pruning wastes in particleboard production

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the physical and mechanical properties of particleboard made with pruning wastes from Ipê (Tabebuia serratifolia) and Chapéu-de-Sol (Terminalia catappa) trees. Particleboards were prepared with both wood species, using all the material produced by grinding the pruning wastes. The particleboards had dimensions of 45×45 cm, a thickness of approximately 11.5 mm and an average density of 664 kg/m3. A urea-formaldehyde adhesive was used in the proportion of 12% of the dry particle mass. The particleboards were pressed at a temperature of 130 C for 10 mins. The physical and mechanical properties analyzed were density, moisture content, thickness swelling, percentage of lignin and cellulose, modulus of resilience, modulus of elasticity and tensile strength parallel to the grain, accordingly to the standards NBR 14810 and CS 236-66 (1968). The particleboards were considered to be of medium density. The particle size significantly affected the static bending strength and tensile strength parallel to the grain. Ipê presented better results, demonstrating a potential for the production and use of particleboard made from this species. © The Author(s) 2013.

Aspectos físicos e sociais da geografia da disponibilidade hídrica municipal no Brasil

In managing water resources, indexes are used to simplify and quantify available information as well as report the characteristics of a region under study. These indexes may be extremely demanding concerning information required, or very simple, and the water poverty index and Falkenmark index are examples of both extreme situations, respectively. Searching for an index that considers regional and local complexities and information available in developing countries, a new index was developed to evaluate the population accessibility to water resources. This new index combines the Human Development Index and Falkenmark Index and geographic information systems. The results are presented in figures which show the situation at national level, highlighting that the Northeast and Southeast regions are the most vulnerable in Brazil.

Formação continuada de arte educadores: políticas da rede municipal de São Paulo (1996-2008)

Pós-graduação em Artes - IA

A comunicação organizacional e o atendimento ao público via 0800 no Departamento de Água e Esgoto de Bauru

Pós-graduação em Comunicação - FAAC

Gestão democrática do ensino público: um estudo do Conselho Municipal de Educação de Rio Claro no período de 1997 a 2004

Pós-graduação em Educação - IBRC

Viabilidade da implementação de computadores na primeira etapa da educação básica em uma rede pública municipal do interior de São Paulo

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Impacto do FUNDEF na estruturação da rede municipal de ensino do município de Pirapozinho-SP

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Os desafios na construção da política de formação continuada dos orientadores pedagógicos da rede municipal de Presidente Prudente-SP

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Técnicas cartográficas aplicadas ao zoneamento ambiental: município de Jacareí - SP

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Consórcios intermunicipais: alternativa para o manejo integrado dos resíduos sólidos na região centro-sul do Ceará

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

ICTs and information management (IM) in commercial agriculture: contributions from an evolutionary approach

Includes bibliography

A educação municipal e a relação público X privado: um estudo de caso em Fernão - SP

Pós-graduação em Educação - FFC

O índice de desenvolvimento da educação básica (IDEB) e as dimensões associadas à qualidade da educação na escola pública municipal

Pós-graduação em Educação - FFC