Environmental performance indicators: a study on ISO 14001 certified companies

Environmental management system has become one of the main tools used by companies to handle the environmental aspects and the impacts that their activities have on the environment. In this context, this work aims to demonstrate the results of a survey that identifies a set of indicators of environmental performance to continuously manage and improve the environmental and performance management of ISO 14001 certified companies in the Southern region of Brazil. This research is descriptive as well as quantitative and adopted two methods for factor analysis, the analysis of multiple correspondences and the principal components analysis as well as a method of classification, the cluster analysis. Several companies monitor the environmental and performance management of the industrial pulp and paper/furniture/wood and textile sectors using indicators of environmental performance. As expected, organizations from the services sector do not use such indicators. The results from cluster analysis also showed that legal and other requirements and environmental aspects are the both more representative requirements. Finally, there is a great concern for companies to meet the legal requirements as well as the conservation of environmental resources.