Social and environmental innovations of Brazilian companies

Abstract This paper focuses on the social and environmental innovations of Brazilian companies, rather than on merely economic innovations. These innovations are discussed within the context of sustainability. Data were collected via a qualitative and descriptive study from the annual Guia Exame de Sustentabilidade magazine (2014 Edition). The magazine stated that 228 companies responded to the questionnaire. Of these, 61 companies stood out in Brazil for their policies and practices in sustainability and had their results published. The social innovations were geared towards meeting the needs of the surrounding communities. Environmental innovations appeared in greater numbers, connoting a higher stage of attention and interest from Brazilian companies. Environmental innovations were intended to evolve or improve processes and products and to reduce the consumption of resources.

摘要：本研究聚焦巴西企业的社会与环境创新，而非单纯的经济创新范畴。上述创新均在可持续发展的语境下展开探讨。本次研究采用质性描述性研究方法，数据取自2014版年度期刊《Guia Exame de Sustentabilidade》。据该期刊披露，共有228家企业参与了本次问卷调研。其中，61家企业凭借其可持续发展相关政策与实践在巴西国内脱颖而出，其调研成果得以公开发表。社会创新旨在满足周边社区的实际需求。环境创新的数量更为可观，这反映出巴西企业对可持续发展议题的关注度与投入已达到更高水平。环境创新的目标在于优化或改进现有流程与产品，并降低资源消耗。