Generation of goods and services are highly dependent on the use of natural resources. Until very recently, there was an implicit belief that the physical expansion of the economic system could be unlimited, as if the planet would have conditions and time enough to recover and continue to supply resources. This belief implies a confidence in an economic system that would provide whatever is necessary for a continuous growing production and consumption. Even believing that technology alone is not enough to solve the current environmental problems, it is certain that it can collaborate to mitigate climate change and to adaptation to changes in the environment. By bringing environmental aspects into discussions, eco-innovations can affect and transform the innovation system in order to create sustainable processes. However, the main challenge towards the transition to a more sustainable, cleaner and more equitable society is to set innovation in a new context, as until very recently it only considered the economic variables. This change means to value the social and environmental dimension of the innovation. In addition to eco-innovation, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is spreading in the industrial environment, offering promising perspectives. LCA is considered a valuable methodology in the environmental sustainability of industry. In this context, the present study addresses LCA and its relationship with the generation of ecoinnovations. Drawing on contributions from literature on eco-innovation and LCA, the paper analyses available evidence on this relationship in a context of the transition towards sustainable development. To structure the debate, the paper offers a conceptual approach and an illustrative case on international researchers' and practitioners' perceptions on the potentially positive relationship between eco-innovation and LCA. The study gathers data in the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection and in Scopus, in order to provide a picture of the distribution of documents retrieved from these databases, dealing with both eco-innovation and LCA topics. The paper concludes that the convergence of the eco-innovation and LCA studies is quite plausible, but at least in its initial phase, the literature that unites both themes is scarcely found in publications in the area of innovation, being more frequent in the area of engineering and management that usually addresses LCA studies.
Resumo: O artigo examina a falência da Associação dos Produtores Alternativos (APA) de Ouro Preto do Oeste, em Rondônia, buscando identificar elementos estruturantes e explicativos das relações entre atores locais e evidenciando seus próprios quadros interpretativos. A partir de um breve histórico da implantação do Projeto Integrado de Colonização (PIC) Ouro Preto do Oeste, são destacadas a origem social dos colonos, sua cultura política e o tipo de capital social construído nos assentamentos. Por outro lado, apresenta-se a lógica das instituições envolvidas no desenvolvimento desse projeto. As relações entre os diversos atores institucionais são apresentadas como uma rede multiconectada, unindo os níveis local, regional, nacional e internacional. A análise mostra o descompasso entre a visão econômica das instituições de apoio, voltadas para a produção, e as aspirações dos produtores da APA. Ao final, concluímos que a falência pode estar associada a dois fatores interligados: a 'desconfiança' dos produtores da APA em relação aos órgãos de apoio à agricultura familiar (Comissão Executiva do Plano da Lavoura Cacaueira, Agência de Defesa Sanitária Agrosilvopastoril do Estado de Rondônia, Empresa de Assistência Técnica e Extensão Rural) e a ausência dos governos estadual e municipal no grupo de atores do sistema de redes multiconectadas, no qual poderiam ter desempenhado um papel de mediadores entre aquelas diferentes aspirações. Finalmente, a questão colocada relativiza a noção de 'fracasso' associada à falência. Palavras-chave:Sindicalismo agrário. Cooperativa. Capital social. Redes sociais. Inovações produtivas. Rondônia. Abstract:The paper studies the bankruptcy of the Alternative Producers Association (APA) in Ouro Preto do Oeste, State of Rondônia, Brazil, by identifying the relations between the territory actors and analyzing their own interpretive frame. After a brief history of the Integrated Colonization Project (PIC) in Ouro Preto do Oeste, we describe the social origin of the settlers, their political culture and social capital as well as the logic of the institutions engaged in the projects' management. The relations between the different institutional actors are presented as a connection of multilevel social-ecological systems (local, regional, national and international). The paper intends to show the discrepancy between the mere economic logic of the supporting institutions and the APA producers' aspirations. Our conclusion is that the bankruptcy may have been caused by two interconnected factors: the lack of trust of APA's farmers towards agricultural support agencies (Comissão Executiva do Plano da Lavoura Cacaueira, Agência de Defesa Sanitária Agrosilvopastoril do Estado de Rondônia, Empresa de Assistência Técnica e Extensão Rural) and the failure of the State and the Municipality to act in the multi-level network above mentioned, which could have been a mediator amongst the different aspirations. Finally, our paper discusses the notion of 'failure' associated to bankruptcy.
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We are currently living the Anthropocene, a period in which humans have generated impacts on nature that corresponds to a geological force capable of modifying the planet’s biophysical parameters, affecting its sustainability. Knowledge is a condition for emancipation, and citizens endowed with sustainability knowledge will be able to influence political decisions and the society. Currently, the universities are expected to provide tools for understanding environmental issues from a more holistic perspective, rather than relying on traditional reductionist approaches. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate the Brazilian Federal Technological Scientific Professional Education Network’s (RFEPCT) commitment to relevant environmental issues raised by the Anthropocene. Additionally, the ‘information regime’ approach was selected to identify factors that may contribute or influence its composition and the information-power relationships. The results show that the RFEPCT members’ actions are carried out in isolation, needing an element that integrates information and effectively articulates their social networks. The managerial priority was mostly motivated by economic issues or by public regulation and requirements. This study presents an original and unique Mapping on RFEPCT Information Regime elements and offers a HEI Environmental Agenda as a contribution.
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