Environmental strategies for the mining sector: evidences from a Brazilian company

The mining sector in Brazil has grown in the last decades contributing in an expressive form to the economic growth of the country. However, this progress has also contributed to the increase of environmental impacts brought by the mining industries include puts in evidence the need to define strategies well suited to deal with the particularities of each process or company. The main goal of this research was to develop a conceptual model matching environmental strategies with the sustainability dimensions focusing on the mining sector. The model was validated through two empirical approaches, including a Delphi study and a case study. From the Delphi study 28 environmental strategies were identified and classified in a work which is deemed to be relevant for companies targeting sustainability objectives and dealing with different environmental objectives. The case study addressed a large mining company located in the State of Paraiba in Brazil and showed both the relevance of the proposed model to justify the selection of the environmental strategies and the determinant factors for this selection. Endogenous factors are considered to be decisive for the organization to select and implement these strategies and with the exception of environmental legislation, exogenous factors have not exerted an overall important pressure on the organization.