“…55 Similar results were observed in Europe, where a multi-case study evaluated the application of CP practices in 10 companies in Portugal taking part in a program to stimulate sustainable production, and the main results were the decrease in waste generation and pollutant emissions, along with the ROI in less than 3 years. 56 However, a survey carried out in Spain conducted a statistical model analysis defining 25 barriers for the proactive application of CP practices in 240 companies and determined that large companies are more engaged with the reduction of emissions. 31 This same angle is pursued in a survey held at universities of all sizes in the United States, Latin America and China, analyzing the educational programs that approached concepts of CP and sustainable development, in which data such as time of the program's existence, content, level of exposure, practical involvement, among others were presented, and one of the conclusions of the study was that SMEs face significant obstacles to apply CP practices for lack of skilled labor, low quality of data collection, absence of performance indicators, unstable finances, and low investment capital.…”