The LIFE certification methodology as a diagnostic tool of the environmental management system of the automotive industry

Abstract

We conducted a diagnosis of the environmental management system of the Brazilian auto parts industry, using the LIFE certification methodology (lasting initiative for earth) as a diagnostic tool. This certification recognizes enterprises that develop conservation actions for biodiversity for the purpose of minimizing and/or mitigating their own negative impact on the environment. Through this method, it was possible to quantify and qualify the environmental impact and investigate the existence of conservation actions, as well as evaluate them quantitatively and qualitatively. Therefore, we used this methodology to demonstrate its potential as an economic instrument of environmental management through its application within an EMS certified to the ISO 14001 series. It was shown that there are many benefits of using sustainable environmental resources (possibility to return to ISE-Corporate Sustainability Index-Bovespa) and for the final disposal of waste from production. The main results indicated that the LIFE methodology allows companies to incorporate actions to biodiversity conservation transversally into their EMSs, which can increase the efficiency of enterprise management. We believe that the use of this management model by other companies will enable the intensification of conservation actions in protected areas in their regions.

Measurement and analyses of biodiversity conservation actions of corporations listed in the Brazilian stock exchange's corporate sustainability index

“…That is, according to Isbell et al (2015), major biodiversity generates major ecosystem resistance. Consequently, the 'LIFE methodology' has been demonstrated to be an excellent tool for performing environmental assessments of the EMS (Reale et al, 2016), i.e., it may be useful to the ISE selection process by B3, as in the environmental questions of evaluations. Table 4 (Appendix B) presents the results of all BCA achieved , which is possible to qualify and quantify by reading the environmental reports and by the LIFE methodology.…”

“…The LIFE certification methodology realizes an environmental diagnosis of management systems (Reale et al, 2016), qualifying and quantifying the main environmental impacts (externalities) through parameters that make up the "BEIV" (Biodiversity Estimated Impact Value) and "BCA min " (Biodiversity Conservation Actions minimum) (Instituto LIFE, 2014a). In this sense, the BEIV indicates, indirectly, the minimum impact determined for one company in their ecoregion inside a biome using scores that vary from 0 to 1000 (without units).…”

“…Thus, it is possible to observe the areas of the business that need improvement in environmental management, while the BCA min indicates the score that should be developed for the use of the environmental resources by companies in order to respect the resilience and resistance of ecosystems (Reale et al, 2016). Thereby, the authors demonstrated qualitative and quantitative aspects of the BEIV and BCA min in a case study of the automotive industry.…”

“…This methodology of certification still is the unique in the world that measures biodiversity impacts occasioned by companies and, also, indicates what is necessary for the company mitigates or minimize their impacts. Reale et al (2016) demonstrate, that companies can use this methodology as a diagnostic tool to analyze their Environmental Management System, calculating, in the same scale of scores, how much biodiversity conservation actions will be needed to minimize and/or mitigate their impacts on nature, specifically focused on biodiversity conservation.…”

ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 9001:2015: analyse the relationship between these management systems standards and corporate sustainability

“…The result shows that the difference in financial performance between these companies was not significant. However, the study by Reale, et al (2016) points out that the use of the Corporate Sustainability Index brings benefits especially in the use of natural resources.…”