Assessing how brazilian multinational companies present circular economy in their corporate sustainability reports

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the presentation of Circular Economy-related business activities in the sustainability reports of Brazilian multinational companies based on eight evaluation pillars. Design/Methodology/Approach - In this research, a mix of quantitative and qualitative, manual content analysis was applied. 100 sustainability reports of Brazilian multinational companies published in 2020 were mainly retrieved from the corporate register database and then reviewed to identify and assess the Circular Economy presence in sustainability reports. Findings – It was found that only 28 out of 100 Brazilian multinational companies reported on Circular Economy in their sustainability reports. Further, the self-developed framework, which encompasses all research questions covered in this thesis, shows that more than 80% of Brazilian multinational companies were classified at either a low or medium level of Circular Economy integration, which means that they have not yet adequately integrated their Circular Economy projects into their sustainability report. These results clearly reflect the novelty of the Circular Economy phenomenon in the Brazilian economy. Practical implications – The findings offer Brazilian multinationals the opportunity to identify their weaknesses and explore different ways to improve the presentation of activities related to the Circular Economy in their sustainability reports. Originality – This is the first study to provide a holistic overview of how Brazilian multinational companies present the concept of Circular Economy in their sustainability reports.

Date of Award	27 Jun 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Fabio Scarano (Supervisor)