Práticas sustentáveis : estudo de caso em uma instituição pública de ensino superior

Abstract

In the case of Brazil, Public Institutions of Higher Education can be understood as great consumers of goods and services. To reduce the negative impacts of this consumption, these entities have a primary role in the diffusion and implementation of sustainable ideas. Thus, this research had as objective to analyze how sustainable practices occur in the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco - Academic Unit of Garanhuns (UFRPE / UAG) according to what guides the six axes of the Environmental Public Administration Agenda (A3P). To achieve this goal, this study is characterized as descriptive, with a qualitative-quantitative approach, carried out through a case study covering the Garanhuns campus of UFRPE, being divided into three stages. In the first stage, the documentary analysis of the Institutional Development Plan (2013-2020) of UFRPE was realized with the purpose of describing the sustainable guidelines presented in this document. In the second stage, in order to identify the sustainable actions adopted in the Unit, questionnaires were applied to the actual employees and semi-structured interviews were conducted with some campus managers and servers. The data of these questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the t test (Student's law) was used to identify the difference of averages. The interview data were analyzed using the content analysis technique. In the third and last stage, from the interviews, the main difficulties encountered for adopting sustainable actions at UFRPE / UAG were analyzed. The results showed that, at least in its planning documents, UFRPE signed a commitment to sustainable development. The main sustainable actions identified are the result of specific and individual initiatives, the most widely actions used are those that somehow are encouraged by the institution, such as the use of recycled paper, adequate collection of hazardous waste and actions linked to reduction energy consumption and disposable cups. On the other hand, it was perceived that the practices regarding the quality of life, bidding, sustainable construction and awareness and capacity building axes are incipient. It was also verified, in general, the limited knowledge about instruments for the implantation of sustainable practices by research subjects, which may lead to future difficulties for the establishment of these actions in the Unit. Regarding the difference of perception between technicians and teachers, it was observed that for most of the sustainable actions investigated there was no divergence of conduct between the two categories. The main difficulties in adopting sustainable practices in the workplace were administrative, budgetary and cultural, with the most critical obstacles being the lack of knowledge and training of the actors about sustainable actions and the lack of a more effective institutional policy. Based on these results, it is concluded that the sustainability measures advocated by the A3P are not yet consolidated in the institution, and greater institutional attention is needed to overcome the obstacles encountered and, thus, achieve sustainable development.