Greening a Brazilian cotton seed processing company: From challenges to strategic opportunities

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to shed light on a current and important theme that has been gaining increasing importance for governments, society and companies: the greening of agricultural companies in developing countries. The research objective is to classify a Brazilian cotton seed processing company in the evolutionary stages of environmental management: reactive, preventive or proactive.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study was conducted in a Brazilian cotton seed processing company.

Findings

The main results are: the studied company is positioned in the preventive stage of environmental management; this company is investing in operational green practices; environmental management in this company is motivated by various factors aiming at an increased competitive advantage. Finally, it can be concluded that this company is looking for green opportunities towards the proactive environmental management stage.

Originality/value

This paper explores a scarce theme: green issues in the cotton seed processing industry.

Citation

Alves Teixeira, A., Fernando Bello, V., Borges Teixeira, T., José Chiappetta Jabbour, C. and Henrique Caldeira de Oliveira, J. (2013), "Greening a Brazilian cotton seed processing company: From challenges to strategic opportunities", World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 123-130. https://doi.org/10.1108/20425941311323127