Determining factors of environmental management practices in Portuguese local entities

• Published in: Management of environmental quality Vol. 23; no. 5; pp. 486 - 502
• Main Authors: Lima Ribeiro, Verónica Paula, Aibar Guzmán, Cristina, da Silva Monteiro, Sónia Maria, Aibar Guzmán, Beatriz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Group Publishing Limited 01.01.2012
• Subjects: Agenda 21; Councils; Disclosure; Economic activity; Empirical analysis; Environment management; Environmental impact; Environmental management; Environmental protection; Environmental quality; Environmental research; Hypotheses; Local government; Management; Methodology; Municipal government; Public sector; Strategy; Studies; Sustainable development; Portugal; Local government; Portugal; Environmental management; Local entities; Public sector
• ISSN: 1477-7835; 1758-6119
• DOI: 10.1108/14777831211255079

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyse the development of environmental management practices by Portuguese local entities and their determining factors.Design methodology approach - The data were collected by sending a postal questionnaire. In order to measure the degree of development of environmental management practices, an index of environmental management practices (EMPI) was developed, which reflects the extent to which a set of 16 environmental management practices have been implemented by the entities included in the sample. In total, four variables are considered in this study as possible factors that drive the development of environmental management practices by local entities: type of entity; size; proactive environmental strategy; and Local Agenda 21.Findings - Results indicate the degree of development of environmental management practices in Portuguese local entities is low. Additionally, entity size, the adoption of proactive environmental strategies and the implementation of Local Agenda 21 are explaining factors of the degree of development of such practices.Originality value - The paper adds to the international research on environmental management in the public sector by providing empirical data from a country, Portugal, where empirical evidence is still relatively limited.