Certificação ambiental e seus impactos no desenvolvimento sustentável da produção de guaraná em uma cooperativa no Amazonas

Abstract

Environmental certification has been a strong commercial instrument in the face of the pressures of modern society. In this work, the impact of environmental certifications on the pillars of Sustainable Development - economic, social and environmental - in the activities of the Agriculture Cooperative AGROFRUT in Urucará-AM was analysed. In addition, the linkage of the regulation governing cooperative society in Brazil with the promotion of sustainable development in the economic and social sphere was assessed; the indicators used by the certificators in the audits of organic certifications and Fairtrade International and their relations with promoting sustainable growth; and the analysis of sustainability in the perception of the 18 cooperatives, managing director and 03 major external customers of AGROFRUT, based on the applicability of the assessment model Sustainability Assessment for Agriculture Cooperatives-SAAC. The study was divided into two stages: documentary analysis and the application of semi-structured interviews. The documentary analysis understood the legal regulation, while the interviews addressed issues about sustainability performance in the economic, environmental, social dimensions, cooperative-specific indicators and trade relations. As a result, the cooperative is considered a charitable society with strong cultural value, although it has an economic purpose that does not seek profit in itself, but rather the appreciation of the cooperate's work. The legislation recognizes it as a promoter of economic activity, with the active participation of the cooperatives in the management of their interests, regulated by Law n.° 5.764/71, applying the articles concerning simple societies and aligned with contemporary principles of sustainability. The certifications obtained have brought advantages for staying in this economic market, as they show that the products that are being sold are of trust and quality, bringing greater financial return to the cooperatives, in addition to collaborating for a production that guarantees sustainability and promotes the environmental awareness of the cooperates.