La gestión medioambiental en las entidades locales portuguesas

Resumo

The aim of this paper is to understand the strategic position adopted by Portuguese local authorities concerning the environment, as well as to analyze their practices and environmental management tools.The data was collected by sending a postal questionnaire to a sample of large and medium-sized city councils and the municipal companies belonging to those municipalities.The findings suggest that, in general, Portuguese local authorities show a high concern and awareness regarding environmental protection and conservation. In most of the entities, this concern is reflected in their own organizational structure. The majority of these entities have developed an environmental policy in which predominant information is focused on the degree of compliance with environmental legislation. The implementation of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) and the development of environmental information in the form of indicators are not usual practice in the analyzed entities.