Ecoinovação e risco ambiental nas empresas: uma análise do índice trucost e seus determinantes (2016-2018)

Abstract

The environmental impacts of technological development have been widely discussed in the international literature, driven by milestones such as Rio-92 and the Kyoto Protocol. In this context, environmental innovations have established themselves as strategic tools capable of generating environmental benefits for both companies and consumers by reducing energy consumption, carbon emissions, and waste generation. Despite advances in research on corporate sustainability, a gap remains in understanding the factors that influence corporate behavior when faced with the challenge of mitigating environmental impacts through innovation. This thesis aims to analyze the behavior of companies in the eco-innovation process and their effectiveness in mitigating environmental impacts, measured using the Trucost environmental risk index. The Trucost score consists of an aggregate damage metric (expressed in US dollars) based on six main indicators: greenhouse gas emissions, general waste, water withdrawal, heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, and natural resource use. The research covers the 2016–2018 triennium, the period in which the index data are available, and adopts a two-stage methodological approach. The first, at the macro level, conducts an exploratory analysis using multivariate analysis techniques on a sample of 52 countries, including members and partners of the European Union, the OECD, and the G20. The second stage, at the micro level, consists of proposing econometric models to examine how organizational characteristics are associated with environmental and technological determinants, using Fixed Effects (FE) and the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) methods. The results of the multivariate analysis highlight Scandinavian countries, the United States, China, Japan, and Germany as the most environmentally developed and mature innovation systems for a green technological transition. The econometric estimates reveal that eco-innovation and the degree of corporate internationalization significantly influence the reduction of the Trucost index. Furthermore, the study examines whether company size is a determining factor in the relationship between green patents and environmental risk. It is concluded that the adoption of eco-innovation strategies, associated with technological practices and international insertion, contributes to the mitigation of corporate environmental impacts, reinforcing the role of companies in the transition to a sustainable economy.