Associative business organizations as ESG intermediaries: contributions and limitations for sustainable regional development in Santa Catarina
contribuições e limites para o desenvolvimento regional sustentável em Santa Catarina
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26767/colquio.23.4373Keywords:
Regional development, ESG governance, sustainable development, intermediary organizations, industrial federationAbstract
The transition toward sustainable production models depends on capacities that exceed the boundaries of individual firms and require territorial coordination among business organizations, public authorities, educational institutions, workers, and civil society. This article analyzes how an associative business organization acts as an intermediary of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) governance in regional development. A qualitative documentary case study of the Federation of Industries of the State of Santa Catarina (FIESC), Brazil, was conducted using its 2024 Sustainability Report, 2024 Annual Report, and complementary institutional documents. Thematic analysis was guided by five dimensions: translation of sustainability agendas, coordination of actors, development of regional capabilities, collective accountability, and tensions between legitimacy and substantive transformation. The findings indicate that FIESC translates global frameworks into territorial priorities, coordinates decarbonization and water-governance initiatives, expands capabilities through vocational education, innovation, and occupational health, and structures formal disclosure mechanisms. However, the available evidence is concentrated on effort and reach indicators, while longitudinal outcomes, independent assurance, and the participation of stakeholders outside industry remain limited. The study concludes that associative organizations may operate as regional ESG intermediaries when they convert broad agendas into collective capabilities, but their contribution to sustainable development depends on the materiality of initiatives, the verifiability of results, plural participation, and demonstrable territorial impacts.
References
ANSELL, C.; GASH, A. Collaborative governance in theory and practice. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, v. 18, n. 4, p. 543-571, 2008. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/mum032.
ASHFORTH, B. E.; GIBBS, B. W. The double-edge of organizational legitimation. Organization Science, v. 1, n. 2, p. 177-194, 1990. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1.2.177.
ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE NORMAS TÉCNICAS. ABNT PR 2030-1: ESG - conceitos, diretrizes e modelo de avaliação e direcionamento para organizações - Parte 1: visão geral e fundamentos. Rio de Janeiro: ABNT, 2022.
BOIRAL, O. Sustainability reports as simulacra? A counter-account of A and A+ GRI reports. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, v. 26, n. 7, p. 1036-1071, 2013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-04-2012-00998.
BROOKS, C.; OIKONOMOU, I. The effects of environmental, social and governance disclosures and performance on firm value: a review of the literature in accounting and finance. The British Accounting Review, v. 50, n. 1, p. 1-15, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2017.11.005.
CAMILLERI, M. A. Walking the talk about corporate social responsibility communication. Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, v. 31, n. 3, p. 649-661, 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12427.
CELLARD, A. A análise documental. In: POUPART, J. et al. A pesquisa qualitativa: enfoques epistemológicos e metodológicos. Petrópolis: Vozes, 2008. p. 295-316.
DALLABRIDA, V. R. Governança territorial: do debate teórico à avaliação da sua prática. Análise Social, v. 50, n. 215, p. 304-328, 2015.
DALLABRIDA, V. R. Implicações teórico-metodológicas da acepção de território, governança e patrimônio territorial, no processo de planejamento e gestão de prospectivas de desenvolvimento inovadoras. COLÓQUIO - Revista do Desenvolvimento Regional, v. 19, n. 2, p. 59-74, 2022. Disponível em: https://seer.faccat.br/index.php/coloquio/article/view/2481. Acesso em: 21 jun. 2026.
DELMAS, M. A.; BURBANO, V. C. The drivers of greenwashing. California Management Review, v. 54, n. 1, p. 64-87, 2011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/cmr.2011.54.1.64.
DENZIN, N. K.; LINCOLN, Y. S. (org.). The SAGE handbook of qualitative research. 5. ed. Thousand Oaks: SAGE, 2018.
ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION. Towards the circular economy: economic and business rationale for an accelerated transition. Cowes: Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2013. Disponível em: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/towards-the-circular-economy-vol-1-an-economic-and-business-rationale-for-an-accelerated-transition. Acesso em: 21 jun. 2026.
FEDERAÇÃO DAS INDÚSTRIAS DO ESTADO DE SANTA CATARINA. Relatório anual 2024. Florianópolis: FIESC, 2025. Disponível em: https://fiesc.com.br/sites/default/files/2025-09/relatorio-anual-2024.pdf. Acesso em: 21 jun. 2026.
FEDERAÇÃO DAS INDÚSTRIAS DO ESTADO DE SANTA CATARINA. Relatório de sustentabilidade 2024. Florianópolis: FIESC, 2024. Disponível em: https://fiesc.com.br/sites/default/files/publications/RELATORIO_DE%20SUSTENTABILIDADE_FIESC_2024-3-compactado.pdf. Acesso em: 21 jun. 2026.
FLORINI, A.; PAULI, M. Collaborative governance for the Sustainable Development Goals. Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies, v. 5, n. 3, p. 583-598, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/app5.252.
FRIEDE, G.; BUSCH, T.; BASSEN, A. ESG and financial performance: aggregated evidence from more than 2000 empirical studies. Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, v. 5, n. 4, p. 210-233, 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/20430795.2015.1118917.
GEISSDOERFER, M. et al. The circular economy: a new sustainability paradigm? Journal of Cleaner Production, v. 143, p. 757-768, 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.048.
GLOBAL REPORTING INITIATIVE. GRI Standards. Amsterdam: GRI, 2021. Disponível em: https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/. Acesso em: 21 jun. 2026.
HÜLSE, L. Sustentabilidade nas fundações privadas, associações e cooperativas: a contribuição do associativismo para a sustentabilidade ambiental, econômica e social. Rio de Janeiro: Lumen Juris, 2020.
HĄBEK, P.; WOLNIAK, R. Assessing the quality of corporate social responsibility reports: the case of reporting practices in selected European Union member states. Quality & Quantity, v. 50, n. 1, p. 399-420, 2016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-014-0155-z.
KHAN, M.; SERAFEIM, G.; YOON, A. Corporate sustainability: first evidence on materiality. The Accounting Review, v. 91, n. 6, p. 1697-1724, 2016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2308/accr-51383.
LYON, T. P.; MONTGOMERY, A. W. The means and end of greenwash. Organization & Environment, v. 28, n. 2, p. 223-249, 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1086026615575332.
MICHELON, G.; PILONATO, S.; RICCERI, F. CSR reporting practices and the quality of disclosure: an empirical analysis. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, v. 33, p. 59-78, 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpa.2014.10.003.
PROVAN, K. G.; KENIS, P. Modes of network governance: structure, management, and effectiveness. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, v. 18, n. 2, p. 229-252, 2008. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/mum015.
SANT’ANNA, A.; OLIVEIRA, G. B. Os atores locais como promotores do desenvolvimento territorial endógeno. COLÓQUIO - Revista do Desenvolvimento Regional, v. 17, n. 4, p. 187-208, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26767/1812.
SCORTEGAGNA, P. A. et al. O papel das instituições de ensino superior nos ecossistemas de inovação e desenvolvimento regional. COLÓQUIO - Revista do Desenvolvimento Regional, v. 23, n. 1, p. 1-24, 2026. Disponível em: https://seer.faccat.br/index.php/coloquio/article/download/4197/2459. Acesso em: 21 jun. 2026.
SELSKY, J. W.; PARKER, B. Cross-sector partnerships to address social issues: challenges to theory and practice. Journal of Management, v. 31, n. 6, p. 849-873, 2005. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206305279601.
SEN, A. Development as freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
SUCHMAN, M. C. Managing legitimacy: strategic and institutional approaches. Academy of Management Review, v. 20, n. 3, p. 571-610, 1995. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/258788.
VAN DER BYL, C. A.; SLAWINSKI, N. Embracing tensions in corporate sustainability: a review of research from win-wins and trade-offs to paradoxes and beyond. Organization & Environment, v. 28, n. 1, p. 54-79, 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1086026615575047.
WORLD COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT. Our common future. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987. Disponível em: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/5987our-common-future.pdf. Acesso em: 21 jun. 2026.

