Companies and Sustainable Development: The Adequacy of Environmental Impact Assessment for the Management of Environmental Risks

Abstract

The choice of the environmental risk management instrument to be used within the scope of corporate governance in companies is of paramount importance to avoid or mitigate the triple environmental responsibility to which they are exposed. In this sense, the following research problem arises: The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), an instrument of the National Environment Policy and a model of environmental risk management adopted by some companies, proves to be efficient, effective and effective for the fulfillment of the duty to protect the environmental balance and, therefore, for sustainable development? The present study aims to elucidate this research problem. To this end, analyzes were carried out on risk and environmental damage, from a perspective of the socioenvironmental function of companies today; the need for a new posture by companies in view of the reflexes of environmental risks in business activity; and the question of the adequacy or inadequacy of the EIA as an instrument of the National Environment Policy and as a model for managing environmental risks and damages, in the pursuit of sustainable development. The method of approach used was the deductive one, and the research was carried out using the method of bibliographic procedure, through which research was carried out on books, scientific articles and legislation. The result points out the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the EIA for the management of environmental risks and, thus, for the fulfillment of the duty to protect the environmental balance by companies.