ARCANJO, J. A.; ARCANJO, Jusciê Alves.
Abstract:
In the context of current problems caused by conflict between the search for developmental
and environmental preservation, is an innovative vision that aims to unite world development
and protection of nature: Sustainable Development. Faced with this panorama, it was through
this work, whether the Local Productive Arrangement (APL)of shoes from the city of Patos
(in the State of Paraíba) can be considered a Sustainable Local Productive Arrangement
(APLS) from the level Competitiveness of the level of sustainability (the city and state) and
the practices of social and environmental responsibility of companies participating in the
APL. To make this assessment possible and satisfactory, it was made using the method of
Furlanetto (2008), which allows the crossing of the indices of competitiveness, sustainability
and social and environmental responsibility and their classification into one of four levels of
sustainability proposed for APLS (low, momentarily competitive, sustainable, socially and
environmentally correct). The fieldwork was conducted in July 2008, with the use of
questionnaires (direct and indirect) to entrepreneurs in the business of APL and technical
visits to businesses for the survey data on competitiveness (based on the approach proposed
by Coutinho and Ferraz (1995) and Machado (2003), adapted by Martins (2008)) and social
and environmental responsibility (based on the Ethos, 2008). The sample was not
probabilistic by accessibility of the formal business of APL, as the Register of FIEP (2006),
which resulted in 12 companies, corresponding to 46.15% of the universe of formal
enterprises. To analyze the sustainability of the methodology used was the IDMS-Indec
Municipal Sustainable Development, developed by Martins and Candido (2008). For the
choice of APL of Patos, it took into account the study by Suzigan (2006) "Identification,
Mapping and Structural Characterization of local productive arrangements in Brazil." Noting
that this cluster shows low level of competitiveness, as its determinants represent high
negative (73.75%); presents state of alert on the level of sustainability of the municipality and
the state, requiring improvements in all dimensions and presents low degree of social and
environmental responsibility, by reason of its size to 61.54% are unfavorable to this indicator.
Thus, this APL can not be considered sustainable, a fact that indicates a prediction of future
impairment of the same, economically, socially and environmentally. Finally, it is clear that
the productive and institutional actors to unite in order to develop effective and urgent action
to achieve the conservation and improvement of APL.
