Arranjo produtivo local sustentável: estudo de caso do APL de calçados de Patos - PB.

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.