Avaliação do desempenho ambiental de Instituição de Ensino Superior - modelo com indicadores.

Abstract

This research study focuses on environmental management and puts forward a proposal for a model of environmental performance to assess the impacts that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have on the environment. It seems that very few HEIs have incorporated solutions based on ISO 14001, which seeks to identify the aspects that impact the environment, and even fewer have done so by using solutions based on ISO 14.031. In Brazil, there has been no scientific research which has sought to develop indicators to assess the environmental performance of anHEIs. The objective of this research is to develop a model to evaluate the environmental performance of anHEIsby means of using a set of indicators. This research is being conducted in the Laboratory of Environmental Management and Waste Treatment at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Campus de Campina Grande, Paraiba, Brazil. The research was divided into four steps: i) conducting a literature review with emphasis on concepts of ISO 14.001 and 14.031, ii) formation of the expert panel iii) characterization and quantification of the field of study iv) model validation Assessment Environmental Performance. The Expert Panel showed that the most relevant environmental indicators are the water consumption (19.2%), followed by energy consumption (17.3%). The experts' responses indicate that heavy metals, paper and solid waste inert and non-inert (IIA and IIB) represent 34.5% of the essential indicators to assess the environmental performance of an HEIs. The results obtained for the solid waste generated in UFCG revealed that these can be classified as non hazardous, in other words, Class II A. The concentration of ammonia nitrogen were respectively 5.32, 2.36, 1.96 and 3.8 mg 1"' in the 1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd and 4 th evaluations and that the sewage generated within the UFCG can be classified as sewage weak compared to chemical oxygen demand. From the point of view of production and generation of its effluents, UFCG does not contaminate the environment with heavy metals and, in particular, the collection network where sewage and wastewater is discharged. It can be said, too, that the heavy metal produced as waste in its various research laboratories, and dumped into the sewage system of internal UFCG are not enough to cause damage to the environment, because all contaminants are below recommended by current legislation. The proposed evaluation model, surely, can be applied in HEIs for the purpose of performing environmental management in HEIs therefore beyond its novelty, surely will for the rest of HEIs in Brazil assess their performance and also seek certification in accordance with the model and the ISO 14,001. The evaluation model of the environmental performance of HEIs is a way to evaluate a function of HEIs in consumption of water, electricity, paper, solid waste, contaminants, chemical oxygen demand, ammonia nitrogen and gases.