A contabilidade como ferramenta na gestão ambiental

Abstract

The harm effects resultant from the rampant exploration of the natural resources have been object of study of lots of professionals. Doctors, geographers, all try to explain the proliferation of natural catastrophes, diseases and lack of natural resources that are indispensable to life, for example, water. In general, the result of those researches points out a common denominator to those problems: misadministration, by the human beings, of the natural resources. Would it be possible to imagine the economic development without nature degradation, once the called "sustainable development" has a price that, generally, is faced and accounted as an expense? This paper intends to demonstrate that the amounts dedicated to the environment are, in truth, an "investment". Therefore, although the "environmental liabilities" are part of this study, we will also talk about the "environmental assets" and how they can be an economic increment to the companies. By the way, while treating the environmental liabilities, we will take as an example a report developed by Prof. Dr. Marco Antonio Berto, to the Courts of São Paulo, about the value of an indemnity due to a landlord in virtue of the polution of its land soil, bred by a petroleum company. Regarding the environmental assets, we will treat in a summarized and unassumed way about the "carbon credits", what is really fahionable now at the market