Sustainable Development in Cooperatives in Paraná State - Brazil

Cooperatives in Paraná State-Brazil are part of a very dynamic sector comprised of 11 branches, growing at a rate of 12,5% in the last five years. Today, 223 cooperatives and one million members generate a turnover of about... [ view full abstract ]

Cooperatives in Paraná State-Brazil are part of a very dynamic sector comprised of 11 branches, growing at a rate of 12,5% in the last five years. Today, 223 cooperatives and one million members generate a turnover of about R$ 15 billion and expects to double its size in the next seven years. As co-ops sector get bigger, public and internal concern regarding environmental and social issues tend to gain public evidence. In Paraná State, this is particularly clear for agricultural cooperatives, because they respond for 83% of the revenues of cooperatives. This paper aims to analyze the relative relevance of environment, economic and social issues as a discourse for the cooperative sector of Paraná State. The study is based in the content analysis of editions of the coop magazine “Revista Paraná Cooperativo”, published by the Union and Organization of Cooperatives of Paraná State, Sistema Ocepar-Brazil, comprising a sample of 15 editions of the magazine between 2010 and 2014. Because the organization is controlled by the cooperatives, we assume that its press activity and publications tend to adequately reflect a common points of view cooperative societies. The sections “word of the president” and “special article of the month” were selected for analysis because they tend to resume important topics and advents that are momentaneously important for of the cooperatives. 580 terms related sustainable development and 1415 citations were identified. Results reveal that all of the three elements of the triple bottom line of sustainable development are frequent in the discourse of the cooperative sector of Paraná State. The environmental issue came up in the analysis with 147 terms and 577 citations. This was the most frequent issue, comprising 42% of the terms identified. 105 terms and 460 citations related to social topics related to social issues were identified. Economic issues are represented by 100 terms (28%) and 378 citations. The research brings into light that cooperatives of Paraná Stated tend to attach importance to the sustainable development agenda of the civil society, but further research is necessary to specially identify typical points of view and approaches of cooperatives regarding effective actions for environmental protection and social promotion.