Visão comparativa das estratégias climáticas adotadas por multinacionais do setor de alumínio no Canadá e no Brasil A comparative picture of climate strategies adopted by aluminum multinational corporations in Canada and Brazil

This paper assesses the climate strategies adopted by multinational corporations of the aluminum industry. The research adopted a qualitative approach and was based on interviews with managers from two multinational corporations: one installed in Brazil and the other in Canada. Empirical evidence shows that in order to develop projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the multinational company installed in Canada emphasizes cost reduction and operational efficiency improvement, while the multinational company that operates in Brazil primarily highlights the relationship with stakeholders and the concern with a responsible corporate image. In neither of the two cases studied, coercive pressures arising from regulatory requirements figured as determinant for the adoption of climate strategies. The study concludes that, in the case of the aluminum industry, organizational factors are more relevant than institutional pressures on the definition of climate strategies. Companies may create hedging strategies able to deal with carbon restrictions or attempt to postpone regulations until they have technologies. Resumo: O trabalho avalia as estrategias climaticas adotadas por multinacionais do setor de aluminio. A pesquisa adota uma abordagem qualitativa e toma por base entrevistas com gerentes de duas Multinacionais, uma delas instalada no Brasil e a outra no Canada. As evidencias empiricas demonstram que a multinacional do setor de aluminio que opera no Canada enfatiza a reducao de custos e a melhoria da eficiencia operacional com projetos para reduzir emissoes de gases do efeito estufa. A multinacional que opera no Brasil destaca, prioritariamente, o relacionamento com os stakeholders e a preocupacao com a imagem corporativa para a adocao de uma estrategia de adaptacao ou compensacao das emissoes de gases do efeito estufa. Em nenhum dos dois casos estudados, as pressoes coercitivas, advindas de exigencias regulatorias, figuram como fatores determinantes para a adocao de estrategias climaticas. O estudo conclui que, no caso da industria de aluminio, caracteristicas organizacionais sao mais relevantes que as pressoes institucionais na definicao de estrategias climaticas. Palavras-chave: Mudanca climatica; Estrategia; Desenvolvimento sustentavel; Corporacoes multinacionais; Pressoes institucionais; Caracteristicas organizacionais.