Environmentally sustainable: How are the practices in the organic food tourist route?

This study analyzes Environmentally Sustainable Practices (ESPs) in the Organic Food Tourist Route (OFTR) in South Brazil. Data collection included interviews with open and closed questions about ESPs and the Barometer of Tourism Sustainability (BTS) tool. Eight owners or managers of OFTR's enterprises answered questions online or personally. Content analysis and descriptive statistics were used. Results indicated that tourism enterprises adopt ESPs according to each reality since some are dedicated to producing and commercializing organic products, while others are dedicated to lodging and guided tours. Managers realize the importance of adopting ESPs, enabling a decrease in expenses and the supply of organic products. Since tourists are concerned and careful with the environment nowadays, sustainability must be considered, becoming a differential. The enterprises develop ESPs, which makes the route potentially sustainable, following the standards established by the BTS. In order to achieve the "sustainable" level, the enterprises on the route need to improve their performance in many items whose results were less sustainable. From a theoretical perspective, this study contributed to understanding how ESPs were developed in enterprises and how they contribute to tourism development. The understanding of tourist routes expanded with an emphasis on sustainability, the environmental dimension, the ESPs, and organic agriculture. The BTS enabled the assessment of the sustainability of OFTR's enterprises.

Diagnosis of circular economy in the forest sector in southern Brazil.

This paper analyzes how the forest sector in Lages region of Santa Catarina State (SC), Brazil, performs materials and energy synergies between its companies, striving for a circular economic model that encourages reduction in the use of virgin resources and waste generation. Therefore, 23 companies from the forest sector were visited and divided in: primary processing (PP), primary and secondary processing (PSP), primary, secondary and tertiary processing (PSTP), panels (Pa), pulp and paper (P&P), recycling (Re) and production of energy (PE). The sector consumes 83.6% of its input from virgin materials, 91.3% of its wastes go to energy recovery, and 83.2% of the energy consumed comes from the steam generated from these wastes. Through a dendrogram obtained by grouping the companies in five clusters, based on their similarities in circularity, and by a circularity map, it was observed that the use of forestry wastes in obtaining steam and electricity is the main circular characteristic of the sector. Also, the transformation yield of inputs in products increase from 60% in PP and PSP to almost 100% in companies that operate at the closure of the sector circularity, Re and PE. This provides high exploitation of the materials, reduces the need for the extraction of virgin resources, returns nutrients to the soil, provides clean renewable energy, and reduced the need for landfill. It was observed that the existence of an industrial arrangement favors the application of a Circular Economic model in the forest sector in Lages.