Suany Nayra Rodrigues Lima
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Nathalie Barbosa Reis Monteiro
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José Machado Moita Neto
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Elaine Aparecida da Silva
Abstract
The upholstery remanufacturing service is an activity that provides for the sale of products that contain reused items, extending their lifespan. The objective of this study is to propose a simple and feasible Environmental Management System (EMS) for small businesses, particularly, for the upholstery company sector. The implementation of the existing EMS standards is hampered by the lack of elements in the upholstery companies. Thus, the implementation of an EMS is still far from the reality of these small enterprises. Visits were made to twenty-eight upholstery companies in Teresina, Piauí, Brazil, to get to know the sector and accompany the production process, as well as observing the activity's environmental aspects. The EMS standards do not meet the needs of small businesses, however, it is possible to outline a minimum set of procedures for improving the enterprise’ sustainability, such as the environmental organization, employees training, reducing material losses, using Personal Protective Equipment, the adequate destination of residues, allowing the reuse of materials wasted in the process, among others. The results provide subsidies for application to small companies in Brazil and other parts of the world, once there is a low incidence of scientific work with this bias.