Banca de DEFESA: ANA LUISA RODRIGUES DE SENNA

Uma banca de DEFESA de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : ANA LUISA RODRIGUES DE SENNA
DATE: 29/11/2024
TIME: 17:15
LOCAL: Google Meet
TITLE:

THE IRON AND STEEL PRODUCTION CHAIN AND THE 2030 AGENDA: A COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSIS ON THE COMPLIANCE WITH SDGs BY COMPANIES IN THE SECTOR

KEY WORDS:

Agenda 2030, environment, 17 SDGs

PAGES: 122
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: Geografia
SUBÁREA: Geografia Humana
SPECIALTY: Geografia Econômica
SUMMARY:

Historically, the iron and steel production chain has always presented risks to the
environment due to the nature of its own operation, whether through high greenhouse gas
emissions, soil, air and water degradation, or the intoxication of the biodiversity in its
surroundings. However, the activities of these production chains can also trigger several social
problems, since their industrial bases are generally located in peripheral regions, far from public
attention and lacking inspection. As a consequence, the challenges related to the fight against
extreme poverty, reduction of hunger, pollution and crime are even more accentuated, making
the conditions of the population living in the surroundings of industries in the sector precarious.
The challenges posed by the iron and steel production chain are largely related to the 2030
Agenda, which seeks, through international cooperation, to reduce social inequality, protect
human rights, preserve biodiversity, conserve the environment, and strengthen global
partnerships to foster sustainable development.
The 2030 Agenda, signed in September 2015 during the United Nations Summit on
Sustainable Development (New York, United States) by 193 Member States, is categorized into
17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which together add up to 169 targets: (1) No
Poverty, (2) Zero Hunger, (3) Good Health and Well-Being, (4) Quality Education, (5) Gender
Equality, (6) Clean Water and Sanitation, (7) Affordable and Clean Energy, (8) Decent Work
and Economic Growth, (9) Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, (10) Reduced Inequalities,
(11) Sustainable Cities and Communities, (12) Responsible Consumption and Production, (13)
Climate Action, (14) Life Below Water, (15) Life on Land, (16) Peace, Justice and Strong
Institutions, and (17) Partnerships for the Goals.
The purpose of this work is to understand if companies operating in the iron and steel
production chain are meeting the objectives set out in the 2030 Agenda, or if themes inherent
to sustainable development are being used mainly as an advertising attraction. Do companies
in the industry follow the 17 SDGs or do they have their own agenda? Are all 17 SDGs treated
with their due importance, or is there a greater tendency to prioritize/neglect a specific SDG?
Is there any congruence in the actions practiced by companies in this industrial sector? To
answer these questions, three companies in the same production chain were selected: Vale,
Gerdau and MRS.
The choice of the cut occurred due to the similarities between the companies. Both
operate in the same production chain, carrying out similar and/or codependent industrial

8

activities, and operate in the same geographic space: the extreme west of the metropolitan
region of Rio de Janeiro, the Baixada Fluminense. The Baixada, which is geographically close
to the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, is often forgotten by the government.
To carry out the work, an automated reading of the Annual Report and the Sustainability
Report for the year 2021 of the three chosen companies, Vale, MRS and Gerdau, was carried
out, totaling six documents. The reference year chosen was 2021 because it was the most recent
report at the time the survey had started.
Methodologically, the first step was to understand what the main terms of the 2030
Agenda were and, subsequently, to use them as a guide in company reports through an artificial
intelligence-based approach. The objective was to understand whether the results obtained
through an experiment created based on topical reading were in congruence with the terms
present in the Agenda 2030.
The importance of this approach is mainly due to the lack of supervision in companies
in the face of the commitments established in the United Nations global compact, and due to
the sensationalism often used to overvalue sustainability actions, whose impact is little noticed
by the population living around these industrial activities. Although the experiment is not able
to state whether the actions carried out by Vale, MRS and Gerdau were aligned with the 17
SDGs and their respective 169 targets, it manages to make it possible to make possible which
terms were most used, making it possible to compare these results with the 2030 Agenda, and
between the companies themselves. This also helps us to understand if there is any SDG with
greater or lesser emphasis on the results obtained after automated reading, without human bias.
Through Digital Humanities, it was possible to align a vast bibliographic repertoire and
the critical nature of the Human Sciences with different techniques of data mining, collection
and analysis, enabling technological interventions, natural to Computer Sciences. Although
there is still room for further adjustments and improvements, the multidisciplinarity fostered by
Digital Humanities has made it possible for documents to be analyzed in an impartial manner,
being a kick for new research that uses large data frameworks and/or that requires neutrality
from the researcher.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Presidente - 1286368 - LEANDRO DIAS DE OLIVEIRA
Interno - 1581041 - MARCELO PANARO DE MORAES ZAMITH
Externo ao Programa - 1024257 - HEITOR SOARES DE FARIAS - UFRRJExterno à Instituição - RODRIGO DOS SANTOS BORGES - IFRJ