Eficiência de universidades federais no uso de recursos renováveis

Abstract

The present research was conducted with the objective of evaluating the level of efficiency in the use of renewable resources at the Federal Universities. Sustainability has been ever more of a challenge for the public sector. The study is characterized as a descriptive-exploratory research, with quantitative approach of the issue. The data regarding the period from 2011 to 2013 were collected in the Management Reports of 59 Federal Universities (FUs). In order to reach the proposed objective, initially, we analyzed the data by means of descriptive statistics, subsequently measuring the level of relative efficiency of the use of renewable resources, applying the Data Envelopment Analysis – DEA and the Malmquist Index. The results revealed that, regarding the use of the water renewable resource, in average, 8 FUs presented efficiency levels per analyzed year. The level of efficiency was considered satisfactory during the period, and its evolution indicates an improvement regarding expenses with water and the volume of cubic meters consumed by the FUs. In the analysis for the electric energy renewable resource, in average, per analyzed year, 9 FUs presented efficiency levels. The Malmquist Index pointed to an average reduction of 24.49% in total efficiency and was considered unsatisfactory during the period of 2012/2013. For the analysis of the paper resource, 11 FUs, in average, per analyzed year, were on the borderline of efficiency. We verified that the evolution of expenses with the paper resource pointed to a satisfactory index from 2011 to 2012, there was a discrete reduction in total efficiency for the period from 2012 to 2013, however, the index was also satisfactory. The analyses performed by means of the DEA showed that 8 FUs reached levels of relative efficiency for water resource, 7 FUs for electric energy resource and 10 FUs for paper resource. Therefore, the results presented and discussed in the present work allowed for a general view of the level of efficiency in the use of renewable resources at FUs. Thus, the study can contribute for a better exploitation of natural resources, for the improvement of transparency in the public sector, in addition to the possible use of research in the decision making regarding the application of natural resources at Federal Universities.