Sustainability in the public sector in light of an Environmental Management Plan for solid waste

The public sector, in addition to legislating on environmental matters, must also set an example of good environmental management practices. The Federal Government, through the Ministry of the Environment (MMA), established the Environmental Agenda in Public Administration (A3P), in which one of the thematic axes is solid waste management. The objective of this work was to identify activities that generate environmental impacts involving waste disposal and manage them through an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for solid waste in light of project management. The case study was conducted in a municipal public body linked to the Health Department located in Leme (SP), encompassing all of its employees. The EMP was based on the good project management practices of the PMBOK® seventh edition and the A3P implementation methodology, in addition to using the "plan, do, check, act" (PDCA) cycle as a management tool. Three aspects that generate environmental impacts were identified: the use of plastic cups, inadequate waste disposal, and the waste of sulfite paper. After the implementation of the PGA (Environmental Management Plan), it was found that the greatest resistance encountered was regarding the reduction in the use of plastic cups. The improvements resulted mainly from the physical changes made in the sector and the integration and reinforcement of educational measures to raise awareness among employees about the importance of good practices for the use and disposal of waste. Favorable conditions were created for consistent changes in habits, which were substantial enough for the improvements achieved to be sustained in the long term.