Rousseff’s Environment Day decrees get muted response

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff issued a series of eco-friendly decrees on June 5, World Environment Day, but didn’t receive strong applause from green advocates on account of her May 25 signing of controversial legislation revising the country’s Forest Code. (See related story—this issue.) The highest-profile decree implements a 2010 law requiring that sustainability criteria be used in awarding federal contracts for goods and services and sets forth the necessary standards for agencies to follow. “By including sustainability criteria in contracts, federal bodies can use their purchasing power to encourage companies bidding on those contracts to offer more sustainable goods and services,” says Ana Maria Neto, director of the Environment Ministry’s Department of Consumer Sustainability. “Federal purchases of goods and services account for... [Log in to read more]

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