ENVIRONMENTAL PERCEPTION AND PUBLIC POLICIES - DICHOTOMY AND CHALLENGES TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SUSTAINABILITY CULTURE

Abstract

Abstract The present article presents the outcomes of an environmental perception survey conducted in a Brazilian Federal University, as well as addresses the relation between the culture identified in the studied community and the public policies developed to encourage sustainability. It is a descriptive study based on a quantitative approach wherein a structured instrument was applied to assess the daily habits of 387 individuals from the institution's internal community. The outcomes have shown that this community tends to have a positive environmental perception, although it does not pay much attention to the environmental impacts resulting from its own habits. Based on this construct, the discussion about the government expectations intrinsic to the implemented public policies was addressed, as well as the degree of environmental awareness in the studied group. It was concluded that the socio-environmental scenario in the university is featured by the theory/practice dichotomy, which is a barrier to the local sustainability culture development dynamics and also a challenge to the articulation of legal dictate purposes and the potential arrangements identified in this internal community.