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This study presents the results of audits of social responsibility management systems according to SA 8000 standard carried out in 35 units of seven Brazilian organizations, in the fields of construction industry, financial institution, sugar and alcohol industry, printing, telemarketing and public administration, totaling 230,561 workers in the audited scopes, addressing medium and large size companies. An analysis of the main points of improvement and items associated with the difficulties of implementation and management was carried out, verifying that the requirements of SA 8000:2008 with lower adherence in terms of non-compliance are: “Item 3 Occupational health and safety”€, the item with the greatest difficulty of attendance in all segments and sizes of organizations, and the second largest item not met was the qualification and control of suppliers. As organizations, to obtain certification, must correct these problems and solve the requirements that their suppliers do not meet, this causes a great impact in the supply chain of these companies, since the suitability is extended to subcontracted companies impacting working conditions and increasing the degree of compliance with legislation throughout the production chain, with the improvement of working conditions in subcontracted companies, where often the working conditions are not adequate and legislation is not met. These results demonstrate the need to make social responsibility management systems more efficient, investing in actions to address non-compliances and improve management throughout the supply chain.

The proper disposal of electrical and electronic waste is currently a concern of researchers and environmental managers not only because of the large volume of such waste generated, but also because of the heavy metals and toxic substances it contains. This study analyzed printed circuit boards (PCBs) from discarded computers to determine their metal content and characterized them as solid waste and fuel. The analysis showed that PCBs consist of approximately 26% metal, made up mainly of copper, lead, aluminum, iron and tin, as well as other heavy metals such as cadmium and nickel. Comparison with the results of other studies indicated that the concentration of precious metals (gold and silver) has declined over time. Analysis of the leachate revealed high concentrations of cadmium and lead, giving the residue the characteristics of hazardous waste. After milling the PCBs, we found that larger amounts of metal were concentrated in smaller fractions, while the lightest fraction, obtained by density separation, had a gross calorific value of approximately 11 MJ/kg, although with a high ash content. Milling followed by density separation proved potentially useful for recovery of metals and energy-rich fractions.