Finanças sustentáveis: um estudo de caso sobre a Taxonomia Sustentável Brasileira (TSB)

Abstract

The growing centrality of sustainability on the international agenda has driven the expansion of financial instruments labeled as “green” or “sustainable.” However, the absence of clear, comparable, and standardized criteria has intensified the risk of greenwashing and undermined the credibility of such instruments, highlighting the need for mechanisms capable of establishing objective parameters to define what can be considered sustainable in the financial sphere. In this context, sustainable finance taxonomies have emerged as classification systems for economic activities aimed at standardizing criteria, promoting transparency, and guiding capital flows toward environmental, climate, and social objectives. This study consists of a case study of the Brazilian Sustainable Taxonomy (BST), embedded in the Ecological Transformation Plan (ETP), and adopts a qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive approach. The research combines documentary analysis, a review of the literature on sustainable finance and taxonomies, and semi-structured interviews with key actors involved in its development. The objective is to understand the BST, its relationship with the sustainability and finance agenda at both national and international levels, as well as its potentialities and limitations. The study concludes that the BST represents a significant advance in the governance of sustainable finance by integrating climate, environmental, and socioeconomic objectives, notably through the pioneering inclusion of a racial equity dimension. At the same time, it identifies disputes and tensions related to the classification of sectors such as agriculture, oil, gas, and mining, which reveal the taxonomy as a space for debate over the model of sustainable development in Brazil, as well as its attempt to balance environmental and social goals with economic priorities. The success of the BST will depend on the robustness of the Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) system, the engagement of different actors, and the ability to balance normative ambition with practical feasibility in its implementation