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Stakeholders’ participation in environmental regulation: A case study of the sectoral agreement of packaging reverse logistics in Brazil

This paper discusses the role of stakeholders’ participation in decision-making of waste policies, exploring the case of the sectoral agreement (SA) of packaging in Brazil. This case represents a robust step to introduce circular economy for packaging in Brazil and Latin America. Since the enactment of the Brazilian National Solid Waste Policy in 2010, a series of agreements were created to introduce an alternative model of extended producer responsibility in the country. This historical analysis evaluates the decision-making and the outcomes of its participatory process. Three qualitative research methods were applied: 76 interviews with stakeholders at the three levels of governance; observation of five events during the negotiation process and analysis of government documents. The results show that stakeholders’ participation was crucial throughout the policy design, contributing directly and indirectly to the outcomes of the SA, with knowledge exchange, creation of networks and by pressuring solid waste management issue onto the government’s agenda. However, the participatory process is not straightforward, and during the agreement process, some advancements seem to be jeopardised, with risk of participation being exploited to legitimise political interests. At the end, research points out that participation needs to be promoted and expanded throughout all the stages of the policy cycle, bringing together also other stakeholders such as local governments and civil society.