Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Triple Bottom Line (TBL) Performance'

Företag som upprättar så kallade hållbarhetsredovisningar har blivit allt vanligare. Dock råder det inom forskningen på området en oenighet om vad hållbarhetsredovisning egentligen är. En mängd olika begrepp används om vartannat och några klara definitioner finns inte fastlagda. Syftet med denna studie är därför att göra en kartläggning av de olika begrepp som används inom den globala, akademiska hållbarhetsredovisningslitteraturen för att utreda innebörden av dessa begrepp samt för att utreda hur dessa begrepp förhåller sig till varandra. Studien genomförs med hjälp av en litteraturstudie där 12 artiklar väljs ut genom ett intensitetsurval och sedan analyseras och jämförs med varandra. Resultatet av detta blir en kartläggning där de olika begreppens betydelse och inbördes relationer utrönas. Studien mynnar ut i fastläggandet av fem stycken huvudbegrepp inom området; sustainability reporting/accounting, TBL reporting/accounting, CSR reporting, FCA och environmental accounting som tillsammans kan anses representera huvuddragen för vad hållbarhetsredovisning egentligen är.<br>Companies claiming to be accounting for sustainability are becoming more and more common. However, within the research on the area there are some disagreements regarding what accounting for sustainability really is. A large quantity of terms and concepts are being used interchangeably and there are no clearly established definitions. The purpose with this study is therefore to constitute an investigative screening on the different terms and concepts used within the global, academic, sustainability accounting literature to investigate the meaning of these terms and concepts and also investigate how these terms and concepts are relating to each other. The study is conducted by performing a study of literature where 12 articles are chosen with the help of an intensity sample. Thereafter the articles are analyzed and compared. This results in a clarification of the meaning of the terms and concepts, and of the internal relations in between them.  The study leads to the establishment of five main terms and concepts within the area; sustainability reporting/accounting, TBL reporting/accounting, CSR reporting, FCA and environmental accounting that together can be seen to form a foundation of what accounting for sustainability really is.

Fokus i denna uppsats ligger i att jämföra fyra organisationers hållbarhetsredovisningar och se i vilken utsträckning de uppfyller GRI:s riktlinjer för ekonomisk påverkan. De fyra organisationer som granskas är Sveriges storbanker, Handelsbanken, Nordea, SEB och Swedbank. Eftersom att de agerar inom den finansiella sektorn har en avgränsning gjorts till det ekonomiska ansvaret eftersom det är det mest relevanta och intressanta att titta närmare på.  Problemformuleringen i denna uppsats lyder: På vilket sätt, i sina hållbarhetsredovisningar, tillämpar Sveriges fyra storbanker GRI:s riktlinjer för ekonomisk påverkan?  Syftet är att se hur bankerna har presenterat sin ekonomiska påverkan enligt GRI:s riktlinjer och jämföra dessa med varandra. För att få fram information om detta har respektive banks hållbarhetsredovisning för år 2010 granskats och tolkats. Den teoretiska referensramen som uppsatsen har utgått ifrån är CSR , ett begrepp som beskriver de tre ansvarsområdena ekonomi, socialt och miljö. Dessa tre områden är i grunden TBL (tripple bottom line). En stor del av teoridelen består av GRI:s riktlinjer och ramverk som även de bygger på TBL:s tre byggstenar.

Residential and commercial buildings account for almost 40 % of total U.S. energy consumption and U.S. carbon dioxide emissions (Pew Center, 2009). Nearly all of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the residential and commercial sectors can be attributed to energy use in buildings, making high performance energy efficient buildings central to addressing diminishing resources and transitioning to a green economy. However, energy efficiency in buildings receives inadequate attention because first least cost decision-making as opposed to life cycle cost analysis (Romm, 1999). When life cycle analysis is used, it typically captures only the ‘hard’ financial cost benefits of operational energy and maintenance savings, but rarely includes environmental capital or human capital savings. This thesis proposes an empirical approach to triple bottom line calculations that integrates the economic, environmental and human cost benefits to accelerate investments in high performance building technologies. The development of a new methodology for capital expenditures in investments in the built environment can provide compelling arguments for decision makers and encourage the widespread adoption of high performance building technologies. In the first bottom line, this research quantifies the ‘financial’ or capital costs and benefits of high performance building investments, by broadening the category of associated benefits beyond energy savings from an investment (Birkenfeld et al., 2011). Traditionally, building investment decisions are made using a value engineering approach, which is driven by the agenda of cost reduction rather than valuing the benefit of different alternatives. Using net present value (NPV) and return on investment (ROI) indices, well-known in financial practices, the first bottom line calculation in this thesis moves away from a ‘first least cost’ to a life cycle approach to account for multiple non-energy financial benefits that can directly be quantified for the building decision maker. To advance a second bottom line that can be translated into Corporate Sustainability Reporting, the thesis provides a methodology for capturing the environmental benefits of reducing electricity demand related to carbon, air quality and water resources. These calculations are based on three levels of information - electricity fuel sources and power plant quality, the respective air pollution and water consumption consequences, and emerging valuation incentives for pollution reduction. The methodology focuses on critical greenhouse gases CO2, CH4; SOx, NOx, as well as particulates and water use, for three global scenarios – an emerging economy such as India, a country with mid-level sustainability goals such as the US, and a leading economy with low carbon growth goals such as the EU - in order to represent the range of environmental impacts of electric energy use. The capital saved by avoiding the environmental impacts of electricity use based on fuel source and mix can thus be added to each kilowatt-hour of electricity saved in a second bottom line calculation. To advance the third bottom line, this thesis engages a methodology for measuring and quantifying human benefits from building investments based on ongoing development of CMU CBPD's BIDS toolkit. The methodology is built on the field and laboratory research findings that link high performance building design decisions to human health and individual and organizational productivity. This thesis advances an approach to handling the third bottom line calculations, including an approach to establishing baselines, applying a broad base of laboratory and field findings. Given first cost data from vendors, first bottom line simple paybacks for 12 energy retrofit measures ranges from 2-20 years - with energy and facility management savings. When the environmental benefits are included, simple paybacks were accelerated to 1.5-18 years. Most strikingly, when human benefits are included - from reduced headaches and absenteeism to improved task performance or productivity - paybacks for investments in energy efficiency in US offices are often less than 1 year. To support the validity and reliability of results, both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to validate how Triple Bottom Line (TBL) cost benefits might impact and shift decision-making patterns from a least-first-cost approach to an approach that includes TBL information. Field testing of the potential influence on decision makers to move beyond first-cost decision-making to support investments in high performance, energy efficient technologies revealed the positive impact of Triple Bottom Line accounting for decision makers (p<0.05). The introduction of triple bottom line accounting for decision-makers in the built environment may be the most critical catalyst for investments in building energy improvements.

Syfte: Syftet i denna studie uppkom ur vårt intresse för nyckeltalsanvändning inom ett relativt nytt område som hållbarhet. Vi läste på om hållbarhetsnyckeltal och ur denna tidigare forskning inom ämnet så blev vårt syfte att skapa en ökad förståelse kring den praktiska användningen samt nyttan med hållbarhetsnyckeltal, med avseende på TBL-modellen. Metod: Studien bygger på en kvalitativ forsningsmetod inom vilken personliga intervjuer har utförts på fem fallföretag. Intervjuerna spelades in och sedan jämfördes samt analyserades resultatet av dessa med det teoretiska ramverket inom studien.           Resultat &amp; slutsats: Studien har visat på vilken praktisk användning samt nytta hållbarhetsnyckeltal har eller skulle kunna ha för företag eller organisationer. Studien har därutöver också visat på att företag och organisationer aktivt talar om hållbarhet samt att hållbarhetsfrågor är integrerade i den dagliga verksamheten.

AB Smådelar är ett företag som tar hållbarhet på allvar. Man har nyligenpresenterat sin första hållbarhetsredovisning och vill inför framtiden förbättra sig ytterligare avseende logistiken mot underleverantörerna. Då det finns ett fokus på hållbarhet vill AB Smådelar inte att de logistiska förbättringarna ska påverka Triple bottom line negativt, varför en modell har konstruerats för att kunna testa förbättringsförslagens inverkan före implementering.Studien är kvalitativ med abduktiv ansats och har utgångspunkt i semistrukturerade intervjuer. Syftet är att göra en nulägesanalys för att hitta förbättringsområden och föreslå åtgärder som kan effektivisera logistiken med samtidig positiv effekt på både ekonomisk, miljömässigoch social hållbarhet. Syftet är också att ta fram en enkel matrismodell för att strukturera och testa de planerade logistiska förändringarnas effekt över hela Triple bottom line.Utifrån nulägesbeskrivningen har grundläggande strategi för logistiskt arbete avhandlats, liksom Paretos princip, totalkostnadsmodellen, komplexiteter och balanced scorecard. Detta inom ramen för den ekonomiska hållbarheten. Vidare har även den sociala och miljömässiga hållbarheten avhandlats för att skapa en komplett bild över hela Triple bottom line.Resultatet av mina undersökningar visar att AB Smådelar har fördel av attbörja räkna på de totala logistikkostnaderna. De bör också inleda strategiska förändringar med inventering av leverantörer, kunder och produkter. Detta ska leda till effektivare lagerstyrning och planering av transporterna mellan AB Smådelar och underleverantörerna, vilket ska följas upp med nyckeltal, gärna i ett balanced scorecard där de drivande processerna mäts och inte bara utfallen. Det kommer även att leda till ett förbättrat resultat över triple bottom line.<br>AB Smådelar is a company with a strong focus on sustainability andrecently they presented their first sustainability report. The company now wishes to further improve their logistics without jeopardizing the Triple Bottom Line results.The study is qualitative and based on semi structured interviews. The purpose is to do a current state analysis to visualize improvement areas and to propose actions to get a more effective supply chain. A second purpose is to create an easy to use model to evaluate the planned logistical improvements for the effects on the Triple Bottom Line.Based on the current state analysis of the company different fundamentaltheories have been discussed as for example the Pareto principle, the total cost model, complexities and the balanced scorecard this within the frame of economical sustainability. In order to create a complete picture of thetriple bottom line also the social and environmental sustainability have been discussed.The conclusion of this study shows that AB Smådelar should start calculating their total logistics costs. Another action that is proposed is classification of suppliers, customers and products. Based on the classification improvements in inventory control and transports can be calculated, and be measured by Key Performance Indicators (KPI), preferably with the context of the balanced scorecard philosophy wherefocus is on the underlying process. This will eventually lead to an overall improvement of AB Smådelars Triple bottom line.

<p>Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to interview four legal jurists in order to explore how they conduct CSR activities within their service corpora-tion, with primary focus on SME law firms.</p><p>Background: A current issue to address concerning the conduct of business these days is CSR activities. Although, the previous research concerning CSR activities and the service sector is limited.</p><p>Theoretical Framework: The theoretical framework is divided into four parts; a general part concerning the concept of CSR activities, a review of earlier studies of CSR activities, the stakeholder theory and finally the theory about the triple bottom line.</p><p>Method: A qualitative case study was employed in order to answer the purpose. The most suitable research approach was a combination of a deductive and partially an inductive approach. The primary data consisted of semi-structured interviews. The secondary data were used in order make a comparison in relation to manufacturing corporations.</p><p>Empirical findings & Analysis: As for all corporations an integration of voluntary social and environmental concerns in their business operations are considered as CSR activities. A significant concern is CSR activities that the inter-viewed service corporations experienced was the lack of human and economic resources to deal with CSR activities. Furthermore, the lack of stakeholder pressure does not facilitate the matter of implementing more CSR strategies into the corporations‟ business conduct. As a result of the lack of stakeholder pressure the interviewed corporations tend to only take part in CSR activities that create goodwill value for the corporation. According to the interviewed service corporations CSR activities is a new phenomenon that is likely to become a bigger part of their business conduct in the future.</p><p>Conclusion: The interviewed corporations tend to focus their CSR activities to-wards the social activities since this is the kind of activities that is closely connected to the core business.</p>

A adoção de rotas tecnológicas ambientalmente sustentáveis é uma estratégia acertada para empresas que queiram manter ou melhorar suas posições de mercado e contribuir para a prevenção e adaptação às mudanças climáticas globais. É nessa perspectiva da inovação e da sustentabilidade que este estudo avaliou a influência da cooperação em P&D e das ecoinovações sobre o desempenho socioeconômico de 221 fabricantes de produtos elétricos e eletrônicos. As teorias de Gaia, do Holismo e a teoria evolucionária da inovação predominantemente orientaram o estudo. Os dados foram coletados em 2017 e processados via SmartPLS®3. Por meio da técnica de Modelagem de Equações Estruturais o modelo conceitual do estudo foi validado com 99% de confiabilidade (p<0,01), demonstrando com originalidade que a cooperação em P&D e as ecoinovações explicaram satisfatoriamente em 51,3%o desempenho socioeconômico das empresas pesquisadas. Três hipóteses comprovaram que a cooperação em P&D com parceiros tecnológicos influenciou positivamente a introdução de ecoinovações de produto, ecoinovações de processo e ecoinovações organizacionais nas empresas investigadas. Duas hipóteses comprovaram que ecoinovações de produto e ecoinovações organizacionais influenciaram positivamente o desempenho socioeconômico das empresas. Uma hipótese não comprovada demonstrou que ecoinovações de processo não influenciaram positivamente o desempenho socioeconômico das empresas. Dos atributos de ecoinovação, três não foram validados estatisticamente: a simplificação das embalagens, a simplificação da construção e a eficiência energética dos produtos desenvolvidos. Apesar de os atributos não validados demonstrarem atraso tecnológico dos produtos elétricos e eletrônicos, há predominância de uma rota tecnológica ambientalmente sustentável nas empresas, o que é um visível diferencial competitivo. São notáveis as implicações deste estudo a partir dos emergentes paradigmas da economia circular e da economia verde. Se cooperação em P&D e ecoinovações permitiram resultados socioeconômicos satisfatórios, em empresas distintas usuárias de minerais e de energia elétrica, então cai por terra o paradigma da inovação poluidora, que ignora que recursos naturais são finitos. Fica evidente que o paradigma Triple Bottom Line, que considera o equilíbrio entre as dimensões ambiental, social e econômica, possui base viável para a indústria do terceiro milênio. Emerge nas empresas a responsabilidade de ancorar a mudança tecnológica em todos os elos de suas cadeias de valor, desde a extração de matérias primas da natureza até a educação de consumidores para o uso e descarte consciente de produtos. É possível sugerir que não corrigir a rota tecnológica baseada no paradigma econômico dos excessos sobre os recursos planetários pode ser qualificado como responsabilidade corporativa de lesa ao Planeta. Ademais, indústrias e cadeias de valor de base poluidora parecem estar fadadas ao desaparecimento. Os resultados deste estudo são restritos à amostra de indústrias investigadas no Brasil. Temas com potencial de pesquisa emergem em simbiose e biomimética industrial, sistemas de ecoinovação em Smart Cities, ecoinovação social, ecoinovação de marketing e ecoinovações na Indústria 4.0.<br>The adoption of environmentally sustainable technology routes is a sound strategy for companies that want to maintain or improve their market positions and contribute to the prevention and adaptation to global climate change. In this perspective of innovation and sustainability, this study evaluated the influence of cooperation in R & D and of eco-innovations on the socioeconomic performance of 221 manufacturers of electric and electronic products. The theories of Gaia, Holism and the evolutionary theory of innovation predominantly guided the study. Data were collected in 2017 and processed via SmartPLS®3. Through the Structural Equation Modeling technique, the conceptual model of the study was validated with 99% reliability (p<0,01), showing with originality that the cooperation in R & D and the eco-innovations satisfactorily explained the socio-economic performance of the companies surveyed in 51.3%.Three hypotheses have proved that cooperation in R & D with technological partners positively influenced the introduction of product eco-innovations, process eco-innovations and organizational eco-innovations in the companies investigated. Two hypotheses have shown that product eco-innovations and organizational eco-innovations have positively influenced the companies\' socioeconomic performance. An unproven hypothesis showed that process eco-innovation has not positively influenced the companies\' socioeconomic performance.From the eco-innovation attributes, three have not been statistically validated: the simplification of packaging, the simplification of construction and the energy efficiency of developed products. Although the non-validated attributes demonstrate technological backwardness of the electrical and electronic products, there is a predominance of an environmentally sustainable technological route in companies, which is a visible competitive edge. The implications of this study are noteworthy from the emerging paradigms of the circular economy and of the green economy. If cooperation in R & D and eco-innovations have enabled satisfactory socioeconomic outcomes, in companies which are distinct users of minerals and electricity, then it falls down the paradigm of polluting innovation that ignores that natural resources are finite. It is clear that the Triple Bottom Line paradigm, which considers the balance between the environmental, social and economic dimensions, has a viable basis for the industry of the third millennium. Companies have the responsibility to anchor technological change at every link in their value chains, since the extraction of raw materials from nature up to the education of consumers for the conscious use and disposal of products. It is possible to suggest that not correcting the technological route based on the economic paradigm of excesses on the world\'s resources can be qualified as a harmful corporate responsibility to the Planet.In addition, polluter-based industries and value chains seem to be doomed to disappear. The results of this study are restricted to the sample of industries investigated in Brazil. Topics with potential for future research emerge in symbiosis and industrial biomimetics, eco-innovation systems in Smart Cities, social eco-innovation, marketing eco-innovation and eco-innovations in Industry 4.0.

Företag inom slow fashion arbetar mer med hållbarhet, både för konsumenterna och deras anställda. Det är stort fokus på att miljön ska bevaras medan företagen konkurrerar med fast fashionkedjor som massproducerar kläder och säljer till låga priser. Det stora problemet inom industrins produktion handlar om hur man ska försöka minska utsläpp och påverkan på miljön samt hantera överkonsumtionen genom hållbar marknadsföring. Studiens syfte är att utvärdera vilka karaktärsdrag slow fashion företag har gentemot fast fashion företag och hur slow fashion företag inom klädindustrin marknadsför sitt hållbarhetsarbete till konsumenterna. Studien undersöker även hur företagen arbetar med marknadsföring för att nå ut till sina nuvarande och framtida konsumenter. Studien har en kvalitativ ansats och det empiriska materialet samlas in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med fyra slow fashion företag. Vi har även samlat in empiriskt material genom undersökningar av företagens offentliga material så som hemsidor och sociala medier för att komplettera intervjuerna. Resultatet analyseras med hjälp av tidigare forskning och begreppen slow- jämfört med fast fashion och marknadsföring. Vidare analyseras företagens ansvar med hjälp av begrepp och modeller inom triple bottom line, corporate social responsibility, certifieringar och legitimitet. Det sista inom studien som analyseras är konsumentens ansvar i form av politisk konsumtion samt aktiviteterna bojkott och buycott. Resultaten visar att alla fyra företagen är positiva till att arbeta med hållbarhet för att förbättra miljön och deras arbete kommer inte avta men att företagen vill nå ut till fler konsumenter och minska konsumtionen genom att påverka konsumenterna till att göra färre onödiga inköp.<br>Slow fashion companies work more with sustainability, both for consumers and their employees. There is a strong focus on preserving the environment while companies compete with fast fashion chains that mass-produce clothes and sell at low prices. The big problem in industrial production is about how to try to reduce emissions and impact on the environment and manage overconsumption through sustainable marketing. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the characteristics of slow fashion companies in relation to fast fashion companies and how slow fashion companies in the clothing industry market their sustainability work to consumers. The study also examines how companies work with marketing to reach their current and future consumers. The study has a qualitative approach, and the empirical material is collected through semistructured interviews with four slow fashion companies. We have also collected empirical material through studies of the companies' public material such as websites and social media to supplement the interviews. The results are analyzed with the help of previous research and the concepts of slow- vs. fast fashion and marketing. Furthermore, corporate responsibility is analyzed with the help of concepts and models within triple results, corporate social responsibility, certifications, and legitimacy. The last thing in the study that is analyzed is the consumer's responsibility in the form of political consumption and the activities boycott and buycott. Results show that all four companies are positive about working with sustainability because the environment and their work will decline, but that the companies want to reach more consumers and choose consumption by influencing consumers to make fewer unnecessary purchases.

This thesis explores the environmental and social responsibilities being increasingly shouldered by cement manufacturing sector and outlines a new approach for these companies to accept their responsibilities and to utilise professional approaches to address the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainable business. Managing these three dimensions in business translates corporate responsibility into an integrated responsibility for doing business profitably, ethically and in sustainable manner. This three-pronged approach is sometimes called the Triple Bottom Line. It helps companies to fulfil their more holistic Corporate Social Responsibility. A critical review of the literature led the thesis author to develop the theoretical framework for environmental and social reporting to proceed on TBL/CSR journey within the cement industry. Data were collected from TBL/CSR reports from cement companies on key environmental and social performances. Based upon those data, a questionnaire was developed to obtain more information from the leading worldwide cement companies. The combined results of the responses to the questionnaire and the quantitative data derived from the TBL/CSR reports were used to establish best practice benchmarks to serve as performance targets for the author's case study company, Oman Cement Company (OCC). The contribution to knowledge of this research is the summarisation and prioritisation of the cement industry's implementation of TBL/CSR management systems, which integrate the elements of TBL/CSR into their strategic plans and daily operational procedures. Guidelines were derived from the Global Reporting Initiative, the United Nations Global Compact and the new ISO 26000 standard, which promotes a new way of working towards innovation, value creation and incremental actions for transforming businesses to become more responsible. The contributions to practice of this research are the practical and procedural insights, gained by quantitative analysis of environmental and social indicators, into how cement companies are making improvements in their processes and products in response to climate change, economic, governmental regulations and social pressures for improvement. Based upon the findings, recommendations and timetables were developed and are being implemented within the OCC as it progresses on its TBL/CSR journey.

Background: Cross-sector social partnership (CSSP) is a joint effort that utilizes resources from different sectors to solve social issues, such as poverty, pandemics and environmental degradation. According to the United Nations, the environmental tipping point of global warming is soon reached, and to avoid this irreversible situation, the collaboration between state and non-state actors is a requirement. With extended resources gained from different sectors, the outcome of the CSSP is greater than if the actors were handling issues by themselves. Problem: There is a growing trend of CSSPs that strive to mitigate climate change, and the Climate Council of Jönköping is a practical example of this phenomenon. Multinational corporations (MNCs) have a large environmental impact and therefore they have a special responsibility to contribute to communities’ efforts to tackle climate change. Furthermore, within CSSP literature, additional research of corporations’ roles in CSSPs has been suggested. Purpose: Considering the increased focus on partnership practices, along with research gaps and complex CSSP elements, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate how MNCs contribute to the CSSP, the Climate Council of Jönköping. Method: Descriptive research was used to describe how MNCs contribute to a CSSP. With an abductive approach, deeper knowledge about the Climate Council of Jönköping as a phenomenon was gained. Empirical data was collected through a qualitative study, consisting of observational research and in-depth interviews, which was analyzed by making use of template analysis. The MNCs of the Climate Council of Jönköping are Castellum, GARO, Husqvarna Group, IKEA, and Skanska. Conclusion: The major conclusion of this study is that the MNCs perceive that their task within the Climate Council of Jönköping is to be a role model and to exchange ideas and knowledge regarding sustainability with other actors. Within CSSP literature, trust among actors, clearly-defined roles, and bridging each other’s weaknesses, are central concepts. The findings about the MNCs deviate from this, as all these factors are not identified. This suggests that the Climate Council of Jönköping and the MNCs do not contribute to public value and mitigating climate change as much as they possibly could.

Klimatkrisen är en svår utmaning som alla på planeten tillsammans måste försöka att lösa. En av de branscher som idag har en stor negativ påverkan på klimatet är restaurangbranschen där verksamheterna främst arbetar med livsmedel, vilket har påvisats bidra till en stor mängd växthusgasutsläpp. Restaurangbranschens verksamheter behöver därmed ställa om till att bli mer hållbara när det kommer till såväl ekonomisk som social och ekologisk hållbarhet. Det finns en efterfrågan från restauranger som vill ha hjälp med att ställa om sina verksamheter till att bli mer hållbara, då de har svårt att veta vart och hur de påbörjar detta arbete. En genomlysning av aktuell forskning har visat på att det finns ett behov av att ta fram konkreta verktyg som underlättar hållbarhetsarbetet för verksamheter.Denna studie har därför haft som avsikt att besvara problemformuleringen:Vilka verktyg är praktiskt tillämpbara för att uppnå en hållbar restaurangverksamhet?Vi författare till denna studie valde att genomföra en explorativ studie då detta ansågs ge bättre möjligheter till att skapa en djupare förståelse inom vårt valda problemområde. För att ta reda på vilka verktyg som kan anses vara lämpliga för restaurangverksamheter har teorier, kopplat till förutsättningar och hinder, presenterats för att skapa en förståelse för vad som kan påverka valet av lämpliga hållbarhetshanteringsverktyg. De verktyg som har valts ut till denna studie är: hållbarhetsredovisningar, livscykelanalys, kvalitetsledningssystem, nätverk, utbildning samt grön nudging.Semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomfördes där respondenternas svar tyder på att det finns förutsättningar inom restaurangbranschen för att arbeta med hållbarhet. Intervjuerna visade även på att det finns hinder för detta, främst i form av tid, pengar och snäv kunskap om hållbarhet. Som komplement till intervjuerna framtogs en enkät för att undersöka respondenternas attityd till de utvalda verktygen. Det som anses vara det bäst lämpade verktyget för restauranger att implementera är utbildning, då kunskap är grundläggande för ett framgångsrikt hållbarhetsarbete. Även verktygen nätverk och grön nudging har visat sig vara väl lämpade för restaurangverksamheter.Studien har även bidragit med framtagandet av en modell, vars syfte är att bidra med struktur till studien, som visar de olika steg som restauranger bör genomgå innan implementering av ett verktyg på den operativa nivån av verksamheten. Vidare visas även vilka förutsättningar som är väsentliga och vilka hinder som kan uppstå, för att kunna arbeta med hållbarhet i verksamheten. De verktyg som anses vara mest praktiskt tillämpbara för restauranger är också de verktyg som har bäst förutsättningar och minst hinder för att kunna implementeras i verksamheternas dagliga drift.

This research aims to fill an important gap in focusing on why individuals are able to take part in and/or support activities that have effects on economic, environmental, and social dimensions that are not consistent with their sense of right and wrong. The research focuses on the relationship between supply chain management and moral disengagement, and how this relation affects social responsibility. After observing individuals avoiding responsibility for misconduct an explanatory concept, moral decoupling, was proposed. Moral decoupling considers moral responsibility a flow in the supply chain. Moral decoupling occurs when the flow is restricted. If moral decoupling occurs at an identifiable point it is called a moral decoupling point. The concept was developed by identifying and linking specific supply chain activities and structures with moral disengagement, a theory that explains the deactivation of self regulation. Moral decoupling was able to suggest how to reduce moral disengagement and improve social responsibility. To validate the suggestions a literature review on social responsibility was conducted and identified sixteen elements of social responsibility in supply chain management. The suggestions based on moral disengagement were compared with elements of social responsibility and a large overlap was found. Lastly, suggestions on how to reduce moral disengagement and map moral responsibility in a supply network are proposed, links between elements of social responsibility are presented, and moral coupling is added as a complementary term to moral decoupling. A model explaining the relationship between ethical guidelines, moral responsibility, moral decoupling, and social responsibility is proposed. In relation to current theoretical knowledge the thesis has contributed to the field of socially responsible supply chain management with an application of a new theoretical lens that gives one explanation as to why identifed elements of social responsibility are important. The understanding of social responsibility has reached an increased explanatory depth following the identification of moral disengagement as a generative mechanism, subject to conditions in supply chain management. The research has also applied moral disengagement in a context not identified in earlier research, and shows some of the complexity of applying it to a real-world global context. The elements of social responsibility and moral (de)coupling help practitioners identify what they should focus on to increase social responsibility and also offer an explanation for `why?'. The findings can be used to construct supply chains that are less prone to misconduct and to identify where in the chain it is important to be aware of immoral behavior. The value and originality of this research is centered on the application of a new theoretical lens for socially responsible supply chain management. It is the only identified research in the area which identifies mechanisms on a generative level that explains human behavior and conditions to which those mechanisms are subject. This is also in itself a novel application of moral disengagement in a new research context.<br><p>Doctoral thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Textile Management at the University of Borås to be publicly defended on Wednesday, December 10, 2014, at 1:00 p.m.,in room M404, University of Bor as, Allégatan 1, Borås</p>

Renewable energy is commonly considered a technological addition to urban environments. By contrast, this PhD used a holistic approach to develop a design framework for integrating local electricity production into the ecological function and cultural use of public space. The framework addresses social engagement related to public interaction, and economic engagement related to the estimated quantity of electricity produced, in conjunction with environmental engagement related to the embodied energy required to construct the renewable energy infrastructure. The outcomes will contribute to social and environmental change by engaging society, enriching the local economy and increasing social networks.

The balanced scorecard (BSC) is an accepted methodology for putting strategy into action. The BSC provides a comprehensive performance measurement for an organization with respect to both financial and non-financial perspectives, including the triple bottom line of planet, people, and profit. Through various implementations to companies, organizations, and sectors, balanced scorecards have been used widely both for strategic purposes, as well as for more tactical focus for auditing current performance. BSC implementation is particularly adequate when integrated with the operational processes of the organization. The integration between the strategic plan and the financial and operational plans proceed via the business process model that covers the operational processes associated with the objectives of the organization in the strategy map. In this way, BSC is a tool for real-time monitoring of performance as well as providing the crucial linkage to the organization’s strategy that enables the proper implementation of the organization’s strategy. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) has been widely applied for measuring the efficiency of a specific decision-making unit (DMU) against a projected point on an efficiency frontier. DEA is therefore particularly suitable for measuring the organizational efficiency based on the BSC indicators, which are defined as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). In the commercial fisheries sector, sustainable strategy of fisheries organizations can be gained by running the current operations more effectively, and by integrating processes enabling adaptation to change. The efficiency frontier of the DEA model can be used to calculate the efficiency of fisheries operations. The proposed research is undertaken as part of the Canadian Fisheries Research Network (CFRN) to investigate the application of BSC and DEA for defining commercial fisheries performance evaluation variables with respect to the objectives of environmental sustainability, economic viability, and social and cultural stability in compliance with, and in the absence of, performance monitoring alleged in the Fisheries and Oceans, Canada Integrated Fisheries Management Plans (IFMP). The combination of BSC-DEA methodologies is developed in this research as a required performance monitoring system suitable for IFMPs for analyzing the relative efficiency of commercial fisheries case studies across Canada towards incorporating best sustainable practices in the industry.

This dissertation comprised of three essays provides justification for the need to pursue research on multinationality and performance with a more fine-grained approach. Essay one is a conceptual response to an article written by Jean-Francois Hennart in 2011 which questions the need and approach toward future research in this domain. I argue that internalization theory does not render multinationality and performance research meaningless and identify key areas where methodological enhancements can be made to strengthen our research findings with regard to Hennart’s call for more content validity. Essay two responds to the need for more-fine grained research on the consequences of multinationality by introducing non-traditional measures of performance such as social and environmental performance and adopting a more theoretically relevant construct of regionalization to capture international diversification levels of the firm. Using data from the world’s largest 600 firms (based on sales) derived from Bloomberg and the Directory of Corporate Affiliates; I employ general estimating equation analysis to account for the auto-correlated nature of the panel data alongside multivariate regression techniques. Results indicate that regionalization has a positive relationship with economic performance while it has a negative relationship with environmental and social performance outcomes, often referred to as the “Triple Bottom-Line” performance. Essay three builds upon the work in the previous essays by linking the aforementioned performance variables and sample to corporate reputation which has been shown to be a beneficial strategic asset. Using Structural Equation Modeling I explore economic, environmental and social signals as mediators on relationship between regionalization and firm reputation. Results indicate that these variables partially mediate a positive relationship between regionalization and firm reputation. While regionalization positively affects the reputation building signal of economic performance, it aids in reputation building by reducing environmental and social disclosure effects which interestingly impact reputation negatively. In conclusion, the dissertation submits opportunities for future research and contributes to research by demonstrating that regionalization affects performance, but the effect varies in accordance with the performance criterion and context. In some cases, regional diversification may produce competing or conflicting outcomes among the potential strategic objectives of the firm.

Mestrado em Gestão e Estratégia Industrial<br>O presente trabalho analisa o impacto da Ética Ambiental Corporativa para a adoção de Práticas Sustentáveis (ambientais e sociais) e verifica o impacto que estas práticas têm na Performance Sustentável ao nível do Triple Bottom Line (nas dimensões económica, ambiental e social). É utilizado um questionário online enviado a empresas da manufatura portuguesa com mais de 50 colaboradores. O modelo conceptual foi testado utilizando modelos de equações estruturais, em particular, o PLS (Partial Least Squares). Os resultados obtidos indicam que a Ética Ambiental Corporativa tem impacto em todas as práticas, quer sejam sociais ou ambientais. A adoção de Sistemas de Informação Verdes mostrou ter impacto positivo nas Compras Sustentáveis, no Retorno do Investimento ao longo do ciclo de vida do produto e no Eco-Design. Estas três práticas têm impacto positivo na Performance Ambiental e apenas o Retorno do Investimento ao longo do ciclo de vida do produto tem impacto positivo na Performance Económica. No que diz respeito às práticas sociais, verificou-se que apenas as avançadas contribuem de forma positiva para a Performance Social.<br>The present work analyzes the impact of Corporate Environmental Ethics on the adoption of sustainable practices (environmental and social) and verifies the impact of these practices on sustainable performance in the Triple Bottom Line (in economic, environmental and social dimensions). An online questionnaire was sent to Portuguese manufacturing companies with more than 50 employees. The conceptual model was tested using structural equation models, in particular the PLS (Partial Least Squares). The results indicate that Corporate Environmental Ethics has an impact on all practices, whether social or environmental. The adoption of Green Information Systems has shown to have a positive impact on Sustainable Purchases, on Return on Investment throughout the product life cycle and on Eco-Design. These three practices have a positive impact on Environmental Performance and only Return on Investment throughout the product life cycle has a positive impact on Economic Performance. With regard to social practices, it was verified that only the advanced ones contribute positively to the Social Performance.<br>info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The Kaplan and Norton’s (1992) Balanced Scorecard model was designed for Western countries that operate within a capitalist system. African countries differ from Western developed countries in respect of aspects such as their infrastructure, markets and customers, sources of capital, government interventions, literacy levels, and socio-cultural frameworks. Thus, the original Balanced Scorecard model cannot be reconciled fully with an African environment that is more humanist, community-based and socialist in nature. Hence, the study set out to establish whether or not a different understanding or new perspectives on the Balanced Scorecard model were needed and could be conceptualised and developed specifically for organisations in Africa. A structured questionnaire was used for the primary data collection. Exploratory factor analysis and correlation analysis, using SPSS Version 16.0, were employed to identify the four significantly intercorrelated perspectives of the African Balanced Scorecard model which is proposed in this study: (1) the relationships and culture perspective, which looks at an organisation’s continued stakeholder dialogue and relationships; (2) the stakeholder perspective, which looks at the recognition of contributions by individual stakeholders; (3) the value creation perspective, which considers maximum economy, efficiency and effectiveness when creating organisational wealth, and (4) the corporate conscience (resource allocation) perspective, which looks at the equitable allocation of organisational wealth to all stakeholders, especially those that are usually disregarded, such as local communities and the natural environment. The results of the study will facilitate the review and design of better corporate planning and performance measurement systems, the review and design of government and industrial policies and regulations, management consultancies, and will promote and facilitate change in accounting and auditing principles and practices. The study is subject to some limitations, particularly a lack of larger geographic coverage (as only Southern Africa was covered), the limited availability of information from some participants, and the need for further validation of the cause-and-effect relationships between the four perspectives of the proposed African Balanced Scorecard model.<br>Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011.<br>Financial Management<br>unrestricted

Submitted by Milena Rubi (milenarubi@ufscar.br) on 2017-02-14T18:33:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 PINHO_Thiago_2016.pdf: 33232015 bytes, checksum: 32b03e9512674937ca6afd547cfaa894 (MD5)<br>Approved for entry into archive by Milena Rubi (milenarubi@ufscar.br) on 2017-02-14T18:34:07Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 PINHO_Thiago_2016.pdf: 33232015 bytes, checksum: 32b03e9512674937ca6afd547cfaa894 (MD5)<br>Approved for entry into archive by Milena Rubi (milenarubi@ufscar.br) on 2017-02-14T18:34:14Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 PINHO_Thiago_2016.pdf: 33232015 bytes, checksum: 32b03e9512674937ca6afd547cfaa894 (MD5)<br>Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-14T18:34:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PINHO_Thiago_2016.pdf: 33232015 bytes, checksum: 32b03e9512674937ca6afd547cfaa894 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-08-10<br>Não recebi financiamento<br>Many researchers already discussed the efforts of organizations to improve their processes using lean practices and their concerns not only about operational and financial performance, but also about the environmental aspects of their activities. More recently, a number of sustainability indicator development processes have been initiated within large research projects that aim to design tools for sustainability. The results might be demonstrated by performance indicators and the companies and researchers are using several indicators to measure performance in relation to lean practice applications and sustainable production separately. This research aims to identify a set of indicators to measure the lean practice applications based on the sustainability “Triple Bottom Line” concept and literature review of related researches that already developed indicators to measure the performance related to both of the philosophies. Through the set of indicators identified, an analysis of selected indicators was performed in a multinational automobile company, and this case research was conducted in three different product lines, analyzing its indicators retroactively (2010 and 2011) and after the implementation of lean practices (2012, 2013 and 2014). The focus of the case research was the inter units analysis and the validation of some of the identified performance indicators for all product lines analyzed in this research as well as to verify the possibility to use the sustainable performance indicators on a lean practice application context. A major contribution of this research is the possibility of using the set of indicators (176 identified indicators) in future researches as well as assist the researchers in finding and/or proposing another theoretical framework to measure the results achieved by companies that are implementing lean production.<br>Diversos pesquisadores vêm discutindo sobre os esforços feitos pelas organizações com o objetivo de melhorar os seus processos através da utilização das práticas da produção enxuta. Além disso, através da introdução de normas governamentais e outros aspectos relevantes em relação a sustentabilidade, fizeram com que as empresas se preocupassem não somente com os resultados operacionais e financeiros, mas também com os aspectos ambientais e sociais nas suas atividades. Esses resultados podem ser demonstrados através do uso de indicadores e as empresas e pesquisadores estão utilizando diversos indicadores para mensurar o desempenho em relação a implantação das práticas da produção enxuta e sustentabilidade separadamente. Essa dissertação tem como objetivo a identificação de indicadores de desempenho de sustentabilidade que possam ser utilizados no contexto da implantação das práticas da produção enxuta. Isso foi feito através da seleção e classificação de um conjunto de indicadores de desempenho, utilizando o conceito do “Tripé da Sustentabilidade” definido por Elkington (1997). A seleção foi realizada mediante uma revisão da literatura sobre pesquisas relacionadas ao desenvolvimento, utilização e métodos para medição da produção enxuta e sustentabilidade. Através do conjunto de indicadores identificados, foi realizado a seleção dos indicadores a serem utilizados para a mensuração dos resultados em uma empresa multinacional do setor automobilístico e, esse estudo de caso foi feito em três linhas de produtos diferentes, analisando seus indicadores de forma retroativa (anos de 2010 e 2011) e após a implantação das práticas da produção enxuta (anos de 2012, 2013 e 2014). O foco do estudo de caso foi a realização da análise inter unidades e a validação da utilização dos indicadores de desempenho para a mensuração dos resultados no contexto da aplicação da produção enxuta. Uma das principais contribuições desse trabalho é a possibilidade da utilização do conjunto de 176 indicadores de desempenho identificados em futuras pesquisas, bem como auxiliar os pesquisadores na busca de outros indicadores de desempenho para a mensuração dos resultados em empresas nas quais estão sendo implementadas a filosofia da produção enxuta.

The title of the research is Sustainability Performance Evaluation Management Systems Model for Individual Organizations and Supply Chains. This research has achieved its aim to develop and demonstrate the practical implementation of a simple and objective sustainability performance evaluation management system model for individual organizations and supply chains. It has resulted in the recognition that a new concept – Network of Interested Partners – underpins the achievement of sustainability. The term acknowledges the interdependence and reflects the essential cooperation that must be achieved between business organisations, their commercially related entities and the local community if progress towards sustainability is to be achieved. It therefore encompasses and extends the concept of a supply chain as currently used. Sustainable Development is defined by the World Commission on Environment and Development as development, which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future societies to meet their own needs. Organizations, as part of human activities, also have to be sustainable. The sustainability of organizations is directly linked to the continual improvement of business performance. Many organizations have found a way to improve performance through the establishment of management systems. International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards are recognized worldwide as reliable and efficient tools for the implementation of management systems. However, they do not always result in the desired improvement in outcomes. Therefore, if the required improvement of business performance is to be achieved, improved methodologies for development and implementation of performance evaluation (PE) processes are necessary. These methodologies must take into consideration sustainability principles. They also have to be applicable to individual entities and supply chains, with or without management systems in place. Supply chains are important because it is being increasingly recognized that overall supply chain performance is a means of adding value and competitive advantage to all businesses. In the first part of the research a performance evaluation model or PE (version 1 model) was developed. This was used as criteria to compare and evaluate existing performance evaluation processes and outcomes of individual organisations and their respective supply chain within the Gladstone region, Australia. Questionnaires have also been used to identify and evaluate the needs of the interested parties in relation to the organizations’ and supply chains’ business performance and processes of performance evaluation. All the information provided in the first part of the research was used by the researcher to develop the Sustainability Performance Evaluation Management Systems model or SPEMS (version 2 model). This incorporates the concepts of Network of Interested Parties/Partners. In particular, one of the outcomes is recognition that organizations need to establish partnerships if effective supply chain performance improvement is to be achieved. Therefore the establishment of partnerships has become a key requirement for the implementation of SPEMS. The establishment of partnership among participants of a supply chain of Gladstone and implementation of the eight first steps of the SPEMS (version 2 model) in this supply chain was commenced successfully through workshops. The supply chain was formed by commercial organizations, government entities and interested parties from the community. SPEMS requires that partners all have the same level of ownership and authority in the decisions of the supply chain. Some new terms and their definitions have been created within the research to support the new SPEMS model. They include: Network of Interested Partners, sustainability for organizations, sustainability KPI and sustainability friendly organizations. All of the above are encompassed within the final SPEMS (version 3 model).

Mestrado em Gestão e Estratégia Industrial<br>As práticas de Responsabilidade Social Corporativa (RSC) pró-ativas são aquelas cuja adoção é feita de forma voluntária e que vão para além das regulamentações. O presente estudo divide as práticas de RSC em três dimensões - económica, social e ambiental - e a sua relação com três capacidades organizacionais: orientação ética para o mercado, visão partilhada e pró-atividade estratégica. O modelo conceptual proposto avalia em que medida a adoção de práticas de RSC afeta a performance sustentável das empresas, sob a perspetiva do Triple Bottom line (TBL). Este estudo foi efetuado a partir das 404 respostas obtidas através de um questionário online enviado para as Pequenas e Médias Empresas (PME) Portuguesas de manufatura. Os resultados obtidos permitem concluir que a adoção de práticas de RSC ambientais influencia positiva e significativamente a performance sustentável nas suas três dimensões. Por sua vez, a adoção de práticas de RSC sociais tem um impacto positivo e significativo apenas na dimensão social da performance sustentável. Paralelamente, a adoção de práticas de RSC económicas tem um impacto positivo e significativo apenas na dimensão económica da performance sustentável. No que diz respeito às capacidades organizacionais verificou-se que a pró-atividade estratégica tem um impacto positivo e significativo nas três práticas de RSC (económica, social e ambiental). O mesmo não acontece com as restantes capacidades, orientação ética para o mercado e visão partilhada, uma vez que estas apresentam um impacto positivo e significativo apenas na adoção de práticas sociais e ambientais.<br>The proactive Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices are those whose adoption is made voluntarily and go beyond the regulations. The present study divides the practices of CSR into three dimensions - economic, social and environmental - and its association with three specific capacities: market policy, shared vision and strategic pro-activity. The proposed conceptual model assesses the extent to which the adoption of CSR practices affect the sustainable performance of companies, from the perspective of the Triple Bottom Line (TBL). This study was based on 404 responses obtained through an online questionnaire sent to Small and Medium-sized (SME) Portuguese manufacturing companies. The results obtained allow us to conclude that the adoption of environmental practices of CSR influences positively and significantly the sustainable performance in its three dimensions. In turn, the adoption of social CSR practices has a positive and significant impact only on the social dimension of sustainable performance. At the same time, the adoption of economic CSR practices has a positive and significant impact only on the economic dimension of sustainable performance. Regarding the specific capabilities, it was verified that strategic pro-activity has a positive and significant impact on the three CSR practices (economic, social and environmental). The same does not happen with the other capacities, ethical market orientation to the market and shared vision, since they have a positive and significant impact only on the adoption of social and environmental practices.<br>info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Le Nazioni Unite hanno espresso la necessità che aziende e consumatori si orientino ad una maggiore sostenibilità. Questa tesi parte da tale constatazione e analizza l’impatto che la sostenibilità ha sulle strategie aziendali, sull’orientamento all’innovazione di prodotto e processo e, infine, sulle relazioni che si sviluppano nella filiera produttiva. Inoltre, viene analizzata la relazione tra le strategie di marketing e le scelte di consumo sostenibili. Vengono analizzate, innanzitutto, due aziende di moda. L’analisi qualitativa mira a definire cosa sia per loro la sostenibilità, in che modo questa le metta alla prova e cosa possa garantire il successo duraturo di una strategia sostenibile. Viene successivamente analizzato un campione di 1104 intervistati per comprendere come le aziende di moda dovrebbero comunicare il loro impegno nella sostenibilità, attraverso mezzi di comunicazione specifici e ben definiti, soprattutto a quei consumatori che sono propensi - ma non del tutto convinti - ad acquistare abbigliamento sostenibile. Infine, viene analizzato un campione di 99 aziende vinicole a cui è stato sottoposto un questionario per capire se esiste una relazione tra la collaborazione tra i partner lungo la filiera produttiva e la performance sostenibile dell’impresa. I risultati evidenziano i fattori che orientano le strategie sostenibili delle aziende vinicole e della moda, e il comportamento dei consumatori. Vengono evidenziate soluzioni pratiche che possano accompagnare le aziende verso un crescente orientamento alla sostenibilità.<br>This doctoral thesis aims at shedding light on the United Nations’ call-to-action for producers and consumers who, jointly, have to contribute to sustainable development. The aim is to investigate the impact of sustainability on companies’ strategies by exploring their orientation towards process and product innovation, and the consequent business relationships that develop along the supply chain. Furthermore, the thesis seeks to investigate the role of some marketing strategies and the consumers’ sustainable attitudes. Two fashion companies are analyzed to explore what sustainability is for them and how they are challenged by sustainability concerns. Propositions are formulated that can help companies define long-term and effective sustainability-oriented strategies. A sample of 1104 respondents is then analyzed to understand how sustainability-oriented fashion companies should communicate their commitment, through specific and well defined communication tools, to those consumers who are positively disposed towards sustainable clothing but are still afraid of these “new” products. Lastly, a sample of 99 wine companies is analyzed. They were asked to answer a questionnaire whose purpose is to understand if there is a relationship between collaboration among partners along the supply chain and sustainable performance. Results allow for a better understanding of the factors driving sustainable strategies of fashion and wine companies, and consumer behavior. Practical solutions are highlighted.

Le Nazioni Unite hanno espresso la necessità che aziende e consumatori si orientino ad una maggiore sostenibilità. Questa tesi parte da tale constatazione e analizza l’impatto che la sostenibilità ha sulle strategie aziendali, sull’orientamento all’innovazione di prodotto e processo e, infine, sulle relazioni che si sviluppano nella filiera produttiva. Inoltre, viene analizzata la relazione tra le strategie di marketing e le scelte di consumo sostenibili. Vengono analizzate, innanzitutto, due aziende di moda. L’analisi qualitativa mira a definire cosa sia per loro la sostenibilità, in che modo questa le metta alla prova e cosa possa garantire il successo duraturo di una strategia sostenibile. Viene successivamente analizzato un campione di 1104 intervistati per comprendere come le aziende di moda dovrebbero comunicare il loro impegno nella sostenibilità, attraverso mezzi di comunicazione specifici e ben definiti, soprattutto a quei consumatori che sono propensi - ma non del tutto convinti - ad acquistare abbigliamento sostenibile. Infine, viene analizzato un campione di 99 aziende vinicole a cui è stato sottoposto un questionario per capire se esiste una relazione tra la collaborazione tra i partner lungo la filiera produttiva e la performance sostenibile dell’impresa. I risultati evidenziano i fattori che orientano le strategie sostenibili delle aziende vinicole e della moda, e il comportamento dei consumatori. Vengono evidenziate soluzioni pratiche che possano accompagnare le aziende verso un crescente orientamento alla sostenibilità.<br>This doctoral thesis aims at shedding light on the United Nations’ call-to-action for producers and consumers who, jointly, have to contribute to sustainable development. The aim is to investigate the impact of sustainability on companies’ strategies by exploring their orientation towards process and product innovation, and the consequent business relationships that develop along the supply chain. Furthermore, the thesis seeks to investigate the role of some marketing strategies and the consumers’ sustainable attitudes. Two fashion companies are analyzed to explore what sustainability is for them and how they are challenged by sustainability concerns. Propositions are formulated that can help companies define long-term and effective sustainability-oriented strategies. A sample of 1104 respondents is then analyzed to understand how sustainability-oriented fashion companies should communicate their commitment, through specific and well defined communication tools, to those consumers who are positively disposed towards sustainable clothing but are still afraid of these “new” products. Lastly, a sample of 99 wine companies is analyzed. They were asked to answer a questionnaire whose purpose is to understand if there is a relationship between collaboration among partners along the supply chain and sustainable performance. Results allow for a better understanding of the factors driving sustainable strategies of fashion and wine companies, and consumer behavior. Practical solutions are highlighted.

The sustainable development agenda is underpinned by the recognition that there are limits to the capacity of the earth to cope with unimpeded economic growth. Businesses, due to their power and reach, are seen as major users of natural, human and financial capital resources. Granted a societal licence to operate, businesses are under increasing pressure from a diverse range of internal and external stakeholders, who expect a higher level of accountability and transparency in regard to economic, social and environmental performance measurement. In response, businesses have incorporated practices such as eco-efficiency and corporate social responsibility, and an increasing number are now moving towards a more holistic evaluation of their triple bottom line (TBL) performance. In contrast, the special events industry has continued to rely on traditional economic measures of performance. There has been tremendous growth in the number of special events being staged in tourism destinations. Events have been used strategically to bring ‘new’ money into regions, promote economic development and to showcase destinations to potential visitors. As a result of these economic imperatives, the evaluation of events has predominantly been undertaken from a narrow economic perspective. This approach, however, fails to account for the impact of the event on the host community as well as the impact on the natural environment such as water and energy use and waste generation. Since the 1980’s, event researchers have called for a broad-based evaluation model that incorporates economic, social and environmental measures. Recently, a number of these researchers have suggested that a TBL approach has merit as a potential framework. What has been lacking, however, is a set of standardised measures that would underpin a broad-based evaluation model. Therefore, the aim of this research is to develop a set of standardised TBL indicators, which would enable a parsimonious TBL evaluation model to be established. A seven-step indicator development process was used to underpin this research, based on a number of collaborative projects that developed indicators to measure sustainable development. Within this framework, there were a number of research stages. Initially, a comprehensive analysis of 224 academic event evaluation publications and 85 actual event impact assessments was undertaken. The aim was to understand what impacts have been used in event evaluations from academic and practical perspectives. From these 309 sources, a list of the 20 key impacts was derived. The second stage of the research was a three-round, modified Web-based Delphi survey of event experts. The aim was to use the opinions of the event experts to develop a pool of indicators to measure the key impacts. A total of 24 indicators was proposed by the experts to measure the impacts. A conceptual model was developed, which detailed the event drivers, the event inputs, the event outcomes, and the TBL indicators. The model also included a TBL evaluation, which included overall measures for the economic, social and environmental impacts. A number of possible models were discussed, which enable a number of TBL indicators to be integrated to allow an overall event 'score' to be achieved. After a subset of the indicators was selected, the third stage of the study involved the conduct of two special event case studies. The objective of this stage was to operationalise the indicators in order to test their appropriateness for inclusion in a TBL evaluation model. The case studies used intercept surveys of event attendees, competitors and exhibitors to gather economic data, mail-out surveys of local residents to gauge the social impacts and the collection of a range of environmental data from event venues and attendees. Whilst the economic and social data were readily captured via the surveys, not all environmental data were available, mainly due to the regional setting of one of the events, where there was limited capacity for capturing data. Following this, the fourth major stage of the research involved consultations with a small number of project stakeholders in order to obtain feedback on the indicators used and the results of one of the case studies. In general, the stakeholders were supportive of both the direction of the research and the use of the TBL indicators to evaluate the impact of events. A TBL evaluation will broaden the evaluation criteria for events and bring the events industry in line with the wider business community. There is a growing recognition in the tourism literature that, particularly with transportation, the tourism industry is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, inclusion of environmental measures will provide a clearer picture of the environmental footprint of an event. Moreover, inclusion of the measures of the impact of events on the quality of life of the host community may provide information that assists event organisers to retain the licence to stage an event, which is granted by the event stakeholders. A further benefit of a TBL evaluation is that it will enable a comparison to be made of a range of different events, which will aid tourism organisations and event stakeholders in the decision-making process about which events merit support. As a result, it will be possible to manage events in a more sustainable manner. Whilst this study contributed to the development of a TBL evaluation, further research is required to integrate the indicators into a framework that can provide an overall 'score' for an event, which can then be compared with other events.

Investors, stock exchanges and financial regulatory institutions can be used as strong levers for making firms accountable for achieving sustainable operational performance and not just maximizing profits. The objective of this research study is to enhance the quantitative tools available to stakeholders for evaluating relative operational performance of firms, thereby encouraging the financial investors to base their portfolio investment decisions on the basis of sustainable operational performance of firms. The study reviews the existing literature on evaluating relative operational performance of firms on sustainability metrics and proposes multi-level multi criteria decision making (MCDM) quantitative methods for measuring the same. The research work demonstrates the research framework proposed in the study by evaluating the 2014 Sustainable Operational Performance of firms in the oil & gas sector. The reason for choosing the oil & gas sector for this case study is in view of the relative large ecological and social impact which this industry has on different stakeholders. Due to the same reasons, the oil & gas sector is a bit more advanced in terms of its sustainability performance reporting standards. The review of past literature and the sustainability reports of firms for the year 2014 is initially used to develop the construct for measuring the firm operational performance on three pillars of TBL i.e. for the ecological, social and economic dimensions.<br>February 2017

The focus of this thesis was to develop a simplified framework for future sustainability reports. The traditional approach to corporate reporting is limited in its ability to meet expectations of stakeholders for what drives value creation in a business. Sustainability performance reports are aimed at providing stakeholders information regarding a company’s non-financial performance and to provide stakeholders some information regarding the future performance that can be expected. The idea behind sustainability and the triple bottom line is that a company’s ultimate success can and should be measured not just by the financial bottom line, but also by its social, environmental and economic success. Sustainability reporting, also known as triple bottom line reporting incorporates the economic, social and environmental performance of a company, but there is no universally accepted definition of the subject. Sustainability is a contested subject and defined differently by different groups to suit their purposes. This places the phenomenon in a situation where its future is threatened.<br>D.B.L.

Industrial areas are environmentally degraded land areas with multiple environmental issues. Majority of industrial areas are surrounded by residential and commercial areas due to the ease of access for material and human resources. Annual discharge of larger volumes of contaminated stormwater to receiving water bodies and the air pollution are two major environmental problems for such areas. Green Infrastructure (GI) practices are known as a land conservation strategy which introduces green space in urban areas. These practices also contain various components that can improve the quality of stormwater discharges and air quality in urban areas. For optimization of GI for a particular area, several studies have been conducted in the past by addressing the problem as a single objective optimization problem by minimizing the associated costs. For a complex land use like an industrial area, the reality in optimizing GI can incorporate several other aspects related to environmental, economic and social objectives which are expected of GI through their implementation. The optimization process of GI practices for a specific area includes the selection of most suitable practices that provides the required benefits for the area alongside with their optimal sizing. In the current practice, optimal selection and sizing of GI practices is generally conducted based on the expert judgement, and there are no systematic methodologies currently available for this process. Especially for a complex land use like an industrial area where there exist high environmental demands, methodologies should be developed for the optimum selection and sizing of GI practices. This research was aimed at developing a novel methodology to optimize GI practices to mitigate stormwater and air pollution in industrial areas by combining several techniques such as mathematical optimization, simulation modelling, performance measure analysis, Delphi survey and Multi Criteria Decision Analysis. The proposed methodology considered various important aspects during the optimization process such as addressing the required environmental demands in industrial areas, land area constraints, stakeholder opinions and multiple environmental, economic and social benefits of GI practices. The generic methodology proposed in this study has been successful in identifying the optimum GI practices and their optimum sizes to treat stormwater and improve air quality for a case study industrial area in Melbourne, Australia. The results of this innovative methodology applied to the case study area demonstrated its applicability and efficiency in optimizing GI practices for industrial areas. This research has contributed to the current knowledge base on GI by introducing an innovative approach to enhance the optimization and decision making of GI planning process.

Most theories that attempt to describe the relationship between corporate sustainability strategies and a company’s triple bottom line also make the assumption that there is insufficient evidence to produce generalizable conclusions. This study contributes to the overall body of knowledge, as there is a lack of significant generalizable knowledge on corporate sustainability strategies and a company’s triple bottom line. To provide a methodologically more rigorous review, we performed a meta-analysis on 18 scholarly articles from top-tier academic journals containing 64 experimental treatments that measured an observed (not self-reported) behavioural outcome, which yielded a sample size of 23,871 observations. Most studies combined multiple treatments, which preclude definitive conclusions on the most effective treatments. The findings suggest that there is a positive medium to strong relationship between sustainability-oriented strategies, for both reactive and proactive behaviours (Dyllick et al., 1997; Gminder et al., 2002), and a company’s “triple bottom line.” Furthermore, regardless of the firm type (e.g., multinational corporation or local establishment, emerging economy firm or developed nation business), proactive sustainability-oriented strategies tend to have a higher payoff than firms that adopt reactive sustainability-oriented strategies. This meta-analysis establishes a greater degree of certainty with respect to corporate sustainability strategies and a firm’s triple bottom line relationship than currently assumed by many business scholars. To conclude, the sustainability concept has significantly expanded the scope of measuring organizational performance according to economic, social, and environmental components (Robins, 2006), which are collectively described as the “triple bottom line.” Organizations have determined that specific products and processes can have serious environmental and social implications beyond providing typical economic benefits (Sarkis, 2001). Based on the results of this study, companies should develop more diversified sustainability strategies that will help them to identify and capture value (McMullen, 2001). The results demonstrate that sustainability can provide companies with a strategic advantage, which is vital for the organization’s long-term viability and success (Orlitzky et al., 2003). This study also examines the balance between reasonable return on investment and long-term organizational viability, which greatly impacts organizational decision-makers that contend with numerous stakeholder issues, pressure from environmental agencies, and increased social consciousness that affects workers, consumers, and communities. It supports the conclusion that being proactive in responding to these conflicting pressures and barriers helps organizations to achieve higher levels of performance.

The risk of climate change has gained prominence globally and also in South Africa. Companies operating in developing countries such as South Africa are perceived to be particularly vulnerable to climate change. There have been mixed reactions to this risk by companies ranging from inaction to significant financial outlays expended on mitigating this risk. Whilst climate change is potentially a downside risk to financial performance, certain companies have identified opportunities to enhance their returns in the course of adapting to climate change. This study assessed whether there is a relationship between climate change and the financial performance, as manifested in the mitigation of risks and exploitation of opportunities of selected South African companies. The study sought to establish the extent to which climate change creates relevant and material risks, returns and opportunities for companies. The study was conducted using a combination of a literature review and empirical research in the form of secondary analysis. Data on climate-change performance, risks and opportunities was compared to data on financial indicators. The population of companies selected for the empirical research consisted of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed companies that had publicly disclosed information to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) in 2012. Climate-change data was categorised to differentiate between varying levels of climate-change performance, and the identified categories were compared to a range of ratios that demonstrated financial return. The research concluded that climate-change risks and opportunities are expected to have a significant and highly likely impact on company operations, revenue and expenditure. Positive and statistically significant correlations were identified between climate-change performance and equity analyst recommendations, historical internal rates of return, market values to book values, forecasted earnings per share, beta coefficients, and return on equity. Climate-change performance was not found to have a significant effect on the cost of capital.<br>Management Accounting<br>M. Com. (Accounting)