Dissertations / Theses: 'Environmental accountability'

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Lopez, Jaclyn Marie. "Environmental NGO Accountability: Project Management through Evaluation." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/190650.

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Amengual, Matthew. "Flexibility with accountability : an experiment in environmental governance." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/33015.

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Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2005.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 174-177).
Command and control environmental regulation has been under attack from all sides for some time. In Wisconsin, the Department of Natural Resources is experimenting with an alternative form of environmental governance. This new program uses cooperative agreements to provide flexibility to firms in exchange for "superior environmental performance." The program attempts to change norms of adversarial and rule driven regulation, to norms of cooperative and flexible regulation. To maintain democratic accountability, firms that take part in the program are required to create a group of interested community participants. This thesis explores regulatory relationships within this program and under command and control through three case studies. These case studies reveal that flexibility can provide opportunity for greater environmental performance and that bottom up participation can provide a measure of democratic accountability. However, this democratic accountability was compromised by lack of access to expertise among participants, lack of clarity in roles, and difficulty handling conflict. The difficulties faced in this program highlight the need for the state to take a proactive role even when moving away from command and control. Nevertheless, these cases show potential for a shift towards cooperation in regulation through opening spaces for firms, regulators, and communities, to engage in deliberation.
by Matthew Amengual.
M.C.P.

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Dummett, Kel, and kel_123@yahoo com. "Corporate Environmental Responsibility." RMIT University. Architecture and Design, 2009. http://adt.lib.rmit.edu.au/adt/public/adt-VIT20090501.144600.

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This thesis uses document analysis and semi-structured personal interviews to look at current strategies and policies of major companies to manage the life cycle environmental risks associated with their products and processes, which I refer to as corporate environmental responsibility (CER); The thesis also explores what some national governments are and could be doing to encourage greater environmental responsibility from companies. As environmentalists and climate scientists have been warning for decades, and now world leaders are coming to realise, the world faces serious environmental challenges, none more urgent than climate change. A failure to act to mitigate the risks associated with this one challenge, as Stern (2006, pii) asserts ï¿½could create risks of major disruptions to economic and social activityï¿½. A major proportion of the worldï¿½s environmental problems can be attributed directly to production, use and disposal of products (Tukker & Jansen, 2006), and as this thesis will argue, national government policies to encourage or force greater environmental responsibility from producers are required to reduce risks and mitigate impacts. In recent decades national governments have been reluctant to intervene in the market place, preferring to rely on voluntary mechanisms, but as will be discussed in greater detail, there is now an increasingly critical voice (Zarsky, Roht-Ariaza & Brottem, 2002; Hirschland, 2003; Archer & Piper, 2003; Vogel 2005; Hay et al, 2005) that questions the effectiveness of voluntary corporate responsibility as it is currently practiced, which subsequently raises the question: what role national governments, and international governance should take? The primary data sources for this thesis are personal interviews with senior business leaders from 25 major companies, recorded public speeches, both web and non-web based corporate public relations material, and personal interviews with key academics in the field, environmentalists and corporate analysts, conducted mainly between 2002 and 2004. The analysis of this data has sought to investigate the attitudes of major companies to: - corporate environmental responsibility, though some interrelated aspects of social responsibility are also considered; - what drives them to take greater responsibility to reduce their environmental risks; - government policies, especially possible legislation to encourage and/or force CER. In addition through case studies of: - one industry sector - two major companies, and - one industry sector pilot study; as well as secondary research on several other companies, this thesis investigates what some companies are saying and doing about corporate environmental responsibility. This will lead to a short discussion of the degree to which these companiesï¿½ rhetoric of responsibility matches their actions ï¿½ that is how much they are ï¿½walking the talkï¿½. The thesis also looks at the current potential of national governments in encouraging and/or forcing greater CER, then contrasts the development and implementation of national policies for CER in Australia with those in Europe, focussing on CER as it relates to products in the electrical and electronics industry. The thesis concludes with some observations and suggestions on policies of major companies and of national governments, as well as international governance, to encourage greater CER.

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Solomon, Jeremiah Mfon. "The role of accountability in enhancing environmental sustainability : evidence from Nigeria." Thesis, De Montfort University, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2086/16342.

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The stakeholder perspectives on corporate social responsibility (CSR) approach that could boost firm’s environmental performance, particularly in developing countries, is scarce in literature. In addressing this gap, this research examines the perceptions of stakeholders on accountability perspectives on CSR (APCSR) contribution to environmental sustainability drawing evidence from three groups of environmental stakeholders in oil and gas (O&G) industry in Nigeria. A holistic approach was adopted by employing an extensive theoretical framework, which integrates Stakeholder, Social Contract, Accountability, and Reasoned Action theories. A programme of quantitative enquiry was employed in conducting the investigation and a total of 418 respondents from the three groups of participants included in the survey. Using multi-variate analytical technique, the thesis investigates the mediating role of accountability in the nexus of environmental sustainability factors. In evaluating the multi-variables understudy, the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used along with structural equation modelling and multi-group invariance analysis. The findings suggest that stakeholders differ significantly on the role of accountability in enhancing CSR contribution to environmental sustainability. Whereas the external stakeholders perceive that APCSR has high tendency to boost corporate commitment to environmental sustainability, firms’ propensity to align CSR initiatives with real/potential pollution impacts, and corporate transparency on environmental impacts information, the internal stakeholders’ data only support transparency. The thesis contributes to environmental sustainability and CSR literature by offering a framework of CSR contribution to sustainability with a Four-Step Environmental Sustainability (FSES) model that positions accountability as a mediating factor that could boost corporate responsiveness. The key theoretical implication is that where a company breaks its social contract obligations of pollution prevention and environmental protection, the community stakeholders will perceive the environmental risk and threaten to withdraw the license to operate and demand for a strict system of environmental accountability. Depending on the robustness of the accountability system, the company will respond in by environmental performance that is compliant with stakeholder expectations of responsible and sustainable business operations. The policy implication is that oil MNCs could ease corporate-community tension by considering the perspectives of key constituents of stakeholders in their social/environmental responsibility programmes.

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Brown, Timothy G. "The News Media, Environmental Collaborations and Accountability: A survey of the EPA's Roster of Environmental Conflict Resolution and Consensus Building Professionals." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/73599.

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This study is exploratory research examining the relationship between the news media and environmental collaborations. It reports the results of a 2008 online survey of the 250 members of the EPA's National Roster of Environmental Conflict Resolution and Consensus Building Professionals. The study asked about the impact of the media on environmental collaborations, but the major finding actually concerned the significant impact that the process of collaboration has had on the press and its role in environmental problem-solving. Collaboration professionals in this study apparently no longer see the press as a major influence in environmental dispute resolution. The most common estimate of press impact was "slight". A large majority of respondents (71%) said the news media overall have a positive or neutral impact on environmental collaboration outcomes -- surprising numbers, considering the past negative history of the press and environmental issues. From the practitioner's perspective, the most important finding may concern Media Ground Rules (guidelines that govern how collaborations interact with the news media). With Media Ground Rules in place, 74% of collaborations reported the press had a positive impact. In contrast, a negative press impact was reported by 60% of collaborations without Media Ground Rules in place. Since 2008, we have seen growth in environmental collaboration, but at the same time, wholesale closures of American newspapers, along with a stunning decline in the number of environmental reporters and environmental coverage in local news. This study looks at the implications of these developments for accountability and environmental collaborations.
Ph. D.

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Barkhuizen, Madelein. "The contribution of Integrated Reporting to social and environmental accountability and sustainability." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/52270.

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This study was aimed at determining the contribution of integrated reporting to social and environmental accountability and sustainability. Current business and economic challenges include job-creation, addressing inequality and poverty and ensuring that future generations can prosper on earth. Businesses have to accept their responsibility of ensuring a sustainable future. Inasmuch as integrated reports are the visible part of an organisation s strategy, thinking and decision-making regarding various sustainability issues, it has become compulsory for companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. These reports require significant effort in their preparation. This research study was exploratory in nature. Three research questions were addressed through content analysis. A coding framework was developed that included 14 variables relating to the research questions. A sample of five listed companies from three different industries was selected and three consecutive integrated reports (a total of 45 reports) were analysed against the 14 variables using the coding frame. The 45 integrated reports for Johannesburg Stock Exchange listed organisations were compared with reports by three organisations from Russia, India and China. The study found that companies do not invest sufficiently in social and environmental sustainability and have not evolved to a stage where integrated thinking precedes the publication of integrated reports. Companies report retrospectively on environmental and social issues and have not taken a long-term view on social and environmental performance. Finally the research found small improvements in the social and environmental performance of companies that followed the guidelines of The International Integrated Reporting Framework.
Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
zk2016
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
MBA
Unrestricted

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Gowlland, Alix. "The environmental accountability of the World Bank to third party non-state actors." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.270697.

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Hassan, Aminu. "Corporate environmental accountability in the Nigerian oil and gas industry : the case of gas flaring." Thesis, University of Abertay Dundee, 2012. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.650276.

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Carbon dioxide emission due to associated natural gas flaring is among the major causes of climate change which affects the global environment adversely. Nigeria is rated as the country with second largest volume of associated natural gas being flared the world over. Dominant oil and gas companies being operated by foreign multinational oil companies have been responsible for over ninety percent of associated natural gas flaring in the Nigerian upstream sector. Aside from being waste of valuable energy resource, the damaging, environmental impact of gas flaring, along with the intense physical nature of the practice, is among the major causes of environmental-accountability-triggered conflict especially in the Niger Delta region of the country. With this in mind, this study aims at evaluating gas flaring-related environmental accountability of dominant companies operating in the upstream sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry. This is carried out via the evaluation of gas flaring-related 'environmental performance' and 'environmental disclosure' individually and together within the same framework. Deductive research strategy underpinned by positivists' research philosophy is employed to facilitate the empirical conduct of the research. Consequently, five testable hypotheses were developed from three theories, namely, Environmental Kuznets Curve theory, Pollution Haven Hypothesis and Voluntary Disclosure Theory. Each of the five hypotheses is directly related to a specific objective, so that they can be the mechanisms for meeting the objectives. By virtue of its nature, objective six is the only objective that does not have a corresponding hypothesis. To test the five hypotheses and also explore objective six, a number of analytical tools were employed. They include DEA window analysis, content analysis, one sample hypothesis test for mean, correlated two sample Hest for means, Panel Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE) using Prais-Winsten regression and simple time-series Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression in the first difference. Results obtained enabled the documentation of important key findings. Thus, the study documents empirical evidence confirming that the elements of gas flaring-related environmental accountability, namely, 'environmental performance' and 'volumetric environmental disclosure' are adverse and inadequately low respectively; and that the relationship between them is significantly positive. The 'substance' of the disclosure is also found to be not superior. It is also found that dominant companies in the sector use 'specific' or 'hard' gas flaring-related information that gives positive reflection on their reputation to legitimise their associated gas flaring and production activities. All these support the evidence, provided in this study, that gas flaring-related environmental responsibility, reporting and, in general, accountability by dominant companies in the Nigerian upstream are poor. The significance of these major findings is evident in the empirical support they lend to Environmental Kuznets Curve theory, Pollution Haven theory and Voluntary Disclosure Theory in the context of a less developed country, and the confirmatory empirical evidence that 'consequentialism' is the dominant environmental moral philosophy in the Nigerian upstream sector. The significance of the findings is further indicated by providing evidence that change in gas flaring-related environmental performance is responsible for the undulating trends in the level of environmental disclosures by companies operating in less developed countries over time.

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Bezuidenhout, Lydia. "Evaluating political accountability in water projects with the aim of determining the impact of political accountability on project sustainability." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/2449.

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Thesis (MA (Political Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.
The study investigated what the degree of political accountability is in water projects as practiced by project implementers. The evaluation was also aimed at determining the impact of political accountability on project sustainability. In order to evaluate the question, field research was conducted. Field research was of a quantitative nature, using a questionnaire. This involved (a) selecting two systems (project implementers, a municipality and a non-governmental organisation) where the systems’ political accountability within water projects could be compared, and (b) interviewing community respondents from a set questionnaire in four villages. The main findings are that (i) the level of political accountability in water projects depends on the system implementing a water project, (ii) three elements of political accountability (responsibility, information, and inclusion) differ significantly between the two systems, and (iii) political accountability has a significant impact on project sustainability. It is recommended that project implementers take into consideration the identified three elements of political accountability in order to improve project sustainability.

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Egbon, Osamuyimen. "An exploration of accountability : evidence from the Nigerian oil and gas industry." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/6537.

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The economic activities of multinational corporations (MNCs) in the extractive industries of developing countries produce a myriad of immediate negative social, economic and environmental impacts on communities hosting their operations. Consequently, stakeholders have increasingly called for (greater) accountability of these corporations for the impacts of their operations on stakeholders and the wider society. The extent to which these MNCs are accountable for their operations' negative environmental impacts in the developing countries is underexplored as prior studies have primarily focused on corporate social responsibility rather than accountability of these corporations. However, accountability apparently means different things to different parties, and especially in a non-Western context. This thesis primarily seeks to explore the concept of accountability in a developing country context and how it is understood and practised within the Nigerian oil industry. More specifically, it seeks to understand the extent to which oil MNCs in Nigeria discharge accountability in the context of gas flaring and oil spills environmental pollution emanating from their operations. The study utilises a mixed methods approach to generate data to provide understanding on stakeholders' conceptions of accountability, the nature of accounts constructed by the MNCs on gas flaring and oil spills environmental incidents, and the plausible corporate sense-making embedded within those accounts. The empirical data produce both general and nuanced conceptions of accountability between the MNCs and stakeholders. An account-giving heuristic highlights four broad and further nuanced accounts the corporations provide on these negative environmental incidents which are largely in conflict with stakeholders' narratives. Moreover, the sense-making analysis of the MNCs' accounts suggests that those accounts apparently serve corporate self-interest rather than the discharge of accountability. However, organisational, institutional, relational, and national contextual factors apparently encourage the un-accountability of the MNCs. Accountability in the Nigerian oil industry will remain elusive without critical institutional and regulatory reforms.

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Linder, Laffiché Virginie. "Banques multilatérales de développement et protection de l'environnement : Opportunité et modalités d’intégration des considérations environnementales au cycle de projet dans le cadre du financement du développement." Thesis, Cergy-Pontoise, 2017. http://www.theses.fr/2017CERG0918.

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La protection de l'environnement constitue un défi majeur pour la communauté internationale. Dépassant les frontières étatiques, elle renvoie à une vision globale de son encadrement juridique. Dans cette perspective, la problématique environnementale, incontournable dans bien des domaines, ne peut plus être ignorée par l'aide publique au développement qui doit l'intégrer dans toutes ses opérations. Longtemps critiquées pour les politiques qu’elles ont entreprises, les banques multilatérales de développement (BMD) se sont emparées de la question environnementale. Elles contribuent à renouveler les modalités de la protection de l'environnement, intensifiant et diversifiant l'arsenal juridique international en y intégrant des mécanismes innovants tels que l'évaluation environnementale, la conditionnalité environnementale ou bien encore l'accountability. La thèse se concentre sur l’étude de ces mécanismes. À travers l’observation des pratiques de la Banque mondiale et des banques régionales de développement, cette recherche en apprécie l'effectivité et montre l’ambivalence des dispositifs, oscillant entre innovation normative et immaturité de la mise en œuvre
Protecting the environment is a major challenge for the international community. Beyond the state borders, the topic refers to a global vision of its legal framework. Hence, environmental issues, which cannot be ignored in many areas, can no longer be ignored by official development assistance and must integrate this process into all its operations. Long criticized for the policies they have undertaken, the multilateral development banks (MDBs) have now seized the environmental issue. They contribute to renew the modalities of environmental protection, intensifying and diversifying the international legal arsenal, integrating innovative mechanisms such as environmental assessment, environmental conditionality and accountability. This thesis focuses on the study of these mechanisms. Through observing the practices of the World Bank and regional development banks, this research appreciates the effectiveness of these various mechanisms, and shows the ambivalence of the devices, oscillating between normative innovation and immaturity of the implementation

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Sheehan, Jared J. "Risk and CSR Reporting: A Case Study of AEP’s Corporate Accountability Report." Miami University Honors Theses / OhioLINK, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=muhonors1303341741.

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Prilutski, Christy A. "Analyzing the accountability, systems and efficiency of demand planning processes in a consumer products environment." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/37237.

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Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2006.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-103).
As consumer products companies like P&G strive to achieve a consumer driven supply network, the value of forecast accuracy comes into question. Many companies push for faster cycle times and shorter supply chains, driving towards make-to-order production. These trends may appear to reduce the importance of forecasts. However, a closer look into P&G and their business reveals that sales forecasts are still very important and have a far reaching impact stretching from the supply network through to Wall Street. This thesis evaluates the forecasting process in a company like P&G. The thesis delves into the accountability around sales forecasts and proposes a top-down, statistical process for creating and tracking forecast accuracy which was implemented across P&G's global organization. Another analysis is conducted on the evaluation of a new demand planning system which provides more granular input data for generating forecasts, and the implications from this trial on the demand planning process. Finally, an assessment on the efficiency of current systems is also detailed.
by Christy A. Prilutski.
S.M.
M.B.A.

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Sheate, William Robert. "Accountability in environmental assessment law, policy and practice : changing paradigms, changing purposes in the European Union, 1985-2010." Thesis, Staffordshire University, 2011. http://eprints.staffs.ac.uk/1897/.

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Twenty five years since the introduction of the European Union (EU) environmental impact assessment (EIA) Directive in 1985 this thesis reflects on how environmental assessment (EA) legislation in the EU has evolved, how it has responded to changing policy contexts (paradigms) and whether the experience of implementing EIA and strategic environmental assessment (SEA) in the EU provides useful insights into the nature and role of environmental assessment (EA) instruments. Paralleling this development of EU legislation has been the continuing and slowly maturing debates around EA theory. Surprisingly ‐ in the context of legal mandates for EA ‐ there is little reference in the EA literature explicitly to the literature on accountability and the role EA may play in this increasingly important aspect of governance. This thesis examines how the legislation has changed over the 25 year period in response to the changing policy context, and – through drawing on empirical action and policy‐oriented research reported in the selected papers – seeks to answer the core research question “To what extent have EA processes, over the course of their evolution in the EU, provided a platform for enhancing accountability and sustainability?”. The thesis examines EA implementation principally from an environmentalist perspective and particularly the way in which NGOs and other advocates for the environment in the UK and EU have used the EA legislation as a lever for increasing democratic, corporate and professional accountability of proponents and decision‐makers alike. Accountability is implicit as a theme underlying the selected papers, but it is the collecting together and synthesis that provides a new lens through which to view EA. The thesis seeks to fill a significant policy and practice gap between the theoretical discussion in the EA community – the role and purpose of EA – and the practical and legal discussions around implementation. From this historical analysis it is clear that EA has had an important role to play – at the legislative level in providing the requirements for accountability, and at the implementation level as the lever that can be used to hold individuals, organisations and authorities to account for their actions. The relationship with the shift to sustainability is shown to be a close one, since sustainable development demands greater public involvement in decision‐making and greater accountability of executive decisions to the public. The lessons from the body of work presented here allow the development of a nascent policy‐oriented theory and research agenda regarding EA’s role in accountability, which provides a framework for a distinctive new area of EA research and policy analysis. Moreover, an accountability perspective on EA could help re‐frame EA for policy makers from being purely an informational and procedural instrument to one which promotes better accountability and sustainability simultaneously.

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Chang, Huei-Chun, and huei-chun chang@rmit edu au. "Environmental Management Accounting within Universities: Current State and Future Potential." RMIT University. Accounting and Law, 2008. http://adt.lib.rmit.edu.au/adt/public/adt-VIT20080424.122823.

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Environmental management accounting (EMA) is attracting increased recognition as a management tool that assists in improving financial and environmental performance through enhanced environmental accountability. Various industries have been included in EMA-related research and study, but universities have typically failed to be the focus of the attention. This research studied the experiences of key managers from five universities to explore potential factors influencing the decision to adopt, or not to adopt, EMA within the higher education sector. For the purpose of this study, EMA is defined as the generation, analysis, and use of monetary (or financial) and physical (or non-financial) environment-related information in order to improve organisational financial and environmental performance. The two objectives of this study were to understand current accounting practices for managing major environmental costs, and to identify factors influencing EMA adoption within universities. For the purpose of this study, the major environmental costs referred to are limited to the costs pertaining to the consumption of electricity, water and paper, and the generation of wastes. A case study methodology was followed using semi-structured interviews of key personnel with four different management functions (i.e. environmental management, management accounting, senior management, and heads of academic schools) within each university, and performing content analysis on the transcribed interview data. Specifically for achieving the second research objective, a theoretical framework that considers four theories was embraced to guide the data collection and focus the study. The four theories are contingency theory, institutional theory, legitimacy theory, and stakeholder theory. The findings of the first research objective revealed that there was a general lack of EMA utilisation within the case universities. This was in part due to a perceived lack of appreciation by key personnel of the extent of environmental costs being incurred, but arguably mainly because of the absence of relevant environmental cost information being brought to the attention of senior management. Although environmental sustainability was promoted as important from an environmental management perspective, efforts to improve internal environmental accountability, in particular from an accounting perspective, were still absent. In relation to the second research objective, it was found that five key barriers contributed to this lack of EMA utilisation within the five case universities, and they were attitudinal, financial, informational, institutional, and management barriers. Among the factors that provide further explanations about how each barrier influences EMA adoption, resistance to change, resource constraints, (a lack of) legitimacy considerations, and a lack of environmental responsibility & accountability were found to be strong factors, as they were supported in all of the five cases. Apart from the theoretical extension to this area of research, the results and findings of this study supported the uses and applications of EMA by the higher education sector. Much more can, and should, be done by universities in relation to how they account for the environment. This can provide benefits not only for the sector itself, but also for the environment in which we live.

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Godoi, Alexandre Franco de. "Contabilidade ambiental: um estudo do disclosure de informações ambientais, das empresas dos setores de alto impacto ambiental, integrantes do ISE Índice de Sustentabilidade Empresarial." Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, 2011. https://tede2.pucsp.br/handle/handle/1467.

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Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T18:39:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Alexandre Franco de Godoy.pdf: 1608626 bytes, checksum: d368775242196d25aaaacc580c7b23df (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-10-10
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
Environmental Accounting aims to provide adequate information of the measurement of economic events related to the environment by contributing to the disclosure of the decision making process of internal and external users. The search for greater disclosure and accountability of environmental issues has led companies to promote the dissemination of information in its financial statements, although not complying with any specific regulations. In Brazil, the environmental disclosure is not required by law or regulation, there are only guidelines that encourage their development. This research aims to analyze the characteristics of environmental disclosure in financial statements of a sample of companies of the Corporate Sustainability Index (CSI) Stock Exchange São Paulo (BOVESPA) and belonging to the economic sectors of high environmental impact. To achieve the goal we carried out a descriptive survey, relying on the theoretical foundation for literature and content analysis to analyze the environmental disclosure in the Financial Statements (DFP's) for the fiscal year 2009. The results indicate that because there is no legal requirement in Brazil companies opt to make the voluntary disclosure, with the features for this type of disclosure the predominance of environmental declarative sentences and good information for the image or some kind of credit for the company, are using the Management Report as the primary means for communication, which is not subject to verification by an auditor may be questioned about the credibility of the information it disclosed
A Contabilidade Ambiental tem por objetivo fornecer informações adequadas sobre a mensuração dos eventos econômicos relacionados ao meio ambiente, contribuindo por meio de seu disclosure, para o processo decisório dos usuários internos e externos. A busca por um maior disclosure e accountability das questões ambientais tem levado as empresas a promover a divulgação de informações em suas demonstrações financeiras, muito embora sem estar em conformidade com alguma regulamentação específica. No Brasil o disclosure ambiental não é exigido por leis ou regulamentos, havendo apenas orientações incentivando sua elaboração. Esta pesquisa tem o objetivo de analisar as características do disclosure ambiental nas demonstrações financeiras de uma amostra de empresas integrantes do Índice de Sustentabilidade Empresarial (ISE) da Bolsa de Valores do Estado de São Paulo (BOVESPA) e pertencentes aos setores econômicos de alto impacto ambiental. Para atingir o objetivo foi realizada uma pesquisa descritiva, apoiando-se na pesquisa bibliográfica para fundamentação teórica e na análise de conteúdo para analisar o disclosure ambiental nas Demonstrações Financeiras Padronizadas (DFP s), referentes ao exercício social de 2009. Os resultados indicam que, por não haver exigência legal no Brasil, as empresas optam pela realização do disclosure voluntário, tendo como características para este tipo de disclosure a predominância de sentenças ambientais declarativas e de informações boas para a imagem ou algum tipo de crédito para a empresa, sendo utilizado o Relatório da Administração como o principal meio para sua comunicação, o qual por não ser submetido a uma verificação pela Auditoria Independente pode vir a ser questionado sobre a credibilidade das informações nele divulgadas

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Wijaya, Andy Fefta, and wija0002@flinders edu au. "Water as a Public Good in Indonesia: An evaluation of water supply service performance in an Indonesian water supply enterprise as a means to address social and environmental justice concerns." Flinders University. Flinders Institute of Public Policy and Management, 2006. http://catalogue.flinders.edu.au./local/adt/public/adt-SFU20060522.144632.

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A water supply service can be seen as a public or private good, but this thesis makes the argument that water is vital for society and so to ensure accountability it is important that water governance includes citizens' participation for social and environmental justice concerns. Public goods are generally defined as goods and services that are provided by 'means of public policy' (Lane, 1993, p. 21), or 'collective political choice' (Stretton & Orchard, 1994, p. 54) rather than by means of an individual market mechanism in which private goods are usually provided. This thesis addresses the function of water as a public good. If social and environmental goals of water use are ignored, the implications can be detrimental particularly for the poorest members of society. An organization's goal effectiveness is usually related to its success in achieving desired outcomes of the organization's goals through a systemic management interaction across organizational aspects at the input, process, output, and outcome/impact stages. This thesis argues an evaluation model of performance measurement can be developed to reflect the characteristics of a public good for a water supply utility, and this model of performance measurement can assist in addressing issues of social and environmental justice. Harris et al argue that better governance can only be achieved by working for democracy in multiple arenas (Harriss, Stokke, & Tornquist, 2004, pp. 7-8). This study considers multidimensional performance measures taking on board the values of many stakeholders with different backgrounds. It 'unfolds' and 'sweeps in' in many dimensions in an attempt at systemic representation (Ulrich, 1983, p. 169). McIntyre- Mills states that 'service need to reflect the values of the users and for this to occur the users need to participate in and decide on policy design and governance' (McIntyre-Mills, 2003, p. 14). Performance measurement systems can be used to detect a gap between services supplied by providers and various needs demanded by stakeholders. The thesis develops an outcome performance measurement model for evaluating social equity and environmental justice concerns. It draws on and adapts four performance measurement models of the International Water Association, World Bank, Indonesian Home Affairs Department and Indonesian Water Supply Enterprise Association. A complementary combined method was developed that addresses qualitative and quantitative governance concerns as they perform to water supply performance problems. Three research methods were used, namely the case study, survey and focus group discussion for collecting qualitative and quantitative data from the three governance sectors. These were triangulated. Five research tools in the case study method were used for collecting information from stakeholders in the three governance sectors including interview, personal communication or email, document analysis, direct observation and documentation. The survey was used to investigate 431 respondents from three case study locations in Cinusa1 city, and the two focus groups were conducted in the city's water supply company management for discussing problems of water supply performance as summarized from the survey. The locus of this study was concentrated in the Cinusa city jurisdiction area, and the focus was the performance problem of the water supply company in Cinusa during 2001-2004. However, a comparative study of water supply performance nationally and internationally is presented for analyzing relative performance gaps.This research evaluates interconnections among cost inefficiency, tariff escalation and other non-financial performances: water supply quantity, quality, continuity and pressure. Inefficient costs because of corrupt, collusive and nepotistic practices in this Indonesian water supply company implicate cost burdens in the company and prevent this water local public enterprise perform its social and environmental missions. The Cinusa local government as the owner of this local public enterprise and the Cinusa local parliament hold a monopoly power in some important decisions related to this local public enterprise, including tariff policy, senior management positions and the total amount of profit share paid to the local government. Such customers from lower income household instead of being subsidized as specified in the national regulation are paying at a profitable tariff and subsidizing this enterprise's inefficiency and the government's locally generated revenue. The inefficiency alongside the profit sharing policy also weakens this enterprise's capacity to invest and improve its service performances. Improving the service performance is essential for current and potential customers and could also benefit the society economically, socially and environmentally, besides being of economic benefit to the enterprise itself. Securing public health concerns and groundwater preservations can be conducted by improving the accessibility, the availability and the reliability of water quality, quantity, pressure and continuity. This research presents an evaluation model for improving the accountability of water supply by means of performance management tool and it makes policy recommendations.

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Julin, Tove, and Christine Persson. "Female Livelihoods And Perceived Risks Near The Betwa River : A minor field study in Mandideep, Madhya Pradesh, India." Thesis, Södertörns högskola, Institutionen för naturvetenskap, miljö och teknik, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-37516.

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There is enough freshwater on the planet to ensure clean and accessible water for every human being. Despite this fact, water scarcity is a global problem affecting the livelihoods of people everywhere. This paradox can be seen in India. The country has a vast source of water through their many rivers and lakes. Nevertheless, it battles with issues regarding water scarcity and sanitation. Groundwater and rivers are polluted to a high extent and known contaminators are both human waste and industrial effluents. In Mandideep municipality, located in Madhya Pradesh, India, industrial effluents and sewage waste is dumped into the Betwa river which is heavily polluted as a result. These premises lay the foundation for this minor field study whichlooks at women’s wellbeing and capabilities through the lens of ecofeminism and the sustainable livelihood approach. Four villages, in close proximity to the river, are subject of investigation with the aim to understand the female perception of the Betwa river and whetherthe water quality impacts women’s livelihood strategies or not. During the field study, 21 women in these villages have been interviewed. The study concludes that the women’spossibilities are directly connected to environmental wellbeing where the continued undermining of natural resources reduces their capability to obtain sustainable livelihoods. The level of interaction with the river depends on the geographic position of the villages and its proximity to industrial belt of Mandideep.

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19

De, Silva T.-A. "Voluntary environmental reporting: the why, what and how." Lincoln University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/928.

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Society is increasingly calling for organisations to demonstrate corporate social responsibility (CSR). To fulfil this demand, organisations need to be accountable, democratic and transparent to their stakeholders. This can be achieved using a number of tools including communication about the environmental, social and economic impacts of an organisation’s actions and activities. Yet despite the importance of communicating environmental information, and society’s heightened environmental awareness, organisations are still demonstrating an insufficient commitment to environmental reporting, continuing their reluctance to be open and accountable about their environmental impacts. This suggests organisations currently have little understanding of why they should report, what they should report and/or how they should report. For environmental reporting progress to be achieved it is important that we have knowledge of how various factors influence voluntary environmental reporting engagement. This research, in contributing to and extending the body of environmental reporting knowledge, aims to provide an understanding of the Why, What and How of voluntary environmental reporting by specifically examining: why organisations should, and why organisations do, voluntarily report environmental information; what environmental information organisations should, and what environmental information organisations do, voluntarily report; and how organisations should, and how organisations do, voluntarily report environmental information. In using a combination of research methodologies this research extends prior CSR reporting studies – closing the gap between voluntary environmental reporting practice and theory, providing better insights into the underlying reasons and motivations for voluntary environmental reporting, and providing improved knowledge of the considerations made by companies as part of the voluntary environmental reporting process. In doing so, this research presents a more recent examination of voluntary environmental reporting in the annual reports of New Zealand and Australian publicly listed companies. Aspects of voluntary environmental reporting that have not been extensively examined before, particularly in Australasia, are examined. These include a focus on content-quality (as opposed to reporting quantity), an investigation of the effect of public pressure (using a combination of three proxy measures), and, through the use of qualitative research, an expansion of the insights obtained from quantitative data. This research finds that New Zealand and Australian publicly listed companies continue to have an insufficient and incorrect understanding of why they should report, what they should report and/or how they should voluntarily report environmental information. This deficient understanding results in voluntary environmental reporting in their annual reports which is inadequate – the reporting lacks meaning and purpose (i.e. has form but little or no substance), and reflects managers’ incorrect perceptions about the environmental impact of their company’s actions and activities. As a result voluntary environmental reporting in the annual reports of New Zealand and Australian publicly listed companies fails to “… give an understanding, which is not misleading, …” of the environmental consequences of an organisation’s actions and activities (adapted from Alexander & Jermakowicz, 2006, p. 132), providing little accountability to stakeholders, and serving neither external stakeholders nor those reporting well. As the demand for organisations to demonstrate accountability to stakeholders continues to increase over time it is important to develop informed environmental reporting guidance and undertake further examinations of the Why, What and How of environmental reporting.

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Grigato, Rosemay Bebber. "A política ambiental e a estratégia de responsabilidade empresarial da CVRD na cidade de Vitória, 1981/2004." Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, 2006. http://repositorio.ufes.br/handle/10/6320.

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This work studies the implementation of environmental policies in the city of Vitória and strategies for environmental accountability within the CVRD. It relates the process leading to the formulation of a National Policy on the Environment between 1981 and 2004, the instruments used and its implementation in municipal areas according to the federal constitution of 1988; it describes the implantation and expansion of CVRD in the Steel Producing Complex of Tubarão; it analyses the policies and environment of the city of Vitória, highlighting the instruments and strategies used by the local authority to maintain environmental control of CVRD; finally it looks at the strategies undertaken by the company in the absence of environmental controls (pre 1980), using the instruments predominant in the 1980 s for direct regulation of the environment (command and control) and, finally after Rio 92 which resulted in the propagation of sustainable development, a concept whose spread helped reduce the conflicts between preservationism and progressivism. Notwithstanding, through the efforts of local and state environmental organs using stringent policies of command and control, advances were made, obliging CVRD to introduce environmental control systems. Initially the company was resistant to the decisions taken by the local authorities, later adopting a delaying strategy in the implementation of these decisions. With the recent reduction in the role of the state and the increased responsibility of corporations, the company has adopted the idea of sustainable development as its own and incorporated environmental accountability in an attempt to show itself to be in harmony with society and the environment. To this end CVRD makes use of environmental marketing strategies essential for a company that wishes to give the impression that it is committed to environmental quality, while in fact, society continues to suffer from the effects of its impact on the environment
Estuda a implementação da política ambiental do município de Vitória e a estratégia de responsabilidade ambiental da CVRD. O trabalho relata a trajetória de 1981 a 2004, da constituição da Política Nacional de Meio Ambiente, os instrumentos e sua municipalização de acordo com a Constituição Federal de 1988; descreve a implantação e expansão da CVRD no Complexo Siderúrgico de Tubarão; analisa a política e gestão ambiental do município de Vitória, destacando os instrumentos e a estratégia do poder local de regulação ambiental da CVRD; por fim, analisa a estratégia empreendida pela empresa quando da ausência de regulação ambiental (anterior à década de 1980), quando dos instrumentos de política ambiental de regulação direta (comando e controle) predominante na década de 1980 e, finalmente, a partir da RIO 92 que possibilitou a disseminação do desenvolvimento sustentável, uma concepção que se espraiou, arrefecendo os conflitos entre preservacionistas e desenvolvimentistas. Contudo, os esforços dos órgãos ambientais, local e estadual, utilizando uma política coercitiva de comando e controle logrou avanços, obrigando a CVRD a implantar sistemas de controle ambiental. A princípio, a empresa resistiu às determinações do poder público, depois passou a adotar a estratégia de protelar a implementação das determinações oficiais e, na contemporaneidade, no momento em que o papel do Estado é minimizado e, o das corporações agigantado, a empresa se apropria do discurso do desenvolvimento sustentável e incorpora ações de responsabilidade ambiental para mostra-se harmoniosa com a sociedade e o meio ambiente. Para tanto, utiliza estratégia de marketing ambiental, elemento facilitador para que a empresa se apresente comprometida com a qualidade ambiental quando, na realidade, a sociedade continua a sofrer por seus impactos ambientais.

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Shelley, Alexander R. "Gauging Corporate Governance for Sustainability : Public-Private Partnership in Accounting for Sustainable Development." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för geovetenskaper, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-203648.

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Corporate finance reporting is based in rigorous, rules-based frameworks yet environmental and social reporting does not seem to have these normalised tools. The sustainable development of the business movement, in terms of increased environmental and social responsibility, will remain marginal as long as policy decisions maintain their direction towards old models of corporate governance that are not based on the key principles of the triple-bottom line, CSR and accountability. This thesis attempts to gauge to what extent Public-Private Partnership performs a transparent and independent source and appraisal of the standards of Governance for Sustainability for selected firms. This investigation is delimited to an Environmental Social Governance metric analysis and comparison of non-financial corporate data disclosure in sustainability reports from the mining and metals industry in the Nordic countries. It has been inferred from the analysis that an extrapolation can be made based on the financial predictions and trend prospecting of LKAB, Boliden Group, Lundin Mining Corporation, and the Swedish Association of Mines, Mineral and Metal Producers for the future growth of both the Nordic mining sector and sustainability reporting. As a result, ‘best-practice’ in reporting procedures could be exported to where demand is highest from pioneering firms with the ‘first-mover’ advantage, to SME’s and other interested firm’s outside of the Nordic countries. It has been identified that using the Global Reporting Initiative reporting framework enhances partnerships in businesses that adopt and use its index to the extent where it becomes integrated into their management chains and business strategies. The more comprehensively a firm discloses its non-financial performances with relation to the GRI framework, the more integrated reports appear to become. The standardisation of the accurate reporting and disclosure used from the GRI G3.1 varies greatly just between three firms in the same sector and region.

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Kleinrichert, Denise. "Responsibility and practice in notions of corporate social responsibility." [Tampa, Fla] : University of South Florida, 2007. http://purl.fcla.edu/usf/dc/et/SFE0001893.

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Smith, Taylor Robert. "Evaluating the Effects of Non-Anonymity on Student Team-Member Evaluations." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2013. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/3623.

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This thesis investigates the effect that non-anonymity has upon student team-member evaluations; more specifically, it looked at how to create conditions of openness and honesty in which students will readily give and receive constructive criticism. The central hypothesis of this research is that if students are taught and prepared to properly give and receive constructive criticism, and have multiple opportunities to do so, non-anonymous feedback is the most effective and desirable. In order to gauge the effects of non-anonymity, eight specific hypotheses relating to different aspects of the feedback process were tested. Predictions were made as to the effects upon the self-awareness and defensiveness of those who received feedback, the honesty and candor of those who provided it, as well as the effect upon teams' levels of trust and unity, and levels of performance. The statistical analysis showed that non-anonymity had no significant effect upon self-awareness, trust and unity, and performance. Significant differences were observed for honesty and candor, as well as defensiveness. Although some of these differences were in favor, others were contrary to the assumptions that were made. One of the results showed that at the beginning of the procedure, non-anonymous ratings were more lenient, but at the end of the process there was no difference. This was as expected. In regards to the overall process, non-anonymous students perceived ratings to be less honest and candid. A second conclusion was that non-anonymous students were actually more defensive towards negative feedback. In the end, there was no strong evidence for or against non-anonymity, and thus it appears that there was no major treatment effect. There are two justifications as to why this may be the case. These are based upon insights gained from the free-response section of a follow-up survey which the participants took. First, if non-anonymous feedback does indeed produce positive outcomes it may take a longer period of time for these differences to be noticed. This process took place over only about a three-month period, and feedback was received only 3-4 weeks apart. Secondly, when teams are small (i.e., only 3-5 members), it is difficult to maintain anonymity, which essentially removes the treatment. From these observations, the final recommendation of this report is that for students working in small teams, non-anonymous feedback is preferable. This is because, as just noted, anonymity is difficult to maintain even if it is a required condition. It seems that pretending that anonymity exists, when in fact it does not, actually hinders transparency and trust. Also, it seems that giving feedback non-anonymously will more effectively prepare students for working on teams in their careers, as this is more reflective of the way that feedback will be provided in the workforce.

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Gardner, Le Gars Joanne Claire. "The implications of wicked problems for the legitimacy of European environmental policy development : the case of environmental risks from the pharmaceutical endocrine disrupter, 17α-ethinyl oestradiol, under the European Water Framework Directive." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/33737.

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The issue of environmental risks from the pharmaceutical endocrine disrupter 17 alpha-ethinyl oestradiol (EE2), which is an active ingredient in the contraceptive pill, confronts government responsibilities for citizens' health with potential environmental risks from its presence in aquatic ecosystems. Further to a risk appraisal process conducted under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) between 2006 and 2012, the European Commission recommended the imposition of an environmental quality standard for EE2. In 2013, this recommendation was rejected by politicians. The outcome was both contested and commended. The UK Government was particularly vehement in its opposition and claimed that the risk assessment process for EE2 was not robust. The UK Government also insisted that it had swayed opinion of other EU Member States to convince them that action for EE2 was not proportionate given the extremely elevated costs of risk control options. At the present time, environmental policy for EE2 and other endocrine disrupters remains resolutely ineffective. Despite three distinct policy interventions recommending precautionary action for EE2 during the past twenty years, emissions of this potent, oestrogenic endocrine disrupter continue unabated. This thesis explains why European politicians rejected the European Commission’s risk governance recommendations for EE2 in 2013 under the Water Framework Directive. This comprises its principal empirical contribution. A novel analytical framework which draws on insights from the policy sciences, risk governance and wicked problems literature is developed. This framework is employed to determine whether the policy outcome for EE2, and the decision-making processes that preceded it, were legitimate. The research findings in this respect advance understanding of the implications of specific properties of wicked problems, of which it is argued, EE2 is an example, for the legitimacy of decision-making processes during the risk appraisal and political phases of policy development in Europe. This comprises the principle theoretical contribution of the thesis. Recommendations to promote more effective and legitimate policy development for wicked problems in similar multi-level governance contexts are also made.

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Bousfield, Rodrigo. "Proposta de modelo de parcerias cidadã como estratégia de gestão da co-produção do bem público : estudo de caso do programa catarinense de parcerias público-privado." Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, 2005. http://tede.udesc.br/handle/handle/162.

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
The present dissertation aims to accomplish the exigencies for the conclusion of the Professional Masters Course in Business Administration, of the Business Administration Center of the Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, in the framework of the research line with which the author is associated. The work obeyed a Qualification Project, previously approved by an Examining Board formed by professors of the course. The work begins in the problematic of the rearrangement of public services as a whole, despite the State s lack of capacity in accomplishing the necessities of new investments, what determines the search of the efficiency by the co-production of public resources. Another issue of this problematic is the necessity of the legitimacy of the co-production strategy. The academic study is justified by its theory, economical and social importance of the co-production, as well as the problematic surrounding the subject, once the theme public-private partnership is recent and an issue not yet resolved in practical terms as an effective instrument for the public administration in the country and in Santa Catarina. The aim of this research is to propose a partnership model for the co-production of the public resources that can accomplish with the fundamental principia of the public law and public administration, in terms of efficiency and legitimacy of the State, as to better accomplish with the citizen s interests . The theory revised approached subjects as Administrative Law, Public Administration, Public Services and Public-Private Partnership, Legitimacy and Efficiency, Accountability, Social Responsibility, Environmental Sustainability, among others. The methodological procedures pointed as a method the documental analysis and, incidentally, the case study of the Partnership Programs of Santa Catarina. In a complementary way, were also researched the recent partnership programs of Brazil and of the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Goias e Ceará, evaluating them in the juridical ordainment as partnerships of the PPP s type, among other analysis instruments. Therefore, the objects and subjects of the research are the programs of Public-Private Partnerships of Santa Catarina, of Brazil, and of other states, whose data were collected in documental sources. For the Santa Catarina s case, semidirected interviews were used. The data treatment used the content analysis, including the exam of the juridical ordainment and of the partnership models, using a comparative analysis of the partnership legislation of Santa Catarina, Brazil and other states, in face of the revised theory, to the Law and Public Administration and other countries experiences, and in relation to other categories defined in the research. The study reveals that the majority of Santa Catarina s partnership models, as well as the others evaluated models, don t present mechanisms that assure efficiency or legitimacy conditions. Therefore, from the data analysis, the research made possible the elaboration of the propose Models of Public-Private-Citizen Partnership PPC , which constitutes an environment for the emancipatory citizenship and for the business social responsibility, guided by a Citizenship Counsel, webbed with other communitarian centers, supported by a Citizenship Found.
A presente Dissertação visa atender às exigências de conclusão do Mestrado Profissional em Administração, do Centro de Ciências da Administração da Universidade do Estado de Santa Carina, no âmbito da linha de pesquisa a qual o autor está vinculado. O trabalho obedeceu a um Projeto de Qualificação, previamente aprovado por Banca Examinadora composta por Professores do Curso. O trabalho parte da problemática do redimensionamento dos serviços públicos como um todo, além da falta de capacidade do Estado em atender às necessidades de novos investimentos, o que determina, entre outras alternativas, a busca da efetividade por meio da co-produção do bem público. Outra questão da problemática é a necessidade de legitimidade da estratégia de co-produção. O estudo acadêmico é justificado pela importância teórica, econômica e social da Co-produção, bem como da problemática em torno do assunto, haja vista que o tema parceria público-privado é recente e uma questão ainda não resolvida em termos práticos como um instrumento efetivo para a gestão pública no país e em Santa Catarina. A Pesquisa tem como objetivo "propor um modelo de parcerias para a co-produção do bem público que possa atender aos princípios fundamentais do Direito Público e da Administração Pública, em termos de efetividade e de legitimidade do Estado, a fim de melhor realizar os interesses dos cidadãos". A fundamentação teórica abrangeu temas como Direito Administrativo, Administração Pública, Serviços Públicos e Parceria Público-Privada, Efetividade e Legitimidade, Accountability, Responsabilidade Social e Sustentabilidade Ambiental, entre outros. Os procedimentos metodológicos apontam como método a análise documental e, incidentalmente, para o estudo de caso do Programa de Parcerias de SC. De forma complementar, foram também pesquisados os recentes programas de parcerias federal e dos estados de São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Goiás e Ceará avaliando no ordenamento jurídico as parcerias do tipo PPP´s, entre outros elementos de análise. Assim, os objetos e sujeitos da pesquisa são os programas de Parcerias Público-Privadas catarinense, federal e de outros estados brasileiros, cujos dados foram coletados por meio de fontes documentais. Para o caso de SC, foi utilizado entrevista individual semi-dirigida. O tratamento dos dados compreendeu a análise de conteúdo, incluindo o exame do ordenamento jurídico e dos modelos de parcerias, compreendendo uma análise comparativa da legislação de parcerias catarinense, federal e dos demais estados, frente ao arcabouço teórico, aos princípios do Direito e da Administração Pública e experiências de outros países, e em relação às categorias definidas na Pesquisa. A Pesquisa revela que os modelos de parceria catarinense, bem como os demais modelos avaliados, na sua grande maioria, não apresentam mecanismos que assegurem efetividade ou condições de legitimidade. Assim, a partir da análise dos resultados, a Pesquisa possibilitou elaborar uma proposta de "Modelo de Parcerias Público-Privada-Cidadã - PPC", constituindo ambientes da cidadania emancipatória e de responsabilidade social empresarial, instrumentalizados pelo Conselho da Cidadania, em rede com centros comunitários, com o suporte de um Fundo da Cidadania

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Ho, John Kong Shan. "Corporate accountability in a globalizing environment : empirical evidence." Thesis, University of Dundee, 2009. https://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/61363f6b-b793-4623-b6d8-ab9a1a4b47c0.

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For many years, there have been vigorous arguments between supporters of the shareholder and stakeholder models as to which system is more effective in enhancing corporate values and disciplining managements. What view one takes of course very much depends on political viewpoint and national background. For example. economists or lawyers in the US or UK may argue that the Anglo-American shareholder model is more appropriate. This is because there is at least a criterion (i. e. share price) by which you could measure and compare corporate performance. Supporters of the shareholder model may argue that the concept of stakeholder is anticapitalism and that it is too broad and abstract, providing no clear boundary as to who may or may not fall into that category. Yet in contrast, their Japanese or German (and other Continental European) counterparts may argue that the Anglo-American approach of primarily focusing on share value and wealth maximization is too narrow and an over-simplistic view of the role played by corporations. Supporters of the stakeholder theory would argue that it is necessary to take into consideration interests beyond those of shareholders. This is because businesses ought to demonstrate certain responsibilities towards the society in which they operate. This thesis neither supports nor challenges the validity of either the shareholder or stakeholder approach. Instead it attempts to search for a "middle approach". The aim is to bring the concept of both values together to form a corporate governance model based on convergence and co-existence. The main proposal of this thesis is as follows. Living in the twenty-first century, we must understand that our world is neither being Americanized nor Europeanized or Orientalised. We are instead being globalized. National identities in terms of corporations will become less and less important as multinational corporations extend their activities throughout the globe. With the advance in technology and increase in cross-border business transactions amongst countries, it is no longer justified to argue that "one business model fits all". As academics and practitioners we must therefore explore ways in which we could bring the best out of different models so that they can be converged to form a more coherent approach towards the balancing of different conflicting interests.

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Noah, Abdurafiu Olaiya. "Accounting for the environment : the accountability of the Nigerian cement industry." Thesis, University of Essex, 2017. http://repository.essex.ac.uk/18912/.

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The focus of this thesis is to study corporate environmental accounting in Nigeria, specifically analysing how corporate environmental issues (CEIs) are accounted for in the Nigerian cement industry. Environmental pollution arising from corporate operations has been a major concern among transnational organisations (e.g. World Bank, IMF), governments, policymakers and society. Over the past two or more decades, environmental issues have taken on a more significant role in business decisions, corporate planning and global politics (Boutros-Ghali, 1992; Gray et al., 2014). Environmental issues have certainly deserved attention from academia so that research could be undertaken to understand and address the problems (see Freeman, 1984; Strong, 1992; Callan and Thomas, 2000; Darabaris, 2008). There have been various pieces of research on corporate environmental accounting, however their focus has principally been on issues in developed countries (e.g. Buhr and Freedman, 1996; O’Dwyer, 2005; Gray 2010). Developing and emerging economies are in fact creating significant amounts of environmental pollution on a daily basis due to their industrial development (UNEP, 2011; World Bank, 2014; WHO, 2014). Among others, Nigeria has been identified as one such country, with a high level of environmental pollution that contributes significantly to global environmental problems (Adeoti, 2001; UNEP, 2011; Yale, 2012). In the same vein, corporations in Nigeria have been found to be a key contributor for this problem. While corporations should be held accountable for their impacts on the environment, the political, economic and social context in Nigeria have all made corporate environmental accounting a challenge to be achieved. This highlights the need for more research in this area in order to enhance our knowledge on corporate environmental accounting issues in a developing country such as Nigeria, as well as potentially to initiate discussions on how to resolve corporate environmental problems. Most studies in Nigeria have looked at the impacts of environmental issues with no research focused on the management and reporting of environmental issues by corporations in the country and in particular, the cement industry (up to the time when this thesis was written). Therefore, this thesis examined how corporations in particular cement companies have been managing, accounting and reporting environmental issues generated by their operational activities in Nigeria. In order to achieve the purpose of the thesis, it has been necessary to adopt a subjectivity ontology and interpretive epistemology, which entails the use of qualitative perspectives. The study chose a case study approach (two companies were selected to be the case studies) and collected empirical data using a combination of semi-structured interviews, visual techniques and documentary analysis. Unlike most studies in Nigeria that have used the survey questionnaire approach (Owolabi, 2008; Ngwakwe, 2009; Oba et al., 2012; Hassan and Kouhy, 2013), this thesis will provide a more insightful qualitative view on corporate environmental accounting practices in Nigeria. The study also relied on convergent institutional and resource dependence theories as conceptualised by Oliver (1991) to provide a better understanding of CEIs management and reporting in the two chosen cases in particular and Nigeria as whole. The research found that the cement industry was a key environmental polluter in Nigeria, and that companies were under pressure from a number of agents to reduce environmental pollution. It further showed that environmental accountability practices in the Nigerian cement sector are largely influenced by the external institutional environment/factors, and that environmental accountability practices have become more a means of ensuring legitimacy with no significant impact on the wellbeing of citizens and the environment. It also demonstrated that the case studies adopted certain strategies in confronting the challenges from external institutions. Finally, the study contributes to the existing literature on social and environmental accounting research, especially from an emerging countries perspective. The findings from the research will also have theoretical and practical policy implications in Nigeria and the world at large.

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Bailey, Candice. "Creating equitable environments for English language learners in the age of accountability." Thesis, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10123714.

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The demographic composition of the American classroom reflects the diversity of society as a whole. The cultural, language, and ethnic diversity of students is often celebrated, but it also presents challenges for educators responsible for providing instruction for the students. The purpose of this study is to explore the ways in which some educators have prepared to address language diversity and the strategies and techniques they have used to create equitable learning environments for English Language Learners (ELLs).

A comparative case study was conducted to gain insight into the characteristics of an equitable environment for ELLs and the practices school principals, English as a Second Language (ESOL) teachers, and regular education teachers use to foster and create equitable learning environment. Data were collected through individual interviews and document reviews of the School Improvement Plan (SIP) and the Title I plan of each school site. Analysis of data resulted in four premises. Characteristics of equitable environments for ELLs create a sense of belonging for students and their families and increase engagement. Equitable environments offer professional respect and support for teachers and include respect for student and family learning opportunities. Outcomes for ELL student improve when deliberate strategies to provide access to resources and the curriculum are in place. Ultimately, equitable environments empower ELL students, their families, and educators to fully participate in the teaching and learning process and support the improvement of outcomes for all students.

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Saliba, Mark Ronald. "The Response of School Leaders to Equity Demands in the Environment of Accountability." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/194536.

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Principals and instructional coaches from four high-performing and equitable-performing elementary schools stratified by socioeconomic level were interviewed. The main concern of participants was meeting student performance challenges set by accountability systems and measured by mandated tests. This concern was manifested in a focus on the needs and educational progress of individual children. Other participant concerns included investing in teachers, analyzing test data collaboratively, intervening on behalf of struggling students, dealing with the current accountability environment, building productive learning environments, achieving educational equity, and maintaining identity as a leader. Participants demonstrated a rather low knowledge of accountability system mechanics and ambivalence about accountability system features; however, they fully embraced the spirit of "leaving no child left behind." They also emphasized many elementes of leadership that predate the current accountability environment, including instructional leadership, professional learning communities, and high expectations for students. Although categories were consistent among the schools, other factors co-vary with school size (performance unit of analysis) or school socioeconomic status (future vs. present orientation). A statistical measure for evaluating the educational equity of schools is introduced.

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Blount, Becky C. Lugg Elizabeth T. "The applicability of activity-based costing in an educational environment using a case study approach." Normal, Ill. Illinois State University, 1998. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ilstu/fullcit?p9924343.

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Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1998.
Title from title page screen, viewed July 13, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Elizabeth T. Lugg (chair), Robert Arnold, John R. McCarthy, Rodney P. Riegle. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-75) and abstract. Also available in print.

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Carvalho, Cristiane Caldas. "RESPONSABILIDADE SÓCIO-AMBIENTAL EMPRESARIAL: a inserção do Direito Ambiental e Sanitário e o grau de adesão ao Pacto Global/ONU nas atividades produtivas em São Luís - Maranhão." Universidade Federal do Maranhão, 2009. http://tedebc.ufma.br:8080/jspui/handle/tede/1074.

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The theme of social business accountability (SBA) has been evidenced in face of challenges to the sustainment of productive activities. The impacts, notoriously positive and negative, in an economic, social and environmental field, don t recognize geo-political boundaries and reach an indeterminate number of people and nations. Political, judicial and social tendencies consolidated a minimum position of State and regulation of relations according to market demands. The unrestricted access to goods and services created an environment of unfavorable consumption to sustainable development and this fact motivated the social movements to promote a debate, among other themes, about the concept of social business accountability. In this way, in 1999 the United Nations Organization (UNO), in a pioneer performance, singularized the importance of the companies having an ethical commitment with society and proposed an international commitment for sustainable development. It was the emergence of the Global Pact and Millennial Development Goals (MDG). In this perspective, technical and judicial instruments were developed or identified, mainly in the areas of health, occupational security and environment, giving special attention to Sanitary and Environmental Rights in the Federal Constitution, federal legislation, international devices and pertinent technical norms. With the objective of identifying the insertion of the Sanitary and Environmental Rights and the degree of adhesion to the principles of the Global Pact, as well as contributions from the businesses to the MDGs in São Luís/MA, a sample of 27 companies associated to the ICE-MA., were researched. By means of self-evaluation questionnaires, a registered profile, the evidences of attention to legal requirements of health, environmental and occupational security, the actual stage of actions and social accountability programs, and finally the degree of adhesion to the Global Pact principles and the actions directed towards the MDGs, were identified. By the analysis sample that was considered, it was confirmed that the companies that were researched are located in a distributive manner in the areas of 07 hydrographic basins in the municipal area of São Luís, being that the majority is in conformity with the demands of environmental licensing, plan of medical and occupational health control and a plan of environmental risk prevention, with 0,32% of the total of sample workers involved in work accidents. It is also confirmed that the companies, in their majority, recognize the SBA as an ethical relation with all the public with whom it relates` and even without a specialized administrative structure in SBA, the companies are dedicated to punctual actions by their own initiative or in partnerships, with the application of a significant amount estimated in resources. In relation to the degree of adhesion to the principles of the Global Pact, the companies were identified mainly in the advanced or intermediate stages, outstanding in the elimination of forced or compulsory labor. It was also confirmed that the initiatives of the companies for the MDGs in São Luís are still lacking, although there is ample distinction for the combat against HIV/AIDS and other diseases and for the access to basic universal education.
O tema da responsabilidade social empresarial RSE tem se evidenciado diante dos desafios à sustentabilidade das atividades produtivas. Os impactos, notoriamente positivos e negativos, em âmbito econômico, social e ambiental, não reconhecem fronteiras geopolíticas e atingem um número indeterminado de pessoas e nações. Tendências políticas, jurídicas e sociais consolidaram uma postura de Estado mínimo e regulação das relações de acordo com as demandas de mercado. O acesso irrestrito a bens e serviços criou um ambiente de consumo desfavorável ao desenvolvimento sustentável e tal fato motivou os movimentos sociais a promover o debate, entre outros temas, sobre o conceito de responsabilidade social empresarial. Neste sentido, em 1999 a Organização das Nações Unidas ONU, em atuação pioneira, destacou a importância do compromisso ético das empresas com a sociedade e propôs um compromisso internacional para o desenvolvimento sustentável. Foi o surgimento do Pacto Global e das Metas de Desenvolvimento do Milênio (ODM s). Nesta perspectiva, instrumentos técnicos e jurídicos foram desenvolvidos ou identificados, sobretudo nas áreas de saúde e segurança ocupacionais e meio ambiente, conferindo especial destaque ao Direito Sanitário e Ambiental na Constituição Federal, legislação federal, dispositivos internacionais e normas técnicas pertinentes. Com o objetivo de identificar a inserção do Direito Ambiental e Sanitário e o grau de adesão aos princípios do Pacto Global, bem como as contribuições das empresas aos ODM s em São Luís/Ma, foi pesquisada a amostra de 27 empresas associadas ao ICE-Ma. Através da aplicação de questionários de auto-avaliação identificou-se o perfil cadastral, as evidências de atendimento aos requisitos legais de saúde e segurança ocupacional e meio ambiente, o estágio atual de ações e programas de responsabilidade social e, por fim, o grau de adesão aos princípios do Pacto Global e as ações voltadas aos ODM s. Pela análise da amostra considerada, constatou-se que as empresas pesquisadas localizam-se distribuídas nas áreas das 07 bacias hidrográficas do município de São Luís, estando em sua maioria em conformidade com as exigências de licenciamento ambiental, plano de controle médico e saúde ocupacional e plano de prevenção de riscos ambientais, com 0,32% do total de funcionários da amostra envolvidos em acidentes de trabalho. Constatou-se ainda que as empresas, em sua maioria, reconhecem a RSE como a relação ética com todos os públicos com os quais ela se relaciona e que mesmo sem uma estrutura administrativa especializadas em RSE, as empresas dedicam-se a ações pontuais por iniciativa própria ou em parcerias, com a aplicação de significativo volume estimado de recursos. Quanto ao grau de adesão aos princípios do Pacto Global, as empresas identificaram-se majoritariamente nos estágios avançado ou intermediário, com destaque para a eliminação do trabalho forçado ou compulsório. Constatou-se ainda que as iniciativas das empresas para os ODM s em São Luís ainda são tímidas, embora haja amplo destaque para o combate ao HIV/AIDS e outras doenças e para o acesso ao ensino básico universal.

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Siqin, Tuya, and 斯琴图亚. "Characterizing and assessing collective responsibility in computer-supported collaborative inquiry environments." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10722/208544.

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Crane, Nicholas. "Who belongs? What belongs? rethinking democratic accountability through the growth coalition and textual environment of downtown Columbus, Ohio /." Connect to resource, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1811/6556.

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Thesis (Honors)--Ohio State University, 2006.
Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages: contains 50 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 48-50). Available online via Ohio State University's Knowledge Bank.

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Mendes, Junior Edirenio Mauro. "MEIO AMBIENTE, DESENVOLVIMENTO E ACCOUNTABILITY: A responsividade, pelo Estado Brasileiro, em matéria ambiental." Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Goiás, 2016. http://localhost:8080/tede/handle/tede/3454.

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Comment research focuses on environment, development and accountability: responsiveness of Brazil on environmental issues. The environmental theme won a new tonic from the years 70, and is being treated now with unmatched relevance on the international scene, and also at the national. The accelerated and indiscriminate use of natural resources, the irresponsible use of them, as well as the lack of accountability, transparency and information society has been the subject of relevant studies and notes by organized sectors, and States, in order to change this scenario, imputing to the man (individual, group, business, anyway, the State itself) that is pertinent, and the duty to ensure that the environment in which he lives, responsibly, and to answer for the actions derived from the decisions of power, supporting institutions that promote mass awareness about the environment and its preservation, and strengthening the organs to promote the defense of man and nature, creating for that control mechanisms and halting (preventive and repressive) harmful actions that make far sought sustainable development. In short, the study on the agenda seeks to answer, or at least examine the question of responsibility and responsiveness, especially the brazilian, on environmental issues, pointing to existing mechanisms for this purpose, existing treaties, conventions and protocols, and the internal control unit (legal and administrative), such as the public civil actions. The methodology used was bibliographical research, together with the deductive method of analysis, as the study and observation of situations, rules, events and doctrinal positions led to the conclusions adopted in this essay, deepening theoretical and conceptual knowledge about accountability by the State, especially at regional and local level, and responsiveness by State and even private ones.
A pesquisa em comento versa sobre Meio ambiente, desenvolvimento e accountability: responsividade do Brasil em matéria ambiental. A temática ambiental ganhou uma nova tônica a partir dos anos setenta, e vem sendo tratada, agora, com relevância ímpar no cenário internacional, e também no nacional. O uso acelerado e indiscriminado de recursos naturais, a irresponsabilidade na utilização dos mesmos, bem como a falta de prestação de contas, transparência e informação à sociedade vem sendo alvo de relevantes estudos e apontamentos por parte de setores organizados, e dos Estados, no sentido de modificar esse cenário, imputando ao homem (individual, grupo, empresas, enfim, o próprio Estado) a responsabilidade que lhe é pertinente, e o dever de zelar do meio em que vive, de forma responsável, e respondendo pelas ações advindas das decisões de poder, dando suporte a instituições que promovam a conscientização em massa acerca do meio ambiente e sua preservação, e fortalecendo os órgãos que promovem a defesa do homem e da natureza, criando para isso mecanismos de controle e coibição (preventivos e repressivos) de ações danosas que tornam distante o almejado desenvolvimento sustentável. Em suma, o estudo em pauta busca responder, ou ao menos analisar a questão da responsabilidade e responsividade, em especial a brasileira, em matéria ambiental, apontando os mecanismos existentes para tanto, tratados, convenções e protocolos existentes, e o aparelho interno de controle (normativo e administrativo), tais como as ações civis públicas. A metodologia utilizada foi a pesquisa bibliográfica, aliada ao método analítico dedutivo, vez que o estudo e observação de situações, normas, acontecimentos e posicionamentos doutrinários levaram às conclusões adotadas na presente dissertação, aprofundando o conhecimento teórico e conceitual sobre a prestação de contas pelo Estado, especialmente a nível regional e local, e a responsividade pelos entes estatais e mesmo privados.

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Chan, Kam Tong. "Responding to environment : the experience of strategic planning of non-governmental organizations in Hong Kong." Thesis, Brunel University, 1996. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/5151.

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In recent years, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Hong Kong have been facing tremendous challenges and demands from both the external environment and internal administrative mechanisms. Regarding the external environment, Hong Kong is facing a major political change in 1997 as its sovereignty will be returned to Mainland China. However, it is perceived that there are many differences in both the conceptions and the administrative systems of both Hong Kong and China. In view of the task environment, as opposed to the general environment, the Social Welfare Department is now conducting a `subvention review' exercise. Such an exercise attempts to re-examine the current funding arrangements and the partnership relationship between the government and the NGOs. Service contracts between the funder and the service providers are recommended as the future mode of operation in the subvention policy. In addition, the NGOs will also be required to conform to a list of performance standards which are categorised into four major dimensions, namely, the provision of information, service management, the management of clients and a respect for clients' rights. Not only the rise of managerialism, but public accountability and the empowerment of clients are also perceived as prominent issues affecting the administrators. Based on a research study conducted by the author, this paper will examine the above issues in detail. It also examines the value orientations of the social work administrators in the voluntary sector during their decision-making processes. Various organization theories such as contingency theory, political economy and resources dependency perspective are adopted as the organizing framework for the analysis. Patterns of service development and patterns of management development have been constructed after examining twenty-five voluntary organizations. Four domains of strategic planning and management are covered in the study, including Domain Enlargement mode, Domain Enhancement mode, Domain Restructuring mode and Domain Reduction mode. A questionnaire was also constructed in order to examine the views of the chief executives in terms of their choices of strategies and approaches in responding to environmental changes, with respect to the organizational attributes, including organization size, complexity of service nature, religious background, and level of subvention from government funding.

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McGee, Robert M. III Vaidya Sheila R. "Teacher implementation of mathematics curriculum initiatives in a test-driven accountability environment : an ethnographic investigation into leadership ; school culture ; and teacher's attitudes, beliefs, and concerns /." Philadelphia, Pa. : Drexel University, 2006. http://dspace.library.drexel.edu/handle/1860/748.

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Pachon, Quinche Jorge Eduardo. "Development and assessment of environmental indicators for mobile source impacts on emissions, air quality, exposure and health outcomes." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/42719.

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Environmental indicators were developed and evaluated to assess the impact of mobile sources on emissions, air quality, exposure and health. Different levels of indicators are discussed, from single species to multipollutant indicators. Carbon monoxide (CO), Nitrogen oxides (NOx) and elemental carbon (EC) were chosen as indicators of mobile sources because emissions of these pollutants are largely attributed to mobile sources and ambient concentrations have a close response to the change in mobile source emissions. These pollutants were used in the construction of the integrated mobile source indicators (IMSI). The IMSI have larger spatial representativeness and stronger associations with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) than single pollutants. The use of IMSI in epidemiologic modeling constitutes an alternative approach to assess the health impact of pollutant mixtures and can provide support for the setting of multipollutant air quality standards. The human health benefits of reducing mobile sources emissions were more consistent using multipollutant indicators. Indicator values and uncertainties, in the form of indicator sets, are presented with their associated outcomes and attributes to be useful for policy makers who are interested not only in the value of the indicators, but also in their associated uncertainties and their applicability at other times and other regions.

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Farooqi, Seemab Ara. "Assessment of decentralized service delivery arrangements and institutional performance : the case of Pakistan local government reforms." Thesis, University of Stirling, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/16413.

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This thesis seeks to understand the relationship between decentralized service delivery arrangements and the institutional performance of local government in Pakistan. This is achieved by examining the structures and processes associated with local governance, and situating public sector organizations in their wider context. The key aim of this thesis was to empirically evaluate the relationship between decentralization and institutional performance. The thesis contends that problem of service delivery can only be understood by examining the whole system of service delivery. Although, the focus of the research was on public sector management, however, it is argued that public sector organizations cannot be separated from their political environment. To address this concern, the thesis developed a conceptual framework based on three theoretical perspectives; the economic, political and New Public Management. Each perspective focused on a different level of analysis and identified a different way of explaining the phenomenon of decentralization and its impact on institutional performance. The study utilised a comprehensive research methodology to study the link between decentralization and performance through a multiple case study approach. The main empirical elements of the research were a community survey of two communities in two local authorities, an organizational survey of two sectors - education and water and sanitation. Detailed semi-structured interviews were undertaken with multiple stakeholders at various levels of service delivery. The research findings indicate that there is a relationship between decentralization and institutional performance; however the contextual environment plays a significant role in affecting the performance of service provision. The empirical findings indicate that decentralization reforms in developing countries remain focused on structural decentralization and need strong political and bureaucratic commitment for real autonomy to be transferred down the hierarchy. One implication of this research is that it provided a comprehensive assessment of the decentralized service delivery model in Pakistan and identified the nature of reforms developing countries are taking up and the constraints on public sector organizations, and hence contributed to the emerging literature on public management reforms in developing countries (McCourt 2008, McCourt, Martin 2001).

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Coelho, Jose Flavio Guerra Machado, and f. coelho@bigpond com. "SUSTAINABILITY PERFORMANCE EVALUATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS MODEL FOR INDIVIDUAL ORGANIZATIONS AND SUPPLY CHAINS." Central Queensland University, 2006. http://library-resources.cqu.edu.au./thesis/adt-QCQU/public/adt-QCQU20060720.094327.

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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).

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Hodgson, Randall. "The impact of high stakes testing on student learning in the classroom." Online pdf file accessible through the World Wide Web, 2010. http://archives.evergreen.edu/masterstheses/Accession89-10MIT/Hodgson_RMIT2010.pdf.

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Lamare, Julia de. "Análise de impacto regulatório no direito ambiental : limites e possibilidades." reponame:Repositório Institucional do FGV, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10438/15981.

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Environmental regulation lacks transparency. Agencies responsible for environmental protection, in most of the cases, only publish the final versions of the regulatory measures adopted, without further details on supporting, technical justifications, alternatives considered and possible contributions from social participation, among other issues. As a consequence, the environmental management faces accountability issues. To overcome this scenario, the regulatory impact analysis is presented as an instrument able to add clarity, objectivity and efficiency to environmental decision making. The incorporation of the tool, however, should be performed with particular caution, in view of three major peculiarities of Environmental Law. Firstly, the sector not only handles with risk, but also with uncertainty, in which due to the absence of information, it is impossible to make probability calculation about possible outcomes. Secondly, environmental regulation deals with non-tradable assets to which traditional cost-benefit analysis is not easily applicable. Finally, the environmental regulatory authority is shared by various agencies at all levels of government, increasing the odds of technical failures.
A regulação ambiental carece de maior transparência. Os órgãos de proteção do meio ambiente, em regra, apenas publicam as versões finais das medidas elaboradas, sem explicitar as justificativas técnicas que as embasaram, as alternativas consideradas e as possíveis contribuições decorrentes de participação social, entre outras questões. Em consequência, tem-se um cenário desfavorável à realização de controle pelos mais diversos atores. Para superá-lo, a análise de impacto regulatório é apresentada como instrumento apto a agregar clareza, objetividade e eficiência ao processo decisório ambiental. A incorporação da ferramenta, no entanto, deve ser realizada com cuidado especial, tendo em vista a existência de três principais peculiaridades do direito do meio ambiente. Primeiro, o setor lida não só com situações de risco, mas também com casos de incerteza, em que a ausência de informação impossibilita o cálculo de probabilidade de ocorrência de possíveis resultados. Em segundo lugar, a regulação ambiental recai sobre bens não transacionados em mercados, o que dificulta a obtenção de seu valor de troca, aspecto relevante para a análise de custo-benefício como tradicionalmente conhecida. Por fim, o meio ambiente apresenta desenho regulatório absolutamente fragmentado, composto por variados órgãos normatizadores, deliberativos e fiscalizadores em todos os níveis da federação, o que eleva o risco de deficiências na formação técnica das autoridades reguladoras.

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Achioyamen, Chichi Violet, and Johansson Sophia Kazmi. "Institutional Factors and Financial Development in Sub-Saharan Africa for the period 2004-2018 : Control of Corruption, Rule of Law, Political Stability and Absence of Violence, and Voice and Accountability." Thesis, Södertörns högskola, Nationalekonomi, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-45289.

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The purpose of this study is to have an in-depth understanding of the importance of the institutional environment for financial development in 43 Sub-Saharan African countries during the years 2004-2018. Using new institutional economic theory (NIE) we study how the four institutional factors Control of Corruption, Rule of Law, Political Stability and Absence of Violence, and Voice and Accountability affect financial development. We also survey how the effect of institutional factors varies when there are either high, medium or low levels of corruption. Empirical results show a positive linear relationship between all institutional factors and financial development. However, when corruption levels are high the correlation between institutional factors and financial development varies and has a weak linear relationship. Inferential statistics results from a fixed effect regression model with robust standard errors shows; when we control for the financial environment, Political Stability and Absence of Violence is the only indicator for the institutional environment that has a positive significant effect on financial development. We thereby conclude that the institutional environment, mostly political institutions, are important for financial development.
Syftet med denna studie är att få en djupgående förståelse av institutionell miljö för finansiell utveckling i 43 Subsahariska afrikanska länder för åren 2004–2018. Med hjälp av den nya institutionella ekonomiska teorin undersöker vi hur de fyra institutionella faktorer Kontroll av Korruption, Rättsstat, Politisk Stabilitet och Frånvaro av Våld och Röst och Ansvarsskyldighet påverkar finansiell utveckling. Vi undersöker också hur effekten av institutionella faktorer varierar när det finns hög, medium eller låg nivå av korruption. Empiriskt resultat visar ett positivt linjärt samband mellan alla institutionella faktorer och finansiell utveckling. Däremot, när korruptions nivåerna är höga är korrelationen mellan institutionella faktorer och finansiell utveckling varierar och har ett svagt linjärt samband. Resultatet från inferentiell statistik med fixed-effektregressionsmodell med robust standardfel visar att; när vi kontrollerar för den finansiella miljön, kvarstår endast Politisk Stabilitet och Frånvaro av Våld som en indikator för institutionell miljö som har en positiv signifikant effekt på finansiell utveckling. Vi konstaterar därmed att institutionell miljö, särskilt politiska institutioner är viktiga för finansiell utveckling.

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Kinuthia, Wanyee. "“Accumulation by Dispossession” by the Global Extractive Industry: The Case of Canada." Thèse, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/30170.

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This thesis draws on David Harvey’s concept of “accumulation by dispossession” and an international political economy (IPE) approach centred on the institutional arrangements and power structures that privilege certain actors and values, in order to critique current capitalist practices of primitive accumulation by the global corporate extractive industry. The thesis examines how accumulation by dispossession by the global extractive industry is facilitated by the “free entry” or “free mining” principle. It does so by focusing on Canada as a leader in the global extractive industry and the spread of this country’s mining laws to other countries – in other words, the transnationalisation of norms in the global extractive industry – so as to maintain a consistent and familiar operating environment for Canadian extractive companies. The transnationalisation of norms is further promoted by key international institutions such as the World Bank, which is also the world’s largest development lender and also plays a key role in shaping the regulations that govern natural resource extraction. The thesis briefly investigates some Canadian examples of resource extraction projects, in order to demonstrate the weaknesses of Canadian mining laws, particularly the lack of protection of landowners’ rights under the free entry system and the subsequent need for “free, prior and informed consent” (FPIC). The thesis also considers some of the challenges to the adoption and implementation of the right to FPIC. These challenges include embedded institutional structures like the free entry mining system, international political economy (IPE) as shaped by international institutions and powerful corporations, as well as concerns regarding ‘local’ power structures or the legitimacy of representatives of communities affected by extractive projects. The thesis concludes that in order for Canada to be truly recognized as a leader in the global extractive industry, it must establish legal norms domestically to ensure that Canadian mining companies and residents can be held accountable when there is evidence of environmental and/or human rights violations associated with the activities of Canadian mining companies abroad. The thesis also concludes that Canada needs to address underlying structural issues such as the free entry mining system and implement FPIC, in order to curb “accumulation by dispossession” by the extractive industry, both domestically and abroad.

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44

Cliath, Alison Grace. "Expanded accountability? human rights and environmental protection practices /." 2008. http://www.dissertations.wsu.edu/Dissertations/Spring2008/a_cliath_031708.pdf.

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45

Fukukawa, Kyoko, W. E. Shafer, and G. M. Lee. "Values and attitudes toward social and environmental accountability: A study of MBA students." 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/3701.

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Efforts to promote corporate social and environmental accountability (SEA) should be informed by an understanding of stakeholders' attitudes toward enhanced accountability standards. However, little is known about current attitudes on this subject, or the determinants of these attitudes. To address this issue, this study examines the relationship between personal values and support for social and environmental accountability for a sample of experienced MBA students. Exploratory factor analysis of the items comprising our measure of support for SEA revealed two distinct factors: (1) endorsement of the general proposition that corporations and executives should be held accountable for the social and environmental impacts of their actions; and (2) agreement that the government should adopt and enforce formal SEA standards. Our findings indicate that the universalism value type is positively associated with general support for SEA, but not with support for government enforcement of accountability standards. In addition, we found that gender has a significant impact on support for government enforcement of SEA standards.

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Emeseh, Engobo, and O. Songi. "CSR, human rights abuse and sustainability report accountability." 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/14003.

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CSR within a purely voluntary context has so far not made meaningful contributions to the problem of corporate environmental and human rights abuses in Africa. The paper therefore aims to improve the effectiveness of CSR in the continent by making companies accountable for the veracity of statements they have voluntarily put out in the public domain. The paper adopts the stakeholder and legitimacy theories and information regulation as its framework of analysis. Following a discourse on the developments in and limitations of sustainability, the paper constructs an argument in line with these theories how these reports can still be utilised to make meaningful contribution towards strengthening CSR through accountability for false and misleading statements. Corporations have a stake in information in sustainability reports with regard to their corporate image and reputation. Therefore, under the appropriate framework, utilising corporate accountability for false and misleading statements by companies has promise for making CSR more effective. The main limitations of this research is the political will of national governments in Africa to undertake such an exercise and the relative ability of civil society groups in light of the power of corporations to effectively hold them to account through the models proposed. The paper is interdisciplinary, drawing upon both management and legal theories. A significant contribution of this research is its pragmatic approach which goes beyond calling for legal platform for CSR by recommending a model for accountability within the existing voluntary CSR framework.

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Mullen, Timothy M. "Environmental service-learning in an age of accountability the story of a middle school interdisciplinary team /." 2006. http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/uga%5Fetd/mullen%5Ftimothy%5Fm%5F200612%5Fphd.

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48

"A Penny and a Half and a Pool: Lead Poisoning and its Impact on Academic Achievement." Doctoral diss., 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.9135.

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abstract: Lead is a neurotoxin that has been shown to have a long and lasting impact on the brains, bodies, and behaviors of those who are poisoned. It also has a greater presence in communities with high levels of poverty and minority populations. Compounded over time, the effects of lead poisoning, even at low levels of exposure, impact a child's readiness and ability to learn. To investigate the relationship between the risk of lead poisoning, school level academic achievement, and community demographics, three sets of data were combined. The Lead Poisoning Risk Index (LPRI), used to quantify the risk in each census tract of being poisoned by lead, standardized state assessment data for third grade reading and eighth grade math, and census 2000 demographic data were combined to provide information for all Arizona schools and census tracts. When achievement was analyzed at the school level using descriptive, bivariate correlation, and multivariate regression analyses, lead's impact practically disappeared, exposing the powerful effect of poverty and race on achievement. At a school in Arizona, the higher the percentage of students who are poor or Hispanic, African American or Native American, these analyses' predictive models suggest there will be a greater percentage of students who fail the third grade AIMS reading and eighth grade AIMS math tests. If better achievement results are to be realized, work must be done to mitigate the effects of poverty on the lives of students. In order to improve schools, there needs to be an accounting for the context within which schools operate and a focus on improving the neighborhoods and the quality of life for the families of students.
Dissertation/Thesis
Ed.D. Educational Administration and Supervision 2011

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49

Reis, Cátia Filipa da Silva. "Factores que influenciam a qualidade da informação ambiental divulgada: um estudo empírico com empresas portuguesas." Master's thesis, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10071/4113.

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Ao longo dos tempos, os stakeholders têm demonstrado uma crescente preocupação com as políticas ambientais praticadas pelas empresas. Neste sentido, tem-se vindo a apelar a um aumento da informação ambiental relatada de forma voluntária, mostrando alguma preocupação em espelhar o quê, quanto, quando e como se divulga, para além das divulgações exigidas obrigatoriamente por diferentes normativos. Este estudo pretende identificar factores que influenciam a qualidade da informação divulgada, através de medidas de associação entre os determinantes e um índice de qualidade ambiental, especialmente construído para este efeito. A amostra abrange empresas portuguesas com valores mobiliários admitidos à negociação em mercado regulamentado nacional e que tenham títulos de emissão de gases com efeito de estufa (TEGEE) emitidos nos períodos de 2005-2007 e 2008-2012. O período em análise neste estudo engloba os anos de 2004 a 2009. Na ausência do normativo internacional sobre matérias ambientais, verificou-se que as empresas nem sempre optaram por seguir os normativos ambientais emanados pelo sistema contabilístico nacional, tendo algumas criado políticas contabilísticas internas. Os resultados do estudo empírico evidenciam que a concentração da titularidade do capital, a dimensão da empresa, a condição financeira, a pressão dos media, bem como, a divulgação da informação de carácter ambiental de acordo com os normativos contabilísticos, determinam a qualidade da informação relatada. Os resultados demonstram ainda houve um incremento do nível da qualidade ambiental, após 2006. Uma das possíveis explicações é a consistência para com a teoria institucional (que suporta a rotina como um factor explicativo).
Over time, stakeholders have shown a growing concern for the environmental policies by companies. In this sense, there has been an increasing call for environmental information voluntarily reported, showing some concern to understand what, when and how to disclose, in addition to the mandatory disclosures required by different standards. This study aims to identify factors that influence the quality of information disclosed by measures of association between determinants and an index of environmental quality, specially built for this purpose. The sample covers Portuguese companies with securities admitted to trading on a regulated market and which have National Securities Issue of Greenhouse Gases (TEGEE) issued during the periods 2005-2007 and 2008-2012. The period under analysis in this study covers the years 2004 to 2009. In the absence of international rules on environmental matters, it was found that companies do not always chose the following environmental standards issued by the national accounting system and has created some internal accounting policies. The results of the empirical research evidence that concentration of ownership of capital, firm size, financial condition, the pressure of the media, as well as the dissemination of environmental information in accordance with the accounting standards, determine the quality of information reported. The results also show there was an increase in the level of environmental quality, after 2006. One possible explanation for is consistency with the institutional theory (which supports routine as an explanatory factor).

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Gordon, Charlie. "Environmentalism in an age of reconciliation: exploring a new context of indigenous and environmental NGO relationships." Thesis, 2018. https://dspace.library.uvic.ca//handle/1828/10562.

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As Canada’s courts recognize and redefine the scope of Aboriginal title and rights in the country, alliances between Indigenous communities and environmental groups are playing an increasingly central role in the fight to stop fossil fuel infrastructure projects and address the global threats of climate change. Recognizing the importance of relationships between environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGO) and Indigenous peoples to environmental campaigns in Canada, and the need to include land-politics into the national conversation of reconciliation, this research project aims to investigate the role of reconciliation efforts in environmental campaigns in BC. Indigenous-ENGO relationships offer important opportunities to learn how actions and language of reconciliation are (or are not) being expressed in environmental campaigns, and to learn how ENGOs are approaching their work with Indigenous communities in an era of reconciliation. Using two campaigns as my case studies I explore these topics by interviewing ENGO staff and Indigenous peoples working collaboratively on the Site C Dam campaign in the Peace River region of Treaty 8 in northeast BC, and the Pacific Northwest liquid natural gas (LNG) terminal project in the Skeena River watershed region in the traditional territories of the Tsimshian, Gitxsan, and Wet’suwet’en nations of northwest BC. Informed by Indigenous and anti-colonial research methodologies, a principle of relational accountability is used to center relationships with land as a foundation for reconciliation, and for recommendations on how Indigenous-ENGO relationships can be improved.
Graduate

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Environmental accountability'

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