Dissertations / Theses: 'Sustainable development reporting – Australia'

1

Kinrade, Peter. "Sustainable energy in Australia : an analysis of performance and drivers relative to other OECD countries /." Connect to thesis, 2009. http://repository.unimelb.edu.au/10187/3613.

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Herbst, Judith M. "How Australian social enterprises use strategic marketing and social marketing to drive accountability and change for sustainable development." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2017. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/103631/1/Judith%20Herbst%20Thesis.pdf.

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This multiple case study investigation examines how strategic marketing, social marketing and accountability were applied across diverse Australian social enterprises to attain sustainable missions. Evidence revealed that organisations exploit horizontal and vertical marketing to forge partnerships that enhance their resources and capabilities. This research has implications for marketing management by highlighting the benefits of coopetition to enrich interorganisational relationships within the third sector. Working in this systematic way facilitates co-creation of social value to enhance livelihoods, increase social services and build resilience within communities. The thesis also demonstrated positive outcomes from integrated reporting in small- to medium-sized enterprises.

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3

McGrath, Christopher James. "How to evaluate the effectiveness of an environmental legal system." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2007. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/16661/1/Christopher_James_Mcgrath_Thesis.pdf.

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The principal research question addressed in this thesis is how the effectiveness of an environmental legal system can best be evaluated. A legal system is effective if it is achieving or likely to achieve its objectives. For an environmental legal system this means achieving sustainable development. The hypothesis tested in relation to this research question is that the pressure-state-response ("PSR") method of State of the Environment ("SoE") Reporting provides the best available framework for evaluating the effectiveness of an environmental legal system. A subsidiary research question addressed in this thesis is whether the environmental legal system protecting the Great Barrier Reef ("GBR") in north-eastern Australia is likely to achieve sustainable development of it. The hypothesis tested in relation to this research question is that the environmental legal system protecting the GBR is likely to achieve sustainable development of the GBR. The principal method used to address these research questions and test the hypotheses is a case study of the effectiveness of the laws protecting the GBR. Particular emphasis is given in the case study to climate change both because it is now recognised as the major threat to the GBR and is a topic of significant international and national interest. This thesis is intended to contribute, in particular, to the current public and policy debate on responding effectively to climate change by using the GBR as a yardstick against which to measure "dangerous climate change" and, conversely, acceptable climate change. There are five major findings of the research. First, most of the legal writing regarding environmental legal systems is descriptive, explanatory and interpretative rather than evaluative. Second, most legal writers who attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of part or the whole of an environmental legal system implicitly use the PSR method and refer to pressures, conditions, and responses but do not acknowledge this conceptual framework. Third, the best available conceptual and analytical framework for evaluating the effectiveness of an environmental legal system is the PSR method. It is the simplest, most systematic, comprehensive and meaningful framework with the greatest predictive power for evaluating the effectiveness of the total social and legal response to human-induced environmental degradation currently available. Fourth, current practice in SoE reporting, at least in relation to the GBR, is largely descriptive and rarely evaluates the effectiveness of the response. The fifth major finding of this research is that, while there are many effective parts of the response to pressures on the GBR, the current environmental legal system is not likely to be effective in preventing climate change from causing very serious damage to the GBR. Based on what we know at this point in time, particularly the technology that is currently available and current greenhouse gas emissions, the impacts of climate change appear likely to swamp the many good aspects of the legal system protecting the GBR. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide in 2005 were approximately 379 parts per million ("ppm") and rising by 2 ppm per year. Including the effect of other greenhouse gases such as methane, the total concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases was around 455 ppm carbon dioxide equivalents ("CO2-eq") in 2005, although the cooling effect of aerosols and landuse changes reduced the net effect to around 375 ppm CO2-eq. Limiting the total increase in mean global temperature to approximately 1°C requires stabilization of atmospheric greenhouse gases and aerosols around 350 ppm CO2-eq. Increasing the net effect of greenhouse gases and aerosols to 450-550 ppm CO2-eq is expected to result in a 2-3°C rise in mean surface temperatures. There are currently no international or national legal constraints to hold greenhouse gas concentrations beneath these levels and they appear likely to be exceeded. These increases in mean global temperatures are expected to severely degrade the GBR by 2030-2040. Even the targets being set by the new Australian Government of reducing Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2050 appear insufficient to protect the GBR. If a 60% reduction in emissions can be achieved globally by 2050 a rise in mean global temperature of around 2.4°C is expected. This indicates the environmental legal system protecting the GBR is not likely to be effective in relation to climate change and, therefore, is failing to reach its objective of sustainable development. Three major recommendations arise from the research. First, legal writers attempting to evaluate the effectiveness of the whole or part of an environmental legal system should use and acknowledge the PSR method. Second, SoE reports should include a stand-alone chapter evaluating the effectiveness of the response. Third, the environmental legal system protecting the GBR should take strong and comprehensive measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions if the objective of sustainable development is to be achieved. Such measures should include setting policy targets for stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gas and aerosol concentrations around 350 ppm CO2-eq to limit increases in mean global temperature to 1°C. Policy targets of stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gases and aerosols at 450-550 ppm CO2-eq to limit increases in mean global temperatures to 2-3°C are likely to be too high to avoid severe impacts of coral bleaching to the GBR.

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4

McGrath, Christopher James. "How to evaluate the effectiveness of an environmental legal system." Queensland University of Technology, 2007. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16661/.

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The principal research question addressed in this thesis is how the effectiveness of an environmental legal system can best be evaluated. A legal system is effective if it is achieving or likely to achieve its objectives. For an environmental legal system this means achieving sustainable development. The hypothesis tested in relation to this research question is that the pressure-state-response ("PSR") method of State of the Environment ("SoE") Reporting provides the best available framework for evaluating the effectiveness of an environmental legal system. A subsidiary research question addressed in this thesis is whether the environmental legal system protecting the Great Barrier Reef ("GBR") in north-eastern Australia is likely to achieve sustainable development of it. The hypothesis tested in relation to this research question is that the environmental legal system protecting the GBR is likely to achieve sustainable development of the GBR. The principal method used to address these research questions and test the hypotheses is a case study of the effectiveness of the laws protecting the GBR. Particular emphasis is given in the case study to climate change both because it is now recognised as the major threat to the GBR and is a topic of significant international and national interest. This thesis is intended to contribute, in particular, to the current public and policy debate on responding effectively to climate change by using the GBR as a yardstick against which to measure "dangerous climate change" and, conversely, acceptable climate change. There are five major findings of the research. First, most of the legal writing regarding environmental legal systems is descriptive, explanatory and interpretative rather than evaluative. Second, most legal writers who attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of part or the whole of an environmental legal system implicitly use the PSR method and refer to pressures, conditions, and responses but do not acknowledge this conceptual framework. Third, the best available conceptual and analytical framework for evaluating the effectiveness of an environmental legal system is the PSR method. It is the simplest, most systematic, comprehensive and meaningful framework with the greatest predictive power for evaluating the effectiveness of the total social and legal response to human-induced environmental degradation currently available. Fourth, current practice in SoE reporting, at least in relation to the GBR, is largely descriptive and rarely evaluates the effectiveness of the response. The fifth major finding of this research is that, while there are many effective parts of the response to pressures on the GBR, the current environmental legal system is not likely to be effective in preventing climate change from causing very serious damage to the GBR. Based on what we know at this point in time, particularly the technology that is currently available and current greenhouse gas emissions, the impacts of climate change appear likely to swamp the many good aspects of the legal system protecting the GBR. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide in 2005 were approximately 379 parts per million ("ppm") and rising by 2 ppm per year. Including the effect of other greenhouse gases such as methane, the total concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases was around 455 ppm carbon dioxide equivalents ("CO2-eq") in 2005, although the cooling effect of aerosols and landuse changes reduced the net effect to around 375 ppm CO2-eq. Limiting the total increase in mean global temperature to approximately 1°C requires stabilization of atmospheric greenhouse gases and aerosols around 350 ppm CO2-eq. Increasing the net effect of greenhouse gases and aerosols to 450-550 ppm CO2-eq is expected to result in a 2-3°C rise in mean surface temperatures. There are currently no international or national legal constraints to hold greenhouse gas concentrations beneath these levels and they appear likely to be exceeded. These increases in mean global temperatures are expected to severely degrade the GBR by 2030-2040. Even the targets being set by the new Australian Government of reducing Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2050 appear insufficient to protect the GBR. If a 60% reduction in emissions can be achieved globally by 2050 a rise in mean global temperature of around 2.4°C is expected. This indicates the environmental legal system protecting the GBR is not likely to be effective in relation to climate change and, therefore, is failing to reach its objective of sustainable development. Three major recommendations arise from the research. First, legal writers attempting to evaluate the effectiveness of the whole or part of an environmental legal system should use and acknowledge the PSR method. Second, SoE reports should include a stand-alone chapter evaluating the effectiveness of the response. Third, the environmental legal system protecting the GBR should take strong and comprehensive measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions if the objective of sustainable development is to be achieved. Such measures should include setting policy targets for stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gas and aerosol concentrations around 350 ppm CO2-eq to limit increases in mean global temperature to 1°C. Policy targets of stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gases and aerosols at 450-550 ppm CO2-eq to limit increases in mean global temperatures to 2-3°C are likely to be too high to avoid severe impacts of coral bleaching to the GBR.

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5

Tang, Pui-sze Suzuya. "A comparative study on the environmental reporting of the public sectors in Hong Kong and Japan." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2006. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B38210769.

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Hine, Maggie. "Development plans : their role in promoting sustainable development in metropolitan Adelaide." Title page, table of contents and abstract only, 1997. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09ENV/09envh662.pdf.

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7

Nkosi, Jabulani Elias. "Going green: the impact of integrated sustainability reporting within JSE companies." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/9129.

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The world is threatened by the possibility of an irreversible catastrophe that many would blame on the environmental impact of the present lifestyle, the results of which are climate change or global warming. This is clearly unacceptable to both present and future generations. If going green really means changing the way we live and pursuing knowledge and practices that can lead to more environmentally friendly and socio-ecologically responsible decisions, it is time to protect the environment and sustain its natural resources for current and future generations. Integrated sustainability reporting should be viewed as a vehicle to accomplish this global agenda of going green beyond mere legal requirements. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of integrated sustainability reporting (ISR) on achieving green business status within JSE listed companies. To achieve the purpose, an in-depth literature study and empirical research were undertaken using a triangulation method. After a detailed descriptive and content analysis of the collected primary and secondary data, the study found the following: Most of the JSE listed corporations’ integrated reports are not utilising the CSR, GRI guidelines and voluntary standards as effective tools to drive the process of green sustainable business. Some of the JSE listed organisations are treating financial and non-financial matters as separate issues in their integrated reports; The ISR has no impact in terms of using the NEMA framework in driving the process of green sustainable business in the JSE listed organisations; Most of the JSE listed organisations were fully aware of ecological sustainability as a pillar to drive the process of green sustainable business. They treat this pillar of sustainable development as a separate entity from socio-economic developmental issues. Most of the JSE listed corporations adhere to all the bylaws and regulations of ecological sustainability within their required certification of ISO 14001 standards in order to remain effectively certified by the auditing authority. Some integrated reports indicated much support for staff in terms of health, educational activities, labour laws and programmes that advance the socio-economic aspects of human beings; The study has found that the social pillar of sustainability is mostly supported by JSE listed organisations in South Africa - to the level of the requirements of labour relations legislation. It is not integrated with sustainability policies beyond the statutory requirements; It was further noticed in this study that integrated sustainability reports, based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) principles and the King III reporting guidelines, disclose outcomes and results regarding the JSE listed organisations’ obligations, strategy and management approach which occurred within the reporting period. To address the above-listed findings, the researcher recommended that the JSE listed organisations integrate the NEMA, EMS, CSR, GRI and King III guidelines in their integrated sustainability reporting, in order to produce an effective sustainable green business in South Africa that is ecologically accountable and socio-economically supportive to all multi-stakeholders. The government and non-governmental organisations are the key players to drive the process of going green using the ISR. The government needs more structured policies and regulations that will support the National Development Plan in the pursuit of green economy in the form of grants and incentives that are beyond the present status quo.

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8

Welgemoed, M. E. (Margaretha Elizabeth). "Sustainable development : communicating the message." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/50646.

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Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2006.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Sustainable development, defined as "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" is the focus of the research project. The main objectives of the study were firstly to identify the key issues for business around sustainable development for businesses, and secondly to propose a method for communicating these issues to business leaders based on their personality types. A literature study was conducted of the two relevant fields, namely sustainable development and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality type framework. From the first part of the study the findings indicated the recurring themes for sustainable development from a business perspective, which are firstly that businesses have no choice but to take cognisance of sustainable development, secondly that sustainable development makes business sense, thirdly that sustainable development is relevant for all types of business, fourthly that sustainable development requires innovative thinking and lastly that the pressure on business to conduct their operations according to sustainability principles will increase in future. According to the literature study on personality types and communication, MBTI distinguishes between sixteen personality types, based on four dimensions with two extremes each. One of the dimensions defines how people most effectively absorb information. Some people prefer a big picture, conceptual approach. Other people prefer details, facts and figures. The content of the communication should be guided accordingly. The other three dimensions of the MBTI personality definition inform decisions about the setting, communication media and interaction during communication. Relevance of the information and credibility of the sources is important in communication about an important topic, regardless of personality type. Recommendations are firstly that the personality-based approach for presenting the key issues regarding sustainable development to business leaders be used by practitioners in the field and academics, and secondly that the impact should be tested. The testing is a possible topic for another study project.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Volhouhare ontwikkeling, gedefinieer as "Ontwikkeling wat bestaande behoeftes aanspreek sonder om die vermoe van toekomstige geslagte te benadeel om hulle behoeftes aan te spreek", is die fokus van die werkstuk. Die belangrikste doelwitte van die studie was om eerstens die belangrikste kwessies rakende volhouhare ontwikkeling vanuit 'n besigheidsperspektief te identifiseer, en tweedens 'n manier voor te stel om hierdie kwessies aan te bied aan besigheidsleiers gebaseer op persoonlikheidstipes. 'n Literatuurstudie is gedoen van beide relevante velde, naamlik volhoubare ontwikkeling en die Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) raamwerk vir persoonlikheidstipes. Bevindings uit die eerste gedeelte van die studie het aangetoon dat die deurlopende temas rakende volhoubare ontwikkeling vanuit 'n besigheidsperspektief die volgende is: eerstens het besighede geen ander keuse as om kennis te neem van volhoubare ontwikkeling nie, tweedens dat volhoubare ontwikkeling voordelig vir besigheid is, derdens dat volhoubare ontwikkeling relevant is vir alle tipes besighede, vierdens dat volhoubare ontwikkeling innovasie vereis en laastens dat die druk op besighede in die toekoms gaan toeneem om volhoubare besigheid te bedryf. Uit die literatuurstudie oor persoonlikheidstipes en kommunikasie blyk dat MBTI onderskei tussen sestien persoonlikheidstipes, gebaseer op vier dimensies met twee ekstreme elk. Een van die dimensies definieer hoe mense inligting effektief inneem. Sommige mense verkies 'n konsepsuele, algemene benadering. Andere verkies detail, feite en syfers. Die inhoud van die kommunikasie moet dienooreenkomstig aangepas word. Die ander drie dimensies van die MBTI persoonlikheid definisie het 'n invloed op die omgewing, die kommunikasiemedia en die interaksie tydens kommunikasie. Relevansie van die inligting en betroubaarheid van die bronne is belangrik vir kommunikasie oor 'n belangrike onderwerp ongeag die persoonlikheidstipe. Aanbevelings is eerstens dat die persoonlikheidstipe benadering vir die aanbied van belangrike kwessies rakende volhoubare ontwikkeling aan besigheidsleiers gebruik word deur persone wat in die veld werk asook akademici of kursusaanbieders wat gehore toespreek daaroor. 'n Tweede aanbeveling is dat die impak van die benadering getoets word. Die toetsing is 'n moontlike onderwerp vir 'n ander werkstuk.

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Makris, Petros H. "The role of accounting in handling and reporting environmental effects." Thesis, University of South Wales, 1996. https://pure.southwales.ac.uk/en/studentthesis/the-role-of-accounting-in-handling-and-reporting-environmental-effects(80d5c333-9ca4-47a9-b25d-41428a2294ea).html.

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The thesis investigates the broad areas of accounting's adaptability in handling and reporting environmental effects. The main purposes of the study are: firstly. to draw together the literature of environmental concern and accounting: secondly to establish whether the use of environmental accounting is practised. to ascertain whether there is a suitable medium for environmental reporting and lastly to formulate a theoretical environmental performance model. The overall orientation of the research was to consider whether accounting should break away from its traditional economic and financial principles and broaden its scope to embrace a system that echoes with "environmental concern". In order to address these issues. the methods of evaluating environmental effects are looked at, together with the methods for accounting and reporting them. For these purposes, data were collected using a cross-sectional corporate methodology. The instrument used for the survey was the postal questionnaire. The construction and content of the questionnaire were influenced by the information gleaned from the literature review and, in the main, it covered qualitative, quantitative and financial information. The evidence gathered from the research has shown that environmental accounting and reporting are being practised by a variety of companies and are also becoming more widespread, which demonstrates that accounting is playing an important role in handling environmental transactions. The research has also shown that environmental accounting and reporting are gaining a broader perspective and now embrace environmental management systems. resource efficiency, and general environmental stewardship. Overall, the study recognises and concludes that environmental accounting and reporting, although spreading. should now be supported by environmental accounting and reporting guidelines from the accountancy profession, and in time, by legislation. Also environmental reports should be verified by external auditors in order to improve their integrity and prevent them from being used as a public relations exercise.

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Ong, Siew Hoon. "Measuring the quality and identifying influencing factors of sustainability reporting: Evidence from the resources industry in Australia." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2016. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1922.

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The lack of a standardised reporting framework in sustainability reporting has resulted in companies producing unaudited generic sustainability information that are not reflective of companies’ actual sustainability performance. The disclosures also differ in quality and hinder comparison. This study addresses these problems with the development of a new scoring index that integrates the hard and soft principles in Clarkson, Li, Richardson and Vasvari’s (2008) environmental index with performance indicators of the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) framework. The newly developed index comprises all three aspects of sustainability (economic, environmental and social) and adopts a standardised scoring scale that is reflective of companies’ sustainability performance. The new index was applied to evaluate annual reports and stand-alone sustainability reports of listed companies in the resources industry of Australia. This study investigates whether significant correlations existed between the extent of sustainability disclosures (economic, environmental and social) and company characteristics (company size, financial performance, board composition and type of resources extracted). This study found that companies generally produced minimal sustainability information with vast diversity in their disclosure items. Significant positive correlations were found between sustainability disclosures and company size, company financial performance, proportion of independent directors, multiple directorships and women directors on the board. Companies without CEO duality and those with a sustainability committee disclosed more sustainability information. However, no significant differences in sustainability disclosures were identified between companies operating in the metals and mining sector and the energy and utilities sector. Companies disclosed more soft than hard disclosure items and significantly more information on the economic aspect than the environmental and social aspects. This industry-specific study suggests that improvements identified by the new index is essential to enhance the current sustainability reporting practices and performance and to promote a benchmark for quality sustainability reporting.

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Tregidga, Helen, and n/a. "Power and politics of organisational sustainable development : an analysis of organisational reporting discourse." University of Otago. Department of Accountancy and Business Law, 2007. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20071219.160116.

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This research begins and ends with a concern for the environment, in particular with unease about current constitutions of the organisation/environment relationship. This thesis explores the discourse of organisational sustainable development examining organisational representations of sustainable development and 'sustainable organisations'. How a group of New Zealand organisations have come to (re)present sustainable development and how they have come to (re)present themselves in relation to sustainable development within a set of reports is analysed. The analysis aims to problematise the discourse and challenge such constitutions by opening out the debate surrounding the 'meaning' of sustainable development within this organisational context. The research considers the role of organisational reporting in creating and maintaining organisational legitimacy, something which is underplayed in the current literature. The thesis makes a contribution to both theoretical development and analytical method through elucidating sustainable development and sustainable development reporting from a discourse perspective. Discourse (in particular the influences of Foucault and Laclau and Mouffe) both frames and informs the analysis. The discourse of organisational sustainable development is examined through an analysis of an archive of organisational reports and the context of which they are a part. The archive consists of 220 organisational reports (both annual and standalone) from member organisations of the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development from 1992-2003. The texts which make up the archive were selected as they represent 'important texts' in the discursive debate surrounding organisational sustainable development. Six themes employed in the discourse when representing sustainable development are identified. These themes are: 1) enlightened self-interest and the business case; 2) organisational sustainable development as a balancing act; 3) organisational sustainable development as necessary and important; 4) being sustainable: a responsibility and/or obligation; 5) the challenge and opportunity of organisational sustainable development; and 6) sustainable development: a new or old concept. Overall, 'organisational sustainable development' represents a reweaving of the discourse of organisations and accounting and the discourse of sustainable development. 'Organisational sustainable development' is shown to be organisationally focused, and generally does not challenge the traditional rational economic objectives of these organisations. Representations of 'sustainable organisations' within the texts are analysed to show how organisational identities are constructed in relation to sustainable development. Five representations are recognised; 1) 'sustainable organisations' as providers; 2) organisations as leaders in sustainable development; 3) 'sustainable organisations' as responsible and committed; 4) 'sustainable organisations' as protectors; and 5) 'sustainable organisations' as accountable and transparent. How the process and practice of 'sustainability' reporting serves in constituting the identity of 'sustainable organisations' is underscored. Potential effects of such discourse are acknowledged. The hegemonic potential of the discourse is recognised along with an identification of the ideologically-laden assumptions embedded within the texts. In reflecting on the discourse and its effects, the thesis concludes on a pessimistic note regarding the form of sustainable development articulated and the unchallenging nature of this form of sustainable development on the current structures of organisations and organising.

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12

Hu, Xin. "Practice mining for the development of sustainable retirement villages in Australia." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2017. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/112395/2/Xin_Hu_Thesis.pdf.

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The research focused on providing sustainable living environment in Australian retirement villages. It proposed a novel conceptual framework of sustainable retirement villages, and designed a best-practice mining system to support the development of sustainable retirement villages. The research will facilitate the development of an age-friendly living environment for older people in Australia.

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Kücükgül, Egemen. "Corporate Sustainability and Reporting Frameworks : A Methodology forAligning Various Guides on Sustainable Development Goals." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Industriell miljöteknik, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-178236.

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The number of sustainability-related reporting frameworks has been increasing throughout the years, as a response to increasing awareness towards the sustainability-related issues from various stakeholders of companies. At the same time, major sustainability-related reporting frameworks publish more guides to support the business on its Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) commitment. For the business, it is challenging to use these guides in harmony to obtain the highest benefit for achieving corporate sustainability targets. The thesis aims to provide a structural approach and a robust alignment methodology, which can be repeatedly utilized over time, on how to establish tailor-made alignment guidances for various corporations, by considering their current specific SDGs reporting challenges and stakeholder expectations by harmonizing Global Reporting Initiative’s and Integrated Reporting’s SDGs guides. The thesis conducts a set of research methods such as case study analysis of telecommunication sector companies, semi-structured interviews with sustainability professionals, content analysis of company reports, and secondary data analysis of various stakeholder engagement forums for the SDGs. The thesis concludes that it is possible to construct a structural alignment approach in six steps, which constitutes identifying the underlying reasons of alignment (Step 1), mapping the external and internal stakeholder views (Step 2), defining the specific SDGs challenges of the companies analyzed (Step 3), examining the segments of corporate sustainability according to the current SDGs challenges of the companies analyzed (Step 4), preparing alignment guidance by defining the contributions of the SDGs guides analyzed, over the challenges examined by the segments of corporate sustainability (Step 5), improving the SDGs commitment performance of the companies analyzed, by applying the tailor-made alignment guidance established for the specific needs (Step 6). Furthermore, the thesis finds out that the case study companies can use all the SDGs guides analyzed to varying degrees, yet, especially SDGs Disclosures and the Analysis of Goals and Targets SDGs guides can support the contemporary needs of case study companies, to address their sustainability strategy, inside-out assessment, and sustainability management accounting & control requirements. As underlying research limitations, the thesis focuses on a specified range of case study samples and reporting frameworks. The thesis adds value to the corporate sustainability literature by analyzing the relationship between the same sector companies and SDG guides of sustainability-related reporting frameworks over an alignment approach and methodology established by the thesis.

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Richard, Florian. "Beyond Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting and Indicators." Thesis, KTH, Mark- och vattenteknik (flyttat 20130630), 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-171851.

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Over the past few years, the expectations of stakeholders regarding Sustainable Development have strengthened the importance of CSR or Sustainable Development practices in companies. In France, NRE laws and more recently the Grenelle Environment Forum required from companies to disclose and publish information on environmental, social and societal issues. On the international level, the Global Reporting Initiative gives a framework for CSR reporting. Companies tend to improve their CSR policies by setting action plans, objectives, and publishing dedicated reports. Subsequently, to assess their performance, companies need to design specific indicators in order to measure environmental, social and societal information. It is all the more challenging that intangible information, such as biodiversity or human capital, are very difficult to evaluate. Still, when comparing the performance of companies, even in the same sector of activity, it appears that indicators are actually very hetero-geneous and do not allow to perform a proper comparison. This thesis will explore current practices of CSR or Sustainable Development reporting and more specifically the use of indicators in the private sector as well as their limitations and areas for improvement. A mutli-method approach, including a literature review, a case-study and an interview, has been used to perform the research.

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15

???????????, ????? ??????????, and E. N. Baryshnikova. "??????????, ???????? ???????????? ?? ??????????? ????????? ??????? ???????? ???????????" Thesis, ????, 2016. http://eztuir.ztu.edu.ua/123456789/5926.

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?????????? ?? ???????? ????????? ??????? ????????? ??????????? ???? ?? ????????????? 08.00.09 ? ?????????????? ?????, ?????? ?? ????? (?? ?????? ??????????? ??????????). ? ???????????? ????????? ????????????? ??????????? ???????????? ?????? ? ????? ???????, ???????, 2017. ???????????? ?????????? ???????????? ????????? ??????? ???????? ?? ?????? ????????? ???????????? ?????????? ??? ???????????? ?????????? ???????????, ?? ????????? ? ????????? ?????????? ????????? ???????? ??????????????? ??????. ?????????? ???????? ?????????? ?????????? ????????? ??????? ???????? ?????????? ?? ?????????? GRI. ???????????? ??????? ????????????? ????????? ?????? ??????????????? ?????? ??? ?????????? ?????????????? ???????? ?????????? ?????? ?????????. ???????????? ????????? ????????? ??????????????? ?????? ?? ????????? ?????????????? ???????????? ????????? ??????? ???????? ????? ???????? ??????? ?? ??????????? ???????????? ??????, ??????? ?????????? ??????????????, ?????? ??????????? ????????? ?? ??????? ???????????? ?? ???????? ????????, ??? ?????????????? ??????????, ????????? ?? ?????????? ???????????????? ????????????? ?????????? ????????????. ????????????? ?????????????-????????? ????????? ??????????? ????????? ??????? ???????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????????? ??? ????????????.
Dissertation for the seekof the science degree as an candidate of economic sciences with specialization 08.00.09 ? accounting, analysis and audit (within types of economical activities). ? ZhytomyrState Technological University, Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Zhytomyr, 2017. This dissertation is devoted to argumentation the theoretical suggestions and developing the practical recommendations in improving the mechanism of formation, accounting assurance and verification of the enterprises sustainability reporting. The object of this research is a system of sustainability reporting as an integrated part in accounting and information assurance of the enterprises management. The subjects of this research are theoretical and methodological thesis?s concerning formation, accounting assurance and verification the enterprises sustainability reporting as a new mechanism of business information transparency. In this paper the theoretical suggestions concerning accounting and sustainability reporting are developed by providing the argumentation of necessity the new mechanism of information transparency about business activity, social responsibility in defining their roles in assurance of the enterprises sustainability development. There is also systematized the requirements about qualitative content, order of formulation and conformation the sustainability reporting indicators which are consisting with the methodological recommendations and with the protocols of international regulatory bodies in the sustainability reporting field, such as AA 1000, Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI), Equator Principles, Sunshine Standards that let to validate the priority of using Global Reporting Initiatives protocols in Ukrainian enterprises practice. There is also fulfilled the quality assessment of the information about sustainable development the domestic enterprises through the analysis of the rates and indicators disclosed in their reports which are describing economical, ecological and social activities which let to find the compliance them to international regulatory requirements to such types of reporting. Elaborated the order of accounting objects identification with the rates and indicators of sustainability reporting in the prisms of economical, ecological and social enterprises activities that is consistent with Global Reporting Initiatives protocols and provides mechanism of harmonization the financial, statistical and sustainability reporting. Developed the mechanism of formation the indicators of economical, ecological and social parts in integrated reporting by grounding accountancy and other information supply and offered the algorithm for rates and indicators formulation in all spheres of business activity that is the basement of new format in information transparency for the participants of social and economical relationships. 20 Verified the methodological approach to the organization and formation of the accounting support in sustainability reporting with includes: 1) the order of verification the correct place for the elements of financial accounting in providing the information for sustainability reporting; 2) approach to organization the analytical book-keeping with describes the objects of management through the prisms of economical, ecological and social business activities; 3) consistency financial reporting rates and indicators with the protocols of Global Reporting Initiatives; 4) bulk of internal reports as an integrated part for the formation of sustainability reporting ( report about payment to investors, report about payment to state, report about rates connected with climate changes, report about employment, report about purchase budget, report about ecological activity, report about social activity), with let to create information base in managing the enterprise sustainability development. Developed methodological aspects in financial accounting the objects which are describing the sustainable development of the enterprise and its accountability toward society, in particular developed: 1) accounting support in enterprise activity from the prism of risk assessment for climate changes; 2) accounting legers of the transactions connected with enterprise ecological security; 3) order and accounting the expenses arisen as a result of marking the products and customers claims which is new look for the development of accounting support in sustainability reporting. Improved the organization frameworks in the system of verification the sustainability reporting, as a result of it: 1) validated the integrated parts of verification system (enterprise responsibilities, principles, conformations, requirements for the subject of the inspection); 20 developed the model of organization the verification system; 3) offered algorithm of verification assessment and rating with is the key element of new mechanism of disclosure information about enterprises activities. Offered methodological approach to the procedure of verification the sustainability reporting in the part of assessment the setting level of the subject of inspection, assessment importance of the requirements of stakeholders, assessment of the efficiency of social activities, with suggest the implementation the complex of analytical procedures and account the stakeholder?s requirements concerning the enterprise sustainable development Implemented the assessment of the quality of disclosed information about sustainable development of domestic enterprises through the analysis of their reporting indicators which describe economical, ecological and social efficiency of their business activity which let to detect their compliancy to valid international system regulating this type of reporting.

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Van, der Hoogen Anthea. "An enterprise architecture for environmental information management and reporting." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021040.

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Organisations globally are communicating their environmental sustainability impact to stakeholders by means of the widely used sustainability report. A key benefit of environmental sustainability reporting is that organisations can gain a positive reputation when these reports are presented to stakeholders. Organisations in South Africa are faced with many challenges regarding managing sustainability information and producing an environmental sustainability report. Two of the primary challenges are the many diverse standards for sustainability reporting and data quality issues. Information Technology (IT) can be used to support and improve the process of sustainability reporting but it is important to align the environmental sustainability strategies with the strategies of business and also with the IT strategy to avoid silos of information and reporting. Enterprise Architecture (EA) can be used to solve alignment problems since it supports business-IT alignment. EA is defined by the International Standards Organisation (ISO) as “The fundamental concepts or properties of a system in its environment embodied in its elements, relationships, and in the principles of its design and evolution”. It can be argued, therefore, that EA can be used to support environmental sustainability information management and the reporting process by means of its support of improved business-IT alignment and ultimately integrated systems. The main objective of this study is to investigate how EA can be used to support environmental information management (EIM) and reporting. A survey study of thirty one prominent South African organisations was undertaken in order to investigate the status of their EA adoption and environmental reporting and EIM processes. An EA for EIM Toolkit and a set of guidelines are proposed which can provide support for EIM through the use of EA. These guidelines were proposed based on best-practice for each of the three process levels of an organisation, namely, the strategic level, the operational level and the technological level. The toolkit and guidelines were derived from theory and the results of the industry survey were then validated by an in-depth analysis of a case study consisting of multiple cases with key employees of seven South African organisations which have proved to be successful at EA and EIM and reporting. The results of the case study show that the EA for EIM Toolkit and related guidelines can assist organisations to align their environmental sustainability strategies with their organisational and IT strategies.

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Ekara, Helfaya Akrum Nasr. "Assessing the measurement of quality of corporate environmental reporting." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 2012. http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=186852.

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An increasing number of companies are reporting their environmental performance, impacts, and activities. The objectives of such reports are many including, in particular, reacting to external pressures from company stakeholders demanding more information about environmental performance. This might also be matched by management requiring information to better run the business - hence an internal requirement for information that would then be available for publication. Because, this environmental reporting serves multiple objectives and satisfies different needs of different readers, it varies in the type of information provided, the scope and depth of material disclosed, presentation formats used, the credibility of the information provided and its overall quality. Although richness of report content, scope of topics covered, presentation and credibility of this content have all been used to assess the quality of corporate environmental reporting (CER), to date most prior studies have looked simply at the volume of and/or the types of information when assessing the quality of CER. Studies have used two main indices to measure disclosure quality; subjective analysts' indices and semi-objective indices. Subjective indices such as the Association of Investment Management and Research (AIMR), formerly the Financial Analysts Federation (FAF) disclosure ratings, are built on corporate disclosures' ratings weighted by a panel of leading analysts in each industry. In semi-objective indices, on the other hand, a pre-determined list of items (topics of disclosure) is developed and tested for their presence (absence ) and/or the richness of their content. It is noted that most disclosure studies adopt this second approach in the form of disclosure index studies, a partial type of content analysis. Other disclosure measures have included textual analysis such as thematic content analysis, readability studies, and linguistic analysis. However, there is no consensus about the best measure for assessing reporting quality. One of the most important limitations encountered in the disclosure literature is the difficulty in assessing the quality of disclosure (Healy and Palepu, 2001; Urquiza et al., 2009). For example, these studies identify three key limitations. Firstly, there is inherent subjectivity involved in the selection of the quality measure and in the coding scheme to assess this 'quality' generally researchers choose their own methods or proxies. Secondly, there is an ignorance of the quality perceptions of preparers and users of corporate disclosure. Hammond and Miles (2004) argue that we cannot assess the quality of disclosure independently of a detailed understanding of users' need of disclosure. Thirdly, it has been common to use annual reports (ARs) to assess the extent and quality of corporate responsibility disclosure, ignoring the other reporting media such as corporate responsibility reports (CRRs), websites, home advertisings, etc (Forst et al., 2005; KPMG, 2011). Thus considering the fact that robust, reliable, and replicable quality assessment is problematic, the objectives of this research are threefold. Firstly, to build a more representative quality model based on the findings of a questionnaire ascertaining the views of both preparers and distinct categories of readers of ARs and/or CRRs. Secondly, to apply this model to FTSE 100 CER in both ARs and CRRs to ascertain whether the proxies frequently used in prior literature yield similar results to those derived from this more complex model. Thirdly, to investigate whether the common use of ARs, rather than more detailed CRRs in assessing CER quality is giving a misleading picture of the level and richness of disclosure available to stakeholders.

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Alexander, J. R. "Community indicators: development, monitoring and reporting." Lincoln University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1164.

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The New Zealand Government is striving to improve the way it measures progress and plans for change in an integrated ‘whole of government’ manner. The Local Government Act 2002 serves to strengthen participatory democracy and community governance. Under the Act, local authorities are charged with monitoring, and, not less than once every three years, reporting on the progress made by the community in achieving its outcomes for the district or region. These outcomes belong to the community and encompass what the community considers important to progress towards. Indicators that measure economic, social, environmental, cultural and democratic progress at local level are a primary tool that local authorities use to measure the progress towards their desired outcomes. To successfully track progress, it is important that indicators are technically sound and reflect the values of the entire community. The monitoring of indicators is expected to be ongoing and participatory. The New Zealand Government has leant heavily towards a decentralised locally driven approach to community indicators. The purpose of this study was to explore the manner in which different local authorities have undertaken community indicator: development, monitoring and reporting. This was undertaken through a two pronged approach: 1). A scoping exercise assessing the contents of eighteen local authority LTCCPs, 2). In-depth case studies of community indicator programmes of five of the eighteen local authorities. It was found that the approaches used to develop, monitor and report community indicators ranged abruptly across local authorities. Some councils appear to have relatively robust and meaningful indicator processes in place, which are both technically sound and have gained representative community input. In contrast, other councils hold a compliance mentality towards community indicators and have done the bare minimum when designing their indicator frameworks. These frameworks have tended to be council dominated with few opportunities for community involvement. In addition to this, local authorities poorly communicated indicators through their LTCCPs. The inadequate information detailing indicators processes is unlikely to both educate and promote community buy-in. Councils must place greater emphasis on the engagement of the entire community including other governmental departments, to ensure that indicators are relevant and meaningful for all. Consistency across local authority indicator frameworks will also help to ensure that all local authorities are working in an integrated manner towards the common goal of improving community well-being. Initiatives such as the Linked indicators Project and the Quality of Life Project are possible methods of ensuring consistent indicator frameworks. Finally, councils must provide greater information about community indicators within their LTCCPs.

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Blaser, Andrea. "Sustainability gap : a case study of Olympic development in Sydney, Australia and Beijing, China /." Connect to title online (Scholars' Bank) Connect to title online (ProQuest), 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1794/8479.

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Marshall, Graham C. "A q-methodology evaluation of visions of sustainable development." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2003. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1495.

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The concept of the “triple bottom line” has recently become central to sustainable development (SD) and it emerged to be internationally regarded as integrating economic, environmental and social considerations into planning for the future. While numerous authors have contended that successful delivery of SD required a consensus and shared vision about implementation, objectives, and outcomes, others have argued that the lack of consensus about SD is not necessarily problematical. Whether or not a consensus is required for the successful deployment of SD is debatable, but that pluralities of views about SD exist is now widely acknowledged. Involved In the contestation about SD are competing views regarding the human relationship to nature and the form that future development should take. A review of the relevant literature indicated that concepts of SD have been classified in various ways. For example, some writers have distinguished between ‘very strong’, 'strong', ‘weak’ and ‘very weak’ conditions required for sustainability. Other writers have devised alternative schema based on various answers to questions such as: what is to be sustained? What is to be developed? How? Why? Whilst such schema may provide useful frameworks, they do not necessarily provide empirical data on how SD is understood by persons responsible for developing and implementing policy at one or another level of government. In addressing that issue, this dissertation aimed to examine the beliefs about SD that were held by a group of 170 people associated with the implementation of SD at the level of local government and community in Western Australia. This examination was undertaken to establish if, and how, the views of these people in the community matched the propositions about SD that have previously been made by academics and other commentators. Local government provided a context for the study because of the Commonwealth of Australia’s endorsement of the United Nations Agenda 21 Program. With the endorsement of Agenda 21, local government was recognised by the Commonwealth and the UN as having a major role to play in SD promotion efforts. The issues outlined above led the dissertation to two purposes. The first purpose was to establish if SD was actually understood to have meaning within the context of previous propositions regarding a spectrum of views on sustainability. The second, and more important, purpose was to establish the characteristics of visions of SD as understood by a sample of people involved with local government decision-making in Perth, Western Australia. The objective was to discover whether a shared vision of SD based on a consensus of opinion was available, or whether a plurality of views would emerge corresponding to one or more of the previous classifications of very strong, strong, weak and very weak SD available In the related literature. To deliver those two outcomes, Q-Methodology was used to enable classification of the visions that people held about SD.

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Howes, Michael. "Putting the pieces together : sustainable industry, environment protection, and the power of the Federal government in the USA and Australia /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 1999. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phh859.pdf.

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Lindberg, Alfred. "Contextualizing Smart Cities in Australia : The Role of Data in Advancing Sustainable Development." Thesis, KTH, Urbana och regionala studier, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-283739.

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The smart city is not a new concept. For centuries urbanists have sought to rationalize city making and explore more efficient means to operate cities. Meanwhile, the exponential utilization of information and communication technologies (ICT) have opened up for a new wave of ‘smart’ development that is rapidly sweeping across the globe contributing to a previously unseen ‘datafication’ of cities. The concept of smart cities is often met by staunch criticism due to, among other things, the influence from corporate actors. Smart cities have also been criticized for not adequately addressing issues related to sustainable development. Despite this recent upswing of smart initiatives and plans, there is still a significant gap in our understanding of what this looks like in situ. While spectacular cases (Songdo, South Korea; Masdar City, UAE, among others) of smart cities have been dissected and covered extensively over the last few years, more ordinary examples of already existing cities transitioning into smart cities are still largely unexplored. Against the backdrop of both the high appraisal and vast criticism of smart cities, a growing literature have recently called for a more nuanced approach, advocating for a focus on the ‘actually existing smart city’ and how smart cities unfold in specific contexts. This study examines the situatedness of smart cities in the Australian context through a grounded theory lens, looking specifically at how the ‘datafication’ plays out and how it influences the realization of the sustainable city. Taking an inductive approach, this study applies semi-structured interviews with key smart cities stakeholders in Australia and participant observations to identify key themes in the smart city sphere in relation to sustainability and data. The findings highlight that smart city initiatives do not necessarily fit into preconceived ideas about smart cities. Secondly, while data is seen almost universally as a valuable source of information to better understand and manage cities, it is not clear that it influences sustainable development. In addition, competing opinions on open data also suggest that this is a fairly contested topic in Australia, which should encourage further investigation of its intended contributions to a more sustainable form of urban development. This study adds to a relatively scarce number of qualitative studies of smart cities in general, and of smart cities in the Australian context in particular.

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Ahooghalandari, Matin. "Water resource options for sustainable development in the Pilbara region of Western Australia." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2015. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1747.

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Water resources management in the Pilbara region of Western Australia is vital to industry, economy and the environment. This dissertation has aimed to develop a comprehensive hydrological and hydrogeological assessment of water resources in the Yandi mine area located in the Weeli Wolli Creek catchment in the Pilbara. Water resources in this area have become increasingly vulnerable due to growing demand. Climate conditions, geology and hydrogeology, streamflow and the groundwater system of the study area were assessed. Lumped, data-driven and numerical models were employed to develop an understanding of the available surface water and groundwater resources. Three equations were derived showing the rainfall-runoff relationship within Weeli Wolli Creek catchment and subsequent modelling was undertaken for more hydrology system evaluation. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) and IHACRES models were used to simulate the Marillana Creek streamflow discharge, upstream of Yandi. The results suggested that ANN models perform better for a complex catchment hydrological system, compared to IHACRES model. A VISUAL MODFLOW model was used to investigate the groundwater system and its trend in the Yandi area. The model helped to understand the groundwater responses to future development with various pumping strategies and climate conditions. The scenario analysis assisted identification of zones vulnerable to a significant decline in groundwater level in response to dewatering. The analysis indicated that the maximum water level drawdown of 25m occurred in the aquifer from maximum annual pumping of 23GL. With respect to groundwater yield in particular, abstraction has a more direct impact on the groundwater system compared to climate change. The recharge into the groundwater was estimated from the fluctuations of groundwater level, groundwater modelling and water balance method. The estimated recharge from these methods was comparable and consistent within 3 to 5% of rainfall. This suggests that direct rainfall infiltration is less, compared to localised infiltration. Two new equations, applicable to Australian conditions, were developed to estimate potential evapotranspiration (ET0). These equations form a part of the water balance equation for groundwater recharge estimation. An artificial intelligent model, based on the Honey-Bee Mating Optimization algorithm (HBMO), was introduced to calibrate the new ET0 equations. The newly developed equations had better performances than available popular equations. The results of this study showed that the water resources in Yandi are considerably affected by progressing activities and their associated water requirements. A combination of multiple water assessments and modellings suggested that it is feasible to predict future access to surface water as a function of its influencing factors such as climate condition and mining activities. Scenario analysis in groundwater assessment suggested possible alternative future dewatering strategies in the Yandi mine area. The possible groundwater level recovery time is estimated to be one hundred years, which indicates this resource may not be a reliable option in future. Hydrological water balance analysis also indicated that the available surface water volume would decrease to half upon cease of discharge due to closure of mines in the study area, which is controversial condition for future water management. This research can lead to the implementation of a sustainable water resources plan, and development of appropriate strategies.

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Wallace, Gary E., of Western Sydney Hawkesbury University, and Faculty of Environmental Management and Agriculture. "Governance for sustainable rural development : a critique of the ARMCANZ-DPIE structures and policy cycles." THESIS_FEMA_XXX_Wallace_G.xml, 1998. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/263.

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The focus of the thesis is a critique of the form and function of the federal institutions governing the development of Rural Australia. In undertaking this study two cycles of a systemic action research were followed, the first to explore the policy development environment and the second to validate and expand on findings of the first cycle of enquiry. The thesis follows the historical development of policy institutions and the deliberations of poicy actors that have lead to normative, strategic and program change within these institutions. These institutional changes have then been critiqued from theoretical perspective of governance for sustainable development. Conclusions from this critique indicate that that the pace of policy change is very slow and after 20 years from the Rural Policy green paper of 1974 the federal institutions have taken on board a rhetoric of sustainable rural development that encapsulates much of the principles espoused in the Green Paper.This includes principles that aim to empower rural communities to find local solutions to their natural resource management and local economic development problems. The downside is found in institutional conflict over resource dependencies and spheres of responsibility and an apparent lack of community economic development facilitation skills within the service organisations of rural institutions.
Master of Science (Hons)

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Nguyen, Viet Huong. "Dimensions of sustainability : case study of new housing in Adelaide and Hanoi /." Title page, table of contents and abstract only, 2004. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phn5765.pdf.

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Eisenman, Ana Athalia Plaut. "Sustainable streets and highways: an analysis of green roads rating systems." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/43702.

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As sustainability increasingly becomes a concern to society, it is in state transportation agencies' best interests to embrace and adopt initiatives that will both educate their employees and the communities they serve on how transportation systems and system operations can be viewed within such a context. One of the strategies some state departments of transportation (SDOTs) have adopted for providing a more sustainable approach to highway design is a "green streets and highways rating system." Adopting a strategy such as the one proposed in this thesis for the Georgia Department of Transportation will enable an agency to compare projects based on sustainability goals and outcomes. Such a rating system can provide several benefits to a state department of transportation. As a public relations tool, publishing the sustainability rating results of completed projects can promote an "environmentally friendly" image of the agency. In some cases, this could be used to garner increased support for an agency's program. Comparing the ratings of proposed projects during the early programming process may also help in the selection of more sustainably effective and efficient projects. Additionally, a project in the project planning phase could use the green rating criteria to identify those areas where changes in design could result in more environmentally sensitive designs. A green streets and highways rating tool is an important means of fostering an environmental ethic in a transportation agency, one that could become more important in years to come.

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Rozhenko, Maria, and Inna Afanasieva. "Directions of accounting transformation in the context of sustainable development." Thesis, National Aviation University, 2021. https://er.nau.edu.ua/handle/NAU/54687.

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1. Афанас’єва І.І., Розмислов О.М. Сучасні тенденції трансформації управлінського обліку. Збірник наукових праць Державного університету інфраструктури та технологій: Серія «Економіка і управління». Вип. 48. К.: ДУІТ, 2020. С. 77-86. DOI: 10.32703/2664-2964-2020-48. URL: https://files.duit.edu.ua/uploads/%D0%A1%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%82. 2. Сокіл О.Г. Концептуальні основи методології трансформації традиційної системи обліку у бухгалтерський облік сталого розвитку. Економічна статистика. Бухгалтерський облік та аудит, 2017. URL: file:///C:/Users/Vadim/Downloads/Pekon_2017_1_56.pdf. 3. Рета М.В. Перспективи впровадження концепції бухгалтерського обліку сталого розвитку, 2018. URL: http://repository.kpi.kharkov.ua/bitstream/KhPI- Press/36329/1/Reta_Perspektyvy_vprovadzhennia_2018.pdf. 4. О.В. Будько. Облік соціальної відповідальної діяльності як інформаційна основа управління сталим розвитком підприємства. URL: http://www.investplan.com.ua/pdf/20_2016/9.pdf.
Modern requirements to the format of organization of accounting and the content of financial reporting are considered. The importance of sustainable accounting to support the economic, social and environmental development of the country is proved. The directions of transformation of accounting and financial reporting, provides a reliable reflection of environmental and social costs are determined.

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Schiehlé, Tristan, and Jonas Wallin. "The reporting on sustainability performance indicators : A thesis about the reporting of the Global Reporting Initiative’s sustainability Performance Indicators by the largest Swedish companies of the industrial sector." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Företagsekonomi, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-91004.

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More and more companies and organizations around the world are aiming towards a sustainable path for their businesses. Pressure from stakeholders and society pushes companies to report on their sustainability performance; however, companies are also seeing the opportunities which arise with these reports and especially large companies are embracing the sustainable path according to prior studies. With an increasing number of sustainability reports produced around the world, the need for measuring the performance indicators within these reports is increasing.With the expansion of sustainability reports among companies, the use of the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) Guidelines becomes a popular framework for companies to adopt. GRI is widely used around the world, as their comprehensive framework includes many performance indicators for companies to report on.It has also been proved that the use of sustainability reports and the number of indicators disclosed in these reports are depending on several criteria among which the size of the company, its sector of activity, and its nationality.As master students studying in Sweden, we considered it would be interesting to know more about the sustainability reporting inside the country we are studying in. Large-size companies tend to disclose use more sustainability reporting and to disclose more information. Some sectors as the industrial sector are in need of sustainability reporting. As no prior studies were found in our search for showing which GRI indicators companies of the industrial sector preferably report on, we decided to embrace the challenge and fill the research gap by conducting a research of large Swedish companies within the industrial sector.This thesis adopted a quantitative approach. We collected data from 30 large Swedish companies within the industrial sector. We also conducted five hypotheses for our analysis in order to make conclusions on our work, and our main findings show that among the Swedish large-size companies belonging to the industrial sector, the largest report more on sustainability using the GRI. Besides, among the large companies which disclose on the GRI the largest disclose on more indicators than the smallest. Finally, we succeeded in identifying indicators of the GRI which are largely and poorly disclosed by the Swedish large-size companies belonging to the industrial sector.

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Janse, van Rensburg Heidi. "Standards and indicators for sustainability in South African businesses." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/14334.

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Sustainability reporting is becoming increasingly important, and governments and stock exchanges of many countries require or strongly encourage businesses to provide some level of sustainability reporting. South Africa is one of few emerging market economies and the only country in Africa which show substantial sustainability reporting activities. In South Africa, sustainable development has been recognised at a constitutional and legislative level. Companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) must integrate sustainability reporting with financial reporting, or explain why they are not complying. Establishing a suitable sustainability reporting framework should therefore be part of the strategic integration of sustainability with other aspects of organisational planning and decision-making. This study suggests such a framework of standards and indicators for sustainability reporting in South African businesses, and evaluates it in South African listed companies. Mixed methods research was used in two phases. In phase 1, a critical analysis of the literature produced a framework of standards and indicators to be used as a measure to evaluate sustainability reporting in South Africa. In phase 2, first hand, original data was collected by performing a quantitative content analysis of sustainability reports of 84 companies listed on the Johannesburg stock exchange with the aim to identify standards and indicators that are applied in the content of sustainability reports in South Africa. Quantitative content analysis involves analysing material and then classifying it into various coding units or themes found in the material - it is a systematic way of converting text to numerical variables for quantitative data analysis.

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Scheel, Ramona. "Sustainable Business through Voluntary Disclosures: Motivations for Adopting Reporting Guidance, Boundaries and Assurance." Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2014. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-135873.

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This paper explores the extent to which corporations currently increase the voluntary disclosures in triple bottom line (TBL) reports. Although research already has provided substantial contributions as to why and how firms apply TBL reporting, there remains limited understanding of the motivations for and against making voluntary disclosures. Drawing from literature in environmental management and accounting as well as international auditing, this work focuses on guidance, boundarysetting and external assurance for TBL reports. An inductive case study approach is applied to investigate the credibility of TBL reporting by contrasting the competing predictions from legitimacy theory and voluntary disclosure theory on voluntary disclosures. A set of firm and industry specific factors are identified that are expected to determine a firm’s level and extent of reporting. The sample comprises nine US and EU red biotechnology corporations which aligned their TBL reporting to the GRI reporting standards in at least part of their TBL reports that were published between 2000 and 2009. An initial attempt is made to systematically investigate the credibility of TBL reporting to develop the model of voluntary disclosures. The empirical findings of this case study suggest that current guidance, boundary-setting and assurance for TBL reports are not sufficient to increase the credibility, comparability and reliability of reporting. Voluntary disclosure theory can serve to provide economic motivations, while legitimacy theory is helpful to provide a legitimating motivation. The findings support the notion that the economics-based factors better explain the secrecy strategy of providing mainly soft disclosures. The increase of disclosure levels maybe is considered sufficient to respond to public pressure. This work concludes by suggesting some directions of research in the areas of boundary-setting and assurance that have academic and practical implications.

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Situmorang, Rahel. "The concept of ecological sustainability and coastal development, with reference to South Australia /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 1992. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PL/09plms623.pdf.

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Adams, Gregory Keith. "Relating facility performance indicators to organizational sustainability performance in public higher education facilities." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/33854.

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This research seeks to identify how an organization's facility management (FM) practices relate with the state of sustainability in the organization. A review of the literature leads to presentation of a model defining these relationships. The concepts of direct and indirect FM sustainability roles in organizational sustainability are presented. Accepted facility metrics found in the APPA Facilities Performance Indicator Survey are used as indicators of FM in University System of Georgia institutions and are tested for correlation with sustainability best practices scores generated in an assessment performed for this research. FM performance indicators representing the direct role of FM are not found to be correlated with organizational sustainability best practicesin USG higher education organizations.

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Scheel, Ramona. "Sustainable Business through Voluntary Disclosures: Motivations for Adopting Reporting Guidance, Boundaries and Assurance." Technische Universität Dresden, 2011. https://tud.qucosa.de/id/qucosa%3A27685.

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This paper explores the extent to which corporations currently increase the voluntary disclosures in triple bottom line (TBL) reports. Although research already has provided substantial contributions as to why and how firms apply TBL reporting, there remains limited understanding of the motivations for and against making voluntary disclosures. Drawing from literature in environmental management and accounting as well as international auditing, this work focuses on guidance, boundarysetting and external assurance for TBL reports. An inductive case study approach is applied to investigate the credibility of TBL reporting by contrasting the competing predictions from legitimacy theory and voluntary disclosure theory on voluntary disclosures. A set of firm and industry specific factors are identified that are expected to determine a firm’s level and extent of reporting. The sample comprises nine US and EU red biotechnology corporations which aligned their TBL reporting to the GRI reporting standards in at least part of their TBL reports that were published between 2000 and 2009. An initial attempt is made to systematically investigate the credibility of TBL reporting to develop the model of voluntary disclosures. The empirical findings of this case study suggest that current guidance, boundary-setting and assurance for TBL reports are not sufficient to increase the credibility, comparability and reliability of reporting. Voluntary disclosure theory can serve to provide economic motivations, while legitimacy theory is helpful to provide a legitimating motivation. The findings support the notion that the economics-based factors better explain the secrecy strategy of providing mainly soft disclosures. The increase of disclosure levels maybe is considered sufficient to respond to public pressure. This work concludes by suggesting some directions of research in the areas of boundary-setting and assurance that have academic and practical implications.

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Armstrong, Rachel J. "Regional sustainability strategies : a regional focus for opportunities to improve sustainability in Western Australia /." Access via Murdoch University Digital Theses Project, 2003. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20040811.143311.

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Engvall, Tove. "Records roles in Corporate Sustainability Reporting : An explorative study of corporate sustainability reporting from an archives and information science perspective." Thesis, Mittuniversitetet, Institutionen för informationssystem och –teknologi, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:miun:diva-36765.

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Calls for more responsible companies, have led to initiatives and legislations of sustainability reporting, in order to improve corporate transparency and accountability regarding companies economic, environmental and social impact. The aim of the research was to explore records roles in corporate sustainability reporting, which is discussed from an archives and information science perspective. Records are regarded as evidence of business activities and therefore crucial to accountability and decision-making processes. A sustainability report is a record, and records are also used to create a sustainability report. The thesis is based on a qualitative explorative methodology with interviews as data gathering technique. Interviews were carried out with four employees at three different companies who work with sustainability reporting, a sustainability consultant who works with sustainability reporting, and an auditor who assesses the companies´ annual and sustainability reports. The interviews have addressed records’ role in different aspects of sustainability reporting, exploring how sustainability reports are created, used and pluralized. As well as how the records, generated as an effect of the reporting process, are used, what impact they have on the business and efficiency of the process. The thesis also explore respondents´ perspectives on reliability and credibility of the reports in relation to records qualities. Results from the interviews have been analysed with the lens of Records Continuum Model and the ISO standard for records management, ISO 15489-1:2016. Results show that records are key assets that provide evidential information that enables different functions and benefits –both to companies that report and to stakeholders. Primary benefits of the reporting that have been emphasized are that it enables transparency and accountability, informed decision-making, management of risks, compliance with legislation, ability to demonstrate corporate responsibility and meeting sustainability goals, greater business efficiency, evidence-based analysis and development activities, formation of business culture and identity, and protection of corporate and collective memory about the corporates’ work regarding sustainability. Records are also valuable assets for governance and continuous improvements. It enables to monitor trends and assessment on how the company meets its targets. The thesis gives an increased understanding of records’ role in a socio-economic context. It also suggests some areas for further research and development in order for sustainability reporting to further support a sustainable development. One of the major tasks would be to make pluralization of sustainability-related records more efficient, in order to facilitate further utilization of the information. This may enhance corporate accountability and decision making based on sustainability criteria, and would make the work more efficient for companies. The global records governance environment can be improved further, in order to support global sustainable development. Important is also to raise awareness about the role of trustworthy records.

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Krasnikova, Daria. "Analýza současného stavu společenské odpovědnosti podniků v ČR." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2012. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-191491.

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Over time, enterprises are more often turning to socially responsible business. Companies are doing so by various reasons: management decision, market and state requirements, efforts to raise the image on the market etc. However, CSR covers a wide range of activities and allows many different options of implementation. This thesis contains the analysis of the specifics of CSR in the Czech Republic, detection of the most advanced and omitted spheres. To achieve the goal of the thesis a survey was carried between companies that operate in the Czech Republic and have experience with social responsibility. Evaluation of the results brings out some positive changes in fundamental areas of CSR. Also the survey discovered the shift to more realistic perception of benefits arising from the implementation of accountability and sustainability in business activities.

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Christos, Stephen. "Investigation of the potential to implement offshore wind energy technology in Victoria, Australia." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för geovetenskaper, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-255674.

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In order to consolidate a sustainable renewable energy infrastructure, the Australian state of Victoria requires an advancement and development of any feasible renewable energy alternatives. There is a large onshore wind energy market in Victoria but the state currently has no offshore wind technology under consideration or proposal. Australia, and Victoria, has a vast coast line with desirable wind resources for offshore wind implementation. In order to definitively investigate the potential for such technology, a simulation was designed to test the amount of power that could be produced in Victoria by using real life wind speed data sets. The simulation output was analyzed in conjunction with an analysis of the social, political, environmental and economic considerations that could increase or decrease the potential for this technology. 11 simulation scenarios were tested and analyzed, two of which produced a positive net present value by the conclusion of its commissioned operational life. It was found that there is the potential for development of this technology within certain locations in Victoria but it would face several barriers to implementation. The most prominent barriers are competition with a thriving coal and fossil energy industry and competition with more economically desirable alternative renewable technologies such as onshore wind energy.

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Ghauri, Mohammed Rameez. "How to Go Green as aTelecommunication Companyin a Global Market." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för geovetenskaper, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-198954.

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The issue of sustainability has gained significance in the past two decades or so particularly inthe business sector throughout the globe. Companies from various industries have inculcatedaspects of sustainability in their portfolios due to reasons ranging from stakeholder demandsto industry competition and profit. In fact, with the issues of climate change and resourcedepletion now gaining global political and economic significance; not going ‘green’ is not anoption for companies anymore.This paper sheds light on the ways that companies are becoming more environmental friendlyand benefitting from this process. All aspects of the business process ranging fromprocurement of materials to waste management and recycling have been viewed from asustainability perspective. This also includes the manner in which firms practice ‘greenmarketing’ for their environmental friendly practices and products. Since this paper will actas a guiding strategy for a company ‘Ascom’, the industry under focus is thetelecommunications industry. More specifically, the activities of three of Ascom’s majorcompetitors namely Siemens, Alcatel and Cisco have been thoroughly reviewed to providebenchmarks for Ascom. Coupled with the current theories and frameworks on the issue ofsustainability in business, the benchmarks set by these competitors will be used torecommend Ascom on how they can become more ‘green’.

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Saňková, Veronika. "CSR v praxi českých firem - komparace sdělení českých a zahraničních firem." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2008. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-16489.

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This diploma thesis describes the situation of CSR in the Czech Republic, by investigating CSR statements addressed to the stakeholders of the Czech firms on their websites, and comparing them to the results of a world investigation. The theoretical part involves a definition of CSR, its history and wider context of sustainable development. It also describes the grounds of stakeholder theory and stakeholder relationship management. The practical part begins with a description of the world investigation of CSR statements, and continues with other investigations about the importance of stakeholders for the firms which were conducted in the West, and in the Middle and Eastern Europe. Researches in the Czech Republic follow. Finally, the results of this diploma thesis are introduced -- the groups of stakeholders to which Czech firms address their statements and categories of these statements. As a conclusion, recommendations for the Czech firms are formulated

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Dimitrov, Dara K. "The Creation of Sustainable Development: What it means to CFOs in New Zealand." The University of Waikato, 2009. http://adt.waikato.ac.nz/public/adt-uow20090304.163356/index.html.

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Tang, Pui-sze Suzuya, and 鄧貝詩. "A comparative study on the environmental reporting of the public sectors in Hong Kong and Japan." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2006. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B38210769.

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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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Thiets, Robert Clyde. "A method for developing a Triple-Bottom-Line business case for the implementation of alternative fuels and technology." Thesis, Atlanta, Ga. : Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/29659.

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Thesis (M. S.)--Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008.
Committee Chair: Bras, Bert; Committee Member: Jeter, Sheldon; Committee Member: McGinnis, Leon. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

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Oliver, Clive P. "Analysis and determinants of sustainability policy choice of local councils in Australia : a test of stakeholder theory." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2013. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/700.

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Since the early 1990’s, issues of sustainability involving community, government and industry have gained momentum, and the environment has become the focus of numerous studies, such as those undertaken by Young and Hayes (2002); Yuan (2001); Staley (2006); Mellahi and Wood (2004); Hezri and Hasan (2006); Dowse 2006; Wilmhurst and Frost (2000); and Qian, Burritt and Monroe (2010). Cotter and Hannan (1999, p.11) also discussed the impetus of a United Nations summit in 1992, known as the Earth Summit, which resulted in Local Agenda 21, a blueprint for action to achieve sustainable development. Global sustainability is currently a major focus for policies in both the public and private sectors. Local government in Australia is currently undergoing historic changes as a result of a major thrust to restructure through amalgamation, in order to improve efficiencies and effectiveness in local government. Amalgamations are considered necessary for the financial survival of local government, as there is growing evidence to suggest that too many small councils will not be financially viable in the future. Moreover, local government worldwide is now more accountable than ever before for sustainable policy choices and the impact of those policy choices on their communities. Sustainable policy choices of local councils worldwide will have an enormous economic and environmental impact on the planet. Previous studies into the effects of sustainability issues and their relationship to local councils have been carried out by Kloot and Martin (2001); O’Brien (2002); Reid (1999); Bulkeley (2000); and Tebbatt (2006). This empirical quantitative study examines the sustainability policy choices of local government Australia-wide, and looks specifically at the determinants of such choices in local government. It also investigates the influence of stakeholders on the sustainability policy choices of each local government, the results of which have the potential to affect society’s quality of life. Identifying stakeholders who influence sustainability policy choices is therefore of great importance for the future. All five hundred and fifty eight local Australian government entities listed by the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) were invited to participate in this study. Data were gathered through the use of a structured questionnaire, and an analysis was undertaken to identify those stakeholders who influence the sustainability policies of Australian local government. This is the first research to examine all Australian local government entities to find out why they make the sustainability choices they do. To date, most studies relating to local government have been in areas of disclosure, such as those carried out by Royston (2001); Priest, Ng and Dolley (1999); and Piaseka (2006). The findings of this study support the assertion of Mitchell, Agle and Wood (1997), that stakeholder salience is positively related to the cumulative number of the three variable attributes of power, legitimacy and urgency. In addition, this study ranked stakeholders from one to eight according to the perceptions of local government CEOs. It is interesting to note that, of the listed stakeholders, government did not rank as number one. The results indicated that stakeholder influence on local government sustainability policy choices varied depending on local government size, location, and whether they were urban or rural according to their government classification. The researcher was surprised to learn that many councils did not know their own government classification. The study also revealed that local government took sustainability seriously in all its forms and applications. As in previous research, the CEO of each council was selected as the respondent for the questionnaire. It was discovered that many of the larger councils had specialist positions dealing with these issues. This study is significant because it contributes original research in the area of stakeholder influence on sustainability policy choices of local government in Australia. It is important for future sustainability studies to have an understanding of which stakeholders influence local government in making their sustainability policy choices. This study also clarifies the perceived salience of local government stakeholders from the perspective of Australian local government CEOs. Moreover, the study proves quite clearly that local government is not homogenous, and the potential exists for future studies to investigate the importance and consequence of heterogeneous local government in Australia and around the world.

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Olofsson, Linnea. "Integrating the UN Sustainable Development Goals in Sustainability Reporting : A Discourse Analysis on Value Creation in the Apparel Industry." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för geovetenskaper, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-363378.

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In September 2015, the world leaders gathered to endorse 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), demonstrating a paradigm shift for people and the planet build on shared values, principles, and priorities for a common destiny. In the process of consolidating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) consultations with business representatives raised two issues related to the potential success of the goals. The first issue was to better measure and value true performance of business preconditioned by identifying the most significant impact areas. The second issue was concerned with integration of sustainability into core business strategies. Both issues lead back to the proclaimed paradigm shift built on shared values for a sustainable future as demonstrated by the SDGs and demonstrate challenges with implementation of the SDGs. Although comprehensive frameworks to help business integrate the goals have been developed, the complexity and sheer volume of the various targets and indicators hinder many companies from reporting on their performance and contributions. The textile and apparel industry, while endowed with enormous potential related to development of countries has drawn increased attention to its negative impacts along the value chain. The industry is also one of the first to integrate the SDG into their sustainability reports. However, critics point to the fact that simply linking sustainability activities to the SDGs is not enough and cherry-picking the goals that have the easiest business case will be insufficient. Thus, to address this potential discrepancy between communication and action, the aim of this study has been to investigate the perceived value of SDGs integration in sustainability reporting within the apparel industry. Through a critical discourse analysis, the study has reviewed six sustainability report by two Swedish apparel companies, Lindex and Filippa K, from 2015 to 2017. conceptual framework has been developed according to the SDG compass including two variables; communicated motives for SDG integration and methods to measure and report on goal fulfilment. The findings show that both companies are using the SDGs as a communicative tool to point to the conceptual motives which drives the sustainability work. Discursive strategies to frame the companies’ sustainability methods are made by utilizing the concept of “circularity”. The level of SDG integration differs between the companies. Lindex show discursive developments between 2015 to 2015 reflecting extended responsibility with correspondence between communication and action. While Filippa K does not show the same level of discursive maturity in terms of motive, the methods to address the sustainability issues related to circular fashion has accelerated significantly over the years comparatively to Lindex. The lack of communicated methods to address social issues is however evident. The findings further show that there is a correspondence between level of SDG integration and SDG contribution. This study corroborates with previous research arguing that the business world is more complex than something that can be assessed in a black and white dichotomy of hypocrisy versus sincerity and needs a much more sophisticated approach to the gap between promise and performance and that the SDGs have a transformative potential. It also provides insights on how the application of the SDGs can be seen through a spectrum between weak and strong sustainability depending on the maturity of a company’s sustainability management.

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Bullock, Stephen. "Project proposal for Anglo Platinum to make a meaningful switch to G3 sustainable development reporting : a logical framework analysis." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/3366.

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Thesis (MPhil (Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.
This project proposal has as its topic a communications and change management project within Anglo Platinum, called the G3 Project. It is being submitted as an integrated assignment for the MPhil programme on sustainable development in the Department of Public Management and Planning at Stellenbosch University and is also intended for consideration by the executive management of Anglo Platinum. The G3 Project proposal document has been drafted based on the logical framework analysis (LFA) approach and format envisaged by Örtengren (2004). LFA is a widely accepted methodology for setting out project proposals. It provides a basis for identifying a problem in society, and for analysing its causes and effects. This then provides a basis upon which to identify actions that will address the causes of the problem. This project proposal covers each of the nine stages of the LFA guidelines, as follows: context analysis; stakeholder analysis; problem analysis; objectives analysis; plan of activities; resource planning; indicators; risk analysis; and assumptions. The focal problem of the analysis is that corporate sustainable development reporting has become mostly a bureaucratic, “tick-box process” under Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) 2002 guidelines. As Confino (2008) has alerted us, “There is a risk that sustainability reporting will not inspire deep change, but could become a dry bureaucratic diversion.” Therefore, the overall objective of the project is to ensure that corporations use their sustainable development reports to make ambitious commitments to sustainability, as a means of addressing global sustainability challenges. Its purpose is to ensure that Anglo Platinum’s sustainability reporting, compiled using the GRI G3 guidelines, is used as a vehicle for the company to make ambitious commitments to addressing the material societal sustainability issues over which it has control; and results in fundamental changes in the company’s business processes. The outputs of the G3 Project, which are designed to meet the project’s purpose, include compiling the 2008 Anglo Platinum sustainable development report in line with the requirements to meet the GRI’s G3 B+ self-declaration level;1 setting ambitious, sustainability-related targets and developing management plans to address Anglo Platinum’s material sustainability issues; and ensuring that the 2009 Anglo Platinum sustainable development report is structured and in line with GRI’s A+ requirements. For these outputs to be achieved, a budget of R8 million will need to be made available for the G3 Project over the next three years. Questions may be raised about what the business case is for doing such a project. However, according to a recent Globescan/SustainAbility survey of corporations, academics, NGOs and sustainable development experts, the reason why it is important for companies in general to address those social sustainability challenges over which they have control is that they are believed to be key players, more so than governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), in providing leadership on sustainable development over the next ten years. This was reiterated by Hart (2005), who states that corporations are the only entities in the world today with the technology, capacity and global reach required to lead us towards a sustainable world. This project proposal is directed at the executive management of Anglo Platinum, for its consideration in deciding the future path of sustainable development reporting -- and of sustainability itself -- within the company.

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Bosire, Samuel Mobisa. "A sustainability reporting framework for South African Higher Education Institutions." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1016126.

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Sustainability has gained prominence globally among nations, regions and organisations as a result of factors such as the effects of climate change on the environment, diminishing natural resources and rising population growth with their concomitant impact on economies and social systems. South Africa is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) that promotes international principles and best practices on sustainable development. Sustainability Reporting is one such best practice. Sustainability Reporting is imperative for good governance and organisations are now expected to support sustainability issues, risks and performance in a balanced and reasonable way. The United Nations and other global bodies have been in the vanguard in promoting guidelines for sustainability reporting with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) being the most Prominent Sustainability reporting guideline. The South African Higher Education Institutions generate a number of reports in the course of any given academic year. As has been the case in the global corporate world, failures in governance in some South African universities point to weaknesses in their governance, especially when it comes to oversight of the operations of institutions. Considering this, it is important to critically examine strategic planning processes to understand the aspects that are important for the survival of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and therefore they should be regularly and closely monitored. The study begins by exploring literature relating to strategic planning, governance, sustainability reporting practices and Business Intelligence (BI) technologies in Higher Education. The primary objective of the investigation is to propose a sustainability reporting framework for Higher Education Institutions in South Africa. It is argued that with the aid of appropriate BI tools, the proposed Sustainability Reporting framework would be useful in tracking progress in the implementation of strategic plans and at the same time strengthen governance in institutions. The study identified elements of Sustainability Reporting that are important for strategic planning. To develop the proposed framework, an empirical investigation was undertaken. Four online questionnaires were completed and returned by 108 participants comprising of Registrars and Information Managers at 23 South African Higher Education Institutions as well as to Information Managers in selected International Higher Education Institutions and Managers at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU). The online questionnaires were developed to elicit information to include in the proposed framework. To analyse results, both descriptive and inferential statistics such as Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used. Results from the surveys revealed that Higher Education Institutions globally and in South Africa are grappling with the same issues. When it comes to Sustainability Reporting, factors such as information culture and Business Intelligence maturity levels were not found to be very different among the various institutions. In the case study at NMMU, correlational analysis confirmed that variables such as Management buying and the availability of BI reports were positively related to effective strategic planning and vice versa. Similarly, a strong correlation was observed between reporting guidelines and strategic planning. Moreover, the study highlighted the critical role of management and leadership in a university in creating an environment that supports Sustainability Reporting. In conclusion, it was recommended that efforts should be directed at creating awareness and at training staff on aspects that promote sustainability. It is incumbent upon the institution to take advantage of and promote technological tools and techniques to enable the easy flow of data and information in understandable and usable formats to all its stakeholders. Finally, a Framework for Sustainability Reporting for Higher Education Institutions (FSRHEI) and guidelines for implementing Sustainability Reports are proposed.

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com, jennypope@bigpond, and Jennifer Pope. "Facing the Gorgon: Sustainability Assessment and Policy Learning in Western Australia." Murdoch University, 2007. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20070330.154243.

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Sustainability assessment is emerging as a form of impact assessment with the concept of sustainability at its heart. This thesis contributes to the process of theory-building for sustainability assessment through an exploration of the development of this policy tool within the Western Australian context. Through an analysis of the sustainability assessments of the Gorgon gas development on Barrow Island and the South West Yarragadee water supply development, and a process of personal reflection, I explore the potential of sustainability assessment to contribute to a more sustainable society by facilitating learning. While the focus of traditional forms of impact assessment has typically been exterior forms of knowledge and learning relating to the potential impacts of a proposal, or to process methodologies and governance arrangements, in this thesis I argue that sustainability assessment processes should also facilitate interior forms of learning that excavate and challenge underpinning assumptions about the organisation of society, including shared discourses and storylines, as well as personal views and beliefs. To achieve this aim, I maintain that sustainability assessment should be a proactive process that is integrated with the proposal development, framed by an open question and guided by a sustainability decision-making protocol that operationalises sustainability for the decision at hand. It should be guided by a structured process framework that assures attention is given to issues that might otherwise be neglected. Each step of the process framework should represent a space for inclusive deliberation, with the concept of sustainability itself acting as a catalyst for learning and reflexivity. Located within the institutions of modern industrial society, deliberative sustainability assessment processes can contribute to the emergence of an 'integral sustainability' that embraces and reconnects the interior and exterior, collective and individual dimensions of policy-making and of society in general. The influence of sustainability assessment can thus extend beyond the immediate decision at hand to contribute to a momentum for societal change towards a more sustainable future.

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Gaál, Bettina. "Implementation of Sutainability Reporting in the EU - A Comparative Case Study." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för geovetenskaper, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-388677.

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The European Union has since the 1970s shifted their focus towards environmental policies and today they aim at the adequate implementation of environmental sustainability initiatives across all member states. The process of the implementation of sustainability reporting and corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the achievement of the SDGs require a multilevel governance paradigm-shift, provides a framework for all involved parties to act and perform accordingly. The Directive 2014/95/EU on non-financial and diversity reporting is an incentive to achieve higher environmental, social and economic sustainability and transparency amongst European corporations. However, deriving from the nature of a directive, it does not offer a clear guideline to follow nor actual legislative guidance. Even though directives are mandatory to be implemented in national legislation, the way and form of it may vary to a great extent due to the fact that it is sufficient for the EU if the directive is translated into the countries’ law. This, however, results in different levels of efficiency and performance in different countries.This research contributes to the understanding of the implementation of environmental EU directives with the goal of achieving sustainable development within the EU member states. Throughout a multilevel governance and deductive approach, the comparative case study highlights the differences and identifies leverage points for policy makers and future research to develop common best practices for such purposes.In order to answer the research question Why do countries perform in significantly different ways within the field of sustainability, given they are all following the same directives issued by the EU?, the comparison of the two selected countries, Hungary and Sweden was conducted through two sub-questions, which aimed at identifying the differences and similarities in their governance framework to reach the SDGs and legislation following the Directive 2014/94/EU. In conclusion, clear differences can be identified between the countries’ political commitment, integrational and holistic approach of sustainability into policy-making and; and the “extra mile” and commitment that Sweden manifested to improving the sustainability and transparency level of corporations in applying stricter measures in national legislation following the Directive 2014/95/EU and handling sustainability as a concept as a crucial, essential and integrated part of life.

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Lundström, Samuel. "Perspectives of the reporting on carbon trading and carbon offsetting in Swedish newspapers: 2007 and 2014." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för geovetenskaper, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-254706.

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As response to climate change, the UN and the EU have adopted a market-based approach aiming to reduce Greenhouse gases via flexible market-based mechanisms, constituted by carbon trading and carbon offsetting. The approach rests on the notion that sustainable development and environmental protection are compatible with a liberal market and economic growth. However, this rather complex issue is debated among stakeholders and the perspectives of the matter vary. As an important societal institution, Swedish newspapers play a central democratic role by interpreting, conveying and discussing responses to climate change. By having this informative role, Swedish newspapers influence the public agenda. This study aims to analyze and describe how carbon trading and carbon offsetting are presented in Swedish newspapers by revealing patterns within their content. The research was conducted via a content analysis of 204 articles in the two leading newspapers in Sweden, Aftonbladet and Dagens Nyheter covering the years 2007 and 2014. The results could be summarized as: (i) the issue is described through a variety of contexts with strong influence of ideological messages, (ii) the elites in society in general and domestic political parties/allianes in particular are the most dominant stakeholder groups in the debate, (iii) the approach seems to be linked to the messages of Swedish liberal/conservative parties, (iv) the political orientation of the newspapers do not influence the choice of political parties given a voice in the articles, (v) the level of connection between cabon trading/carbon offsetting and sustainable development varies among the articles.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Sustainable development reporting – Australia'

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