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Kristofersson, Hannes, and Victor Wadstein. "Accelerating the Transition to Sustainability : Identifying Drivers and Barriers." Thesis, KTH, Industriell ekonomi och organisation (Inst.), 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-296600.
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As corporations have attained an increasing focus in the sustainability debate, so have the expectations of their sustainability performance. Rather than having a sole focus on an ad hoc mix of philanthropic actions, researchers now begin to call for businesses to recognize their role in broader societal sustainability challenges. This paper aims to explore the perceived drivers and barriers of corporate sustainability (CS) when a company seeks to take a societal perspective on its contributions to sustainable development. A case study has been conducted on a management consultancy firm to address this, with empirical data stemming from semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire. A systematic literature review was furthermore carried out to study the drivers and barriers identified in prior research, thus obtaining a methodological triangulation. The data was moreover analyzed with theoretical underpinnings from the field of transition management (TM). In doing so, it was possible to begin closing the gap between previous research on the drivers and barriers of CS and those that emerge when moving beyond traditional CS efforts. More specifically, a business transition management (BTM) framework was discussed in relation to the results from the case company, trying to assess whether the elements included align with the identified drivers; and to discuss whether the strategies within could combat the perceived barriers. When analyzing the empirical data and comparing it with the findings from the literature review, many similarities could be found. Client expectations, leadership, organizational culture, and communication were all essential aspects within the case company, and so were they in the literature review, thus, validating much of the findings in previous literature. A key difference, however, appears to be the complexities associated with these when taking a wider, societal perspective on sustainability. Relating this perspective to the activities carried out by employees is perceived to be difficult, and the business case is not fully recognized. It was suggested that aspects from the BTM framework could be utilized to combat the barriers associated with increasing complexities, such as the empowerment of visionary employees with a deeper insight into the complexities in question. The findings of this research endeavor have been complied in a proposed model to widening the perspective of CS efforts. Albeit not definite in its construct, it nonetheless begins to reflect on the interlinkages between TM and previous research on CS drivers and barriers. Additional drivers and barriers can be identified, and the differences between traditional CS initiatives and those that embrace a societal perspective should be further clarified. Still, this model provides a good starting point for further research on this phenomenon.Allteftersom företag har fått en större roll i hållbarhetsdebatten så har också förväntningarna på deras hållbarhetsarbete ökat. I stället för att enbart fokusera på en ad hoc-blandning av filantropiska åtgärder– såsom slumpmässigt utvalda donationer, marknadsföring och svag hållbarhetsrapportering – börjar forskare nu uppmana företag att erkänna sin roll i bredare samhällsutmaningar för hållbarhet. Denna uppsats syftar till att utforska de upplevda drivkrafterna och barriärerna när ett företag försöker ta ett samhällsperspektiv på deras bidrag till hållbar utveckling. En fallstudie har genomförts på ett konsultföretag för att undersöka detta, med empiriska data från intervjuer och ett frågeformulär. En systematisk litteraturgranskning genomfördes dessutom för att studera de drivkrafter och barriärer som identifierats i tidigare forskning vilket medförde att metodologisk triangulering kunde uppnås. Vidare så analyserades empirin med underlag från Transition Management (TM). På så sätt kunde klyftan mellan dessa forskningsområden börja överbryggas. Mer specifikt så diskuterades ett ramverk för Business Transition Management (BTM) i förhållande till resultaten från fallföretaget, för att därigenom bedöma om detta överensstämmer med de identifierade drivkrafterna och för att diskutera om strategierna inom det ramverket skulle kunna bekämpa de upplevda hindren. Vid analysen av empirin så uppvisas många likheter med de drivande faktorerna och barriärerna som kan identifieras i litteraturöversikten. Kundernas förväntningar, ledarskap, organisationskultur och kommunikation visade sig vara viktiga aspekter inom fallföretaget, vilket de också var i litteraturgranskningen. Således valideras mycket av resultaten i tidigare litteratur. En skillnad verkar emellertid vara komplexiteten i samband med dessa när man tar ett bredare samhällsperspektiv på hållbarhet. Att relatera detta perspektiv till de anställdas projekt upplevs som svårt, och affärsmöjligheten med detta är ännu inte helt erkänt. Aspekter från BTM-ramverket antyds kunna användas för att bekämpa de hinder som är förknippade med den ökande komplexiteten, såsom att framhäva visionärer inom företaget. Slutsatserna av denna forskningsinsats har sammanställts i en föreslagen modell, där övergången till ett bredare hållbarhetsperspektiv presenteras. Trots att modellen i sig inte är vetenskapligt beprövad ännu, så bidrar den ändock med en reflektion kring sammanlänkningarna mellan TM och tidigare forskning om hållbarhetsarbetens drivande faktorer och barriärer. Ytterligare drivkrafter och barriärer kan identifieras, och skillnaderna mellan traditionella hållbarhetsinitiativ och de som omfattar ett samhällsperspektiv bör klargöras ytterligare. Trots detta så ger denna modell en bra utgångspunkt för ytterligare forskning om det undersökta fenomenet.
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Nwuke, Okechukwu Vitalis. "Leadership Transition Strategies for Medium-Sized Family Businesses' Sustainability." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4315.
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Medium-sized family businesses are major contributors to economic activities and job creation in Nigeria, but more than 50% of such family businesses fail after leadership succession. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that owners of medium-sized family businesses use to sustain the businesses after the leadership transition from the founders. The population for this study included 3 family business leaders in Lagos and Port Harcourt in Nigeria who have sustained their family businesses after the leadership transition from their founders. The conceptual framework for the study was based on the transformational leadership theory and the theory of planned behavior. Data collection was through semistructured face-to-face interviews and from company documents and artifacts. Data analysis was supported by follow up questions and member checking to enhance the credibility and trustworthiness of interpretations. The 4 themes that emerged were the founders' desire and support for transition, preparation of successors, trust and credibility of successors, and clarity of vision for both the founders and the successors. The findings from this study could contribute to positive social change by providing family business owners with strategies for managing leadership transitions to enable them to sustain their business operations after these transitions. Sustaining the family businesses might lead to a reduction in unemployment and enhance the incomes and well-being of the family members, communities, and Nigerian economy.
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Schäpke, Niko [Verfasser]. "Linking Transitions to Sustainability : Individual Agency, Normativity and Transdisciplinary Collaborations in Transition Management / Niko Schäpke." Lüneburg : Leuphana Universität, 2018. http://d-nb.info/1221622013/34.
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BULHA, LOPES PEREIRA SIMONE PAULA, and DRAGAN CONSTANTIN IONEL. "How Important is Sustainability for Start-ups? : An Investigation on the Sustainability Transition within Stockholm Ventures." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för industriell teknik och management (ITM), 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-279749.
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This thesis seeks to explore the importance of sustainability within start-up organisations and investigate the sustainability transition within selected ventures. The research conducted applies a multiple case study design, combined with a literature review to answer the research question: ‘How Important is Sustainability for Start-ups?’. Six case studies are conducted from various industries, in order to obtain a purposive sample. The sample comprises start-ups that are technology focused, of a size below ten people and located in Stockholm, Sweden. Within this investigation, the concept of sustainability is defined through the triple bottom line approach; social, environmental, and economic, and supported by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals developed by the United Nations. Further concepts of Social Economy are applied, while the basis of the research questionnaire is the Social Economy Canvas. Moreover, the Multi-Level Perspective theoretical framework is applied to provide structure and support to the developed theories, placing sustainability within a broader perspective. As a result of the data collection and analysis, the following findings are presented. Firstly, digital start-ups struggle to have an impact on environmental sustainability when not working directly within this area. Secondly, in the ideation stages, start-ups have the intention of becoming sustainable according to the triple bottom line. However, when start-ups evolve, their sustainability goals may come into conflict with other factors that add layers of complexity in decision making. Thirdly, it is evidenced that a sustainability transition occurs in the observed case studies, as start-ups adopt more sustainable business practices and entrepreneurs are inspired to pursue new businesses or sustainability-oriented business models. Lastly, Sweden proves itself as a sustainability enabler, offering significant sustainability advantages to organisations based in Sweden.Denna avhandling undersöker vikten av hållbarhet inom nystartade företag och undersöker hållbarhetsövergången inom utvalda företag. Den genomförda forskningen tillämpar flera fallstudier i kombination med en litteraturöversikt för att besvara forskningsfrågan: "Hur viktigt är hållbarhet för start-ups?" Sex fallstudier har genomförts från olika branscher för att få till en ändamålsenlig provstorlek. Urvalet omfattar nystartade företag som är teknologifokuserade, av en storlek under tio personer och som ligger i Stockholm, Sverige. Inom denna utredning definieras begreppet hållbarhet genom den tredubbla strategin: social, miljömässig och ekonomisk, och stöttas av de 17 hållbarhetsmål som utvecklats av FN. Ytterligare begrepp om social ekonomi tillämpas, medan grunden för forskningsundersökningen är en socialekonomisk canvas. Dessutom tillämpas det teoretiska ramverket på flera nivåer för att ge struktur och stöd till de utvecklade teorierna och placera hållbarhet i ett bredare perspektiv. Som ett resultat av datainsamlingen och analysen presenteras följande resultat. För det första har digitala nystartade företag svårigheter att påverka miljöns hållbarhet när de inte arbetar direkt inom detta område. För det andra, i ideationsstadierna har nyetablerade företag avsikter att bli hållbara enligt ”triple bottom line”-modellen. Men när nystartade företag utvecklas kan deras hållbarhetsmål komma i konflikt med andra faktorer som komplicerar beslutsfattandet. För det tredje framgår det att en hållbarhetsövergång inträffar i de observerade fallstudierna när nystartade företag använder mer hållbara affärsmetoder och entreprenörer inspireras att bedriva nya företag eller hållbarhetsinriktade affärsmodeller. Slutligen visar Sverige sig vara en hållbarhetsfaktor som erbjuder betydande hållbarhetsfördelar till organisationer med bas i Sverige.
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Whitney, Mary Kathryn. "Voluntary University Sustainability Commitments| a Network in and of Transition." Thesis, Prescott College, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3629879.
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In the absence of state and national governments leadership addressing climate change, cities and academic institutions have been taking the initiative to provide direction toward low-carbon transitions. From the U.S. Mayor's Climate Agreement, to the American College and University President's Climate Commitment, voluntary agreements are the only U.S. initiatives to address climate change systematically over the last decade or more. These voluntary agreements constitute a social movement and innovation space, supported through networks of sustainability practice and research. The proliferation of these agreements, the increasing numbers of participating organizations, and a nascent market in businesses providing supporting resources to network members, points to an action space that is a form of transition niche, unusual in that it is not protected or supported at any higher level of governance. Using a combination of social constructivist methods of situational analysis and social network analysis, this dissertation describes and analyzes six purely voluntary university agreements and makes visible their complex interactions. It investigates these voluntary agreements and the universities that are working to transform their operations, practices and curriculums in a collaborative effort to mitigate and adapt to climate change and move toward sustainability. It demonstrates that these networks are part of a larger network of cognitive practice for sustainable low-carbon transitions.
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Kristensson, Mikaela, and Sandra Pettersson. "Moving Beyond Sustainability : Change Agents Perceptions on a Regenerative Transition." Thesis, Jönköping University, JIBS Entrepreneurship Centre, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-52869.
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Background: Climate change has become the most pressing challenge of our time. Current business approaches to sustainability are instrumental that may portray sustainability as a source of corporate profit rather than acting for change beyond mitigation and adaptation. A regenerative approach to sustainability challenges current practices and aims to create and strengthen environmental and social well-being. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to deepen the understanding of how change agents can be a part of a regenerative sustainability transition. This is done by investigating the attitudes of change agents to such a transition. The aim is to contribute to theoretical and practical implications of organizational change theory, addressing the phenomena of organizational regenerative sustainability. Method: The paradigm of this study is of critical realist nature with an exploratory research design. An abductive model inspired the research approach, and semi-structured interviews were performed to collect primary data. A thematic analysis was then performed to draw conclusions from this study. Results: The analysis uncovered both welcoming and reluctant attitudes toward a regenerative transition. The welcoming attitudes were inherently more optimistic toward a regenerative transition, whereas change agents with reluctant attitudes identified more challenges and barriers for implementing a regenerative transition simultaneously as their perspectives were more business-centered. When weighing the evidence, it appears that the welcoming attitudes are relatively more likely to have a positive impact on implementing regenerative change as well as succeed with the initiation.
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Arai, Keigo, Fernanda Pia, and Ray Armstrong Kristopher La. "Transitioning towards Sustainability : What are we waiting for?" Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Institutionen för strategisk hållbar utveckling, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-16621.
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There is growing consensus that humanity is being confronted with a sustainability challenge of which the severity has never been known to modern man. This pressing situation is demanding solutions and alternatives to change the path of society. At the community level, grassroots movements have emerged around the world as a way of striving to develop local sustainability. This research studies the Transition Movement, a popular, global community-based movement. The aim of this study is to evaluate if a Transition Initiative is effective in moving a local community towards sustainability. The definition of sustainability used in the research is taken from the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) which comprises of eight sustainability principles (SPs); three ecological SPs and five social SPs. To this end, an analytical-evaluative case study of a single Transition Initiative was conducted in which semi-structured interviews, a survey and document analysis were all use as sources of information. The researchers chose a small-scale Transition Initiative, conducting the case study on the village of Ungersheim, France. The results revealed that the actions of Transition are contributing to progressing Ungersheim towards sustainability, both socially and ecologically. The research also revealed how the Transition is being done and what critical factors allowed for success. The study finally deduces a set of strategic guidelines that may be used for further longitudinal research cross-evaluating Ungersheim to other small-scale community transitions.
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Fairbairn, Heather. "Sustainability for women-in-need, making the transition to market housing." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2001. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp05/MQ63511.pdf.
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Miller, Melissa Jean. "Telehealth Integration Influencing Success and Sustainability." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7240.
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Telehealth initiated a transformation in the realm of innovative strategies to meet the demands of an ever-changing health care system. Adapting provisions to new delivery care models such as telehealth is one way to improve access to care. The purpose of this project was to explore evidence of best practices in telehealth through an extensive, systematic literature review. The practice-focused question focused on identifying advantages of and barriers to the use of telehealth for improving patient satisfaction and quality of care. The plan-do-study-act cycle served as a model for accelerating quality improvement through improved systems of practice, and the Critical Appraisal Skills Program tool was used to identify factors in the literature that indicated the clinical effectiveness of telehealth and the contributions of information technology to patient outcomes throughout the care continuum. Applying Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt's model, which consists of 7 levels for grading evidence, 11 articles were identified as meeting the inclusion criteria. With respect to comparing telehealth services, this review identified areas for future research, including how telehealth can be used to bridge the gap between hospital and home with the integration of telehealth being integrated into routine care as a means to deliver medical, health, and educational services that contribute to improving patient outcomes. The implications of this project related to social change include supporting evidence that positive change is possible when modalities of health care delivery include the patient as part of care, benefiting both patient and provider.
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Lertzman, David Adam. "Planning between cultural paradigms, traditional knowledge and the transition to ecological sustainability." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape10/PQDD_0024/NQ38927.pdf.
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Dong, Le. "Official Development Finance for Infra-System Transition towards Sustainability: Case of Kenya." Kyoto University, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/2433/232440.
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Bull, Justin G. "The paper to digital media transition : defining sustainability in media supply chains." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/51245.
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The phrase, “please consider the environment before printing this email” has entered the common vernacular. It suggests that when I consider the environment, paper media is of particular concern, and by inference, digital media is not. This thesis tackles the legitimacy of this claim by examining how media sustainability operates from three critical perspectives: industry, consumers, and academia. To measure the paper industry’s perspective, a series of interviews with business executives along a supply chain were conducted. I found that collaboration between supply chain actors is a prerequisite for improving environmental performance. To gain insight on the consumer’s perspective, I surveyed 1,400 individuals in North America, investigating media habits and environmental values. I found that consumers are shifting from paper to digital media, but that environmental values have no influence over this shift. This suggests that consumers could be detached from the environmental impacts of their media choices. Finally, the academic perspective was analyzed through a comprehensive review of life cycle assessment (LCA) research that compares paper and digital media from an environmental perspective. The studies found that digital media is almost always preferable to paper, requiring less energy and materials. However, they did not assess the assumptions required in order to compare such different products. More worryingly, the context of media consumption – the industrial systems that produce paper and digital products – was never taken into account. I conclude that since a significant media shift is underway new methods are required to consider sustainability. The new methods should be anchored in two concepts that could improve considerations of the environmental performance of industrial systems. First, industrial ecology, the idea that industry might mimic nature, can strengthen initial assessments of environmental performance. Second, capability maturity models can assist in gauging the ability of industrial systems to manage and improve environmental performance over time.Forestry, Faculty of
Graduate
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Tew, Mandy. "A Learning Organization? Evaluating the University of Canterbury's Strategic Transition toward Sustainability." Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Avdelningen för maskinteknik, 2005. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-2630.
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Institutions of higher educations (IHE), particularly universities, have a significant role to play in the global transformation to socio-ecological sustainability. This study focuses on the strategic planning efforts of one university, the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand where The Natural Step Framework (TNSF) is being used to develop a pan-University Sustainability Plan. Drawing upon the triple helix model of university-government-industry interactions for knowledge creation, and integrating principles of education for sustainable development into strategic organizational learning and change processes within higher education, this study suggests that advocates for sustainability within IHE can use the TNSF to assess institutional barriers and communicate specific opportunities in order to institutionalize strategic sustainable development and promote socio-ecological innovation.100 Eheart Street SE Blacksburg, VA 24060
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Shah, Rupesh. "Relational praxis in transition towards sustainability : business-NGO collaboration and participatory action research." Thesis, University of Bath, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.343773.
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Cappellaro, Francesca <1971>. "Engineering in Transition. Approaches, strategies and technologies for implementing system innovation towards sustainability." Doctoral thesis, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, 2015. http://amsdottorato.unibo.it/6885/.
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With the aim to provide people with sustainable options,
engineers are ethically required to hold the safety, health and welfare of the public paramount and to satisfy society's need for sustainable development.
The global crisis and related sustainability challenges are calling for a fundamental change in culture, structures and practices. Sustainability Transitions (ST) have been recognized as promising frameworks for radical system innovation towards sustainability. In order to enhance the effectiveness of transformative processes, both the adoption of a transdisciplinary approach and the experimentation of practices are crucial. The evolution of approaches towards ST provides a series of inspiring cases which allow to identify advances in making sustainability transitions happen. In this framework, the thesis has emphasized the role of Transition Engineering (TE). TE adopts a transdisciplinary approach for engineering to face the sustainability challenges and address the risks of un-sustainability. With this purpose, a definition of Transition Technologies is provided as a valid instruments to contribute to ST. In the empirical section, several transition initiatives have been analysed especially at the urban level. As a consequence, the model of living-lab of sustainability has crucially emerged. Living-labs are environments in which innovative technologies and services are co-created with users active participation. In this framework, university can play a key role as learning organization. The core of the thesis has concerned the experimental application of transition approach within the School of Engineering and Architecture of University of Bologna at Terracini Campus. The final vision is to realize a living-lab of sustainability. Particularly, a Transition Team has been established and several transition experiments have been conducted. The final result is not only the improvement of sustainability and resilience of the Terracini Campus, but the demonstration that university can generate solutions and strategies that tackle the complex, dynamic
factors fuelling the global crisis.
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Schäpke, Niko Alexander [Verfasser], and Daniel Johannes [Akademischer Betreuer] Lang. "Linking transitions to sustainability : individual agency, normativity and transdisciplinary collaborations in transition management / Niko Alexander Schäpke ; Betreuer: Daniel Johannes Lang." Lüneburg : Universitätsbibliothek der Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, 2018. http://d-nb.info/1163450928/34.
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Esezobor, Emmanuel Love. "Sustainability and construction : a study of the transition to sustainable construction practices in Nigeria." Thesis, Birmingham City University, 2016. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.720000.
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Sustainability is one of the most important challenges of our time. In the 21st century, it has become a central issue for debate about development at local, national and international levels. The concept of sustainability is now seen as an integral part of policy reforms in many countries because of the potential for detrimental impacts of certain practices on the environment and society. Within the construction sector, there is a growing interest in the ethos of sustainable development. However, it is unclear if most countries in western Africa share the same inclination, owing to the particular development needs and the challenges that these countries face. This present research explores the extent to which the construction companies in Nigeria takes into account and apply sustainability principles in project management activity, with the view to developing a strategy for change to improve sustainability practices. The present research was conducted through case studies to increase our understanding of the current situation. Nine projects from three multinational construction companies were selected for study in four main geopolitical zones in Nigeria to ensure the diverse social-cultural and geographical demographic areas were represented. Data was collected through a combination of survey, interviews and documents to acquire comprehensive evidence for the research. This research was conducted in two stages; first, a survey was conducted to gain broad insight into the current practices and the ambition of the participating company to improve sustainability performance. A total of 204 questionnaires were studied using descriptive statistical analytical techniques. The outcome of the survey, guided the series of semi-structured interviews with 31 representatives of the middle and senior-management team from three different stakeholders groups – the clients, contractors and regulatory institutions. The interviews were designed to get an in-depth insight into the rationale for the current practices, as well as the barriers and opportunities for promoting a sustainable construction approach. Interview data were coded and analysed using Nvivo 10 data management software.
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Ahmadi, Esmaeil. "Investigation of the Water-Renewable Energy-Nexus in Transition Plans Towards Sustainability in Iran." Doctoral thesis, Kyoto University, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/2433/263754.
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京都大学新制・課程博士
博士(エネルギー科学)
甲第23293号
エネ博第418号
京都大学大学院エネルギー科学研究科エネルギー社会・環境科学専攻
(主査)教授 手塚 哲央, 准教授 MCLELLAN Benjamin, 教授 山敷 庸亮
学位規則第4条第1項該当
Doctor of Energy Science
Kyoto University
DFAM
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Ferraz, Paula, Klerk Anne de, and Pia Hillebrecht. "The Human Side of Product Development as part of a Strategic Transition towards Sustainability." Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Institutionen för strategisk hållbar utveckling, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-19833.
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Butu, Ahmed Ibrahim. "Energy and sustainability transitions : the case of community renewables for off-grid rural electrification in Nigeria with emphasis on Shape community project." Thesis, Robert Gordon University, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10059/2438.
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The transition from one energy system to another has been analysed by many researchers especially in the context of developed countries. Community renewable energy transition in rural areas is largely under-researched, particularly in developing countries. This study developed a model based on indicators from transition theory and concepts to assess the transformative potential of the processes and governance approaches to community renewable energy in accelerating energy and sustainability transition in off-grid communities in Nigeria. The exploratory research adopted a case study approach and analysed renewable energy planning and decision-making processes as well as evaluated the development of a pilot community renewable energy project in Shape rural community in Nigeria. In addition to documentary evidence, the study gathered data primarily by interviewing 24 relevant actors in the Nigerian electricity industry as well as actors involved in the pilot community renewable energy project. The study reveals that the processes and governance approaches adopted are in line with transition theory and have the potential of contributing to the transformation of the rural electricity provision in Nigeria. However, there is still a long way to go for Nigeria to effectively implement an integrated governance approach capable of accelerating the transition processes. The study found that community renewable energy is motivated by several determinants including: the lack of energy accessibility; removing carbon emissions; meeting environmental obligations; achieving energy security; and, addressing cracks in the current system of rural electrification. The study further found a lack of local initiatives at the grassroots level that can add pressure to make the transition happen. The study found the establishment of an arena for the identification of the challenges facing rural communities and development of strategies. However, some prominent actors are not involved in both strategic decision-making and the implementation process. Of concern, the study revealed a lack of clearly defined responsibilities with most of the government agencies carrying out renewable energy activities independently. Similarly, the study found several barriers which are classified as: actor; interaction; institutional; infrastructural; and, socio-political that are challenging the successful transition to community renewable energy. This work contributes to current attempts to operationalise transition theory and concepts to assess on-going transition processes and governance. This is a significant contribution to the literature because it helps in linking theoretical development with sustainability in practice in a developing country context. The study may assist policy makers, communities and other relevant stakeholders in designing an integrated governance framework for renewable energy transition in rural areas.
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Schulte, Jesko. "Sustainability Risk Management in Product Development Companies - Motivating Change." Licentiate thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Institutionen för strategisk hållbar utveckling, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-17631.
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Both the ecological and social system are systematically degrading, resulting in decreasing capacities to support human civilization. Product development and manufacturing companies play a key role in driving society’s transition towards a sustainable path. Besides moral arguments, the motivation for companies can be expressed as a matter of smart risk management, i.e. avoiding threats and exploiting opportunities. Such sustainability risks can be related to, for example, brand and reputation, legislative change, or attracting top-talented employees. But, more importantly, it is about understanding changes that are inevitable on markets to come. Based on Maxwell’s interactive qualitative research approach and following the structure of the Design Research Methodology, this thesis aims to contribute (i) to knowledge by increasing the conceptual understanding of what sustainability risks are; and (ii) to practice by researching decision-support for how sustainability risks can be managed in a product development company context. The first study reviewed existing literature and identified characteristics of sustainability risks, which make them particularly difficult to manage. A following exploratory and descriptive study investigated companies’ current risk management practices and preconditions for sustainability integration. It showed that the effects of uncertainty from the sustainability transition need to be identified, assessed, and managed in relation to how they can affect objectives anchored in both internal and external stakeholder value creation. In parallel, the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development was applied as a lens to understand the implications of the sustainability transition for company risk management. This resulted in a new definition, stating that sustainability risks are threats and opportunities that are due to an organization’s contribution or counteraction to society’s transition towards strategic sustainable development. A questionnaire study then investigated some case companies’ challenges and preconditions to build sustainability capabilities. Finally, a workshop method is proposed that aims to support design teams in early sustainable product development. Future research will leverage on the findings to develop and test decision support for how product development companies can manage sustainability risks on different organizational levels in practice to increase competitiveness, while taking leadership in the transition towards a sustainable society.
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Wakeford, Jeremy J. "Socioeconomic implications of global oil depletion for South Africa : vulnerabilities, impacts and transition to sustainability." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/71729.
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Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Oil is the quintessential resource in the modern industrial economy. It accounts for a third of world primary energy, fuels 95% of global transport systems, sustains a highly mechanised agribusiness and food distribution industry, and provides the feedstock for a staggering array of petrochemical products. Historically, global economic growth has been closely coupled with consumption of energy in general and oil in particular. Yet oil is a finite resource subject to depletion, which has profound implications for the long-term sustainability of industrial civilisation. This dissertation addresses a serious dearth of attention given to this vital subject within South African energy, economic and policy discourses. The overarching aims are to understand the implications of global oil depletion for socioeconomic welfare in South Africa and to propose viable strategies and policies for mitigating and adapting to potential negative impacts. A comparative evaluation of three fields of study found that neoclassical economics is limited by its monistic and reductionist approach and its failure to adequately incorporate energy into its key theoretical models, whereas ecological economics and the socioecological systems approach together provide an appropriate, holistic lens for analysing the role of energy in socioeconomic systems. In this view, energy is the master resource: it is a pre-requisite for economic activity and societal complexity. A review of the literature on global oil depletion finds that a peak and decline in world oil production appears imminent, while world oil exports most likely peaked in 2005. Moreover, the energy return on (energy) investment (EROI) for global oil production is on a declining trend. The world oil peak thus marks the end of the era of cheap and abundant oil. Increasing oil scarcity will likely be reflected in oil prices following a rising trend with heightened volatility. While there are many potential substitutes for oil, all have significant limitations, most have lower EROI than oil, and it may take decades to scale them up sufficiently. Many aspects of the South African socioeconomic system are either directly or indirectly dependent on petroleum fuels, while structural features of the economy and society render them vulnerable to external shocks. Historical evidence and empirical models suggest that oil price and supply shocks will have debilitating socioeconomic impacts. Under business-as-usual policies and behaviours, future oil scarcity will likely lead at best to a gradual contraction in the economy with rising unemployment and inflation, and at worst to systemic collapse of interconnected critical infrastructure systems. A comprehensive range of mitigation measures are proposed, including accelerated investments in renewable energy and electrified mass transport, agro-ecological farming, greening the economy, monetary system reform, and rationing schemes to protect the most vulnerable members of society. Together these measures can build resilience to shocks and gradually decouple economic activity from petroleum consumption. A successful societal transition from a fossil fuel based industrial regime to a sustainable socioeconomic regime requires purposive government intervention, the promotion of sustainability-oriented innovations in technology and institutions, and the political will to surmount obstacles such as powerful vested interests and socio-technical lock-in.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Olie is die kern-hulpmiddel in die moderne bedryfsgerigte ekonomie. Dit is verantwoordelik vir ’n derde van die wêreld se primêre energie, verskaf die aandrywing vir 95% van alle vervoerstelsels, onderhou ’n hoogs gemeganiseerde landboubedryf en voedselverspreidingsnywerheid, en voorsien die voerstof vir ’n verstommende reeks petrochemiese produkte. Histories beskou, is globale ekonomiese groei ten nouste gekoppel aan die verbruik van energie oor die algemeen en aan olie in die besonder. Tog is olie ’n beperkte hulpbron wat onderworpe is aan uitputting en lediging, en dit hou gevolglik onmeetlike implikasies vir die algemene langtermyn volhoubaarheid van nywerhede in. Dié verhandeling neem die ernstige gebrek aan aandag binne Suid-Afrikaanse diskoerse oor energie, ekonomie en beleidsrigtings wat betref hierdie lewensbelangrike onderwerp, in oënskou. Die oorkoepelende doelwitte is om die implikasies van globale olie-uitputting op sosio-ekonomiese welvaart in Suid-Afrika te begryp, en om lewensvatbare strategieë en beleidsrigtings voor te stel waarvolgens potensiële negatiewe invloede getemper en by aangepas kan word. ’n Vergelykende evaluering van drie studieterreine het bevind neoklassieke ekonomie is beperk weens sy monistiese en verlagingsbenadering en sy mislukking om energie doelmatig in te sluit by sy sleutel teoretiese modelle, terwyl die benaderings van die ekologiese ekonomie en die sosio-ekologiese stelsels saam ’n toepaslike holistiese lens bied vir die analisering van die rol van energie in sosio-ekonomiese stelsels. In dié opsig is energie die meester-hulpmiddel: dit is ’n voorvereiste vir ekonomiese bedrywigheid en gemeenskapsverbondenheid. ’n Oorsig van die literatuur oor globale olie-lediging toon dat ’n toppunt en daling in wêreldolieproduksie onvermydelik blyk te wees – globale olie-uitvoer het na alle waarskynlikheid sy toppunt in 2005 bereik. Voorts toon die energie-opbrengs op (energie) investering, ofte wel EROI, ten opsigte van wêreldolieproduksie ’n dalende tendens. Die wêreldolie-toppunt dui dus op die einde van die era van goedkoop en oorvloedige olie. Toenemende olieskaarste sal waarskynlik blyk uit oliepryse wat ’n stygende tendens volg gepaard met verskerpte veranderlikheid. Hoewel daar talle potensiële plaasvervangers vir olie bestaan, het almal beduidende beperkinge, die meeste se EROI is laer as olie s’n en dit kan dekades duur alvorens hulle genoegsaam opgegradeer sal kan word. Vele aspekte van die Suid-Afrikaanse sosio-ekonomiese stelsel is of direk of indirek afhanklik van petroleum-brandstowwe, terwyl strukturele kenmerke van die ekonomie en samelewing hulle kwesbaar vir eksterne skokke laat. Lesse uit die verlede en empiriese modelle dui daarop dat die olieprys en skokke rondom die voorsiening daarvan verlammende sosio-ekonomiese impakte en invloede tot gevolg sal hê. Onder ’n sake-soos-gewoonlik-beleid en optrede, sal toekomstige olieskaarste, optimisties beskou, waarskynlik aanleiding gee tot geleidelike inkrimping van die ekonomie met gepaardgaande stygende werkloosheid en inflasie – pessimisties beskou, kan dit die sistematiese ineenstorting van kritiesbelangrike en onderling verbonde infrastruktuurstelsels beteken. ’n Omvattende reeks verligtingsmaatreëls word voorgestel, insluitende versnelde investering in hernubare energie en geëlektrifiseerde massavervoer, agro-ekologiese landbou, vergroening van die ekonomie, monetêre stelselhervorming en rantsoeneringskemas om die mees kwesbare lede van die samelewing te beskerm. Saam kan dié maatreëls veerkragtigheid vestig teen skokke en ekonomiese bedrywigheid geleidelik van petroleumverbruik losmaak. ’n Geslaagde samelewingsoorgang van ’n fossielbrandstof-gebaseerde nywerheidsbestel na ’n volhoubare sosio-ekonomiese bestel vereis doelmatige regeringsintervensie, die bevordering van volhoubaar-georiënteerde innovasies in
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Kluger, Martin. "How the sustainability transition in energy is transforming the built environment of South African cities." Master's thesis, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/31425.
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South Africa is undergoing a sustainability transition (ST) in its energy sector as part of its broader move towards a lowcarbon future. Past studies of the nascent ST using a multi-level approach have already proven obsolete after strong resistance from the incumbent energy regime almost derailed the fledgling renewable energy (RE) industry. After initially going to ground and contracting, the industry re-emerged strongly in South Africa’s cities, mostly in the form of rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. This study applies an integrated approach utilizing the Multi-level Perspective (MLP) to trace the current ST trajectory, whilst employing the Technology Innovation Systems (TIS) framework as a focal lens, recently adapted to the follower country context, to empirically investigate system development in the solar PV TIS. A survey was conducted to assess the drivers and challenges facing consumers of solar PV technology in cities, the results indicating that the rapid growth in distributed embedded generation (EG) was sparked by recent tax incentives and not the introduction of Feed-in Tariffs (FIT) offered by city municipalities. Whilst the RE sector and solar PV market have grown through consumer demand for EG, they still face resistance from the existing energy regime, needing further development in policy and regulation in order for South Africa’s ST to support a more complex web of distributed and embedded generation, mostly underpinned by RE technologies.
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Randahl, Karin, and Tanya Belcheva. "Collaboration Towards a ‘Sustainability Transition’ : A Case study of the Agri-food sector on Gotland, Sweden." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Företagsekonomiska institutionen, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-328449.
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In Sustainable development studies, it has been established that food sector has a significantimpact on the environment and accordingly is a critical area for improvement. In addition,island regions particularly undergo a need for long-term sustainable development, due toisolation and high dependency on availability of local resources. Therefore, applyingsustainability into practise and incorporating its goals into strategic and operational levels ofmanagement decision-making, could use relatively more attention to proceed in thedevelopment. This study is looking at current work by regional authorities on the Swedishisland of Gotland in implementing sustainability transitions in the agri-food sector byscrutinising the industry actors’ involvement and attitudes. The research data was collectedvia analysis of governmental document and in-depth interviews with both industry andauthorities’ representatives and further evaluated with theories of governance, leadership andsustainability transitions. Yet, sustainability is such a complex issue interlinking economic,social and environmental aspects, so it requires more attention than initially perceived. Theresult indicates collaboration towards common goals benefits from trust and congruencebetween actors.
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Abela, Paul, Omar Roquet, and Ali Armand Zeaiter. "Determining Organisational Readiness for the Future-Fit for Business Benchmark." Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Institutionen för strategisk hållbar utveckling, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-12718.
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Pan, Bingbing, Yanni Shizhou, and Carl Crone. "Preserving Intangible Cultural Heritage to Facilitate a Transition towards Sustainability : A Case Study of Tibet's Tourism Industry." Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Avdelningen för maskinteknik, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-3052.
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The purpose of this paper is to give suggestions for how to preserve intangible cultural heritage (ICH) towards sustainability. We will use Tibet as a case study. Understanding the importance of ICH for tourism, we scrutinize ICH through the lens of strategic sustainable development (SSD) and use tourism as a leverage point to enter into a real life situation. ICH is the root of all cultural expression. Without guarding ICH there is little meaning to the physical culture that remains and, ultimately, tourism declines. ICH is a new topic and there is little research and few ideas as to how to guide its preservation. We offer recommendations which include identifying the stakeholders, educating them, adequate marketing research especially in tourism, investing on technology of dematerialization and searching substitutions under the guidelines of the Golden Rule within the social sustainability context. Our contributions is to build a vision of success for preserving Tibetan ICH via tourism within the constraints of the four sustainability principles, and then demonstrate some prioritized actions in order to develop towards sustainability.
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De, Scheemaecker Anne-Marie Esther. "Planning Strategies for Generational Succession in Flemish Third-Generation Family-Owned Businesses." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/3762.
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Survival over generations is critical for family-owned businesses (FOBs). Only 3% of family firms survive the 3rd generation, and a succession strategy is the most challenging decision for family business leaders to make. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore nonfinancial succession planning strategies that 3rd-generation FOB leaders in Flanders, Belgium, apply for the transition of ownership and leadership to the 4th generation. The conceptual framework for this study was the socioemotional wealth paradigm. Data were collected using semistructured interviews, archival document reviews, company internal and public documents, and press releases. Yin's 5-step data analysis was applied to identify themes and patterns. Analysis of the data revealed that, among these 3rd-generation FOBs, the socioemotional aspect of generational succession planning required strategies that simultaneously focused on successor suitability and well-being, consensus of the family, mode of transition, leadership and governance, and survival of the family firm. These findings may provide other, similar FOB leaders with insights into the dynamics of a successful transition of the 3rd-generation family firm to the next generation. Findings may be used to increase FOB survival rates, provide new job opportunities, contribute to community growth, and enhance the well-being of stakeholders. Successful family firms may engage in philanthropic activities as a way of transmitting legacies between generations.
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Johnson, John D. "THE TRANSITION TO RESILIENCE: A COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY OF TWO COMMUNITIES." UKnowledge, 2015. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/sociology_etds/24.
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This dissertation examines the question of how communities understand their risk related to global economic and environmental problems and how communities respond to those risks. Specifically, using comparative case study, this dissertation examines the sustainability efforts of two communities, Oberlin, Ohio and Berea, Kentucky. Both communities have created advanced sustainability efforts over more than a decade of work and both communities have well-developed partnerships with the colleges in their communities. It finds that communities are responding to both global risks related to climate change and energy price volatility, but also are making efforts to resolve more localized social problems and economic challenges. This research also demonstrates that communities are particularly interested in increasing their community resilience related to local energy and food production, but also have concerns with addressing the persistent inequalities that exist in their communities.
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Stefansson, Lilly Maria. "Wicked Problems and Educative Spaces for Urban Sustainability Transition: The Case Study of Housing Roar in Uppsala, Sweden." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för geovetenskaper, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-352975.
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For the first time in history, the global urban population now exceeds the global rural population, meaning that more than 50 % of the world’s population now live in cities. Much attention has been paid to the discourse of sustainable development during the last decades, however, many environmental and social scientists point to an increasing problematic realted to climate change. Greehouse gas emissions are rising, water levels are rising and drought periods are becoming longer, and urban areas are becoming more and more populated. Due to an increasing urbanisation, cities now have the highest demand, compared to rural areas, for food, water, energy and healthcare. At the same time, cities are the biggest threats when it comes to environmental impacts, being responsible for 75 % of all resource consumption and 70 % of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. Drawing from sustainability transition theory, new modes of political governance theory and finally, pragmatist educational theory, this paper attempts to analyze the type of learning taking place in political spaces that exist within an institutional void. Learning, as a concept, is in this paper relating both to the type or learning the participants in the case study are experiencing, as well as what society can learn concerning Urban Sustainability Transitions (USTs). The aim of this paper is to explore theoretically and empirically how political spaces of USTs may function as educative spaces. It poses as its research question: How can pragmatist educational theory be used to understand transition for sustainability in institutional voids? As a case study, Housing Roar Uppsala is investigated as a political space where learning occurs. Two meetings have been recorded and four semi- structured interviews have been made in order to analyze the conversations using Practical Epistemology Analysis. A dramaturgical analysis has also been made in order to understand the setting and staging in which the meetings took place. The paper identifies as its results that there is a lingering gap, a lack of knowledge, occurring throughout the meetings, which in turn leads to another gap: that nothing is happening within the network. Furthermore, the ultimate purpose of the network does not always correlate with the proximate purposes of the participants. This is a source for the lingering gap. Through these findings, this paper suggests that the structure of the meetings might not always be the most beneficial one when trying to transition into sustainability, however, it might be the only one participants have when faced with complex, wicked issues. Wicked issues are problems that do not have a simple, single solution. It also finds that the type of learning taking place within the network might be a negotiation of purposes between participants. Finally, the paper concludes that, in relation to USTs, the type of learning that is taking place is that perhaps a totally open, nonhierarchical, network-type organization in a completely open setting, that bans political figures and private companies from entering into the conversation is not the most successful way of reaching sustainability.
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Roberts, Kirthi. "Beyond energy futures : an exploration of sustainability-driven and transition dynamics-driven approaches to guiding socio-technical change." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/31474.
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Energy technologies and systems are imperative for the proper functioning of our economies and societies, but due to their growing environmental and social impacts, there appears to be an interest in making a transition toward alternative forms of energy systems. However, making such a transition would involve understanding the complex characteristics of energy technologies, their interdependencies, sustainability impacts and socio-technical contexts, therefore, it calls for an inter-disciplinary approach to such an analysis. This dissertation proposes two approaches to informing future energy and technology policies. The first approach is motivated by the need to improve methods for sustainability assessment. While a variety of tools and methods exist for the assessment of sustainability, there appears to be no systematic approach to their selection and thus the design of sustainability assessments is often driven by convenience, familiarity and availability of tools. Therefore, a framework (Sustainability Assessment Framework) is proposed for a more systematic approach to tool selection and for the design of the next generation of sustainability assessments. The second approach is based on an attempt to understand the dynamics of technological transitions. Much of the literature on technological change focuses on technologies, but the technological transitions literature highlights the importance of thinking about transitions between socio-technical systems. This dissertation suggests that the guidance to socio-technical transitions may not come from choices made between technologies, but instead from choices made about desirable futures. The articulation of a desirable future may then enable compatible technologies currently within niches, to co-evolve and develop inter-dependencies with other compatible technologies and systems, thus initiating a possible socio-technical transition. It is argued that both approaches complement each other in informing energy and technology policy regarding transitions to future energy systems. While the first approach (sustainability-driven) allows us to assess the sustainability of future technologies and systems, the second approach (transition dynamics-driven) informs us about the dynamics of the transition process and urges us to think of transitions in terms of a desired future and its characteristics (i.e. sustainability characteristics). Together the two approaches inform us on how we might think about choosing and guiding a desirable future.Science, Faculty of
Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for
Graduate
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Beeks, Jay Cooper. "Which of the current diverse ideas on alternative economics are the best for adequately and comprehensively addressing the great transition to climate, energy, and biodiversity sustainability?" Thesis, California Institute of Integral Studies, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10117908.
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My dissertation addresses the need for an alternative system to capitalism, our mainstream system of economics, to support the necessities of a world facing countless ecological systems collapses, global climate change, and social inequity exacerbated by wealth disparity. Alternative economics is defined here as current economic or socioeconomic practices and theories that may redress the flaws in the current dominant global economic system, which is mainstream capitalism.
The approach to this research is theoretical; that is, I analyze the current literature in the relevant areas of economics and related literature in the social sciences, philosophy, political economics, and environmental studies. I then attempt to generate new knowledge through the analysis, critique, extension, and integration of existing theories and by drawing on existing empirical research. This research is also transdisciplinary, an approach that transcends conventional disciplinary regimes and boundaries. The aim of this study is to ascertain the best alternatives to our current system of capitalism by examining the arguments for and against alternative economic or socioeconomic systems.
The scope may embrace the complex and transdisciplinary, but it attempts to focus as narrowly as possible on the most promising ideas today concerning the imminent need for changing economics in the face of our global socio-environmental crises as being considered of high importance. The definitive goal of this research is to examine the most recent literature on these alternatives, and, based on this research, to identify which alternatives most suitably address the needs of our ecological systems, the needs of society, and the issue of global climate change.
Keywords: alternative economics, heterodox economics, sustainability, compassionate economics, wealth disparity, ecosocialism economics, steady-state economics, climate change, transdisciplinary.
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Malin, Redmo. "A systems perspective on sustainability measures aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in three Swedish municipalities." Thesis, Södertörns högskola, Institutionen för naturvetenskap, miljö och teknik, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-45902.
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2019 was the year with the highest measured amount of GHG emissions in history, indicating that our existing way of living is unsustainable and demands substantial changes. New ways of governing environmental issues are therefore being called upon in which the local level has great potential to create change. Sustainability measures involving integrated social dimensions which questions the motive for performing or engaging in emission demanding activities are found leading to a more long-lasting change. In Sweden, the decentralized decision model makes municipalities have a large responsibility for creating change in crucial emission demanding areas. Recognizing these concerns, this study applies a multi-dimensional system perspective with a broad range of cultural, habitual and technological aspects by Jensen et al. (2019) on three front-running municipalities (Tyresö, Växjö and Lund) working to reduce emission levels. The study focuses on distinguishing between different drivers for change among sustainability measures regarding energy and mobility functions, with a specific focus on the account of incorporated social dimensions. The results indicate that there is a lack of integrated social dimensions among the selected municipalities, in which only 26% of the grand total of 220 analyzed measures involve integrated social elements which enables a system-wide change. Technical and individual behavioural changes are far more prioritized than changes which are linked to collective lifestyle aspects and involve a mixture of technology, norms, cultures and organizations within the society, which are aspects proven more likely to lead to a system-wide change. The study provides knowledge on the capability of local decision making to enforce a systemic change toward sustainability if the current measures are carried out, in which the results indicate that the change among the three selected municipalities will be limited.
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Bronès, Fabien Albert. "Towards a greater integration of environmental sustainability into product innovation: action research and proposition of an ecodesign transition framework." Universidade de São Paulo, 2015. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/3/3136/tde-20042018-084539/.
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Since the 1990s, the evolution to more environmentally sustainable business operations has gained increased recognition incorporations and the Academia, with sustainability becoming a key competitive priority for companies. In spite of a large amount of research on ecodesign,or the integration of environmental aspects into product design and development, recent surveys state that thorough ecodesign implementation is still a challenge for most firms.To overcome gaps found in prior studies (such as a distance between theory and practice, and over-technical and fragmented recommendations), this research aimed to identify and experiment how to incorporate environmental sustainability more effectively into product innovation and related activities of a company, and to propose a framework summarising the associated learning. This thesis is based on a set of five articles, applying a multi-methods approach. The framework was built with a methodology combining systematic reviews of previous literature and action research through a five-year long experiment. Inside a leading Brazilian cosmetics company, two implementation cycles were conducted, including customisation of ecodesign tools and their application in eight product development projects, and wide capacity building involving different stakeholders. The research led to three contributions. As a first methodological contribution, action research methodology and application guidelines were developed, for an effective collaboration mode between the Academia and companies, especially adapted to sustainable open innovation. Secondly, this study has deepened and experimented in real company context a broad view of ecodesign related activities, expanding the recognised approach centred on individual projects and validating the concept of formal insertion of customised ecodesign tools into of the Product Development Process. Such principle was further extended to include other managerial aspects, such as project and portfolio management, and linking them with strategic planning. To complement such technical and process related aspects, new \"soft\" side approaches were also experienced, building on the Transition Management theory. The third and major contribution, deriving from a synthesis of more than fifty models found in the literature and the action research, is the proposition of an \"Ecodesign Transition Framework\". The so-called \"15Ps ETF\"comprehends a \"pattern\" with eight main constructs (Purpose, Portfolio, Process, Platform, Pipeline, Practices & tools, Procedures and Project management) for a mature ecodesign and a \"pathway\" component, with five constructs (Planet, Public, Programme, Pilot, and People), for conducting the necessary transition addressing soft issues. The central \"Aztec pyramid\" shape of the framework represents the systemic three-level structure, combining the strategic, tactical and operational product related processes and activities. The ETF intends to support a far-reaching approach to better plan, implement and monitor the integration of environmental considerations in the whole innovation process of a company, through a systemic action learning process. The overall increased ecodesign maturity observed in the company showed congruence with the framework, with substantial challenges also observed. For further validation, the ETF could be applied in different contexts, and explored through qualitative and quantitative studies of associated limiting or success factors, to better address corporate specificities and complexity (e.g., culture, resistance to change, organisational entropy, etc.).Desde os anos 1990, a evolução em direção de operações mais ambientalmente sustentáveis ganhou maior reconhecimento em empresas e na Academia, com a sustentabilidade se tornando uma prioridade competitiva. Apesar de uma grande quantidade de pesquisas sobre ecodesign, ou a integração dos aspectos ambientais no desenvolvimento de produtos, estudos recentes indicam que uma implementação completa do ecodesign ainda é um desafio para a maioria das empresas. Para superar as lacunas encontradas em estudos anteriores (como a distância entre teoria e prática, e recomendações excessivamente técnicas e fragmentadas), esta pesquisa teve como objetivo identificar como incorporar a sustentabilidade ambiental de forma mais efetiva na inovação de produtos de uma empresa, e propor um modelo que sintetiza os resultados. Esta tese, baseada em cinco artigos, aplicou uma abordagem multimétodos. O modelo foi construído combinando revisões sistemáticas de literatura e uma pesquisa-ação de cinco anos. Dentro de uma empresa brasileira líder do setor cosmético, dois ciclos de implementação foram conduzidos, incluindo customização de ferramentas de ecodesign e sua aplicação em oito projetos de desenvolvimento de produtos, com ampla capacitação de diferentes partes interessadas. A pesquisa levou a três contribuições. Como primeira contribuição metodológica, diretrizes de aplicação da pesquisa-ação promovem um modo de colaboração efetivo entre a Academia e as empresas, especialmente adaptado para a inovação aberta e sustentável. Em segundo lugar, o presente estudo desenvolveu uma visão larga das atividades relacionadas ao ecodesign, ampliando a abordagem tradicional centrada em projetos individuais, e validando o conceito de inserção formal de ferramentas de ecodesign customizadas no Processo de Desenvolvimento de Produtos. Além desse princípio, outros aspectos gerenciais, tais como gestão de projetos e de portfolio foram considerados, ligando-os com o planejamento estratégico. Adicionalmente, novas abordagens de gestão de mudanças foram experimentadas, com base na teoria de Gestão de Transição. A terceira e maior contribuição, decorrente de uma síntese de mais de cinquenta modelos encontrados na literatura, associada à pesquisaação, é a proposição do \"Ecodesign Transition Framework\". O chamado \"15Ps ETF\" compreende um \"Padrão\" com oito construtos (Propósito, Portfolio, Processo, Plataforma, Pipeline, Práticas e ferramentas, Procedimentos e Projetos) para um ecodesign maduro, e um componente chamado \"Percurso\", com cinco construtos (Planeta, Público, Programa, Piloto, e Pessoas), para a realização da necessária transição endereçando aspectos não técnicos. A parte central do modelo, com formato de \"pirâmide azteca\", representa uma estrutura sistêmica com três níveis - estratégico, tático e operacional - combinando os processos e atividades ligados à inovação de produto. O modelo ETF almeja apoiar uma abordagem ampliada para planejar, implementar e monitorar a integração das considerações ambientais em todaa inovação de produto de uma empresa, através de uma dinâmica de aprendizagem sistêmica. O aumento global da maturidade em ecodesign observado na empresa mostrou congruência com o modelo, com desafios significativos também observados. Para maior validação, o ETF poderia ser aplicado em diferentes contextos, e aprofundado através de estudos qualitativos e quantitativos de fatores de sucesso associados, a fim de considerar as especificidades das empresas e complexidade associada (como: cultura, resistência a mudanças, entropia organizacional, etc.).
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ter, Woort Sam, Lucía Tydén, and Casper Johansson. "In pursuit of green municipalities : An exploratory research of green bonds in the transition towards sustainability in Swedish municipalities." Thesis, Jönköping University, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-52930.
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Background: Entering a new geological epoch where humans are the main force shaping of the biosphere, have forced an immense stress onto society and the Planet with regards to sustainability. The United Nations and the Paris Agreement have strongly emphasized the urgent need to allocate finance onto urgently mitigating climate change. The financial sector has confronted this challenge through providing sources of finance to meet sustainability requirements. Thus, green bonds emerge as an instrument aimed to cooperate in the transition towards advancing sustainability. Purpose: Given the ambiguity of green bonds impacts on environmental sustainability, this study explores the contributions of green bonds towards a fruitful transition towards sustainability. Being crucial stakeholders in the transition towards sustainability, these contributions have been examined in the context of Swedish municipalities Method: To examine the contributions of green bonds in the given context, an exploratory research was conducted using a multiple case study design. Five municipalities, two investors and a municipal funding agency were interviewed though semi-structured interviews. A thematic analysis was performed on the empirical data. First, a within-in case analysis was conducted following a cross-case analysis allowing to find emergent and common patterns. Conclusion: The green financial instrument does not appear to be a main driver of sustainability, nor does it have a significant influence on the environmental impact of the municipalities’ investment projects. Nevertheless, the study finds that green bonds contribute to advancing sustainability in municipalities through three main areas: Financial impetus, organizational effects and structure and requirements. Thus, the municipalities studied provide evidence that green bonds grant a small reduction in the cost of capital, produce organizational effects like increasing collaboration between the environmental and financial department and enhances transparency through its structure and requirements.
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Haji, Abdullah Muhammad Amirruddin. "Analysis of low carbon transport in Brunei Darussalam : case study of a sustainability transition in an oil-rich economy." Thesis, University of Hull, 2015. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:13072.
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Moving towards sustainable transportation is a challenging task for Brunei, a small oil-rich country situated in South East Asia, whose population currently enjoys subsidised petrol feeding a culture heavily reliant on the automobile for personal mobility. This study aims to investigate the potential for the development of low-carbon transportation in Brunei Darussalam by using the Multi-Level Perspective of socio-technical transition. This study uses mixed methods (survey questionnaires, interviews, and secondary data) to gain insights into the problems, issues, solutions and expectations of sustainable transportation in Brunei. In summary, Bruneians are over dependent on cars and the majority have negative attitudes and behaviour regarding bus services. The findings on resistance to alternative vehicles in this study are complex, compared to the current literature. The key factors are the car-oriented culture (the product of parenting, employment and security), current transport policies and other government initiatives (such as heavily subsidised petrol); all of which tend to promote the use of cars over buses. The data were then incorporated into the three levels of the Multi-level Perspective. Results indicated that the transition in Brunei towards sustainable transportation (particularly towards low carbon transportation) is on-going but few disruptions in the regime, (especially attitudes and perceptions) are occurring. The complexity of transition and the technical, institutional, policy and car-related cultures have proved to be the barriers. The niches are finding it hard to compete with the current regime. Furthermore, fragmentations in the transportation institutions contribute to the failure to make progress towards sustainability. Therefore, the potential for transition to low-carbon transportation is essentially challenging and a difficult task to achieve. Thus, this thesis contributes to the transition literature in which the study of human attitudes, behaviour and perceptions (non-technological niche) towards sustainable transport are often under-researched and the study of single, or top-down governance, seems to be limited.
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Plummer, Paul. "Urban Sustainability Transitions as Educative Practices: A Case Study of the Solidarity Fridge in Gothenburg, Sweden." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för geovetenskaper, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-387633.
Full textAbstract:
Urban areas will play a decisive role in the sustainability of future societies. As such, there is a need to understand the processes through which cities can become more sustainable. Based on a qualitative case study of a community food waste initiative in Gothenburg, Sweden, this thesis explores the phenomenon of urban sustainability transitions in relation to learning. The thesis attempts to explain how learning at the level of socio-technical niches could be instrumental to broader systemic changes at the regime level. The theoretical framework for the thesis draws on the transactional perspective on learning developed from pragmatist educational philosophy, as well as practice theoretical approaches to studying sustainability transitions which have emerged in recent years. The empirical results gathered from the case are analysed using dramaturgical analysis and practical epistemology analysis. Based on these analyses, the thesis argues that the role and significance of learning in urban sustainability transitions can be understood in terms of educative practices, a concept which is elaborated in the discussion chapter. Thus, it is argued that learning through educative practices can contribute to urban sustainability transitions by challenging prevailing institutional norms and structures, and by establishing pathways through which unsustainable elements within the socio-technical regime can be reconfigured.Wicked Problems and Urban Sustainability Transition
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Mah, Ngar-yin Daphne, and 馬雅燕. "Local states, policy capacity and the sustainability transition: a study of policies for wind energydevelopment in Xinjiang, Shanghai and Guangdong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2010. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B47300097.
Full textAbstract:
As China has moved towards sustainable development, policies for wind energy have undergone
rapid changes over the past two decades in this country. However, although wind energy is
capable of making a significant contribution to more sustainable energy systems, it has yet to
reach its full potential. There remain significant gaps in knowledge about how and why public
policies may effectively facilitate the achievement of sustainability in general and with regard to
specific sector-based initiatives.
The objective of this study is to bridge this knowledge gap by studying governance for
sustainable development with particular reference to wind energy policies in China. This study
focuses on the role of Chinese provinces in facilitating the sustainability transition. It proposes a
conceptual framework that adopts a policy capacity approach to understanding the sustainability
transition process. Policy capacity is defined in this study as the ability to identify, assimilate and
utilize resources both inside and outside the formal state apparatus to facilitate the policy-making
process. The conceptual framework, which comprises three building blocks – context, process
and outcomes – suggests that the interactions between provinces and other stakeholders are the
factors that facilitate or constrain policy capacity.
A comparative study of the evolution of wind energy policies in three provinces, Xinjiang,
Shanghai and Guangdong is presented. The aim of the analysis is to provide a better
understanding of the mechanisms that explain whether – and how – provinces represent a key
actor in the policy capacity building process.
The key findings are first, that while the Chinese provinces may differ in their governing modes,
a common feature was that they were in a unique position to strengthen policy capacity through
their interactions with the wider society both within and outside the state. Second, the
conceptualization of the conducive and inhibitive mechanisms of policy capacity building
suggests that there were important conducive conditions for policy capacity building found in the
provinces in the form of resources (such as local leadership and trust), structures (such as social
ties and bridging structures) and dynamics (such as market dynamics and double-loop learning).
However, the provinces’ potential to enhance policy capacity was not fully utilized because of the
presence of a set of inhibitive conditions that constrained the efforts. Third, through the
conceptualization of the embeddedness of the policy capacity building process, this study reveals
that contextual factors, at both the local and national levels, were the key to explaining why
provinces differed in their response to the sustainability transition.
This study concludes by suggesting that the sustainability transition needs to envision a new
governance approach that places more attention on the role of Chinese provinces, to release and
activate the enormous capacity in provinces that could in turn strengthen the central government’s
own policy capacity for the sustainability transition.published_or_final_version
Kadoorie Institute
Doctoral
Doctor of Philosophy
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Coley, Alex, Jordan Jerkovich, and Madsen Mikkel Pilgaard. "Pursuing Sustainability and Prosperity in Swedish Municipalities: Using Indicators to Inform Strategic Governance." Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Institutionen för strategisk hållbar utveckling, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-18350.
Full textAbstract:
Deciding between sustainability or prosperity may be a false choice when the phenomena are appropriately defined and considered together (Stiglitz et al. 2009). With reference to existing indicator systems and frameworks, including the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) and the Community Capitals Framework (CCF), this research developed three novel indices (SMSI, SMSI+, and CCFI) using a Strategic Sustainable Development (SSD) approach to measure and analyze the correlation between sustainability (SMSI, SMSI+) and prosperity (CCFI) in Swedish municipalities. The spearman rank-order coefficient values were 0.259 and 0.588 for SMSI and CFFI and SMSI+ and CCFI, respectively. Both were significantly correlated with a p-value of 0.05, where SMSI+ and CCFI were 0.329 more correlated than SMSI and CCFI. This showed that an index that more comprehensively considers an SSD approach correlates more with CCFI. Furthermore, only six out of 234 Swedish municipalities ranked in the top 10 percent of both SMSI+ and CCFI, showing that it is difficult to successfully pursue sustainability and prosperity together in practice. Importantly, this research also demonstrates that it is possible to create indices using an SSD approach while outlining the methods for how to do so.
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Lain, Kayley Christina. "Supporting energy transitions and miscanthus program development at the University of Iowa." Thesis, University of Iowa, 2017. https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/5544.
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Miscanthus is a highly productive, low-input biofuel crop that supports agricultural diversification with improved performance for climate commitment, energy security, and water quality over first generation biofuels. Despite its high performance, no local or regional markets for the feedstock have formed in North America, and current climate-based productivity assessment methods lack the information farmers and decision-makers need to establish commercial scale bioenergy markets, programs, and thermal co-firing plans. This study develops a Miscanthus Suitability Rating and a transferable field-scale siting method, applied at 10 m resolution across the State of Iowa to assess miscanthus production potential and identify individual farms that are highly suitable for large-scale miscanthus cultivation while maintaining a majority of existing row cropping acreage. Results show that highly suitable fields within 50 miles (84 km) of each of Iowa’s coal-fired electrical generating units (EGUs) can displace up to 43% of current coal consumption. Every EGU in Iowa has land resource to produce local miscanthus to co-fire with other solid fuels at industry-leading levels without significantly impacting local row crop production. Seven of the state’s smaller facilities could even operate exclusively on local miscanthus with advancements in densification technology. The energy evaluation tool developed in this work estimates the energy return on investment (EROI) of Iowa miscanthus for existing thermal generation facilities between 37 and 59, depending on transportation requirements and chemical field applications. This transition would diversify local agribusiness and energy feedstocks, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide a sustainable, dispatchable, in-state fuel source to complement wind and solar energy.
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BULL, ELIZABETH, and Maren Fokuhl. "Factors for Organisational Learning enabling Sustainability Transitions : A case study exploring a Public Service Agency in Scandinavia." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Malmö högskola, Institutionen för Urbana Studier (US), 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-18439.
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The growing interest in sustainability amounts pressure on organisations to operate in more environmentally friendly ways, sparking the need for radical sustainable change. The purpose of this study is to discover what factors and conditions facilitate and hinder organisational learning for sustainability transitions (ST), a topic that has caught recent academic attention and thus needs further interdisciplinary research. The conceptual framework derives inspiration from the Four Factors of Learning for ST whilst the Competing Values Framework and the Three Loops of Learning are used as additional lens to better understand the conditions of learning for ST. The thesis will take a qualitative approach through conducting a content analysis of three company documents and seven semi-structured interviews with employees from a public service agency in Scandinavia currently implementing a transition lab. A descriptive analysis of the coded data highlights the levels of understanding and acceptance towards sustainability transitions from the case organisation and the conditions that facilitate and hinder organisational learning. The results show that the most prominent of the Four Factors of Learning for ST in the early phase of a sustainability transition is interpersonal, followed by material, institutional and intrapersonal. Within these factors, the discussion further highlights the most prevalent sub-codes and themes that reoccur in the data. Moreover, five key findings under the themes of flexibility versus control, resource availability through digitalisation, communication, collaboration and facing complexity using institutional logics were identified as the primary facilitating and hindering factors that promote learning for STs. Finally, recommendations are presented to inform both theory, and practice, as further analysing learning for ST is of high relevance to better understand and design these learning journeys and a more sustainable (organisational) future.
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El, Hachem Wissam. "Three essays on transition to alternative fuel vehicles through distributive justice." Thesis, Cergy-Pontoise, Ecole supérieure des sciences économiques et commerciales, 2019. http://www.theses.fr/2019ESEC0007.
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Dans cette thèse, nous avons étudié le passage des moteurs à combustion interne (ICE) aux véhicules à carburant alternatif (AFV) tout en considérant la dimension sociale via le concept de DJ. Cela nous a permis de mettre en évidence les nombreux compromis en jeu entre les différents instruments politiques ainsi qu'entre les trois piliers de la durabilité, et donc de les minimiser. Chacun des essais a examiné la transition vers les VAC sous un angle différent, chacun complétant les deux autres. Chacun des essais présente certaines limites qui ont été partiellement traitées dans les deux autres essais. Cependant, il reste beaucoup de travail à faire sur ce sujet à l'avenirIn this thesis, we have investigated the transition from internal combustion engines (ICE) to alternative fuel vehicles (AFV) while considering the social dimension via the concept of DJ. This enabled us to highlight the many tradeoffs at play between the different policy instruments as well as between the three sustainability pillars, and therefore to minimize them. Each of the essays looked at AFV transition from a different angle with each one complementing the other two. Each of the essays has some limitations that were partially dealt with in the other two essays. However, there remains plenty of work to be done on this subject in the future
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Abou, Jeb Saria, and Evgeny Konov. "Socio-economic sustainable banking : A study on the transition to cashless banking in Sweden from the lens of socio-economic sustainability." Thesis, Tekniska Högskolan, Jönköping University, JTH, Logistik och verksamhetsledning, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-50465.
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Purpose – This research is investigating the Swedish banks transitioning to cashless bank offices. The investigation is carried out to fully understand the reasons behind the transition and what impacts it brought upon the stakeholders affected by it. The purpose of this is to analyze the transition for social and economic effects so that it can be concluded whether the transition was a move towards sustainable banking. Method – The researchers carried out a case study at one of the biggest banks in Sweden. The empirical data for the research was collected through qualitative interviews and a survey with the bank’s employees as participants. Findings – Several reasons for the transition to cashless banking were found. Both positive and negative effects brought up on stakeholders were also illuminated from the transition. The transition could not be deemed entirely as a move towards sustainable banking due to negative effects on stakeholders. However, it provides important information about the negative impacts and the stakeholders affected. Implications – No clear answers can be provided due to many interrelated factors that are surrounding the transition, further studies need to be made to which are more focused on each the role of each and one of these factors. Limitations – The case study is carried out in the Swedish banking sector, therefore, is geographically limited to Sweden as the transition might be different in different societies. The research is investigating the social and economic impacts brought by the cashless transition. Thus, the findings do not provide data regarding environmental impacts.
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Mehl, Lena, and Stegen Viktoria van. "Leadership in Self-Organized Movements: A Case Study about the Transition Movement in Sweden and Denmark." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-23426.
Full textAbstract:
Climate change is one of the most important challenges of today’s societies and poses serious global threats on the world’s environment and societal structures (UN, n.a.b). Providing a novel and adaptive approach to lead and organize for sustainability are self-organized movements (Atkinson et al., 2018). One of those is the Transition movement, which tries to counter the twin threats of climate change and peak oil with local, community-led, bottom-up action. This research aims to explore leadership in self-organized movements at the example of the Transition movement by collecting and analyzing leader’s perceptions about leadership, its relevance but also challenges within the Danish and Swedish Transition region. Hence, a qualitative approach is used. Even though leadership plays a subordinate role in the minds of the leaders, who see it as informal and relate it to tasks of coordination and empowerment, it is evident and present in all of the movements actions. Leadership can thus be considered as relevant and of importance for the movements development and for self-organized movements in general with a community-centered approach. It is also shown that the intangible leadership perception in the Transition movement can pose challenges in relation to systemic boundaries, engaging people and acquiring funds which can collide with the core values of the movement. Nevertheless, self-organization in connection with leadership findings of this study present a way to lead and organize for sustainability.
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Rowse, Tarah. "Local Energy Governance In Vermont: An Analysis Of Energy System Transition Strategies And Actor Capacity." ScholarWorks @ UVM, 2014. http://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/257.
Full textAbstract:
While global, national, and regional efforts to address climate and energy challenges remain essential, local governments and community groups are playing an increasingly stronger and vital role. As an active state in energy system policy, planning and innovation, Vermont offers a testing ground for research into energy governance at the local level. A baseline understanding of the energy planning and energy organizing activities initiated at the local level can support efforts to foster a transition to a sustainable energy system in Vermont. Following an inductive, applied and participatory approach, and grounded in the fields of sustainability transitions, energy planning, and community energy, this research project identifies conditions for change, including opportunities and challenges, within Vermont energy system decision-making and governance at the local level. The following questions are posed: What are the main opportunities and challenges for sustainable energy development at the town level? How are towns approaching energy planning? What are the triggers that will facilitate a faster transition to alternative energy systems, energy efficiency initiatives, and localized approaches? In an effort to answer these questions two studies were conducted: 1) an analysis of municipal energy plans, and 2) a survey of local energy actors.
Study 1 examined Vermont energy planning at the state and local level through a review and comparison of 40 municipal plan energy chapters with the state 2011 Comprehensive Energy Plan. On average, municipal plans mentioned just over half of the 24 high-level strategies identified in the Comprehensive Energy Plan. Areas of strong and weak agreement were examined. Increased state and regional interaction with municipal energy planners would support more holistic and coordinated energy planning. The study concludes that while municipalities are keenly aware of the importance of education and partnerships, stronger policy mechanisms and financial stimulus are essential if Vermont hopes to increase strategic energy planning alignment and spur whole-scale energy system change. Study 2 examined local energy actors to assess their ability to develop and sustain energy action on the local level. A survey of 120 municipalities collected statewide baseline data covering the structures, processes, and activities of local energy actors. The analysis examined the role that various forms of capacity play in local energy activity. The results show that towns with higher incomes are more likely to have local energy actors and towns with higher populations have higher aggregate energy activity levels. Structurally, energy actors that had both an energy coordinator and an energy committee were more active, and municipal committees were more active than independent committees. Access to a budget and volunteer engagement were both associated with higher activity levels.
The network of local energy actors in Vermont consists of committed and knowledgeable volunteers. Yet, the capacity of these local energy actors to implement sustainable energy change is limited due to resource constraints of time and money. In most cases, the scope of municipal energy planning strategy is modest. Prioritization of strategy and action at the central and local levels, along with increased interaction and coordination, is necessary to increase the regional compatibility and pace of energy system transformation.
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Lindeberg, Anna, Claudia Dina, Håkan Augustsson, and Mariana Vasileva. "Importance of Leadership Competencies for the Transition to Sustainable Healthcare in Sweden." Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Institutionen för strategisk hållbar utveckling, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-20027.
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Our unsustainable way of living has created a precondition for the emergence of more and new illnesses, jeopardizing the overall health of society. The Swedish healthcare system faces complex challenges that threaten its ability to live up to its obligations as stated in the law. It is proven that leaders in public organisations can have a substantial function in leading towards sustainability. Leadership competencies have a big role to play in that journey.This thesis explores the complex challenges administration leaders in the healthcare sector of two Swedish public organisations – Region Blekinge and Västra Götalandsregionen face when it comes to sustainability. The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development is used to analyse the complexity and the sustainability within the study’s context. The Framework of Sustainability Research and Problem-solving Competence is utilized to understand the application, the relevance of the key competencies in sustainability in leadership, as well as the barriers in applying them, to deal with challenges. The conclusions are based on documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews. The results show the need for all key competencies, with biggest emphasis being put on systems thinking, interpersonal, intrapersonal and implementation. The findings reveal potential enablers and barriers for the organisations in moving society towards sustainability.
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Flynn, Lukas. "Civic Food : Designing for Food Citizenship in a Food System Characterized by Mutualistic Resilience." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Designhögskolan vid Umeå universitet, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-173538.
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This thesis explored design’s role in transitioning the Swedish food system to one that is more resilient to the shocks caused by climate change and in the context of the project duration, COVID-19. The project’s central question was: What does food citizenship look like in a resilient food system, and what design process is necessary to facilitate such a solution? The project collaborated with a local food ecosystem startup, Harvest, which has the mission to improve the local food supply chain so everyone can eat deliciously and sustainability. Together with Harvest, the project developed a vision of what the local food ecosystem will look like in a viable world. It proposes that collective action around food is a possible vehicle for systems transition. The resulting design is the proposition of a network that connects urban communities to local food producers while facilitating the support required to expand the production capability and stability of the local food ecosystem. The network is grounded in the design principles synthesized from the research conducted with the creative communities in Sweden that are working towards a resilient food system. The ideas of mutual aid and the permaculture ethics of people care and fair share have been guiding forces as supporting those living in transition is an essential element of food systems transition. From this proposition the project sets to explore what disruptive innovations need to occur in order to reach this vision. By framing the project in this way I aim to not only illuminate what the preferable future looks like and how it will function, but also illustrate how it is possible to reach this future.
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Giunti, Giulia, and Kristina Zaytseva. "Transition to a sustainable future : A study about students' attitudes and views toward corporate sustainability. A comparison between Sweden, Italy and Russia." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Handelshögskolan vid Umeå universitet, 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-26069.
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Main purpose - In a world where different countries have adopted different actions towards sustainability, their sustainable development is strongly affected by the level of commitment toward corporate sustainability of the different companies forming the countries business environment. Economy students from different countries are the future actors of the business environment and we want to discover how they experience and value different aspects within the concept of corporate sustainability in three different countries: Sweden, Italy and Russia. We want to study if their attitudes and views reflect the degree of sustainability that is emphasized in the country. Sub purpose - We look at economy students as future businessmen and businesswomen; and to be able to value their attitudes towards the concept of corporate sustainability we need concrete aspects that are directly collected from the business environments. The identification of these criteria is the reason why the achievement of our main purpose requires that we perform a explorative study of the sustainability leaders. We want to empirically explore the business environment in order to identify the criteria that characterize corporate sustainability. Those criteria are the ones that we will use in our survey in order to understand the students attitudes and perceptions about the concept of corporate sustainability. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 50 surveys each from Sweden, Russia and Italy was analyzed using a combination of deductive and inductive coding techniques. The answers from the students were analyzed in order to reveal the eventual existence of a connection between the way of answering and the country of origin. Findings – The findings of the study show that the educational development toward sustainability is not as fast as the one of the business environment. This development seems to be fastest in Sweden and Italy and much slower in Russia. Students from all three countries seem to have a general interest in this topic and they expressed their wish to have more information from their universities. There are some differences in the way students value the concept of corporate sustainability in different countries; however, there is an indication that the ranking positions of the countries explored will not change in the future. Originality/value – We have succeeded in investigating the development of the sustainability trend in the business environment by shifting the focus from the company’s dimension to the economy student’s dimension. We approached a complex and controversial topic by individualizing an uncovered field. We showed how the study of corporate sustainable development must be structured based on the long term perspective by taking into consideration the influence of the future actors of the business environment.
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Pulvino, Sharon. "AGRI-CULTURA URBANA : Sharing hubs of transition in Cortijo de Cuarto in Seville, Spain." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Arkitekthögskolan vid Umeå universitet, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-139832.
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The modern dichotomy between the urban and the rural is increasingly affected by the superimposition of urbanisation processes on the rural landscape, usually contributing to the disappearance of the agricultural heritage. Thanks to a high degree of awareness towards the necessity of natural capitals in human life, today the interdependence between man and nature is progressively becoming of fundamental importance. Contemporary issues related to urban overgrowth, food supply and depletion of material resources increase the necessity for urban planning processes in rural areas to apply principles of integration with the existing context. It becomes the role of contemporary urban planners to carefully manage the natural capital and develop urban sustainable strategies to fulfill human needs in the respect of the eco-system.Particularly, this thesis investigates the controversial relationship between the urban and the rural in the case study of Cortijo de Cuarto in Seville, rural area in the southern suburb of the Spanish city currently subjected to traditional urbanisation processes of urban sprawling.The focus will be to highlight the potentiality of this land as agricultural heritage and propose a development strategy based on three hubs of transition from the urban to the rural landscape, looking at the features of the local context toward the preservation and valorisation of its identity. Therefore, AgriI-Cultura Urbana stands out as an urban development program that looks at agriculture as a landscape experience from a social, economic and environmental point of view, enhancing a culture of integration between local agricultural activities and urbanisation programs, taking into consideration the benefits of both citizens and the environment.
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Ragazzi, Graziella. "Les Modèles Economiques dans la Transition Energétique bas carbone à l'Echelle Locale." Thesis, Paris Sciences et Lettres (ComUE), 2018. http://www.theses.fr/2018PSLED052/document.
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Face à l'urgence dans la lutte contre le réchauffement climatique, la transition énergétique bas carbone est une transition sociétale constituant un véritable défi du fait de ses singularités. Les conditions de sa réalisation résident dans un pilotage politique multi-niveaux afin d'agir dès à présent sur les différents leviers d'action possibles. En effet les Etats interviennent d'une part lors des négociations internationales afin de parvenir à un accord universel sur le climat, et d'autre part dans la législation de leur cadre réglementaire national. Les collectivités locales interviennent également du fait de leurs compétences leur conférant un pouvoir d'influence conséquent sur les modes de production décentralisés et sur la consommation d'énergie. L'échelle locale joue un rôle de premier ordre car elle bénéficie des liens de proximités et de confiance qui favorisent l'action collective et constitue un véritable effet de levier. C'est au niveau des territoires que les projets de la transition énergétique émergent et que la lutte contre le réchauffement climatique se concrétise. C'est pourquoi il est nécessaire de comprendre quels types de projets locaux pour la transition énergétique émergent, et quelle est leur performance tant d'un point de vue économique, que social et environnemental. Cela permettra d'une part aux pouvoirs publics d'identifier les types de projets performants pour impulser leur développement, et d'autre part quels sont les freins à lever le cas échéant pour faire émerger des projets innovants. Sur le long-terme, il s'agit de comprendre quels types de projets se déploieront et se généraliseront dans le cadre de la transition énergétique en fonction du type de valeur qu'ils parviendront à générer. Pour répondre à cela, l'approche des business models est pertinente : elle constitue en effet une grille d'analyse permettant de déterminer les caractéristiques de chaque projet, en décrivant sa proposition de valeur et la configuration de cette valeur, et de déterminer sa viabilité et sa durabilité en fonction de la création (ou destruction) de valeurs (économique, financière, sociale, environnementale) qu'il génère. La thèse propose ainsi une typologie des business models de la transition énergétique à l'échelle locale, une grille d'analyse de projet adaptée à l'enjeu sociétal que représente la transition énergétique et propose enfin des recommandations pour la politique publique en matière d'évaluation de la performance économique, sociale et environnementale de projets locaux de transition énergétiqueTo face the climate change, energy transition is required. Energy transition is a societal transition, which is really challenging because of its singularities. The multi-level governance is necessary in order to act now for the energy transition. Indeed States take action by negotiating international agreements for the climate on the one hand, and on the other hand by legislating their national regulatory framework. Local authorities intervene too owing to their competencies which give them a high influence power on decentralized production system and on energy consumption. The local scale plays a major role because they benefit from closed and trustful relationships which foster collective action and act as a real leverage. It is at the territories level that energy transition projects emerge and that fight against global warming become true. That's why it is necessary to understand what types of local projects for the energy transition arise, and what is their economic, social and environmental performance. This can allow public authorities to identify what are the performant projects and to encourage to replicate them on the one hand, and on the other hand to remove barriers in order to make arise innovant projects. In the long run, we must understand what kinds of projects will unfold and generalize as part of the energy transition depending on the value they will generate. To answer this, the business models perspective is highly appropriate: it constitutes an analytical framework which allows to describe the project features (its value proposition, its value configuration) and to determine its viability and sustainability according to the (economic, financial, social, environmental) values creation it builds. The thesis puts forward a typology of energy transition business models at the local scale, an analytical framework for projects adapted to the energy transition societal stake. Finally the thesis suggests some public policy recommandation in terms of assessment of the economic, social and environmental performance of the local projects for the energy transition
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Yan, Huijie. "Challenges of China’s sustainability : integrating energy, environment and health policies." Thesis, Aix-Marseille, 2013. http://www.theses.fr/2013AIXM1092.
Full textAbstract:
Dans le but de faire face aux défis interdépendants en termes d’épuisement des ressources énergétiques, de dégradation environnementale et des préoccupations de santé publique dans le contexte chinois en réponse au développement durable, nous nous concentrons sur l'étude des politiques en matière d’énergie, d’environnement et de santé en Chine. Dans le chapitre 1, nous donnons un aperçu des politiques chinoises en matière d’énergie, d’environnement et de santé au cours des 20 dernières années afin de connaître les orientations politiques futures auxquelles le gouvernement n'a pas donné une attention suffisante. Dans les trois chapitres suivants, nous proposons une série d'études empiriques afin de tirer quelques implications politiques utiles. Dans le chapitre 2, nous étudions l'impact de l'urbanisation, de l'adaptation de la structure industrielle, du prix de l'énergie et de l'exportation sur les intensités énergétiques agrégés et désagrégés des provinces. Dans le chapitre 3, nous étudions les facteurs qui expliquent la transition énergétique vers des combustibles propres des ménages ruraux. Dans le chapitre 4, nous examinons les effets conjoints des risques environnementaux, du revenu individuel, des politiques de santé sur l'état de santé des adultes chinois. En particulier, nos résultats empiriques suggèrent d’intégrer le développement urbain dans la stratégie d'économies d'énergie; de considérer des substitutions/complémentarités complexes parmi les sources d'énergie et entre l'énergie et l’alimentation pour les ménages ruraux; d’aligner les politiques environnementales, énergétiques et alimentaires avec les politiques de santéWith the purpose of coping with the intertwined challenges of energy depletion, environmental degradation and public health concerns in the Chinese-specific context in response to sustainable development, we focus on investigating China’s energy, environment and health policies. In chapter 1, we provide an overview of China’s energy, environment and health policies over the past 20 years in order to know about the future policy directions to which the government has not given a sufficient attention. In the following three chapters, we provide a series of empirical studies so as to derive some useful policy implications. In chapter 2, we investigate the impact of urbanization, industrial structure adjustment, energy price and export on provincial aggregate and disaggregate energy intensities. In chapter 3, we study the factors explaining the switches from dirty to clean fuel sources in rural households. In chapter 4, we examine the joint effects of environmental hazards, individual income and health policies on the health status of Chinese adults. Our empirical findings particularly suggest integrating urban development into the strategy of energy saving; considering the complex substitutions/complementarities among energy sources and between energy and food for rural households; aligning the environment, energy and food policies with health policies