Tesi: "Environmental aspects of business"

1

Jenkin, Nicola Pat. "Exploring the making of meaning: environmental education and training for industry, business and local government". Thesis, Rhodes University, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003425.

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The aim of this research was to explore how participants made meaning in an environmental education and training course for people from industry, business and local government in South Africa, and to identify and comment on any constraints to this meaning-making. I used a Symbolic Interactionist theoretical framework to explore and comment on the meaning-making process. I started my research by conducting a questionnaire to select participants for interviews. During the course the selected participants were interviewed, as well as the two course co-ordinators. Data was also gathered during the course from participant observation field notes ('captured talk'), photographs, participants' assignments and course evaluations. The data was analysed using an adapted form of discourse analysis and matrices. The research highlights that the opportunities provided on the course were adequate for encouraging meaning-making amongst both the co-ordinators and participants. However, recorded instances of meaning-making were low, which indicated that there were certain constraints during the meaning-making process. This research highlights and comments on identified constraints such as time and workplace support. The research supports similar findings which emerged from research conducted on the Gold Fields environmental education course for teachers and also offers recommendations for further research and practice into meaning-;making within the field of environmental education and industry, business and local government in South Africa.

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2

Engström, Adam. "Integrating sustainability aspects into the business development processes of Hemfrid". Thesis, KTH, Hållbar utveckling, miljövetenskap och teknik, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-232025.

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Sustainability is becoming more of a strategic tool in many companies today and will become even more important in the future. Hemfrid is today looking at many new business areas and has realized the importance of including sustainability in its new businesses. However, the link between sustainability and business development has not been researched in a larger extent and therefore there are no good methods to use. Therefore, the aim of this report is to provide a method and tool for Hemfrid to integrate sustainability aspects into their business development processes. To fulfil this aim, an analysis of current scientific literature and models within the areas of sustainability and business development was done. Based on those models, with a foundation in the Sustainable Development Goals, a model was created. To be able to weigh different impact area against each other, an MCA was conducted. Finally, the model was assessed through external feedback and through a SWOT analysis. The model is based on 14 of the 17 SDGs with specific impact categories for all of them. A tool was created in Excel to easily assess the impact of the new business development projects. Lastly a seminar was held with Hemfrid’s management team facilitating the model.
Hållbarhet håller idag på att utvecklas från ett område som de senaste åren varit en operationellt fokuserad verksamhet till något som mer och mer närmar sig strategiarbete. Som en del av den här utvecklingen börjar många företag konstatera att integrationen av hållbarhet i deras affärsutvecklingsarbete blir en fråga som blir allt viktigare. Hemfrid har de senaste 20 åren växt fram till ett marknadsledande företag inom hushållsnära tjänster där hemstädning för privatpersoner är den dominerande tjänsten. Hemfrid har valt att fokusera på att ge sina anställda kollektivavtal och trygg anställning och fokusera på sina anställda och kunder och i dagsläget tittar man på många nya affärsutvecklingsmöjligheter för att fortsätta erbjuda sina kunder hjälp i sina hem. I och med Hemfrids fokus på hållbarhet med schyssta arbetsvillkor och miljövänliga produkter har de även insett vikten av att även på ett tidigt stadium få in hållbarhetstänk i sitt affärsutvecklingsarbete. Denna rapport syftar därför till att skapa en modell och verktyg för Hemfrid för att integrera hållbarhetsaspekter i deras affärsutvecklingsarbete. Hemfrid-modellen är framtagen med de globala hållbarhetsmålen som utgångspunkt där olika kriterier identifierades inom varje mål som Hemfrid sedan kan utvärdera sina affärsutvecklingsprojekt utifrån. En litteraturstudie är även gjord där det identifierats nio ytterligare modeller inom hållbarhet respektive affärsutveckling som på olika sätt varit användbara för att skapa kriterier och övergripande användning av Hemfrid-modellen. Varje mål är viktat utifrån Hemfrids nuvarande verksamhet och strategi för att spegla företagets hållbarhetsprioriteringar. Verktyget är framtaget i Excel, baseras på en Multikriterieanalys och ger Hemfrid ett enkelt sätt att på en 5-gradig skala, för varje mål, utvärdera om kriterierna förändras från en skala mycket sämre till mycket bättre jämfört med dagens produkter eller tjänster. Verktyget visualiserar sedan om projektet som helhet är bra eller dåligt hållbarhetsmässigt samt vilka mål man har väldigt positiv påverkan på och bör kommunicera mot sina kunder samt vilka man bör se över och förbättra. Vidare har verktyget testats på två olika affärsutvecklingsprojekt där representanter från hållbarhetsavdelningen och affärsutvecklingsenheten fått ge feedback på användning och modellen har även presenterats och diskuterats tillsammans med Hemfrids ledning för att förankra modellens användande inom bolaget. Slutligen gjordes även en SWOT-analys där modellen visade vara över lag positiv. De negativa delarna med modellen ligger i att den är en förenkling av verkligheten och inte kommer kunna ta upp alla hållbarhetsaspekter som finns samt att det i användandet av modellen finns risk att man gör subjektiva bedömningar och ger sig själv bättre poäng än vad man egentligen borde. Modellen kommer dock kraftigt förenkla integrationen av hållbarhet i affärsutvecklingsprocesserna på Hemfrid och kommer användas för att försäkra att Hemfrid fortsätter vara starka inom hållbarhet och att erbjuda sina kunder smarta lösningar.

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3

Morys, Thomas. "Company valuation and environmental value". Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/15046.

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Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2008.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The natural environment has gained intensified importance in recent years (Stern, 2007) as the depletion of free natural resources and creation of non-intentional by-products speeds up. Especially air quality-related issues such as carbon dioxide emissions caused by non-intentional by-products from fuel combustion intensify the pressure on nature and thereby on human beings. Global commitments to greenhouse reduction by different nations, manifested in the Kyoto Protocol, increase the pressure on the economic environment as they force nations and in particular companies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to the agreed levels. This means that companies unable to meet the emission targets are forced to acquire additional emission rights. This has an impact on the value of a company. The lower the emissions, the more emission rights can be sold on the carbon markets. Furthermore, the less natural environmental risk a company is exposed to, the higher its value. In general, the risk reductions result from creating benefits for the natural environment. This research project shows how the natural environment impacts on the value of a company. It considers the green value, described as the overall tradable benefit from the reduction of non-intentional by-products, of a small liquid-petroleum-gas (LPG)-converting company. It is assumed that emission benefits created through the reduction of relevant marketable byproducts will lead to emission credit notes, equal to emission rights, offered to companies at the carbon spot market. This enables the companies participating on the carbon market to buy additional emission rights. This non-empirical report focuses on a study of the theory. Topics such as the global natural environment, awareness of natural environment and willingness to pay for higher quality of the natural environment, traditional valuation, and environmental accounting give an understanding of the subject. In addition, personnel communication was used to discuss relevant market expectations and prospects. The outcome is a valuation approach to determine the potential value of companies. The intention is to show that the value goes beyond a purely financial approach. From the valuation procedure performed one can easily see that the value of a company is strongly influenced by the green value component derived from valued environmental benefits.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die natuurlike omgewing het in die afgelope paar jaar toenemend belangrik geword (Stem, 2007) namate die uitputting van gratis natuurlike hulpbronne en die skep van toevallige neweprodukte toeneem. Veral kwessies wat met die gehalte van lug verband hou, soos koolsuurgasvrystellings wat deur toevallige neweprodukte van brandstofverbranding veroorsaak word, verhoog die druk op die natuur en dus ook op die mens. 'n Wereldwye verbintenis tot die vermindering van die kweekhuis-effek deur verskillende lande, wat in die Kyoto Protokol inslag vind, verhoog die druk op die ekonomiese omgewing, aangesien dit lande, en spesifiek maatskappye, dwing om hulle kweekhuis-gasvrystellings tot by die ooreengekome vlakke te verminder. Dit beteken dat maatskappye wat nie die vrystellingsteikens kan haal nie, gedwing word om bykomende vrystellingsregte te bekom. Dit het 'n impak op die waarde van 'n maatskappy. Hoe laer die vrystellings, hoe meer vrystellingsregte kan op die koolstofmarkte verkoop word. 'n Maatskappy se waarde verhoog indien die risiko rakende die natuurlike omgewing verlaag word. Oor die algemeen is hierdie risikoverminderings die resultaat van die skep van voordele vir die natuurlike omgewing. Hierdie navorsingsprojek toon aan wat die natuurlike omgewing se impak op die waarde van 'n maatskappy is. Dit ondersoek die groen waarde, wat beskryf word as die algehele verhandelbare voordeel uit die vermindering van toevallige neweprodukte, van 'n klein vloeibarepetroleumgas-maatskappy. Die aanname word gemaak dat vrystellingvoordele wat geskep word deur die vermindering van toepaslike verkoopbare neweprodukte daartoe sal lei dat vrystellingskredietnotas, wat gelykstaande aan vrystellingsregte is, aan maatskappye by die koolstoflokomark aangebied sal word. Dit stel die maatskappye wat op die koolstofmark handel dryf in staat om bykomende vrystellingsregte te koop. Hierdie nie-empiriese verslag fokus op 'n studie van die teorie. Onderwerpe soos die globale natuurlike omgewing, bewustheid van die natuurlike omgewing en 'n gewilligheid om te betaal vir 'n natuurlike omgewing van 'n hoer gehalte, en omgewingsrekeningkunde dra by tot 'n beter begrip van die onderwerp. Verder is persoonlike kommunikasie gebruik om toepaslike markverwagtinge en -vooruitsigte te bespreek. Die uitkoms is 'n waardasiebenadering om die potensiele waarde van maatskappye te bepaal. Die doel is om aan te toon dat die waarde verder as 'n suiwer finansie1e benadering strek. Uit die waardasieprosedure wat uitgevoer is, kan maklik gesien word dat die waarde van 'n maatskappy sterk beinvloed word deur die groenwaarde-komponent wat deur gewaardeerde omgewingsvoordele bepaal word.

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4

Okioga, Teshamulwa (Teshamulwa Irene). "Water quality and business aspects of sachet-vended water in Tamale, Ghana". Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39278.

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Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2007.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-126).
Microbial water quality analyses were conducted on 15 samples of factory-produced sachet water and 15 samples of hand-tied sachet water, sold in Tamale, Ghana. The tests included the membrane filtration (MF) test using mColiBlue24® medium, 3MTM PetrifilmTM test, and Hydrogen Sulfide Presence Absence (P/A H2S) test. With the MF method, 1 factory-produced and 1 hand-tied sachet-water sample had E.coli counts of 5 CFU/100ml and 49 CFU/100ml respectively. Almost half (47%) of the factory-produced sachet-water samples had some total coliforms (range from 1 CFU/100ml to 115 CFU/100ml). All the 15 hand-tied sachet-water samples had total coliforms (range from 4 CFU/100ml to 2010 CFU/100ml). One sample recorded TNTC at a dilution factor of 10. The MF method showed little correlation with the 3MTM PetrifilmTM method (R=0. 16). With the 3MTM PetrifilmTM test method, none of the factory-produced sachet-water samples had E.coli and only one sample had total coliforms with 100 CFU/100ml. The hand-tied sachet-water sample with 49 E.coli CFU/100ml in the MF test, turned out to have 100 CFU/100ml in the 3MTM PetrifilmTM test. The MF test results were considered more reliable.
(cont.) For the P/A H2S test, 7% of factory-produced sachet-water samples and 27% of the hand-tied sachet-water samples returned positive results. Overall, hand-tied sachet water was found to be two times more microbially contaminated than factory-produced sachet water. Turbidity tests done on the samples showed that 93% of the hand-tied sachet-water samples and 20% of factory-produced sachet-water samples had turbidities greater than 5 NTU - the limit set by the 1998 Ghana Standards for drinking water. Out of 30 random passer-byes in Tamale and neighboring Savelugu that were interviewed, all drank sachet-vended water, signifying its popularity in the areas. For 37%, sachet water formed the sole supply of drinking water, even at home! 70% drank more water when away from home, 20% the same amount at home and away from home, while 10% drank more water at home. Sachet water formed the main source of water away from home. Sachet-water vendors made 100% to 400% profit.
by Teshamulwa Okioga.
M.Eng.

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5

Harris, Peter-Dirk. "South African environmental taxes and investment incentives in practice". Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/95565.

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Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The South African economy is faced with a number of challenges as an upper-middle income country that is highly resource-intensive, with an open economy. It has a number of developmental goals that must be achieved in order to maintain environmentally conscious sustainable development. The country will have to find pioneering ways to address the poverty problems faced by a large proportion of its people, while still ensuring economic growth at a reduced cost to the environment. In an effort to promote the shift to a “green” economy, the South African state and its related entities have developed a number of incentive programmes aimed at easing the transition. These incentives primarily support businesses in their efforts to become more energy-efficient, or to convert to renewable energy sources. The objective of this study is to critically evaluate what the South African government is doing with regard to environmental instruments aimed at assisting the country to reduce carbon emissions. This case study follows a quantitative approach, considering the financial effects that the different environmental instruments could have on South African manufacturers. Through the study the researcher will be able to make certain recommendations to businesses in the manufacturing industry who are interested in investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency. The results of the study will also give the researcher insight into the South African environmental incentives, which will allow him to make informed comments on the proposals that government has tabled regarding future environmental taxes and incentives. The research questions that the researcher tried to answer were based on the current and future policy measures that the South African government has implemented, or will implement, in order to move the country to a low-emissions trajectory. These policies were then also compared to international measures in order to determine if the policies chosen by the South African government are appropriate for the this country’s economy. This study has led the researcher to discover a number of issues relating to the status of environmental policy in South Africa. These discoveries have allowed him to make certain recommendations to businesses investing in this realm, as well as to government which develops these policy measures. The main findings of the study are that with the assistance of the South African government and related entities, investments in renewable energy have become viable. When considering the current status of South African environmental policy, the researcher has also come to realise that the country is lagging behind the rest of the world with regard to policy development. The South African economy is unique, thus policies have to be structured in a way that will not be detrimental to the country.

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6

Chin, Yee-ming Margaret, e 陳綺明. "The business environment of tour operators in Hong Kong". Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1985. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31263161.

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7

Cheng, Hau-chung, e 鄭孝仲. "Sustainability management in apparel & footwear supply chain". Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10722/207615.

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Self-regulatory Code of Conduct has widely been adopted by international brands to manage CSR issues in apparel and footwear supply chain for the last 2 decades. Increasingly, more apparel and footwear brands started to expand CSR scope to include environmental management in their supply chain. However, only very few international brands have disclosed their efforts on environmental management in their supply chain. This study aims to find out how apparel and footwear brands implement environmental management in their supply chain. Furthermore, what motivates them to carry out environmental management, and lastly, what challenges the industry encounters in carrying out effective environmental management. Primary and secondary data research were carried out in this study. Primary research, in a form of self-administered survey, was conducted for 11 brands and 15 of their respective suppliers. Secondary research was conducted through desktop research to gather additional information from brands, NGOs, academic studies and news. The study revealed environmental management in apparel and footwear supply chain is becoming more important. However, most of the brands’ approaches on environmental management are loose (i.e. lack industry-wide sustainably environmental management strategy), and small in scope (i.e. first tier supplier only). It is suggested apparel and footwear brands should improve effectiveness of environmental management program in their supply chain, by applying different implementation strategies internally, with both brands’ and suppliers’ governments, suppliers as well as their stakeholders.
published_or_final_version
Environmental Management
Master
Master of Science in Environmental Management

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8

May, Jode Joy. "Environmental sustainability leadership in South Africa: an empirical perspective". Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020766.

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Striking the balance between managing a successful organisation and paying attention to environmental sustainability requires excellent leadership. There are several benefits associated with being an environmentally sustainable organisation such as improved image (reputation and brand), increased customer loyalty, improved bottom line, attracting skilled experienced staff and improving the relationships with local communities. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the change leadership qualities needed to drive environmental sustainability in the South African landscape to reduce global warming reduction. The qualitative paradigm was utilised to investigate the change leadership qualities needed to affect create environmental sustainability, with focus on global warming reduction actions in the workplace. A literature review was conducted on environmental sustainability, change leadership, and leadership qualities necessary to effect change. A survey was conducted among 13 participants using an interview schedule in the Gauteng, Western and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa in both private and public organisations in various business sectors. Data was collected in 2013 over a four–month period by conducting face-to-face, telephonic and email interviews. The returned questionnaires were subjected to constant comparative, content and grounded theory analysis. Biographical profiles of the respondents and participating organisations were presented as case studies. Trustworthiness of the data was ascertained using data triangulation. Data was analysed in terms of the issues of environmental sustainability and change leadership. In-depth analyses were also conducted by means of provincial, business and employment sector comparisons. It was found that environmental sustainability was being addressed by the selected organisations, specifically relating to GHG emissions, energy and water saving actions. Change leaders should implement specific environmental sustainability strategies to assist in the reduction of global warming, create awareness, focus on employee involvement, report on their sustainability results and put and incentives in place to encourage environmental sustainability. In order to effect such changes, change leaders need to set targets to measure their sustainability progress. Green campaigns should be conducted internally to educate employees on the effects of global warming, and externally to inform the public about their commitment to environmental sustainability and to advise the public on courses of actions to assist in the quest to reduce global warming. It would be advisable for organisations to appoint a specific environmental sustainability team to drive these efforts. It was found that in order to bring about such changes, certain qualities were needed by change leaders to enable them to act as a change agents. Associated change leadership styles were also addressed. Change leaders should be knowledgeable in order to effectively communicate the importance of environmental sustainability. They should adopt a blend of leadership styles to drive environmental sustainability depending on the extent of change actions planned. Organisations should identify, appoint and mentor female leaders as they have the nurturing qualities that could successfully drive environmental sustainability actions. Change leaders should also preferably be personally involved in environmental sustainability as their personal values together with their job role at top leadership level could contribute towards successful implementation of environmental sustainability actions in the workplace. The study has provided general guidelines on the environmental sustainability issues necessary to address global warming reduction as well as guidelines on the change leaders qualities necessary to drive environmental sustainability actions in the workplace.

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9

Schoeman, Pieter Stephanus Johannes Albertus. "An empirical investigation of environmental performance and the market value of JSE listed companies". Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/97358.

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Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In the recent past, there has been increasing awareness of, and concern for, the impact that many companies are having on the natural and social environment. This has seen the emergence of a triple bottom line approach to business, with environmental and social metrics being used in addition to financial metrics when evaluating company performance. Despite the growing level of investment in corporate sustainability, it is not clear whether these investments are viewed positively by the market, and to what extent it creates shareholder value. To shed light on the relationship between environmental performance and financial performance, this research assignment used the event study methodology to investigate whether there is statistically significant stock market reactions to announcements relating to the environmental performance of companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. A total of 260 news announcements related to environmental performance were collected from a variety of news sources. The 260 news announcements represented 67 different companies across 11 different industry sectors. News announcements were collected from several prominent business news sources including the Business Day, Financial Mail and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange News Service. Abnormal share returns were estimated for a three day event window around the announcement date by using the market model approach. Results were aggregated based on four different categories of environmental performance, including corporate environmental initiatives, environmental awards and certificates, negative environmental publicity and, environmental reporting, permits and licences. Consistent with related research in developed countries, this study found that the market rewards certain categories of positive environmental performance but penalises certain categories of negative environmental performance more severely. The results show that there is a significant positive market reaction to announcements of corporate environmental initiatives on the trading day following the announcement. This result indicates a positive relationship between corporate environmental initiatives and financial performance, as measured by market value. In terms of negative environmental performance, it was found that the market responds negatively to the broad category of negative environmental publicity. In particular, negative announcements from civil society and environmental groups seem to result in more significant market reactions than negative announcements from local or national government. In contrast to some studies done in developed countries, no statistically significant relationship was found between announcements of environmental awards and certificates and the market value of companies. Neither was there a statistically significant relationship between environmental reporting, permits and licences and the market value of companies. These results therefore indicate that the market is selective in its response to announcements of environmental performance.

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10

Tekin, Ilknur Mary Joy Nirmala. "Green Index: Integration of Environmental Performance, Green Innovativeness and Financial Performance". PDXScholar, 2014. http://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1815.

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The integration of sustainability performance of companies is becoming increasingly important. The recent global requirements (i.e. the Kyoto Protocol) for significant reduction of the negative impact of companies on the environment over the next 6 years have been putting pressure on the companies, requiring them to lower the negative environmental impact of market performance. This requirement challenges the profitable growth of the companies' business functions, given the change needed for business operations to improve on their environmental impact. In this dissertation a new corporate sustainability performance index, called: The Green Index, for measuring and assessing the integrated sustainability performance of companies is developed. The Green Index integrates Environmental Performance, Green Innovativeness and Financial Performance, by quantifying the expert opinions toward their integration. Development of the Green Index is a holistic approach in defining and measuring "green" performance for companies, integrated into their market performance. Green Index, for the first time in the literature, introduces Green Innovativeness in defining and measuring Green Performance of companies, in integration with Environmental and Financial Performance. In the literature and business practices, there are various sustainability indices used, and methodological approaches in measuring corporate sustainability performance with more than hundred performance indicators. The Green Index, uniquely refers to the collective expert opinion of management researchers, executive managers of corporations, high-tech companies' R&D managers, financial managers, corporate social responsibility managers, in defining a shorter list of 29 performance measures under the three core performance dimensions. Hierarchical Decision Modeling is used for the development of Green Index based on experts' collective decisions. At the next level, desirability levels for each one of the 29 performance measures are scaled by a group of angel investors and investors. And their collective desirability quantifications are used toward the application of the Green Index to quantify the Green Index value for a set of scenario analyses for alternative company performance states. Green Index fills a major gap in the scholarly literature and business practices. It meets the needs prioritized in the near future strategy of World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) towards development of new performance metrics and business models for industries that are financially successful while innovating with green products as they are reducing their negative environmental impact (WBCSD Annual Report 2010, 2011).

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11

Mcleod, Michelle. "Does environmental performance predict financial performance? A South African perspective". Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/80774.

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Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2011.
Corporate environmental responsibility has engaged the attention of academics, practitioners and environmentalists for some time, creating pressure for companies to conduct business in an environmentally greener manner. To find economic support for such conduct by South African companies, this study aims to investigate whether superior environmental performance by South African listed companies leads to superior financial performance. A review of related literature identified significant diversity in research approach and methodology as well as environmental and financial performance measures employed and therefore also in the results obtained. Given the continuing emergence of climate change as a material issue for business, this study utilised South African Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI SA) ratings as proxy for South African companies’ environmental performance. The infancy of the Carbon Disclosure Project in South Africa does result in some data limitations which necessitated a portfolio approach to address the research question. This approach, however, prevented explicit consideration or judgement on the direction of causality between environmental and financial variables. The environmental performance data limitations and the resulting need for some assumptions resulted in this study being explorative in nature. Using CDLI SA ratings as distinguishing environmental performance characteristic, industrymatching, mutually-exclusive stock portfolios were constructed. Relative portfolio performance was measured with reference to the Sharpe and Treynor ratios and a simple statistical test. Considering the three years 2008 to 2010, the Sharpe and Treynor ratios for Environmental Leaders and Laggards portfolios did not clearly identify either Environmental Leaders or Environmental Laggards as superior financial performers and results also varied across industries. There appears to be some trend emerging which sees Environmental Leaders outperforming Environmental Laggards in more recent years for some industries, however, the short time frame under consideration provided insufficient support for such conclusion. Statistical means testing concluded that the mean returns of Environmental Leaders and Environmental Laggards are similar. Sensitivity analysis performed on the Financials sector indicated that the Sharpe and Treynor ratios are sensitive to portfolio construction. Despite this sensitivity, statistical means testing consistently found little evidence to infer that the mean returns of Environmental Leaders portfolios are either higher or lower than that of Environmental Laggards portfolios. It is suggested that the similar performance of the Environmental Leaders and Environmental Laggards portfolios may be attributed to the use of an environmental performance measure unable to sufficiently distinguish between environmental leaders and environmental laggards. Another interpretation of the results could be that investors consider disclosure-based environmental performance measures as unreliable, or less reliable as compared with outcome-based or combined measures. Finally, it may be that investors’ expectations have not yet been adjusted to reflect the fact that climate change constitutes a materiality issue for business in the long run, which will require companies to actively manage carbon risks. Although there exists voluminous international research on the topic of this study, South African research in this regard is restricted. This study adds to the existing body of South African specific research, but is only explorative in nature; therefore areas for future research have been recommended.

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12

Sze, Wai-mun, e 施惠敏. "Does the enhancement of employee environmental awareness help improve a company's environmental performance ?" Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2005. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B45013238.

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13

Liu, Yang. "Exploring the interrelationship between supply network configuration, capabilities and green supply chain management strategies". Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2015. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.708635.

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14

Wang, Kang, e 王康. "Engaging business with environmental change: an analysis of impediments and incentives in Chinese textileindustry". Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2005. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B45014413.

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15

Rask, Lovisa. "The aspects of Environmental Sustainability in Export : A study in the context of Malaysian businesses". Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för marknadsföring (MF), 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-96396.

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In a world which is highly reliant on international trade and at the same time is facing what has been described as among the greatest challenges planet Earth ever seen, climate change. The connection the two have to each other becomes increasingly essential to understand. This study was put in the context of a developing country, Malaysia, due to the increased amount of businesses located in developing countries which are choosing to internationalise and export products. The 17 Global Goals created by the United Nations, which has been adopted by all member states are aimed to be reached in 2030. The Global Goals are built upon trust and responsibility for the planet which creates a scenario where the behaviour of both businesses and consumers is changed. The purpose of the study was to gain knowledge of how the aspect of environmental sustainability impacts export and what motivates the Malaysian businesses to change for the better. The outcome of this study indicates that the customers have a significant role for both motivation of businesses and the implementation of new strategies. The study has also seen an indication of a connection between the speed of internationalisation and export related to how businesses are motivated by customers in terms of environmental sustainability. Moreover, the study has shown that there is little connection between the business’s selection of export mode and environmental sustainability.

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Wood, Dorothy, University of Western Sydney, College of Law and Business e School of Accounting. "The influence of environmental social controls on the capital investment decision-making of the firm : Australian evidence". THESIS_CLAB_ACC_Wood_D.xml, 2002. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/228.

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Social controls influence the environmental performance of firms and require them to be more accountable for their environmental impacts. These controls include governmental interventions such as mandatory disclosure requirements, regulation and subsidisation, as well as less formal controls such as stakeholder opinion. This thesis examines the relative influence of environmental social controls on the acceptability of capital investment and provides insight into the perceptions of Australian managers concerning capital investment decision-making. An experiment is used to measure the relative influence of the four social control measures. This is supported by a survey to gauge firm size and industry influences and also a range of attributes of the controls on the capital investment decision. Experiment results suggest that the influence of stakeholder opinion on capital investment is very high and mandatory disclosure very low. The survey measured the influence of a range of indicators of each control and also firm size and industry effects. Firm size effects were weak while industry effects were much clearer and more consistent. A comparison of the influence of social control indicators and a range of financial and strategic indicators on the capital investment decision showed that the mainstream indicators had more influence.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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17

Price, Leigh. "A transdisciplinary explanatory critique of environmental education". Thesis, Rhodes University, 2007. http://eprints.ru.ac.za/909/.

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18

Nieuwoudt, Adriaan Hermanus (Riaan). "The development of an environmental strategy for Pepkor Retail Limited". Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/6428.

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19

Sukhdeo, Beverley Amanda Faith. "A conscious leadership model to achieve sustainable business practices". Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/5885.

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Business sustainability is a fundamental concern amongst business leaders and it is imperative that business defines an environmentally and socially sustainable path to financial prosperity. This focus on sustainable business practices has been caused by the perceived contribution of businesses to undesirable conditions such as environmental and social degradation including global warming and the global financial crises. This study suggests that a leadership style that differs from leadership that is currently causing business unsustainability is needed in order to achieve the goal of sustainable business practices. This study therefore proposes a new kind of leadership, called conscious leadership. The main contribution of the study is to increase the achievement of sustainable business practices by investigating the importance of conscious leadership in achieving this objective. Convenience sampling was used to select senior managers and directors from mainly JSE listed companies. This resulted in a total of 371 usable questionnaires (317 from listed companies and 54 from unlisted companies) being received. A quantitative approach was adopted to investigate whether conscious leadership would be related to increased sustainability competencies and more effective sustainability-related corporate governance and whether these in turn would increase sustainability behaviours which would generate sustainable business practices as measured by financial, social and environmental performance. Regression analyses were conducted to investigate the hypothesised relationships among these variables. Pearson correlations and descriptive statistics were also calculated. The empirical results showed that respondents in this study regarded conscious leadership, not as a separate construct, but as a way they governed their businesses. The empirical results showed that corporate governance and systems thinking competency had a strong interactive relationship and should therefore be cultivated within business firms. Corporate governance (including conscious leadership) and systems-thinking competency were positive influencers of employee relations, equal opportunities and workforce diversity. The empirical results however showed that corporate governance (including conscious leadership) had a negative influence on profitability. The present study cannot argue for the discouragement of corporate governance (including conscious leadership), as measured in this study, because reduced corporate governance would decrease healthy employee relations and the latter would decrease the achievement of equal opportunities and workforce diversity in these firms. A decrease in healthy employee relations would decrease profitability. The most important finding of this study is that senior managers and directors of big business firms, mostly JSE-listed companies, regarded conscious leadership as an important part of corporate governance. Corporate governance that includes conscious leadership must be developed to higher levels in business firms, so that the negative and not-significant relationships to profitability as viewed by lower and high conscious leaders respectively can be changed to positive relationships.

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Lillah, Riyaadh. "Environmental management systems in South African small and medium-sized businesses". Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/2909.

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Businesses have been criticised for their contribution towards the ever-increasing rate of destruction of the natural environment. Although businesses have responded by adapting their management practices, production processes and products, they still face a number of challenges in reducing their environmental impact. One way in which businesses have responded to the environmental crisis is by implementing environmental management systems. Despite the importance of environmental management implementation, researchers have neglected to identify the antecedents that could lead to environmental management system implementation in South African small and medium-sized businesses. Indeed, much of the research on environmental management has concentrated on large business in Europe or the United States. The limited research that has been conducted on environmental management in small and medium-sized businesses has been descriptive in nature, and fails to produce results that are generalisable and that advance the understanding on this topic. Given this situation, the objective of this study was to develop and empirically test a theoretical model to explain the implementation of environmental management systems in small and medium-sized businesses. A quantitative survey methodology was adopted in this study to test the proposed theoretical model empirically. In total, 417 small and medium-sized businesses participated in the survey; 326 of these were not implementing an environmental management system, and 91 were implementing such a system. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise the sample data. The findings of this analysis suggest that the respondents had a favourable attitude toward environmental management systems; they were aware of environmental issues; they perceived themselves and their businesses as able to deal with the barriers to environmental management system implementation; they felt personally obligated to reduce their business‟ environmental impact; and they perceived actions aimed at reducing their businesses‟ environmental impact as socially desirable. To test the hypothesised relationships in the theoretical model, correlation and multiple regression analyses were used. The hypotheses dealing with the relationship between the environmental antecedents and the owner-manager‟s intention to implement an environmental management system, and the actual implementation of an environmental management system, were supported in this study. Thus, the environmental antecedents were found to be positively related to the small and medium-sized business owners‟ intention to implement an environmental management system; to their formal and informal implementation of an environmental management system; and to their practices related to waste management and legal compliance. Empirical evidence to support the hypothesised effect of resource constraints as a moderating variable was found in this study. In terms of environmental values, support was found for the moderating effect of egoistic, altruistic, and biospheric values. In terms of the biographical characteristics of the business owners, significant moderating effects were found for gender and age, but not for education. Gender influenced the relationships between the environmental antecedents, attitude towards an environmental management system and personal pro-environmental norms, and the intention to implement an environmental management system. Age moderated the relationship between subjective pro-environmental norms, waste management, and legal compliance. Given the empirical evidence provided in this study, it is recommended that greater awareness of environmental issues be fostered among small and medium-sized business owners as well as the individuals who influence their decision-making. There is also a need to reinforce the positive business outcomes of environmental management system implementation, as well as the personal and social obligations to protect the natural environment among small and medium-sized business owners.

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21

Lee, Lik-hang, e 李力恆. "An agent-based model to support multi-issue negotiation in green supply chain". Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10722/197508.

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To implement green supply chain, a company has to consider sustainability impacts in assessing potential suppliers. Thereby, the supplier evaluation and selection criteria would include various key performance indicators such as price, quality, delivery, as well as environmental and corporate social responsibility aspects. Researchers have proposed numerous multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) approaches for evaluating the multiple conflicting criteria in supplier selection. However, most of the existing approaches have ignored some important issues in business environment such as supplier qualification, supplier autonomy, negotiation between manufacturer and supplier, etc. In this thesis, a multi-agent system (MAS) is proposed for supplier selection in green supply chain. It comprises two types of autonomous agents, namely, buyer agent and seller agents, to represent the interests of manufacturer and suppliers, respectively. The proposed MAS presents three prominent features. First, the proposed supplier selection criteria incorporate the conventional, environmental and social aspects in the supplier selection process. The criteria are classified into negotiable and non-negotiable criteria. Initially, all criteria are included to evaluate and rank all the candidate suppliers. Subsequently, the top-ranked candidates are invited to participate in the bargaining process. In this regard, the negotiable criteria are used for assessing the quality of an offer, while the non-negotiable criteria, i.e. environmental and social criteria, influence the manufacturer’s negotiation attitude to candidate suppliers. The classification enables the manufacturer to fully utilize the performance values of all criteria. Secondly, supplier selection is implemented in a two-stage methodology. The TOPSIS method is devised in the first stage to shortlist some suitable candidate suppliers for entering negotiation in the next stage. In the second stage, the agent-based negotiation process is adopted for selecting the final supplier. Representing the manufacturer and the shortlisted suppliers respectively, the buyer and seller agents bargain on a number of negotiable issues in the multi-round negotiation. A multi-issue and multilateral agent interaction protocol, which is an extension of the contract net protocol, is implemented in the MAS. Accordingly, the buyer agent coordinates with the seller agents to exchange offers and counteroffers. Thirdly, a novel preference-based negotiation strategy is used to govern the behavior of agents during negotiation. A heuristics model with the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm and Adaptive Penalty Function has been designed and implemented to realize the proposed negotiation strategy. The strategy guides the autonomous agents to narrow down the discrepancies in the values of the negotiable criteria (price, delivery days, contract length) in their offers, and simultaneously search a mutually beneficial and acceptable agreement. The negotiation payoffs and negotiation time are improved. Experimental results indicate that the proposed agent-based model could help the manufacturer to identify the most appropriate supplier and improve the quality of final agreement. In addition, the model successfully integrates supplier qualification and automated negotiation, and promotes supplier autonomy in the supplier selection process.
published_or_final_version
Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering
Master
Master of Philosophy

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Ueckermann, Julius. "Green initiatives in hospitals in Ontario : is there a business case". Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/80784.

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Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2011.
This study was conducted to investigate on what basis hospitals in Ontario could justify the capital and resource requirements needed to implement green initiatives. The study used two theoretical references as the basis for the literature review as well as for the interpretation of the results. The one reference used was a report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) in 2009, that addressed the responsibility of hospitals towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The second reference looked at a theoretical model that discussed four potential competitive environmental strategies that businesses can use to differentiate themselves based on green initiatives. The literature review more specifically discussed the seven opportunities that were identified by the WHO and HCWH that hospitals can use to reduce their carbon footprint. These were: (1) energy efficiency; (2) built environment; (3) alternative energy; (4) transportation; (5) waste; (6) water; and (7) food. Each opportunity was discussed in detail and was evaluated in both a competitive and non-competitive environment. In addition, each opportunity was evaluated in light of its ability to be used in one of the competitive environmental sustainability strategies. In order to assess what the regulatory pressures are on Ontario hospitals, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act was evaluated. No major environmental legislative pressures on hospitals could be identified. Another important part of the literature review was the evaluation of the funding model for Ontario hospitals. It was seen, that hospitals in Ontario received around 85 percent of their funding from the Ontario government and that hospitals and the ministry are both under financial pressure. This is an important indicator that funding to hospitals is very restricted. The research data for this study was obtained through a survey that was conducted among hospital representatives who have already implemented some form of green initiatives. The results from 33 questionnaires indicated that hospitals primarily implemented green initiatives to obtain cost savings. In this regard, an eco-efficiency strategy would be a logical competitive strategy for Ontario hospitals to follow. This is a clear indication that green initiatives are seen more as a cost reduction tool than a direct attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Projects that are quick to implement, require low capital and have a quick payback, are favoured. The areas on which hospitals have focused, were energy efficiency, waste management and water savings. In general, it seems that most green initiative projects were still in an immature stage. Further results also showed that hospitals had no opportunity to increase revenue by making use of the benefits of green initiative projects. The research concluded that the only basis on which Ontario hospitals could justify the capital and resource required to implement green initiatives, were on a cost savings basis. This report concludes with a discussion on the use of certain competitive strategies in a non-competitive environment before recommendations are made on how to improve the current situation. The study concludes with shortcomings of this study and recommendations on further research to be done.

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Smal, Desiree Nora. "The role of environmental sustainability in a design-driven fashion industry : a South African case study". Thesis, Cape Peninisula University of Technology, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11838/2269.

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Thesis (DTech (Design))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016.
This thesis is an investigation into environmental sustainability in the South African fashion industry, with a particular focus on the role of design therein. The fashion and textile industry is a significant contributor to the South African economy and a major user of human and natural resources. It is through the use of resources – natural, constructed and human – that the industry is also supposedly damaging to the natural environment and the people working within it. Notable authors on environmentally sustainable design and, in particular, environmentally sustainable fashion design, seem to suggest that a holistic approach to environmental sustainability is fundamental to the implementation thereof. Design has the ability to direct change, and thus design and designers have the potential to drive holistic sustainable practices in the fashion system.The question this research therefore poses is what the role of environmental sustainability should be in a design-driven approach in the South African fashion industry; interrogated through an exploratory and descriptive case study. The case study consists of three purposively selected sub-units that operate within an environmentally sustainable focus in their fashion businesses, and that design, produce, and retail fashion products. The aim of the research was to explore, through a snapshot of the South African fashion system, the implementation of environmental sustainability in the fashion industry in South Africa, in order to determine what role fashion design practice can have in developing environmental sustainability in the fashion system.The most notable finding of the research highlights the immense difficulty of operating as a fashion business from an environmentally sustainable focus in South Africa due to the lack (and unsuitability) of resources that can be considered environmentally sustainable. The declining textile industry of South Africa makes it either almost impossible, or very costly, to work within an environmentally sustainable framework, and is a major impediment in the implementation of environmental sustainability in praxis. Therefore, those businesses that decide to operate within an environmentally sustainable framework do so because of inherent personal values and ethics.The second aspect identified in the survey of scholarship and underpinned by the findings, is a need for a transformative approach with regard to design praxis and how design praxis can influence consumer eco-consciousness. The research concludes with a recommended framework that suggests a holistic and integrated approach to design-driven environmental sustainability in the South African fashion industry, and elaborates on the role of the fashion designer in the implementation of environmental sustainability in the fashion system. The holistic and integrated approach should extend into fashion design education, requiring a fundamental shift in current fashion design education in South Africa.
University of Johannesburg

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24

Rathnam, Sharad. "Designing an environmentally conscious decision support tool for capital investments in small and medium enterprises". Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/18922.

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Fairbanks, Ronald. "Assessing the environmental impact of polystyrene, paperboard and polypropylene food packaging articles used in retail for fast food applications using product life cycle assessment methods". Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/5731.

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Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--Stellenbosch University, 2008.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Over the last few years consumers have become more environmentally focused and have transferred this pressure upwards through the supply chain to retailers and manufacturers in turn. One of the areas under scrutiny is food packaging, as this does not form part of the product being consumed or used. Packaging's primary function is to protect the contents from the time of manufacture until it is used and the environmental footprint of packaging is only a small portion of the overall food chains'. In a study conducted by Oki and Sasaki (2000) they concluded that, a shortage of packaging materials in nations with inadequate social infrastructures causes extremely heavy losses of foodstuffs. In developed countries foodstuff waste is close to 1 %, whereas in less developed countries the waste can be as high as 50% to 75%. Functional packaging contributes to minimising this waste. Packaging media are often chosen for their ability to satisfy the product's requirements, but different materials are perceived by the public to be more or Jess environmentally friendly, independent of the functional requirements. The products with the better environmental reputation are generally those that are recycled and where companies have promoted the recycling efforts. However the perception does not necessarily reflect the actual environmental impact of the product type. In many instances, when one considers all of the energy costs and pollution effects associated with a particular product's manufacture and recycling, it can have a harsher impact than a single-use product that is disposed of after use. The long term business success of companies in the packaging industry will be linked to consumer preferences for functionally suitable, environmentally friendly packaging. To determine a product's environmental effect, a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is often used. LCA is a quantitative procedure to assess the environmental burdens associated with the life cycle of a product, process or service. The complete life cycle of a product includes the extraction of raw materials (including water), processing, transportation, manufacturing, distribution, the use and reuse of materials, maintenance, recycling and waste disposal. (Brent, A.C.: 2003, 115). In this report LCI's were compiled for three South African product categories, selected on the basis of volume used in the consumer market and suitable comparison products being available. Having completed the LCI based on realistic packaging products and production methods, the results per category can be presented. For a functional unit comparison of two cup types, a volume of 1000 litres was used. The results show that per functional unit, expanded polystyrene cups use 27% less energy, but produce 32% more C02 emissions than paper cups. The paper cups however use 51% more water. Neither product shows a significant overall environmental benefit over the other. For a functional unit comparison of two burger boxes, a functional number of 10 000 boxes was used. The results show that per functional unit the carton board boxes use 89% more energy, produce 268% more CO2 emissions and use 239% more water. Overall, the polystyrene burger box has a lower environmental impact. For a functional unit comparison of two protein packaging trays, a functional number of 10 000 trays was used. The results show that per unit, polypropylene trays use 94% more energy, produce 197% more C02 emissions, but only use 76% of the water compared to a foamed polystyrene tray. The LCI study has produced suitable data to provide a summary where aspects of the environmental impacts of the products can be compared. This information can be used to understand and improve the environmental footprint of the products or to educate the stakeholders who are involved in the packaging decisions. The LCI results differ from similar international studies due to the importation of most raw materials and high air emissions from local electricity production.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Verbruikers het die afgelope paar jaar baie meer omgewingsbewus geword en plaas dus al hoe meer opwaardse druk via die verskaffingsketting op kleinhandelaars en vervaardigers. Een van die areas onder verdenking is voedselverpakking, want dit vorm nie deel van die produk wat verbruik word nie. Verpakking se primere funksie is die beskerming van die inhoud daarvan vanaf vervaardiging tot dit verbruik word. Die omgewingsimpak van verpakking is slegs 'n klein gedeelte van die algehele voedselketting. Navorsing deur Oki en Sasaki (2000) toon dat 'n tekort aan verpakkingsmateriaal in nasies met skaars sosiale infrastrukture veroorsaak geweldige verliese in voedsel. In ontwikkelde lande is voedselvermorsing ongeveer 1% terwyl minder ontwikkelde lande se voedselvermorsing so hoog as 50% tot 75% is. Funksionele verpakking help om die vermorsing te verminder. Verpakkingsmedia word dikwels gekies vir hul vermoee om aan die produk se vereistes te voldoen, maar verskillende materiale word onafhanklik van hul funksionele vereistes deur die publiek as meer of minder omgewingsvriendelik beskou. Die produkte met die beter omgewingsvriendelike reputasie is gewoonlik die wat herwin word en ook waar die herwinningspogins deur die maatskappye bemark word. Die persepsie weerspieel egter nie noodwendig die eintlike omgewingsimpak van die produktipe nie. Dit gebeur dikwels dat wanneer al die energiekostes en besoedelingsgevolge wat met die vervaardiging en herwinning van 'n spesifieke produk in ag geneem word, dit 'n erger impak as 'n produk wat slegs eenmalig gebruik en dan weggegooi word, het. Die langtermyn sukses van maatskappye in die verpakkingsindustrie sal gekoppel word aan verbruikersvoorkeure vir funksionele gepaste, omgewingsvriendelike verpakking. 'n Lewensiklus Analise word dikwels gebruik om 'n produk se omgewingsimpak te bepaal. Dit is 'n kwantitatiewe prosedure wat die omgewingslaste wat met die lewensiklus van ' n produk, proses of diens verband hou assesseer. Die volledige lewensiklus van 'n produk sluit die ekstraksie van rou materiaal (water ingesluit), prossesering, vervoer, vervaardiging, verspreiding, die gebruik en hergebruik van materiaal, instandhouding, herwinning en afval verwydering in (Brent. A.C.: 2003. 115). In hierdie verslag word die Lewensiklus Analise van drie Suid-Afrikaanse produkkategoriee saamgestel. Die kategoriee is geselekteer op grond van die volume gebruik in die verbruikersmark en ook die gepaste vergelykbare produkte wat beskikbaar is. Nadat die Lewensiklus Analise afgehandel is, gebaseer op realistiese verpakkingsprodukte en produksiemetodes, is dit moontlik om die resultate per kategorie voor te stel. 'n Volume van 1000 liter was gebruik vir die funksionele eenheidsvergelyking van twee houertipes. Die resultate toon dat, per funksionele eendheid, die polistireen houers 27% minder energie verbruik, maar dit produseer 32% meer C02 uitlatings as papierhouers. Die papierhouers gebruik egter 51 % meer water. Nie een van die produkte toon egter 'n beduidende algehele omgewingsvoordeel oor die ander nie. 'n Funksionele nommer van 10000 houers was gebruik vir 'n funksionele eenheidssvergelyking van burgerhouers. Die resultate wys dat die kartonhouers, per funksionele eeheid, 89% meer energie verbruik, 268% meer C02 uitlatings produseer en 239% meer water gebruik. Die polistireen bugerhouer het oor die algemeen 'n laer omgewingsimpak. 'n Funksionele nommer van 10 000 houers is gebruik vir die funksionele eenheidsvergelyking van twee protiene verpakkinghouers. Die resultate toon dat, per eenheid, polypropylene houers 94% meer energie verbruik, 197% meer C02 uitlatings produseer, maar net 76% water gebruik in vergelyking met die polistireen houer. Die Lewensiklus eenheidsvergelyking het gepaste data voorsien wat 'n opsomming verskaf waar die aspekte van die omgewingsimpak van die produkte vergelyk kan word. Hierdie inligting kan gebruik word om die omgewingsinvloed van die produkte te verstaan en te verbeter en ook om die deelnemers betrokke by die verpakkingsbesluite op te voed. Die Lewensiklus Analise resultate verskil van soortgelyke internasionale studies as gevolg van die invoer van die meeste rou materiale en groter lug besoedeling van plaaslike elektrisiteitsproduksie.

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Haney, Aoife Brophy. "The evolution of firms' strategic responses to climate change : information, capabilities and impact". Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2014. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.648572.

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Lee, Po-kwan Edmund, e 李寶均. "The role of the private sector in environmental conservation". Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1993. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B3125830X.

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Cox, Marcus Z. "When and Where Does It Pay to Be Green: Intra- and Inter-organizational Factors Influencing the Environmental/Financial Performance Link". Thesis, University of North Texas, 2014. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc500091/.

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Managers are coming under increasing pressure from a wide array of stakeholders to improve the environmental performance of their firms while still achieving financial performance objectives. One of the most researched questions in the business and the natural environment (B&NE) literature is whether it pays to be green. Despite more than three decades of research, scholars have been unable to clearly answer this question. The purpose of this dissertation was to attempt to identify the antecedents that lead to increased, firm-level environmental performance and the conditions in which firms are then able to profit from enhanced environmental performance. First, I assessed three intra-organizational factors of top management teams (i.e. female representation, concern for non-financial stakeholders, and risk-seeking propensity) that theory indicated are associated with increased corporate environmental performance (CEP). Theory also leads us to believe that top management teams with these attributes should perform better in dynamic settings, so I tested to see if industry dynamism moderates these relationships. Second, I then examined industry-level forces that theory indicates would moderate the relationship between CEP and corporate financial performance (CFP). These moderating forces include industry profitability, industry dynamism, and the degree of industry environmental regulation. Hypotheses were tested using panel data obtained from the KLD, Compustat, and Environmental Protection Agency databases for the years 2000 to 2011. The sample consists of firms comprising the Standard and Poor’s 500 and was analyzed using fixed-effect regression and moderating variables were analyzed using the Johnson-Neyman technique.

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Zutshi, Ambika 1976. "A study of the role of stakeholders in the adoption of environmental management system". Monash University, Dept. of Management, 2003. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/5526.

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Mitchell, Samantha Laura. "Environmental, social and corporate governance reporting : perspectives from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and an international metals and mining sample". Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/95862.

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Thesis (MComm) – Stellenbosch University, 2014.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Global interest in responsible investing has grown in recent years. To make effective decisions, responsible investors require listed companies to report on financial and nonfinancial performance, giving particular attention to environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) considerations. This study was undertaken to address the paucity of academic research on ESG reporting in South Africa. A number of local studies had focused on environmental and governance reporting, but no studies had taken a holistic view of ESG reporting. Nor had any studies focused on the metals and mining industry in particular. This is a very important industry from an economic and ESG perspective, both in South Africa and internationally. The primary objective of this study was two-fold. Firstly, it was to investigate the extent of ESG reporting (both in South Africa and in a sample of international Metals and Mining companies). The second objective was to evaluate the factors that could potentially influence ESG reporting in these two samples. A positivistic research methodology was adopted as this approach allowed the researcher to test the stated research hypotheses. Quantitative secondary data were thus collected and analysed. The data collection process consisted of three phases: the first phase involved an extensive literature review of the key constructs; the second phase dealt with the collection of data for the dependent variable (Overall ESG score) from MSCI ESG Research’s database; and the third phase entailed collecting data for the 12 independent variables from Bureau van Dijk and selected websites. MSCI ESG Research’s universe was used to establish the two samples used in this study. The JSE sample consisted of 110 listed companies, whereas the international Metals and Mining sample consisted of 173 companies. Because MSCI ESG Research had completed only one year of ESG research when this study commenced, only data for 2012 were available. Descriptive and inferential statistics were completed to analyse the data. The empirical findings of the JSE sample show that the Governance pillar mean score was significantly higher than the Social pillar mean score and the Environmental pillar mean score. ESG reporting was found to be positively associated with companies which were included in the Nedbank Green Index. Companies included in the JSE Socially Responsible Index produced significantly better ESG reports than those excluded from the index. Significant differences were also noted in the Overall ESG score based on the nature of the industry in which a company operated. In the international Metals and Mining sample, two statistically significant relationships were found: larger companies had higher ESG score than smaller companies; and the greater the ownership concentration in a company, the better the ESG reporting on average. Four statistically significant differences were observed. Companies included in the FTSE4Good Index Series had better ESG scores than companies excluded from the index. Companies in developed countries had better ESG reporting than companies in emerging markets. The third difference related to companies which used the Global Reporting Initiative’s guidelines. These companies had higher Overall ESG scores than those which did not use the guidelines. The same applies to companies which were participants of the UN Global Compact and those who were not. It was concluded that investors who favour sound ESG reporting (and hence ESG management) should ideally focus on larger companies, those which are included in an responsible investing index, use the Global Reporting Initiative’s guidelines, and are participants of the UN Global Compact. Listed companies, particularly those in the Metals and Mining industry, should give more attention to environmental and social considerations, to the overall quality of their ESG reports, and should make more use of available initiatives to aid non-financial reporting.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die afgelope jare het belangstelling in verantwoordelike beleggings wêreldwyd toegeneem. Ten einde verantwoordelike beleggers in staat te stel om doeltreffende besluite te neem, moet genoteerde maatskappye oor hul finansiële én nie-finansiële prestasie verslag doen, met bepaalde klem op omgewings-, maatskaplike en korporatiewe beheer (OMB) kwessies. Hierdie studie is onderneem om ’n leemte in akademiese navorsing oor verslagdoening in Suid-Afrika te vul. ’n Aantal plaaslike studies het al op omgewings- en beheerverslagdoening gekonsentreer, maar geen navorsing tot dusver het OMB-verslagdoening holisties beskou nie. Ook het geen studies nog die soeklig op die metaal- en mynboubedryf in die besonder gewerp nie. Hierdie is ’n baie belangrike bedryf uit ’n ekonomiese en OMB-oogpunt, in Suid-Afrika sowel as internasionaal. Die hoofoogmerk van hierdie studie was tweeledig. Eerstens wou die studie ondersoek instel na die omvang van OMB-verslagdoening (by ’n Suid-Afrikaanse steekproef sowel as ’n steekproef van internasionale metaal- en mynboumaatskappye). Tweedens wou die navorsing die faktore bepaal wat ’n moontlike invloed op die OMB-verslagdoening van hierdie twee steekproewe kan hê. ’n Positivistiese navorsingsmetodologie is gebruik, aangesien hierdie benadering die navorser in staat gestel het om die navorsingshipoteses te toets. Kwantitatiewe sekondêre data was dus ingesamel en ontleed. Die data-insamelingsproses het uit drie fases bestaan: In die eerste fase was ’n omvattende literatuurstudie oor die hoofkonstrukte onderneem; die tweede fase het uit data-insameling oor die afhanklike veranderlike (algehele OMB-telling) uit die databasis van MSCI ESG Research bestaan, terwyl die derde fase data-insameling oor die 12 onafhanklike veranderlikes uit Bureau van Dijk en op uitgesoekte webtuistes behels het. Die universum van MSCI ESG Research is gebruik om die twee steekproewe in hierdie studie te bepaal. Die Suid-Afrikaanse steekproef het uit 110 genoteerde maatskappye bestaan, terwyl die steekproef van internasionale metaal- en mynboumaatskappye 173 entiteite ingesluit het. Aangesien MSCI ESG Research met die aanvang van hierdie studie nog net een jaar van OMB-navorsing onderneem het, was data slegs vir 2012 beskikbaar. Beskrywende en inferensiële statistieke is ontwikkel om die data te ontleed. Die empiriese bevindinge van die Suid-Afrikaanse-steekproef lewer ’n beduidend hoër gemiddelde telling vir beheerverslagdoening as vir maatskaplike en omgewingsverslagdoening op. OMB-verslagdoening blyk ’n positiewe korrelasie te toon met maatskappye wat by Nedbank se groen-indeks ingesluit is. Maatskappye wat ingesluit was in die Johannesburg Effektebeurs se indeks vir maatskaplike verantwoordelikheid het op hulle beurt aansienlik beter OMB-verslae opgestel as dié buite die indeks. Beduidende verskille in algehele OMB-tellings is ook opgemerk op grond van die aard van die bedryf waarin ’n maatskappy funksioneer. In die internasionale metaal- en mynbousteekproef is twee statisties beduidende verwantskappe aangetref: Groter maatskappye het ’n hoër OMB-telling as kleiner maatskappye getoon, en hoe hoër die eienaarskapskonsentrasie in ’n maatskappy, hoe beter die OMB-verslagdoening oor die algemeen. Vier statisties beduidende verskille is boonop waargeneem. Maatskappye wat deel was van die FTSE4Good-indeksreeks het beter OMBtellings opgelewer as maatskappye buite die indeks, en maatskappye in ontwikkelde lande het beter gevaar met OMB-verslagdoening as dié in ontluikende markte. Die derde verskil hou verband met maatskappye wat die riglyne van die Globale Verslagdoeningsinisiatief (GRI) volg, wat algeheel hoër OMB-tellings gehad het as diegene wat nié die riglyne gebruik nie. Dieselfde geld vir maatskappye wat aan die Verenigde Nasies (VN) se wêreldverdrag (“Global Compact”) deelneem en diegene wat nie deelneem nie. Die gevolgtrekking word gemaak dat beleggers wat goeie OMB-verslagdoening (en dus goeie OMB-bestuur) verkies, behoort te konsentreer op groter maatskappye, maatskappye wat by ’n indeks vir verantwoordelike belegging ingesluit is, wat die riglyne van die Internasionale Verslagdoeningsinisiatief volg, en wat aan die VN se wêreldverdrag deelneem. Genoteerde maatskappye, veral dié in die metaal- en mynboubedryf, behoort ook meer aandag te skenk aan omgewings- en maatskaplike sake sowel as die algehele gehalte van hul verslae, en behoort meer gebruik te maak van beskikbare inisiatiewe om nie-finansiële verslagdoening te ondersteun.

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Duruigbo, Emeka Alexander. "Environmental aspects of international oil trade and shipping, business ethics and economic cooperation as compliance tools in international law". Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/tape15/PQDD_0001/MQ34443.pdf.

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Barter, Nicholas J. "Pursuing sustainability : an exploratory study of organisations that have environmental missions". Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/1707.

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Numerous management scholars argue that management theory is anthropocentric and considers humans as being separate from the environment. Further anthropocentrism does not enable theory and organisations to contribute to sustainable development. To counter this it is argued theory and organisations should embrace an environmental paradigm that does not separate humans and the environment. This exploratory research attempts to identify whether any organisations operate with an environmental paradigm. The research questions focus on paradigms and some of the tensions surrounding the human-environment debate, such as; sufficiency versus profit maximisation and quoted status, money as a means or an end and notions of boundaries between the organisation and the environment. The questions are explored with individuals from 23 environmentally focused, primarily for profit, organisations. The results indicate that the organisations operate with an environmental paradigm, do not perceive of boundaries between the organisation and the environment, do not pursue profit maximisation, can demonstrate sufficiency, view money as a means rather than an end and do not have a favourable view of quoted status. Furthermore, the interviewees do not separate their world into two realms, one social and one natural. Narratives that arise include the organisations operating to a mode of mission and money and that an aphorism of “altruistically selfish and selfishly altruistic” (Maturana & Varela, 1998:197) can be applied. In short, the results indicate some challenges to conventional management theory, in particular strategy and competitive advantage, and that the organisations interviewed could help to, some extent, enable sustainable development. To close, the hope of this study it that its narratives and the conceptual tool it has prompted, provide succour to students and managers who want to develop a ‘future normal’ of theories and organisations that better enable sustainability.

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Hamdorf, Dorothea. "Towards managing diversity : cultural aspects of conflict management in international business environments /". Saarbrücken : VDM, Müller, 2006. http://deposit.d-nb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?id=2894980&prov=M&dok_var=1&dok_ext=htm.

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34

Lee, Sui-on Philip, e 李瑞安. "The implications of environmentalism on international business". Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1998. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31268997.

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35

Silinga, Nyaniso Sandisiwe. "Antecedents to sustainability of small consulting engineering businesses within the Amathole district municipality". Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/5184.

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The South African consulting engineering industry faces a challenge of relevance, particularly in the wake of government infrastructure investment through the planned National Development Plan and other current infrastructure plans. This challenge is even more so for small consulting engineering businesses within the industry who experienced a decline in earnings by ten percent in the first six months of 2013 as compared to the last six months of 2012 (Consulting Engineers South Africa, 2013:38). Government, as a job creator, has a duty to ensure that the conditions that these businesses operate in are favourable to them in order for the businesses to remain sustainable. Factors that contribute to the sustainability of small consulting engineering businesses need to be identified. Amathole District Municipality (ADM) situated in the Eastern Cape Province and which is the second largest province in South Africa but the second poorest (Eastern Cape Socio Economic Council (ECSECC), 2011:15 cited in Mtshibe, 2013:1) is one of those job creators. According to the Amathole District Municipality (ADM) (2013:38), the district, which comprises of seven local municipalities, is the 3rd largest economy in the province after the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality and Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, contributing twelve percent to the provincial economy. Figures published in the Division of Revenue Bill, 2014 (RSA, 2014:236) indicate infrastructure development allocations totalling R1.34 billion budgeted to the ADM for the next three years. This translates to job opportunities for the consulting engineering industry of this region. However, the latest ADM SMME procurement data reveals that in the past five years, only a small percentage of tenders awarded were to small consulting engineering businesses with a majority going to medium to large well-established enterprises (ADM, 2014). These results pose a serious challenge for policy makers who have a duty to ensure that work opportunities do not disadvantage emerging small businesses. The main objective of this study was to gain an understanding of the antecedents that impact on the sustainability of small consulting engineering businesses within the Amathole District Municipality. This was done by identifying antecedents to sustainability of small consulting engineering businesses through a detailed literature review. This literature review identified the competitive environment, regulatory environment and policy environment (independent variables) as being antecedents to sustainability of small consulting engineering businesses (dependant variable). In testing the above research objective, the researcher used statistical analysis methods to reach a conclusion with regard to these antecedents. The positivistic research paradigm (quantitative method) was selected in testing this research objective through the use of hypothesis testing. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaires distributed to 100 small consulting engineering businesses using the databases of both the Amathole District Municipality and Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA). Out of the selected sample of 100 small consulting engineering businesses, only 81 responses were received, thus representing an eighty-one percent response rate which is considered adequate. The collected data was then analysed using inferential and confirmatory statistical analysis methods. The analysis was presented in the form of graphs and tables. The results of the empirical survey identified rival competitor influence, the competitive environment and policy environment as being antecedents to sustainability of small consulting engineering businesses within the Amathole District Municipality. Based on these findings, recommendations were made to the management of the Amathole District Municipality in an endeavour to make the environment within which small consulting engineering businesses operate more favourable for the businesses to be sustainable. Suggestions for future research were also made as a way to help in addressing some of the challenges that are faced by the engineering industry.

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Anderson-Marks, Michelle. "The decision making processes of small business owner-managers : an environmental focus". Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2014. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/861.

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Large business is often the focus when environmental issues are discussed because their individual impact on the environment is viewed as larger than that of the smaller business. However due to the large size of the small business sector it has been recognised that reducing their collective impact is critical to achieving a sustainable future. A lack of engagement by small businesses in environmental management invoked an interest in understanding how to better engage the owner-managers in this area, but more specifically what influenced their decision. With an emphasis on the day to day running of the business, many small business owner-managers place more emphasis on core business operations and often neglect the impact their business has on the natural environment. Considering 96% of all business in Australia is classified as small, their collective impact on the natural environment is significant. As many small business owner-managers see their environmental impact as minimal, improving their environmental behaviour is challenging. The aim of this study was therefore to explore the decision making approaches of the small business owner-manager to environmental management issues. Nine small businesses from three industries were chosen and using the Critical Incident Technique to explore their decision making process, this study sought to understand from the owner-managers perspective how and why business decisions are made. Semi structured interviews were used to identify the decision making approaches for four different business decisions: economic, legislative, social and environmental. Over a series of interviews the owner-managers were able to freely describe their decision process and rich data was able to be obtained. Results indicated that owner-managers base business decisions on many factors and use a range of decision making styles depending on the type, and importance, of the decision to be made, that is core business decision are more often rationally made, whilst discretionary decisions will often be made intuitively based on the information at hand. Therefore to better engage them in ways to improve environmental management practices, increasing the knowledge and understanding to the benefits of these improvements is imperative. In addition this information is more readily accepted when the information is relevant to their business and presented in a clear manner by someone with whom the owner-manager has established a pre-existing relationship.

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De, Villiers Cecile A. "Demand for green electricity amongst business consumers in the Western and Northern Cape of South Africa". Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/8473.

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Thesis (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.
Climate change is one of the most serious issues the world is facing today. With an economic slowdown globally, huge food shortages and record-high fuel prices, it has never been so important for countries to guard their natural resources to ensure future sustainability. The South African energy generation industry, of approximately 40 000 Mega Watt (MW), consists largely (90%) of coal-fired power stations, with the remainder comprising of nuclear and pumped storage schemes which are regarded as environmentally neutral. It is only recently that Eskom and independent power producers (e.g. Darling Independent Power Producer Wind farm with an estimated 10 MW) embarked on utilising South Africa's natural resources to generate electrical power. South Africa's access to inexpensive coal and paid off coal-fired power stations has made it difficult to justify the investment in renewable energy. However, on 31 March 2009 South Africa became the first African country to introduce a feed-in-tariff for renewable energy (Gipe, 2009). The hope is that this initiative would stimulate the investment in green energy generation. Eskom and municipalities are currently the only entities that have licences from the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) to buy bulk electricity from power producers. The question therefore arises: if green electricity is more expensive to generate and is sold at a price premium to Eskom and municipalities, would they pass the premium on to consumers; can they differentiate the green electricity product and will consumers be willing to buy at a premium price? This research study aims to answer if businesses would be willing to pay a premium for green electricity, why they would be willing to buy it, which factors influence the purchasing decision and what barriers exist that will deter a purchase. A survey was conducted on businesses in the Western and Northern Cape of South Africa. The businesses sampled have a notified maximum demand of 50kVA or higher and excludes the re-distributor (City of Cape Town) customers. Approximately ten per cent of businesses would be willing buy green electricity. Most of these businesses have indicated that they are willing to pay a premium of five to nine per cent for green electricity. The businesses that are willing to pay the largest premiums (>10%) are in the electricity, gas, water, finance, insurance, real estate, business services, manufacturing, transport, storage and communications sector. Businesses that are willing to buy green electricity: • Have a strategy to reduce their carbon footprint; • Want to be community leaders (altruistic motivators); • Have as their biggest barrier the additional cost of green electricity; and • Feel that power utilities should be required to include a minimum percentage of green energy in their energy mix.

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Berning, Anika. "Sustainable supply chain engagement in a retail environment : the case of Woolworths food suppliers". Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/95997.

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Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Sustainability is a key requirement for business success and is often regarded a competitive advantage if strategically managed. Sustainability-mature organisations look to their value chains where the retailer-supplier relationship becomes critical in embedding sustainability. With this in mind, it has been established that a large South African retailer, Woolworths, has limited insight into the level of engagement in terms of sustainability with its key food suppliers, and no knowledge of the effectiveness of current tools used in enhancing their supply chain sustainability. This poses a problem, as it hinders the full implementation of Woolworth’s sustainability strategy across their value chain. In response to this, a study was undertaken to establish the level of engagement in terms of sustainability and obtain supplier feedback on the effectiveness of current tools used to enhance Woolworth’s supply chain sustainability. To facilitate this, the United Nations’ Global Compact and the Supply Chain Sustainability Guideline were utilised. Secondary research was conducted by means of a literature review covering the theoretical concepts of corporate social responsibility, sustainability, supply chain sustainability and retailer-supplier collaboration. The qualitative and exploratory nature of the study necessitated a case study research design, while the technique of purposive sampling was used to select the sample of three of Woolworths’ food suppliers. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews facilitated by an interview guide, and data analysis was conducted with Atlas.ti software. It was determined that the current engagement around sustainability between Woolworths and their suppliers is still at a basic and broad level, with a strong environmental focus. Additionally, monitoring and support of sustainability initiatives seems to be lacking. Managerial implications emphasise the importance of an integrated sustainability approach driven by the retailer and a strong focus on collaboration and communication with suppliers around ongoing sustainability challenges and opportunities. The United Nations Global Compact Supplier Engagement Continuum was utilised as a framework to map the current level of engagement and was amended for use in the South African context. Future research agendas suggest replica studies in other industries, and that the amended continuum should be tested and further refined for the South African context. In conclusion, specific propositions were formulated to aid future research.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Volhoubaarheid is ‘n sleutel vereiste vir besigheidsukses en word dikwels gesien as ‘n mededingende voordeel indien dit strategies bestuur word. Volhoubaar-volwasse organisasies fokus op hul waardekettings waar die kleinhandelaar-verskaffer verhouding krities is vir die implementering van volhoubaarheid. Met bogenoemde in gedagte, is dit bevind dat ‘n groot Suid-Afrikaanse kleinhandelaar, Woolworths, beperkte insig het aangaande die vlak van samewerking in terme van volhoubaarheid met sleutel voedselverskaffers. Verder is daar ook geen kennis oor die effektiwiteit van huidige tegnieke wat gebruik word om volhoubaarheid in hul waardeketting te bevorder nie. Dit skep ‘n probleem aangesien dit die effektiewe implementering van Woolworths se volhoubaarheidstrategie in hul waardeketting verhinder. Dus is ‘n studie onderneem om die vlak van betrokkenheid in terme van volhoubaarheid te bepaal, sowel as om terugvoer vanaf verskaffers in te samel aangaande die effektiwiteit van huidige volhoubaarheidsinisiatiewe. Om dit te fasiliteer was daar van die United Nations Global Compact en die Supply Chain Sustainability Guideline gebruik gemaak. Sekondêre navorsing was uitgevoer deur middel van ‘n literatuur studie wat fokus op die teoretiese konsepte van korporatiewe sosiale verantwoordelikheid, volhoubaarheid, waardeketting-volhoubaarheid, en kleinhandelaar-verskaffer samewerking. Die kwalitatiewe en ondersoekende eienskappe van die studie het gelei tot ‘n gevallestudie navorsingsontwerp, terwyl doelgerigte steekproeftrekking gebruik was om die steekproef van drie van Woolworths se voedselverskaffers te identifiseer. Data insameling het deur middel van semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude plaasgevind en was gefasiliteer deur ‘n onderhoudgids. Die data was verwerk en geanaliseer met behulp van Atlas.ti sagteware. Dit is bevestig dat die huidige samewerking tussen Woolworths en hul verskaffers, aangaande volhoubaarheid, steeds op ‘n basiese en breë vlak is met ‘n sterk omgewingsfokus. Addisioneel wil dit voorkom dat volgehoue monitering en ondersteuning van volhoubaarheidspogings tekort skiet. Bestuursimplikasies beklemtoon die belangrikheid van ‘n geïntegreerde volhoubaarheidsbenadering wat gedryf moet word deur die kleinhandelaar. Terselfde tyd word ‘n sterk fokus op samewerking en kommunikasie met verskaffers aangaande deurlopende volhoubaarheidsgeleenthede en –uitdagings benodig. Die United Nations Global Compact Supplier Engagement Continuum was gebruik as raamwerk om die huidige vlak van samewerking te bepaal en was aangepas vir die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks. Toekomstige navorsingsagendas stel voor dat replika studies in ander industrieë gedoen word, en dat die aangepaste kontinuum getoets en verder verfyn word vir die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks. Ten slotte was spesifieke proposisies geformuleer vir toekomstige navorsing.

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Rowe, Anna Lee. "Greening corporate dragon's environmental management and reporting in Shanghai". Phd thesis, Australia : Macquarie University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/26145.

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Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Macquarie Graduate School of Management, 2006.
Bibliography: p. 240-276.
Introduction -- "Greening" phenomena of corporate environmental management and reporting -- China's environmental management and reporting -- Research theoretical methodology -- "Evolutionary epic" of China's environmental management institutions -- Findings and conceptualisation of CEM and CER -- Further discussion and implications -- Conclusion.
What was once the preserve of a 'green' social organisational fringe, Corporate Environmental Management (CEM) and Corporate Environmental Reporting (CER), have increasingly become a core business strategy. Research studies in this arena have been centred on industrialised nations (e.g., Guthrie and Parker, 1990), and until recently, comparatively sparse focus on developing nations (Belal, 2000), particularly in empirical studies on CER in the People's Republic of China (PRC). -- As the most populous nation on earth with one fifth of humanity (1.3 billions), China's astounding economic growth and resource consumption (Economist, 2005), provide 'telescoping' lessons in understanding the embracing of CEM and CER in rapidly developing countries. Motivated by China's unique institutional structure and embryonic stage of environmentalism (Luo and Yuwen, 2001; Chan and Welford, 2005), this field study explored the 'greening' phenomena of CEM and CER as perceived by senior managers in Shanghai. -- Utilising a modified grounded research approach (Strauss and Corbin, 1990; 1994; Whiteley, 2004), the constructivist ontology was chosen to penetrate the social context of the companies interviewed. Grounded in the data and applying interpretive epistemology, this qualitative research elucidated our awareness about the normative assumptions underpinning CEM and CER in Shanghai. The emergent model illuminated our understanding of how Chinese institutions and senior individuals within enterprises responded to the greening challenges, and how senior managers matched their personal beliefs with perceived CEM and CER. -- The results in this study indicated that CEM and CER were influenced and/or constrained by formal institutional rules (e.g., environmental policies and laws) and informal cultural institutional norms (e.g., Guanxi, trust and secrecy). The findings resonate well with institutional theoretical constraints (Powell and DiMaggio, 1991; Fogarty, 1992a) and cognitive dissonance theory (Festinger, 1962). This is attributable to the dilemma of balancing the 'yin and yang' of long term environmental sustainability and short term economic growth.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
viii, 289 p. ill

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40

Wood, Dorothy. "The influence of environmental social controls on the capital investment decision-making of the firm : Australian evidence". Thesis, View thesis, 2002. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/228.

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Social controls influence the environmental performance of firms and require them to be more accountable for their environmental impacts. These controls include governmental interventions such as mandatory disclosure requirements, regulation and subsidisation, as well as less formal controls such as stakeholder opinion. This thesis examines the relative influence of environmental social controls on the acceptability of capital investment and provides insight into the perceptions of Australian managers concerning capital investment decision-making. An experiment is used to measure the relative influence of the four social control measures. This is supported by a survey to gauge firm size and industry influences and also a range of attributes of the controls on the capital investment decision. Experiment results suggest that the influence of stakeholder opinion on capital investment is very high and mandatory disclosure very low. The survey measured the influence of a range of indicators of each control and also firm size and industry effects. Firm size effects were weak while industry effects were much clearer and more consistent. A comparison of the influence of social control indicators and a range of financial and strategic indicators on the capital investment decision showed that the mainstream indicators had more influence.

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劉善棠 e Sin-tong William Lau. "Environmentalism, environmental performance standards, and the business sector in Hong Kong: assessing theimpacts of ISO 14000". Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2001. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B29873009.

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42

Yeung, Hiu-fun Chris, e 楊曉芬. "A study of green logistics in the third party logistics industry in Hong Kong". Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2011. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B48194104.

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The logistics industry is an imperative component of trade and a major contributor to economic growth in many countries. However, the logistics activities come along with severe negative environmental impact, particularly in freight transport which is considered the most important source of environmental hazards in a logistics system. Even though 3PLs have a key role in the logistics industry, only a limited number of studies have been conducted to analyze the greenness of their activities. Therefore, this study is done with the aim to examine the greenness of 3PLs in Hong Kong and to understand the key barriers that they face during green logistics implementation. This empirical research is conducted through case studies with eight 3PLs. An analytical framework which consists of eight green transport measures and nine influencing factors is developed to facilitate the research. The findings suggest that green logistics is evolving in the 3PL industry Hong Kong but it is still at a preliminary stage. It also shows that the number of green transport measures adopted by 3PLs in Hong Kong is lower as compared to the analyzed 3PLs’ headquarters in other countries. The study further reveals that 3PLs in Hong Kong tend to adopt those measures which directly bring cost benefits to the companies, such as, eco-driving, load factor optimization, route optimization and fleet management. Nevertheless, measures which require financial investment or trade-off of profit margin/operational efficiency, for example, fleet modernization and modal shift are not commonly adopted. Moreover, some of the green measures, such as, green fuel or vehicle are not adopted by the case companies simply because they are unavailable in Hong Kong. A number of practical barriers are derived from the case analyses. They are considered the main causes of slowing down green logistics development in the 3PL industry in Hong Kong. While different stakeholders play a role in overcoming the hurdles of the green logistics development, the Government is found to be the most influencing one as it can influence external as well as some of the internal barriers elicited by this study. Therefore, it should take a leading role in eliminating the barriers. At the same time, in order to comprehensively facilitate the progress of green logistics development, efforts and commitments from other stakeholders, i.e. 3PLs, industry associations and customers are required.
published_or_final_version
Transport Policy and Planning
Master
Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning

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43

Tshikila, Mzimasi Eschalaus. "Developing Exxaro (Pty) Ltd sustainable supply chain strategy". Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/80775.

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Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2011.
This exercise aimed at developing a sustainable supply chain strategy that was adopted by Exxaro Resources (Pty) Ltd. The focus of the approach was to assess the status of Exxaro’s supply chain sustainability compared to that of competitors operating in South Africa and the supply chain dimensions applicable to Exxaro’s scope (i.e. green inventory management, green warehouse/storage management, sustainable procurement or sourcing, sustainable supplier management and sustainable transport/business travelling). The strategy framework used includes a review of supply chain sustainability relating to Exxaro and the requirements thereof, depicting gaps, recommended actions or initiatives to close the gaps, an implementation approach and a schedule. The strategy sets out to distinguish Exxaro in supply chain sustainable development through the setting of guidelines, reporting standards and commitments to economic, labour, human rights as well as social and environmental well-being. The approach envisages collaborating with suppliers and Exxaro’s sustainable development department to continuously improve and embed positive sustainability practices within Exxaro’s supply chain processes. This research report highlights the progress already made with high-level sustainable supply chain management implementation by selected Exxaro competitors, relevant schools of thought and theories with the emphasis on bringing a link to opportunities for Exxaro to progress into supply chain sustainability. The relationship between supply chain practices, environmental performance, social and economic impacts was studied. The mining sector, with its history of negative impacts on societies and the environment, is continuously challenged by the increasing emphasis to demonstrate ethical, social and environmental performance and accountability throughout its business practices. The use of Exxaro as a practical case study limits the extent to which the recommended strategy can be generalised to any mining environment or company. Findings mentioned may be subject to further research by augmenting the scope to include mines operating outside of South Africa or additional mining entities and theories. The approach of the research included empirical studies in the form of in-depth interviews and questionnaire surveys on various internal stakeholders. Some information was obtained from the annual reports of Exxaro and a selected number of South African mining companies that are mining similar products to Exxaro. The data was analysed using statistical methods for social sciences with both qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods.

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44

Haupt, Lynn. "Innovation with flexible packaging of wine : Western Cape consumer reactions to pouch". Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/6405.

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45

Prabawani, Bulan. "An exploratory examination of the factors influencing Indonesian SME's sustainability practices in the textile and chemical industries". Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2013. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/576.

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All firms have an impact on the environment in which they operate, for example in the exploration and processing of environmental resources to make a profit. Manufacturing firms, in particular have the potential to pollute the environment with dangerous liquid and solid wastes. Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) make a significant contribution to the global economy in both developing and developed countries. Individually, SMEs appear to have little environmental impact, but accumulatively, they have a considerable impact, not only economically but also environmentally. However, managing environment impact is not usually core business for SMEs. SMEs often suffer from a lack of internal resources and capabilities. For example they can have limited access to credit given their high risk, limited warranty, and lack of managerial experience or track record in managing aspects such as financial, production, and sales data. In terms of environmental issues, SMEs often attract little attention from the media, although government does support environmental management initiatives. Consequently, SME owner managers can be indifferent to, or unable to implement, sustainability practices. Thus, natural resources become objects of exploitation or over exploitation. Although there are many differences in sustainability definitions, all definitions have at their heart the same objective, that is, how today‘s firms‘ needs are fulfilled such that they do not harm the future. This is evident in definition of sustainability in the business field as ―one that creates profits for its shareholders while protecting the environment and improving the lives of those with whom it interacts‖ (Savitz & Weber, 2006, p.x). Thus, the concept of sustainability is not one which is solely orientated to economic aspects or profit, but also to social and natural aspects, in terms of the triple bottom line (TBL) in undertaking business. Indonesian SMEs in the manufacturing industry are a source of significant employment; however, they suffer a range of issues. The Asian Development Bank (2005) reported that industrial waste and pollution in Indonesia is out of control, while regulation and enforcement by government is completely inadequate. Studies have shown Indonesia‘s chemical based manufacturers contribute to air pollution, contamination of water sources, and depletion of groundwater through improper and illegal disposal of solid and hazardous waste. The focus of this thesis is SMEs sustainability: perceived benefits, drivers for and barriers to sustainability. As such this is a study of the natural, social, and economic dimensions that make up the concept of sustainability in relation to Indonesian SMEs. The literature identifies a range of natural, social and economic factors influencing sustainability and these were collated into a model. Eight case studies of SMEs in the Central Java chemical and textile industries were undertaken to refine the measures in the model of sustainability. The overall sustainability of the case study firms was also assessed while hypotheses were constructed as to the relationships between constructs and firms sustainability practices based on firm types and size, as well as industry. A survey of 215 chemical and textile SMEs was then undertaken to test the refined model and develop a final model. The model was developed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) or a measurement model, which included some second order factors for dependent latent variables, and then followed by a structural model which combined each final measurement model. The final model was found to have a high fit (.971 CFI,/df, .041 RMSEA, and .081 RMR) with efficiency as a critical factor influencing sustainability practices. Overall the study found that sustainability practices were not first priority for these SMEs although they were more inclined towards the present interests in the Sustainable Value framework developed by Hart and Milstein (2003). Indonesian SMEs emphasised resource consumption and civil society issues. In terms of the level of sustainability this group of SMEs were found to have moved ‗beyond the level of legal compliance‘ in terms of their sustainability practices. While Hubbard‘s (2009) Sustainability Balanced Scorecard stresses a balance between the economic as well as the natural and social dimensions of sustainability, this balance was not evident for these Indonesian SMEs. The SME owner managers were also more concerned with the social dimension of sustainability and this was at odds with their perception of the government‘s concern being with the natural dimension of sustainability. However moral mandate was evident as a driver for the natural and social dimensions of sustainability as has been found in other studies of SMEs in developed countries such as New Zealand and the Netherland.

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46

Fanari, Natali. "SUSTAINABILITY ASPECTS AND THEIR IMPLEMENTATIONS IN ENERGY UTILITY COMPANIES: A CASE STUDY ON TWO MUNICIPAL ENERGY COMPANIES". Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för geovetenskaper, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-448601.

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Achieving the balance between the three sustainability aspects i.e., environmental, social, and economic has been a problem for many companies, where many of them still prioritize the economic aspect over the environmental and social aspects. Currently, many companies and energy utilities are going through major changes in their energy systems, and to be able to stay in the market and be competitive, they need to have clear and effective policies and a clear purpose. To examine the challenges that energy utilities are going through and are restraining them from balancing between the three pillars, a qualitative method has been used. Additionally, the solutions to these challenges and which organizations can help were also examined by interviewing two Swedish companies. The findings revealed that the challenges energy utilities were going through were related to knowledge (e.g., customer acceptance, cost, waste reduction, and consuming energy without exhausting the earth's resources). On the other hand, the solutions were knowledge, educating customers, citizens, and companies, getting help from the governments and politicians, such as encouraging the implementation of CSR, laws, and financial incentives. Knowledge has been perceived as the biggest challenge and solution for almost all companies, where increasing awareness and education campaigns would play a big role in solving the problems that companies are going through.

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47

Guan, Zhiliang, e 关芝良. "Corporate social responsibility in catering business in Hong Kong : current situation and the way forward". Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10722/194572.

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The development of catering business in Hong Kong is facing a wide range of challenges and issues, including the increase in operating costs, growing pressure from public prospection about healthier diets, food safety as well as environmental protection, etc. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), acting a brand new corporate strategy can be adopted to upgrade catering business industry structure and achieve long term sustainability. The aim of this study is to investigate the current performance of CSR in Hong Kong’s catering business in terms of its contribution to the well-being of the environment, community and economy. Using web-based questionnaires, relevant data was randomly collected from 16 restaurants located in the Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. The analysis and results indicate that 1) most managers from catering business have basic awareness of CSR concept and its benefits for corporations; 2) Only a minority of catering business in Hong Kong has adopted CSR; 3) Restaurants without CSR strategy have expressed strong willingness to implement CSR, most notably for small and medium sized restaurants; and 4) Among the five key CSR aspects, ethical procurement performed worst in the self-assessment system. In order to promote CSR into catering business, numerous recommendations are given. 1) Strengthening in education and training by government and interested organizations; 2) Providing incentives and policy support, establishing legislative regulation by government; and 3) Improving the quantity, quality and reliability of corporations communication with other stakeholders, such as disclosing CSR report.
published_or_final_version
Environmental Management
Master
Master of Science in Environmental Management

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48

Yu, Jieqiong, e 余洁琼. "The effectiveness of extended producer responsibility in motivating eco-design changes: perspectives from China'selectrical and electronics industry". Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2010. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B47185934.

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Extended producer responsibility (EPR) as a holistic approach to product stewardship has been increasingly incorporated into environmental policy agenda in the last two decades. One major expectation of EPR is to prevent environmental problems at source by providing appropriate incentives for product eco-design changes. However, available studies empirically examining the actual influence of EPR on eco-design are limited. This research therefore aims to fill the research gap by evaluating the effectiveness of existing EPR programmes in driving eco-design changes from the perspective of China’s electrical and electronic (EE) industry, and shed some light on the prospects of EPR development in China. Based on the analytical framework developed from reconstructed intervention theory, three intensive empirical studies have been carried out. The first study examines the perception and responses of 50 China’s EE manufacturers regarding the EU EPR programmes (i.e. the WEEE and RoHS Directives). The second study investigates the responses of 36 China’s EE manufacturers to the Chinese EPR programmes (i.e. China WEEE and China RoHS legislation) and identifies possible factors that exert causal impact on the occurrence of eco-design. In order to gain a deeper insight into the practical manifestations of effective EPR implementation in the private sector, three company case studies have been conducted in the third stage of the research, serving as an important supplement to the first two studies. The three studies show that EPR programmes in a stringent regulatory approach focusing on products’ environmental properties such as substance bans can exert strong influence on design changes. However, mandated recycling legislation seems to have little driving effect for companies to change product design. The research points to the weakness of collective producer responsibility that is currently adopted in many EU Member States for WEEE implementation in achieving continuous eco-design improvements. It highlights the significance of realising the principle of individual producer responsibility in EPR programmes for achieving this goal. Based on an attributability assessment, the research further shows that there are a number of factors that influence the adoption of eco-design in China, and the link between legislative EPR programmes and eco-design is complex and evolving. Not only may the EPR programmes have different existing, anticipating and potential effect on the incorporation of eco-design, but they may have very different driving influence on environmental laggards and leaders. In this regard, this research suggests that there is no one-stop solution for EPR in China. A mixed mechanism that integrates various policy instruments such as administrative, economic and informative instruments, in conjunction with cooperation and infrastructure facilities, would be the most effective means to implement EPR in the context of China, thereby achieving the goal of sustainable production and consumption.
published_or_final_version
Kadoorie Institute
Doctoral
Doctor of Philosophy

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49

Adam, Shalima. "Carbon disclosure and company performance : a portfolio performance approach". Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/21194.

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Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.
The objective of this research study was to investigate whether socially responsible companies that disclose their carbon emission, referred to in this research report as ‘carbon disclosure leaders’, outperform their non-disclosing counterparts, referred to in this research report as ‘carbon disclosure laggards’. This research study attempted to substantiate the relationship between companies’ carbon disclosure practices and companies’ share price performance. An empirical analysis was conducted with a focus on South African-listed Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) top-100 companies. A portfolio approach was utilised to establish if any significant relationship exists between company carbon disclosure and company share price performance. Portfolios were constructed based on companies that participated in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and were thus categorised into JSE industry sectors. It was assumed that by using industry-specific sectors, the macro-economic conditions would generally affect all companies in that specific sector in a similar way, thus enabling comparative analysis. The results from this study subsequently found, having done various analyses in terms of share price growth and carbon disclosure, that no significant correlation exists in terms of the CDP. This would, however, be correct in terms of the analysed data, which is limited at times, but cannot be necessarily inferred as a broader statement. Intuitively, it can be said that carbon disclosure and greater ratings in terms of the CDP would imply that companies are more positive in dealing with their carbon footprint, which would be more positive for their long-term existence and sustainability. Equally, it could also yield various cost savings that will translate into higher earnings and earnings per share that drive share price growth. In becoming more active in reducing the carbon footprint, companies would also reduce their risk profile since they would be better aligned to potential restrictive carbon emission legislation and improve their public profile, which could again boost profitability. Further arguments can be made to suggest that disclosure of a company’s carbon initiatives and footprint would benefit the company’s value and share price performance. Thus, having observed the outcomes of the analyses conducted in this report, the more appropriate question would be if other factors exist that could have affected the outcomes as observed and whether these factors could have overshadowed the proof that there is a positive correlation between share price growth and carbon disclosure.

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50

Du, Toit Ben-Johann. "The effects of eco-labelling on consumer behaviour in the non-foods fast-moving consumer goods category : a study of South African consumers". Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/85161.

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Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2011.
A global increase in environmental awareness and concern about issues such as climate change, resource depletion and higher levels of pollution are having a greater influence on the purchasing decisions and product selection of consumers. In a response to this trend and growing demand for eco-friendly products, manufacturers introduced goods suggested to have a less harmful impact on the environment. A growing number of environmental logos and unsupported claims caused consumer scepticism and created a need for certified environmental logos, which led to the introduction of eco-labels. To date, South Africa does not have a certified eco-label in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) non-food category. The application of eco-labels on products would allow South African consumers to identify eco-friendly options and incentivise producers to develop goods that are less harmful to the environment. In order to establish the requirements for a successful eco-labelling scheme, a literature review was conducted. Based on the findings, a consumer survey was carried out to determine whether there is a demand for eco-labelled goods in South Africa and whether an eco-labelling project will have a significant effect on consumer behaviour in the FMCG non-food category. Statistical analysis of the data revealed that consumers are concerned about the environment and that they will support eco-friendly goods, if the quality and performance are as good as regular products. The survey, however, revealed that consumers are of the opinion that eco-friendly products are not as effective as regular products. The analysis also found that consumers are price sensitive and not willing to pay a large premium for eco-friendly attributes. These are the two main obstacles hindering South African consumers to move to more sustainable consumption patterns. In the survey, consumers also indicated a need for an independent third party to verify environmental claims, manage eco-labels and audit producers to ensure that eco-friendly goods meet acceptable sustainability and quality standards.

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Tesi sul tema "Environmental aspects of business"

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