Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This work has as purpose to contribute to the understanding, from a study of case, of the phenomenon of the social and environmental responsibility of the companies. The question is boarded under the perspective of as the social and environmental aspects involved in the activities of the company are treated and prepared for their strategies and policies and how they can contribute to the establishment of their reasons and ways of action. The methodology used was qualitative based in a content analysis on the annual reports of sustainability of the company and on a composed questionnaire of relative questions to the subject answered for the same one. What we found was that Aracruz Celulose incorporates social and environmental variables within a capitalist economic rationality. These variables are operationalized in their strategies and actions to generate competitive advantage, market access, and to generate confidence among the various publics with which the company relates, which, in turn, tends to extend the horizon predictability in social and financial markets, increasing the company's ability to plan their actions. The research highlights the importance of markets and consumers as elements capable of raising issues related to environmental and social interests and values to the category of variables of business management conformation. The work was divided into four chapters, the first three (Social Theory, Environment and Environmental Sociology, Environment vs. Business and Market; Economic Field and Business Racionality) consist of a literature review, the fourth (Case Study: The Social and Environmental Rationality of Aracruz Celulose) deals with the analysis and discussion of results. The last section is for the final remarks. / Este trabalho tem como finalidade contribuir para a elucidação, a partir de um estudo de caso, do fenômeno da responsabilidade socioambiental das empresas. A questão é abordada sob a perspectiva de como os aspectos sociais e ambientais envolvidos nas atividades da empresa são assimilados e elaborados por suas estratégias e políticas, e em que medida podem contribuir para a conformação de suas razões e meios de ação. A metodologia empregue foi qualitativa, baseada numa análise de conteúdo sobre os relatórios anuais de sustentabilidade da empresa e sobre um questionário composto de perguntas relativas ao tema respondido pela mesma. O que se constatou foi que a Aracruz Celulose incorpora as variáveis sociais e ambientais dentro de uma racionalidade econômica capitalista. Estas variáveis são operacionalizadas nas suas estratégias e ações para geração de vantagem competitiva, acesso a mercados, e para a geração de confiança entre os diversos públicos com os quais a empresa relaciona-se, o que, por sua vez, tende a estender o horizonte de previsibilidade nos ambientes sociais e no mercado financeiro, aumentando a capacidade da empresa em planejar suas ações. A pesquisa assinala a importância dos mercados e do consumidor como elementos capazes de elevar aspectos ligados a interesses e valores socioambientais à categoria elementos conformadores da gestão empresarial. O trabalho foi dividido em quatro capítulos, os três primeiros (Teoria Social, Meio Ambiente e a Sociologia Ambiental; Meio Ambiente versus Empresas e Mercado; Campo Econômico e Racionalidade Empresarial) consistem de revisão bibliográfica, o quarto (Estudo de caso: A Racionalidade Socioambiental da Aracruz Celulose) trata da análise e discussão dos resultados. A última seção é destinada às considerações finais.

The raising awareness of sustainable strategies within businesses has resulted in corporations becoming more conscious of sustainable development. As concerns about the environment and global climate change increases with carbon emissions as a cause, companies are now considering the extent of their emissions, their so-called carbon footprint. Due to the fact that organizations are starting to recognize the need to engage in sustainability initiatives; it is integral to success to communicate that they are doing so. This research therefore attempts to provide a better understanding of how international corporations communicate their carbon footprint to key stakeholders. To reach this purpose, three research questions was stated. Based on these questions, a literature review was conducted, resulting in a conceptual framework which guided the data collection. Methodologically, a cross-case analysis has been conducted on three international corporations, LKAB, DIAB Group AB and BillerudKorsnäs. The case study included qualitative semi-structured interviews with sustainability- and communication managers and a content analysis of information available through the corporations’ communication channels.  The analysis showed that neither of the three corporations have a clear strategy for their carbon footprint communication. The corporations have implemented sustainability and carbon emissions well within the organization, but they only communicate this to a small extent externally. Through this, there is a difficulty in involving stakeholders in questions regarding the corporations’carbon footprint and allowing this dialogue to be included in the communication. The findings indicate that it is important to let sustainability be a part of the overall communication and to focus on what the company see value in. Finally, we have come to the conclusion that better strategies are needed in order for corporations to communicate their carbon footprint more effectively to stakeholders, as well as methods for how companies can report their carbon footprint to a greater extent.

This case study presents the factors that define a sustainable entrepreneurship in theory and how a sustainable business can be presented in practice. The questions that will be answered are: (1) How do Oatly and Saltå Kvarn implement sustainable practices within their organisations? (2) How do the representatives of Oatly and Saltå Kvarn perceive the impact that sustainable practices have on business results? (3) How do the representatives of Oatly and Saltå Kvarn use sustainability to create innovation? (4) How are attitudes and values related to the organisation of sustainable practices in Oatly and Saltå Kvarn? Also, I will present how different practices of sustainable business is related to each other and how it can be implemented in theory. To retrieve as much useful information as possible I have collected material by conducting a literature study and semi-structured interviews with one representative from Oatly ab and one representative from Saltå Kvarn ab. The interviews aim to give the reader of this thesis an in-depth and detailed perspective of the chosen organisations. I conduct a qualitative research method where my aim is to present an exemplification of the subject and provide the reader with a deep analysis of the chosen companies in the paper. There are several motives behind why a company choose to move in a more sustainable direction and therefore engage in some practices. There might be a strong value based core at the foundation of the business or it can be a reaction of the trends in society. The reasons are many, and it is possible to see the different engagements in different levels of socio-economic management thinking. Businesses that are engaged in single issues can be defined as mere philanthropy or a compliance issue. Corporations that have taken their engagements one level further see their responsibilities related to their core business. That is, it is integrated within their business model. These firms can engage in explicit responsibility management or integrative business models. The thesis is concluded in the definition of sustainable entrepreneurship where the business itself contributes to urgent societal as well as ecological challenges by having it in their core competences. By having this new innovative approach, the sustainable entrepreneurship at its finest would increase value for business as well as increased value for society by fostering social innovations.

Submitted by Nadir Basilio (nadirsb@uninove.br) on 2017-06-05T19:55:24Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Adelita Aparecida Podadera Bechelani Bragato.pdf: 1625812 bytes, checksum: 95413ba53ca51266c229f67ad3d1ee8a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-05T19:55:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Adelita Aparecida Podadera Bechelani Bragato.pdf: 1625812 bytes, checksum: 95413ba53ca51266c229f67ad3d1ee8a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-23 / Globalization brought with it positive and negative effects and, among the negative effects, it was possible to observe the companies' search for profit at any cost, even if, for that, there was violation of labor rights, environmental impacts, discrimination, unfair competition, misleading advertising , etc. However, in recent years, a paradigm shift has begun to emerge, both from consumers and stakeholders, who are increasingly looking for ethical, transparent and accountable products and companies.This paradigm shift forced companies to change their profile and reinvent themselves, otherwise it would lose its reputation, a very important factor for business sustainability. It is irrefutable that companies seek the profit necessary for their maintenance, however, this can no longer be the main factor, that is, companies should also observe ethical standards, transparency, social responsibility in order to comply with praise The corporate social function. Thus, the problem that the research faces is whether compliance would be the appropriate tool for the company to fulfill its social function without losing the much needed profit for its maintenance. So, in order to respond to the present questioning, the research, through the hypothetical-deductive method, seeks to address the emergence of the company, as well as the forms of companies accepted by Brazilian law. Subsequently, it seeks to analyze ethics, transparency, social responsibility as forms of corporate sustainability, and, finally, to enter the subject of compliance, object of this work. In response to the problem, it is understood that compliance will allow the company to trace a successful trajectory with ethics and transparency. / A globalização trouxe consigo efeitos positivos e negativos e dentre os efeitos negativos, pôde ser observado a busca das empresas pelo lucro a qualquer custo, ainda que, para isso, houvesse violação de direitos trabalhistas, impactos ambientais, discriminação, concorrência desleal, propaganda enganosa, etc. No entanto, nos últimos anos começou a surgir uma mudança de paradigma tanto por parte dos consumidores, quanto pelos stakeholders que, buscam cada vez mais produtos e empresas éticas, transparentes e responsáveis. Essa mudança de paradigma obrigou as empresas a mudarem seu perfil e se reinventar, caso contrário, perderia sua reputação, fator esse muito importante para a sustentabilidade empresarial. É irrefutável que as empresas buscam o lucro necessário à sua manutenção, no entanto, isso não pode mais ser o fator principal, ou seja, as empresas também deverão observar os padrões éticos, a transparência, a responsabilidade social, a fim de cumprir com louvor a função social empresarial. Dessa forma, a problemática que a pesquisa enfrenta é se o compliance seria a ferramenta adequada para a empresa cumprir sua função social sem deixar de auferir o lucro tão necessário à sua manutenção. Assim, com o intuito de responder ao presente questionamento, a pesquisa, por meio do método hipotético-dedutivo, busca abordar o surgimento da empresa, assim como as formas de empresas aceitas pelo Direito brasileiro. Posteriormente busca analisar a ética, a transparência, a responsabilidade social como formas de sustentabilidade empresarial para, finalmente adentrar ao tema compliance, objeto do presente trabalho. Em resposta à problemática, entende-se que o compliance permitirá à empresa traçar uma trajetória de sucesso com ética e transparência.

[pt] Este trabalho teve como objetivo abordar a sustentabilidade empresarial pelo viés das competências organizacionais e individuais, buscando identificar as competências necessárias para suportar o Plano de Sustentabilidade do Grupo EBX, - holding que concentra sua atuação nos setores de infraestrutura e recursos naturais - sob a visão dos profissionais da empresa, bem como sugerir estratégias de Recursos Humanos para apoiar o desenvolvimento e/ou manutenção destas competências. Para tal, foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa, utilizando-se entrevistas abertas e um questionário fechado com os profissionais da área de Sustentabilidade. O conteúdo das entrevistas foi categorizado e analisado assim como os resultados dos questionários para posterior discussão com os profissionais da área de Recursos Humanos com o objetivo de se estabelecer ações estratégicas de recursos humanos, englobando a visão desses sujeitos. Como resultado da pesquisa, foram identificadas competências anteriormente previstas pela literatura e pelo modelo de competências do Grupo e de seu Plano de Sustentabilidade, e também, foram identificadas novas competências. Além disso, foi identificado o papel da área de Recursos Humanos no apoio à formação da cultura e valores da organização, e identificadas possíveis implicações estratégicas para a área de Recursos Humanos para o apoio ao desenvolvimento e manutenção dessas competências, objetivando também um maior alinhamento estratégico entre as áreas de Recursos Humanos e Sustentabilidade. / [en] This research approaches Corporate Sustainability by the individual and organizational competencies perspective. The main objectives were to identify the necessary competencies to support the EBX Group s – holding that focuses its activities in the infra-structure and natural resources sectors - Sustainability Plan, by capacitating the company s employees, as well as suggesting Human Resources strategies to support the development and maintenance of these competencies. For this purpose, a qualitative research was conducted. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and the application of a questionnaire to Sustainability professionals. The content of the interviews was categorized and analyzed as well as the results of the questionnaires, to be use in following discussions with Human Resources professionals, aiming the establishment of Human Resources strategic actions embracing their points of view. As a result, competencies provided by the literature, by the EBX s competencies model and its Sustainability Plan and also new competencies were identified. Furthermore, it was identified the Human Resources role on shaping the organizational culture, values and strategic implications to support sustainability competencies development and maintenance, aiming a greater strategic alignment between Human Resources and Sustainability areas.

Background: The automotive industry is more often subject to pressure and scrutiny from consumers, environmental organizations, as well as state regulators. Therefore, this industry is making major investments in implementing a robust CSR strategy in order to tackle these ramifications. The discussion among academia asserts that CSR does not always contribute to creating value, and this leads to the assumption that the implementation of CSR may be detrimental for some companies. Thus, it is questionable whether companies can create shared value through the mediating role of CSR. Considering the automotive industry as among the largest and most criticized industries from a CSR point of view, it was worth to investigate the topic of creating shared value through the mediating role of CSR under this context. Purpose: The overall purpose of this thesis is to broaden and deepen the knowledge about how companies can create shared value through the mediating role of CSR in the automotive industry. Method: In order to attain the research purpose, we conducted a qualitative content analysis, used an inductive approach, and collected the primary data through semi-structured interviews. A total of eight interviews were held with participants, and the respondents were representing car dealerships and automobile manufacturers. Conclusion: Throughout the analysis, we have identified eight dimensions that impact shared value creation for the companies. These dimensions are CSR initiatives, employee relations, consumer relations, supply chain collaboration, local businesses partnership, the potential of local cluster, government regulatory compliance, and barriers to CSR. We have therefore developed a framework to orientate managers on how to tailor a CSR strategy that takes into consideration the aforementioned dimensions, and eventually create shared value.

Problem: A decisive majority of Swedish firms are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and studies indicate that most of these lack, among other things, financial resources, which often limit smaller firms from implementing sustainable practices. Since SMEs compete with larger enterprises, with more established departments and therefore, they cannot strategize their sustainability work to the same extent. The problem emerges when requirements from stakeholders, based on the 2030 agenda, cannot be met due to lacking organizational abilities. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to gain an understanding of how sustainability consultants support SMEs in their sustainable development work. The research, therefore, investigated the practical processes of consultants when they work with SMEs. The varying processes between sustainability consultants will also be investigated, so similarities and differences can be discovered in their processes. Method: The research conducted follows a grounded theory, an exploratory approach, an abductive research design, all under an interpretive philosophy. The primary data collected consists of semi-structured interviews with sustainability consultants in the Jönköping area. Following the grounded theory, this included three stages of analysis namely open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. During selective coding, it is critical to use an abductive design to ground the empirical findings in existing literature and theory. The analyzed findings were thereafter transformed into a proposed model which is supported by both the empirical findings and theory. Conclusion: Sustainability consultants can support SMEs with their knowledge and expertise when developing sustainable business practices in smaller firms. This research also contributes to a proposed model that shows the process for SMEs and further explains how SMEs and consultants can work together to develop strategic goals for regenerative firms. However, it is noted that contextual factors and specific gains in knowledge cannot be conveyed in a model. Although, describing the processes of knowledge transfer using an adaption of agile methodology was found suitable for this study. Conclusively, the model’s success is highly based on contextual factors such as firm maturity and the knowledge of the consultant in the specific field under development.

Companies all over the world are seeking ways to address sustainability related issues, both to meet external expectations and as a way to find opportunities for growth and innovation. Many attempts have been made in providing descriptions and guidance in how sustainability can be adopted within corporations. However, much of earlier research has focused on the manufacturing industry where materials and production processes are central in the concept. How sustainability can be incorporated in service industries, more specifically by IT service providers (ITSPs), is a somewhat unexplored area even though the potential for sustainability related risks as well as opportunities are high. Previous research in this area that has set out to construct models of this phenomenon has not managed to consider the characteristics of  ITservice providers to the fullest. This study has investigated how ITSPs can incorporate sustainability into business practices through a multiple-case study with four ITSP and one technical consulting company. The data has been collected through interviews and document analysis, and analyzed both separately nd by comparison. Additional interviews were held with experts and professionals with relevant knowledge to strengthen the findings. This study resulted in model that can serve as an analytical tool and presentation format  hen incorporating sustainability in business practices within the IT Professional service industry. The results showed that incorporation of sustainability in practices needs to be divided in two main categories; incorporating sustainability in internal operations and incorporating sustainability in customer offerings. Within these categories the study identified a number of activities that ITSPs can undertake to incorporate sustainability and what outcomes they may have. It was concluded that the activities in within internal operations were primarily focused n building trust towards customers. The study also showed that incorporating  ustainability in customer offerings can be done to different extent with different outcomes. The critical activities to successfully incorporate sustainability in customer offerings has been described in the study and visualized in a 3-level map to further provide guidance. A main finding within this category was that interaction with the customer is crucial to successfully deploy service offerings that incorporate sustainability. The results can be generalized to other ITSPs in similar settings and parts can also be argued to be adoptable to other companies in the professional service industry that rely on intense technology.

Modern businesses are trying to employ sustainability as part of their business structure. The alongside terms internal control and corporate social responsibility has also become a key concern for businesses in the ever changing business environment. Changes in business environment are unavoidable. In this paper, we have tried to link these three terms together. We have tried to find out the role of internal control and corporate social responsibility in sustainability of a business. We have selected Boeing as our case as it is a reputed giant corporation, who has practice COSO internal control framework and corporate social responsibility (CSR). We have discussed the models related to the terms and tried to find out how the company used those model into their organization. This paper also tried to find out if there is any direct link between internal control and CSR with a company being sustainable and profitable. Our study showed Boeing’s proper adaptation of COSO framework and CS model. Nevertheless, the study could not suggest any clear connection of internal control and CSR as a key mean for sustainability or profitability. However, a clear rise in goodwill has pointed out in the paper that could be a key outcome from effective internal control and CSR.

Background: The importance of sustainability is growing; however, the mindset of many businesses remains in the profit-driven take-make-waste economy, aiming for limitless growth. Humanity cannot continue with business-as-usual, and a paradigm shift must occur to ensure a future for the planet. SMEs represent 99% of the businesses in the EU, and to ensure a safer tomorrow for all, they need to evolve to reach sustainable development and capture the opportunities of regenerative strategies. Nevertheless, regenerative business practices are not widely appropriated in practice. Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to explore the phenomenon of regenerative businesses on SME level through the perspective of Swedish sustainability consultants. The authors aim to gain an understanding of the transformation processes in order to investigate if SMEs can reach a regenerative stage and, if so, how? Method: The study was conducted with an inductive qualitative approach under the interpretivism paradigm, and a multiple case study approach was chosen to best capture the phenomenon. The primary data was collected through semi-structured interviews with sustainability consultants from various SMEs in Sweden, and a thematic data analysis was conducted to interpret the empirical findings to relate them to the theories presented. Conclusion: The findings pointed to eight factors that enable and restrict SMEs in transitioning to a regenerative phase. Internally, SMEs are impacted in their transition by the mindset, values, sustainability awareness, strategy and communication, and the organizational structure of the business. In addition, the main external factors influencing the transition are the ambiguity regarding the sustainability concept and pressure from various stakeholders. The findings also highlighted the interconnectedness of the factors and the importance of a paradigm shift to whole systems thinking.