This thesis discusses environmental partnerships, in which an NGO and corporation collaborate to address mutual goals. I begin by discussing the goals of environmental partnerships before reviewing a brief history of these partnerships, the current state of the partnerships landscape, and partnership trends across industries and within NGOs. Next, I examine the potential benefits and drawbacks to partnering for both public and private participants. Finally, strategies for corporations, NGOs, research institutes, academia, and government to enable the creation and maintenance of successful partnerships are proposed to address critical environmental issues in the absence of effective regulation.

The purpose of the thesis is to reveal and address macro-environmental sustainability problems in thefashion industry. A qualitative research approach was used to reach the purpose. Throughout the empirics, theexisting literature was studied, and two case studies were carried out. The one about Hennes and Mauritz isbased on secondary data by using its sustainability report, and in the other case, primary data were obtainedabout Ekovaruhuset, an ecological fashion company, through a face-to-face interview. It was found that thefashion industry has a significant environmental impact and often violates the fair labour practices throughout itssupply chain. The root causes of the unsustainable operation are the labour-intensity, water and chemicalintensity throughout the fashion supply chain, and the lack of political and legal regulations in the producingcountries. These problems can be addressed by careful sourcing, and higher control over the cotton growers,fabric mills and suppliers. In addition, using and developing eco-friendly raw materials, like organic cotton, andfabrics reduce the environmental impact. It can be concluded that there is much room for sustainabledevelopment in the fashion industry, but there are corporate social and environmental responsibility endeavoursfrom both small and big companies.

This thesis discusses environmental partnerships, in which an NGO and corporation collaborate to address mutual goals. I begin by discussing the goals of environmental partnerships before reviewing a brief history of these partnerships, the current state of the partnerships landscape, and partnership trends across industries and within NGOs. Next, I examine the potential benefits and drawbacks to partnering for both public and private participants. Finally, strategies for corporations, NGOs, research institutes, academia, and government to enable the creation and maintenance of successful partnerships are proposed to address critical environmental issues in the absence of effective regulation.

This paper examines the hitherto neglected conservation movement in British Columbia after the Second World War. During the 1950s and early 1960s, the British Columbia Natural Resources Conference (BCNRC) and Roderick Haig-Brown were the province's most vocal and authoritative proponents of natural resource conservation. The BCNRC (1948-1970) held roughly annual conferences of leading bureaucrats, industry administrators and academics, who promoted scientific research and proposed resource management policies. Haig-Brown (d. 1976) was a well-known fishing writer and vocal conservationist who attended most of the conferences up to 1961 and wrote a popular book on natural resources for the BCNRC. Their activities generated public awareness of and concern for conservation during a period of rapidly expanding resource extraction. Although the common goal of prudent and rational resource use united Haig-Brown and the conference's managerial elite in the immediate postwar period, their conservation philosophies increasingly diverged after 1961. The ideals they articulated were rooted in the changing discourse about nature, which was deeply influenced in this period by the emerging science of ecology. However, ecological concepts led Haig-Brown and the BCNRC to different conclusions about how to deal with increasing resource use and environmental degradation. While the conference used ecology and economics to justify a regime of scientific resource management, Haig-Brown developed a critique of resource development based on humans' ethical responsibility for maintaining the integrity of ecosystems. This rift in conservation thought, and the public debate these conservationists generated, presaged the rise of environmentalism in the late 1960s.

Samhället har under de senaste decennierna börjat ställa mer krav på att företag ska implementera hållbarhetsarbete i sin dagliga verksamhet. Det finns dock företag som väljer att bortse från dessa förväntningar då de anser att hållbarhetsarbete har en negativ inverkan på lönsamheten i form av ökade kostnader, till exempel genom omstruktureringar och utbildningar. De företag som inte har valt att arbeta hållbart är de företag som inte har en långsiktig syn på hållbarhetsarbete och inte heller kunskap om de fördelar som det kan leda till, både för företaget i sig, miljön och samhället i stort. En undersökning har visat att flera börsnoterade bolag i Sverige fortfarande har mycket att arbeta med inom hållbarhetsområdet. Däremot ökar medvetenheten kring att företag kan medverka till en mer hållbar utveckling. Den forskningsfråga som då blir aktuell är hur börsnoterade bolag i Sverige förenar lönsamhet och hållbarhet med fokus på miljöansvar. Syftet med studien är att försöka identifiera de faktorer som bidrar till en hållbar verksamhet utan att ha en negativ påverkan på lönsamheten. Det är kvalitativ metod som tillämpas i studien. Kvalitativ metod utgår från att undersöka problemet på djupet och kan även visa hur totalsituationen ser ut vilket kan vara till hjälp då undersökningen behandlar olika stora företag i olika branscher. Det har genomförts intervjuer med chefer inom aktuellt område på sju olika bolag som är noterade på Nasdaq OMX och finns på listorna large, mid eller small cap.  Till stöd för studien kommer problemet och empirin att analyseras utifrån intressentteorin och legitimitetsteorin då intressenter och legitimitet kan påverka hållbarhetsarbetet och lönsamheten i ett företag.  Studien visar att bolag måste ha en långsiktig syn på hållbarhetsarbete för att det ska kunna gynna både miljön och lönsamheten. För att kunna förena lönsamhet och hållbarhet är utbildning grundläggande för samtliga inom organisationen då hållbarhetsarbetet måste integreras i varje del för att det ska få bästa möjliga effekt. Den kostnad som uppstår vid implementering av hållbarhetsarbete är endast kortsiktig och ses också som det enda negativa med att arbeta hållbart.  Det har även visat sig att det finns en förväntan från intressenterna att bolagen ska arbeta hållbart. Genom att uppfylla den förväntan som finns skapas legitimitet och förtroende vilket i sin tur har en positiv inverkan på alla berörda parter. / Society has in recent decades begun to make more demands on companies to implement sustainability initiatives in their daily operations. However, there are companies that choose to ignore these expectations when they consider their sustainability efforts to have a negative impact on the profitability in form of increased costs, such as restructuring and education. The companies who have not chosen to work sustainably is the companies that do not have a long term view of sustainability efforts, nor knowledge of the benefits that it can lead to, both for the company itself, the environment and society. A study has shown that several listed companies in Sweden still has much to work within terms of sustainability. However, it raises awareness that companies can contribute to a more sustainable development. The research question that becomes pertinent is how listed companies in Sweden combines profitability and sustainability. The purpose of the study is to identify the factors that contribute to a sustainable business without having a negative impact on the profitability. It is a qualitative method used in the study. Qualitative method assumes that the problem should be investigated thoroughly and can also show the overall situation which can be helpful when the survey deals with various sized companies in various industries. The study is based on interviews with sustainability managers in seven companies listed on the Nasdaq OMX and in the lists large, mid or small cap. In support of the study, the problem and the empirical data will be analyzed based on the stakeholder theory and legitimacy theory, as stakeholders and legitimacy can affect the sustainability work and profitability of a company. The study shows that companies need to have a long term view on sustainability work for it to be beneficial for both the environment and the profitability. Education within the organization is fundamental in order to reconcile profitability and sustainability. To get the best effect, sustainability must be integrated into every part of the company. The cost incurred in the implementation of sustainability initiatives is only short term and is also seen as the only negative thing about working sustainably. It has also been shown that there is an expectation from stakeholders that companies are to work sustainably. By fulfilling the expectations, the sustainability work will create legitimacy and trust, which in turn has a positive impact on all stakeholders.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Texas, Aug., 2007. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Wheaton College Graduate School, 2003. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-102).

Thesis (M.A.)--Wheaton College Graduate School, 2003. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-102).

Thesis (M.A.)--Wheaton College Graduate School, Wheaton, IL, 2003. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-102).

Thesis (M.A.)--Wheaton College Graduate School, Wheaton, IL, 2003. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-102).