There are many documented environmental benefits to concentrating populations in cities. However, the impermeable nature of modern urban landscapes, which has been created by roads, buildings, and paved public spaces, has altered the natural cycle of water through today’s cities. As a result, a greater fraction of rainfall becomes runoff, creating stormwater pollution that degrades the very host environments needed to support city living. One attractive approach to urban stormwater management is the use of engineered and non-engineered vegetative systems to reduce the amount of rainfall that becomes runoff. When one considers the vast number of vegetative systems needed to bring about significant change, along with the variety of environmental niches in the urban landscape, it is clear that an array of “greening” strategies are needed. In turn, accurate performance data and models of these strategies are necessary to appropriately inform design and policy decisions. The research presented in this dissertation focuses on advancing the understanding, modeling, and design of three types of vegetated infrastructure with potential to address urban stormwater challenges: extensive green roofs, street trees, and vine canopies. The first research focus examines a nuance to a well-developed and well-studied technology: the extensive green roof. Nearly four years of environmental and runoff monitoring data from two full-scale extensive green roofs are used to determine how the time of year impacts hydrologic performance while considering the covariates of antecedent dry weather period, potential evapotranspiration and storm event size. Comparisons are made between thick and thin extensive green roof systems, and novel models are presented which account for seasonal variability. The second research focus evaluates the absorptive capacity of an existing type of urban vegetation: the street tree. In particular, this work looks at the permeability and infiltration capacity of the tree pit’s soil surface, which is often a controlling factor in the hydrologic performance of street trees. The resulting model links physical features of the tree pit to its ability to absorb water. Furthermore, the results indicate two simple, low-cost management strategies to improve urban stormwater capture via street trees. The third research focus explores the stormwater management potential for a new type of vegetated infrastructure: the horizontal vine canopy. Hydrologic performance data from sixteen vine canopies grown on a New York City rooftop are used to determine the capacity of the vines to retain stormwater, return water to the atmosphere via transpiration, and grow in the harsh rooftop conditions. Models and coefficients describing stormwater capture and plant transpiration are then presented and used to estimate the potential capacity of vine canopies to contribute to urban stormwater management. Exploration into new forms of vegetated infrastructure and facets of existing urban vegetation through the perspective of stormwater management has resulted in valuable findings and experimental methodologies. In several instances, these studies required new measuring equipment or sampling procedures, which were developed, validated, and made available for future research.

The purpose of this study is to explore remanufacturing as a sustainable waste management strategy for discarded clothing that may otherwise be directed to landfill. The central notion is that this is a response to the EU Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC which encourages the application of the 'waste hierarchy' - preference to eliminate waste at source, then, to reduce, reuse or recycle waste, and if impossible or impracticable, disposal in a responsible manner. Remanufacturing retrieves a product's inherent value when the product no longer fulfils the user's desired needs. The use of discarded clothes in a remanufacturing process could decrease clothing waste and contribute to resource conservation. Despite this, there has been little research into what is actually involved in the fashion remanufacturing process and how the process could be up-scalable to the mass market in order to have bigger environmental impact. A conceptual network consisting of textile sorters and recyclers, fashion remanufacturers and fashion retailers is examined through qualitative research. Experiential research and in-depth interviews were used to understand the process of fashion remanufacturing and the relationships that needed to be developed to up-scale the process in to mass market level. The fashion design process, as experienced by the designer, was described and the process models for individual processes were constructed and compared. The results of the comparison indicated a generic design process in fashion remanufacturing, showing the key phases. The generic remanufacturing process was compared with the mass market fashion design process to identify issues inherent when considering developing the process for mass market level and the potential for developing the conceptual framework was also examined. The originality of the investigation is that it identified the relationships between three key players in the conceptual network. A key factor that could account for business growth is the collaboration among key players along the reverse supply chain. The extent of business growth is dependent on the commitment and involvement of large fashion retailers.

Composite materials are widely used in various sectors such as aerospace, automotive and wind energy. Global increase of demand, particularly for fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) composites, unavoidably lead to high volumes of manufacturing and end of life waste. Currently, the most common disposal route for composite waste is through landfill. However, current and impending legislations such as Directive on Landfill of Waste (1999/31/EC) and End of Life Vehicle (ELV) Directive (2000/53/EC), have limited the amount of composite waste permitted for landfilling. In addition, production of virgin composite materials requires higher energy input in comparison to other counterpart materials such as steel and aluminium. This calls for an urgent need for composite waste to be recycled and reused in close loop and cross sector applications. The composite materials have a heterogeneous nature. Thermoset matrixes, which are used in most high grade applications, have three dimensional cross-linked structures which make melting and remoulding impossible. Such complex nature requires appropriate composite recycling technologies, a number of which are currently under research and development. At this early stage it is important to select and develop sustainable solutions in terms of economic performance and reduced environmental impact. Unfortunately at present, there is limited high integrity environmental related data in literature to help assess the life cycle benefits of composite recycling. This information is vital in exploring environmental credentials of composite recycling processes, and to ensure resource efficient use of manufacturing and end of life composite waste. The work reported in this PhD thesis deals with the investigation of energy demand of composite recycling processes. Composite waste and demand in the UK market was captured through Sankey diagrams. The diagrams, combined with environmental footprints of virgin material and recycling processes, were used to identify resource benefits of composite recycling initiatives. Furthermore, environmental data for mechanical recycling of glass fibre composites was derived through new and novel bottom up process science inspired mathematical energy modelling approaches. It was found that the process specific energy demand is dependent on the processing rate. The effects of key process variables in mechanical recycling on process energy demand and recyclate quality were also investigated. This study highlights the importance of selecting the right conditions for running recycling processes and generating recyclate with a high market value. Potential of new recycling techniques, namely high voltage fragmentation, was also assessed. Performance of the method, which was originally developed for fracturing rocks, was compared to the mature mechanical recycling process. The final part of this study used a life cycle assessment method to evaluate end of life options for an automotive composite product with the highlights on positive environmental impacts of recycling scenarios. Collectively, the findings from this study have brought together considerations on environmental and maturity status of composite recycling processes, into a comprehensive and updated analysis. The vision is that the knowledge integration between environmental and performance aspects will promote the concept of sustainable use of composite materials and a circular economy. The new datasets developed will enable end of life options for composite waste to be evaluated in life cycle assessment. In the absence of such information, the life cycle impact of composite material use in products cannot be fully or correctly evaluated.

Green Shipping Practices (GSPs) are a new and increasing trend in the shipping industry. This appears to be a response of the shipping industry to the increasing demand for sustainability in this industry sector. While these practices are gradually becoming acceptable, it is unclear what motivates shipping firms to engage in these practices. This research explored four theoretical perspectives to identify what theory adequately explains the adoption of GSPs and the impact on organisational performance. Through robust literature review, data collection and analysis the conceptualization and definition of GSPs (Lai et al, 2011) is validated. This research through industry case study fills the existing void in literature by identifying what factors influence the adoption of GSPs and how this affects organizational performance. This research adopted a case study approach to exploring the subject area. This is because the research area is still very new and there is little data and literature in this area. The findings suggest that GSPs adoption is largely driven by coercive influences. The research identified factors that influence GSPs adoption classifying them as drivers and enhancers. The research also identified the impact of GSPs on organisational performance classifying the impact as perceived benefits and constraints. The theoretical contribution of this research amongst others include the identification of Institutional theory as plausible explanation for GSPs adoption. Provides adequate explanation to GSPs adoption. Furthermore, this theory is extended to include the influence of moral conviction/values. The research also makes methodological contribution having made use of a qualitative approach in contrast to the prevailing quantitative approach used in similar studies.

The purpose of this study is to gain better understanding of the role of leadership in achieving sustainable business. I inquire how sustainability might be more embedded in the day-to-day operations of business beyond the rhetoric of strategic plans, vacuous mission statements and technological fixes. I am exploring how leadership might be embodied in behaviour to promote sustainable business practice. What approaches to leadership might we adopt that are more commensurate with the cyclical and relational nature of natural systems? How can we root discussions about leadership and sustainability in an understanding that both are socially constructed phenomena? This is the field to which my research aims to contribute an empirical study. What constitutes sustainable business practice remains unclear, and due to its very situated nature this is likely to remain the case. My research is prompted by reports in the literature suggesting that approaches taken to date to promote more sustainable ways of doing business have been limited and slow. Furthermore the mainly techno-centric approaches that have been applied in some cases are reputed to exacerbate the continued dualism between human activity and the environment. The leadership literature is swamped with books, conferences and workshops on the subject of sustainability. Despite this, a ‘how’ gap exists between the rhetorical ideals of sustainable business practice and their working application, which this situated inquiry addresses. This inquiry centres on a small to medium size service sector company comprising two hotels located in a small sea-side resort in the South West region of the UK. The philosophy of the company – known here for the purpose of anonymity as The Hotels – is to maintain a successful luxury hotel business whilst at the same time minimising its negative ecological impact. Undertaking a longitudinal ethnographic study, I witnessed first-hand the leadership challenges posed by working to uphold this philosophy. In conclusion, my findings do not highlight any one action, way of being or simple stepped approach. Instead they combine ways of thinking and behaviours, some of which run contrary to the dominant positivist paradigm; daring to do things differently enables a successful business to minimise its negative ecological impact.

O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar uma análise dos aspectos regulatórios e de comercialização sob a visão da sustentabilidade, com foco na questão de como a participação crescente das fontes consideradas incentivadas na matriz elétrica brasileira pode proporcionar benefícios energéticos e de redução nas emissões de gases de efeito estufa, contemplando possíveis aperfeiçoamentos regulatórios que possam vir a ser definidos pelas instituições do setor elétrico que detém essa competência. Destaca-se a seqüência de fatos que contribuíram para a ampliação da oferta das fontes alternativas (FA\'s), sublinhando: (i) a criação do Programa de Incentivo às FA\'s (PROINFA); (ii) o regramento para a comercialização de Energia Incentivada; (iii) o Mecanismo de Realocação de Energia (MRE); (iv) facilidades para compra de Geração Distribuída pelas distribuidoras, mitigar o risco de variação de mercado; (v) Leilões de Fontes Alternativas e (vii) Leilões de Energia de Reserva (LER). Nesse âmbito de análise, inclui-se uma aferição de risco de comercialização da Energia Incentivada e de como esse risco pode ser mitigado através de hedge contratual entre fontes incentivadas. Para avaliar e qualificar a sinergia entre energia eólica e da biomassa, que tem perfil de produção complementar às Pequenas Centrais Hidrelétricas (PCH\'s), foram realizadas simulações de análise de complementariedade de geração para identificar a melhor estratégia de contratação de energia, a fim de buscar a máxima receita líquida possível, atendendo restrições de risco. Finalmente, são apresentadas propostas de alterações regulatórias e comerciais que estão sendo discutidas no setor e que ainda não estão aprovadas, porém são consideradas relevantes e impactantes no que diz respeito à energia incentivada, destacando-se a possibilidade de cessão de energia excedente pelos consumidores livres e especiais; a criação de penalidades por alavancagem; a proposta de criação do Comercializador varejista; e dos certificados de energia (CEE\'s). / This work is aiming at to present an analysis of the regulatory aspects and commercialization, under sustainability point of view, focusing with special emphazis the question on how the increasing of incentivized sources participation in the Brazilian energy matrix can provide energy benefits and reduction of greenhouse emissions, considering possible regulatory improvements that may be defined by the adequate institutions of the Brazilian electrical sector (BES). Highlighting the sequence of events that contributed to increase the expansion of alternative sources (FA\'s), it should be worthwhile to stress: (i) the creation of the Incentive Program for FA\'s (PROINFA); (ii) the rules for the commercialization of the Energy with Incentive; (iii) the Energy Reallocation Mechanism (MRE); (iv) facilities for the purchase of Distributed Generation by distributors having the purpose of mitigating the market risk represented by the exposure to the short term market price (Market Cleasing Price); (v) Energy Auctions of Alternative sources (vii) Energy Auctions Reserve (LER). The context of the analysis carried out includes the assessment of commercialization risk affecting FA\'s and how this risk can be mitigated through of \"hedge\" contracts between different FA\'s. To evaluating and qualify the synergy between Wind and biomass plants, which has production with complementary profile to the Small Hydro Power (PCH\'s), simulations were performed to identify the best strategy to energy contracting, considering the objective of maximum profit under riskconstraints. Finally, some proposals of commercial and regulatory changes are presented, being important to emphasize that the quoted proposals are now in a discussion process in the BES, meaning that they are not approved yet. However, it is relevant to consider these news possibilities, as they impact the economic feasibility of incentivized energy, highlighting the possibility of to sell eventual surplus in the short term marketby free consumer; the creation of penalties for leverage; the creation of an agent focused on small free consumers (special consumers) commercialization, and energy certificates (CEE\'s).

Minority small business owners significantly contribute to national and local economies. Only 50% of small firm owners sustain their businesses longer than 5 years. The purpose of the multiple case study was to explore the management strategies that minority small business owners used to sustain their businesses for longer than 5 years. The study's population consisted of 4 minority small business owners in the midwestern region of the United States to explore management strategies necessary for maintaining minority small firm operations. The conceptual framework for the study was general system theory. Data sources included semistructured interviews, social media information, company documentation, and company website information. Based on the methodological triangulation of the data sources, analytical coding, and analyzing the data using a qualitative data analysis software, 3 themes emerged: networking with other small business owners, strategic planning, and building strong customer and employee relationships. The study findings might contribute to positive social change by providing knowledge about effective management strategies to minority small firm owners, thereby creating jobs, augmenting local and national economies, and increasing profitability.

This article talks about how to take a simple product design and make it into a larger business. It gives an overview of exhibiting at the world’s largest design fair in Milan, Italy, and what the response was from the exhibition. The result of the exhibition led to a larger photographic and narrative marketing that the design industry is really putting emphasis on. Becoming a successful professional requires not only being a good designer but also being an entrepreneur. The entrepreneurial path leading to a larger business project forms its identity through manufacturing and sustainable processes.

Although numerous efforts have been made to enact the concept of sustainability in schools around the world, a single, replicable model of sustainability education fails to exist. Without a replicable model to follow or adapt, educators looking to enact the concept of sustainability are left to their own devices for deciding what this orientation towards schooling might look like within the contexts of their communities and with respect tot eh normative agenda of schooling in their country. Such a process is challenging. It calls for--among other things--an examination of the core attitudes, beliefs, skills and behaviors that individuals are expected to possess as members of a sustainable society. This descriptive case study documents how the founding members of a secondary charter school worked together with students, parents and members of the local and regional community to create a school-wide model of sustainability education. It also documents the complexities involved with enacting sustainability in a charter school setting. Field observations, document analysis and participant interviews were the primary sources of data collected in this ten-month case study. Michael Fullan's (2007) Change Process Model and Elliot Eisner's (1992) conceptualization of schools as dynamic ecologies were used as theoretical frameworks for study design, data collection and analysis. Findings reveal how the founding members of this charter schools took an adaptive-emergent approach to designing sustainability education. Findings also reveal how the opening of this charter schools was met with resistance and how this resistance led the founders to make theoretical and structural compromises.

This thesis concerns the contribution of Buddhism to sustainability. It explores the impacts of Buddhism on the lives of nine individuals and the implications of these impacts for a sustainable world. This thesis regards sustainability as the most pressing issue at this junction in human history. It believes that the shift to sustainability requires profound individual and social transformations throughout the world and that such transformations necessitate the involvement of the spiritual traditions of the world. As one such tradition, Buddhism has the ability to impart principles and practices that have been applied in daily living for over 2,500 years to contemporary sustainability discourse. The modern idea of sustainability first became prominent in the international arena in 1980s when the Brundtland Commission enunciated its vision of the path to sustainability and referred to it as 'sustainable development'. However, this thesis contends that the concept of sustainable development was flawed from the beginning because it was founded on the idea of perpetual economic growth as the solution to environmental and social problems. Instead, the thesis forwards a holistic, systems approach to sustainability that regards human well-being as the ultimate goal. It adopts two theoretical conceptions of sustainability developed by Donella Meadows - the pyramidal framework for sustainability and the scheme of leverage points - as tools to analyse the contribution of Buddhism to sustainability. This thesis examines the literature on Buddhism and sustainability. It finds that Buddhism espouses many ecological and social values conducive to a sustainable philosophy of life. In addition, Buddhist economics has experienced rich theoretical developments in recent years and provides an alternative to mainstream economics based on growth. Buddhist economics has helped propel two Buddhist developmental paradigms - Bhutan's Gross National Happiness and Thailand's Sufficiency Economy - to the forefront of national agendas in their respective countries, thus demonstrating the renaissance of the application of Buddhist thinking in society. At the micro level, many communities around the world are attempting to translate the most fundamental principles of Buddhism into ways for harmonious living and in an attempt to combat the tide of environmental and social degradation. Thus, Buddhism is making an impact on sustainability at many levels around the world. However, this thesis finds little empirical evidence to demonstrate the effect of Buddhism on forms of personal transformation that leads to sustainable behaviour. This is despite the importance of the idea of transformation and personal growth in Buddhism. This empirical void leads to the aim of the thesis, which is to explore the ways in which the beliefs, practices and transformational tools within Buddhism can contribute to living sustainably. To achieve this aim, the methodology of mindful inquiry was employed. Mindful inquiry is a methodological union of East and West and integrates four perspectives: critical theory, hermeneutics, phenomenology and Buddhism. It is appropriate for a values-based research such as this one where the orientation of the researcher is critical to the outcome of the research. A method consistent with mindful inquiry is the basic interpretive qualitative study. The basic interpretive qualitative study used in this study combines elements from ethnography, case study, phenomenology and critical research. It was used to explore the lifeworlds of nine Buddhist participants in order to understand the impact of Buddhism on their lives. The major data gathering technique was in-depth interviews although participant observation and document collection were also used. Analysis of data proceeded through the constant comparative method. The findings from this thesis are divided into three themes. Firstly, the idea of personal sustainability is forwarded as a concept to help understand the impact of Buddhism. Personal sustainability concerns the psychological 'integratedness' of individuals to enable the achievement of higher levels of well-being. The findings suggest that Buddhism has significantly enhanced the personal sustainability level of all nine participants. Secondly, Meadows' ideas of paradigm shift and paradigm transcendence are explored. The findings suggest that paradigm shifts or paradigm transcendence have occurred among the participants through the adoption of Buddhist principles and meditative practices. Thirdly, the notions of happiness and purpose in life are investigated. The findings highlight radical changes in the participants' understandings of these notions and the nature of these understandings that are significantly different from conventional views. As a result of these findings, the thesis argues that the contribution of Buddhism to sustainability can be considerable because Buddhism contributes to the protection of natural capital, the enrichment of social and human capitals, and a deepened understanding of well-being, which is divorced from simplistic ideas such as material accumulation and sensual gratification. The thesis concludes by highlighting the potentials of Buddhism to instigate profound personal and social transformations that could lead to a sustainable world.