Issuing environmentally aligned green bonds has become an increasingly popular way to raise capital for green investments during the last decade. This thesis explores potential pricing differences between green and conventional bonds, known as the green premium, on the Swedish secondary bond market. Prior green bond research is inconclusive regarding the direction, size and even existence of such a premium. By creating a sample of 50 matched pairs of green and conventional bonds, we show an average positive green premium of 10 bps on the Swedish market, indicating that Swedish green bonds trade at higher yields than their conventional counterparts. We also study whether the size of the green premium is affected by credit ratings and third-party green certification but find no evidence of such effects. Overall, the results from this thesis add to current green bond research by showing a positive green premium, but the lack of shown effects from credit ratings and green certification indicate that further study is needed to fully understand the pricing mechanisms of green bonds.

Tax incentives such as investment tax credit and taxable income deductions related to the environment and climate change are becoming more popular. Introducing tax incentives related to the environment and climate change helps meet the sustainability objectives of growth and development. Many countries worldwide are taking serious steps to counter the mounting challenges due to changing climatic conditions. To meet the sustainability goals, Sweden has set a goal to lower greenhouse gas emissions by 55% in 2030 compared to 1990. In this regard, it is imperative to reflect on the tax incentives provided by the Swedish government in terms of the investment tax credit. It is significant to investigate the beneficiaries of the Swedish government's tax incentives. We selected the top 100 listed companies on the Swedish stock market, Nasdaq Stockholm, to answer this question from 2017 to 2019. Our dependent variable is a dummy indicating 1 for firms who took advantage of the investment tax credit and 0 otherwise. We use ESG scores to construct our dependent variable. Because a higher ESG score reflects a more sustainable approach to production by firms. Therefore, we use dummy 1 for firms on the top of ESG ranking and 0 otherwise. We use different firm-level characteristics as the independent variables, such as age, size, investment, capital, assets, capacity, net capital, and net income. We use a longitudinal research design because sample observations vary across firms and over a short time. We conduct probit and logistic regression to identify the beneficiaries of the tax incentives. The study's findings show that different firm-level characteristics significantly impact the probability of being an ITC beneficiary. For instance, domestic enterprises are more likely to benefit from tax incentives than foreign enterprises, but the relationship is insignificant. In the same way, firms with a maximum number of employees and capital stock are more likely to benefit from the tax incentives than firms with lower capital stocks and limited employees. Our findings also show that firms with higher amounts of new investment in fixed assets are more likely to benefit from the tax incentives. Finally, we found a statistically significant coefficient for firm capacity, an indicator of total inventory. Specifically, the higher the capacity of a firm, the more it is likely to be an ITC beneficiary.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

In 1987, Gro Harlem Bruntland formally introduced and popularized the concept of sustainable development. She defined it as being “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own” (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). Several cities, including the City of Hamilton have adopted certain environmental practices and technologies in an endeavor to improve their level of urban sustainability and achieve Bruntland’s goal of sustainable development. These practices include the support of individuals and city organizations that investigate new sustainable design alternatives for current infrastructure development. Such sustainable alternatives include the consumption of locally grown produce to avoid the detrimental effects associated with the transportation of imported foods via transport trucks, the installation of Rooftop Gardens as a viable option of ‘greening’ modern urban landscapes, and the construction of R-2000 Homes to reduce energy consumption rates and decrease the levels of harmful emissions that would normally be produced by conventional homes. The implications and/or benefits associated with any of the aforementioned designs were calculated using an environmental assessment tool developed by a professor at the University of British Columbia: Ecological Footprint (EF) Analysis. The final results of this study indicated that consuming locally grown produce, installing Rooftop Gardens, and living in R-2000 homes have the potential to enhance the state of the environment by improving air quality, reducing energy consumption, reducing water consumption, improving storm water retention, or by enhancing the biodiversity of a city’s landscape. However, in order to reap the benefits of any or all of the above ‘green’ practices or technologies and begin to establish a sustainable community, the fundamental doctrines that have influenced modern development practices, particularly those that place economic progress in front of the conservation and preservation of the environment, will need to be changed. / Thesis / Master of Engineering (ME)

Background: The transportation sector, a major part of logistics, significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, making it a key environmental concern. As awareness grows, the importance of green logistics becomes evident. However, Small and medium logistics companies face challenges in implementing green logistics due to limited resources and knowledge. This study explores the post-adoption challenges SMEs encounter and identifies effective approaches for integrating sustainable methods.  Purpose: The study explores green logistics practices within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), addressing the gap between awareness and practical application of sustainable methods. The primary objective is to understand the operational challenges SMEs face after adopting green logistics practices and to identify effective strategies for their integration. Method: This study employs a qualitative interview approach with 10 interviews carried out with representatives from various small and medium logistics firms. Conclusion: The study shows that small and medium logistics firms face several post-adoption challenges. The most significant challenge identified is the infrastructure limitation and accessibility, particularly concerning electric vehicles. SMEs are severely constrained by the lack of charging facilities for electric trucks during lengthy trips and the limited availability of alternative fuels. To support the integration of green logistics practices, the research also highlighted six key approaches employed by SMEs. The most significant approach is the development of specialized sustainability teams and promotion of employee involvement through educational programs.

<p>In most business sectors environmental programs focus on direct, production-related environmental impacts. The design and development of products with reduced environmental impact is considered more difficult. The opposite applies in the environmental technology sector. The business model of environmental technology companies focuses on delivering solutions that contribute to improving the environmental performance of their customers. Products and services delivered by this sector have prominent environmental profiles. However, companies in this sector may not necessarily set and implement environmental goals for their own activities and manufacturing processes, and may not clearly distinguish between production and product related environmental aspects.</p><p>This thesis presents results of an online survey of environmental technology companies listed by the Swedish Environmental Technology Council (Swentec). The survey found that depending on the subsector, only between 21% and 45% of companies provide information about their environmental work on their website.</p><p>Environmental impacts of a company may be product and/or production related. The survey found that these dimensions are treated differently, and are not always clearly differentiated in environmental tools and guidelines, such as the ISO 14000 series, the Reporting Guidelines for UK Business, the GRI and The Swedish Annual Accounts (ÅRL). There are also differences in the ways that information about production and product related environmental impacts are considered within the environmental technology industry. Some companies clearly distinguish between product and activity related environmental issues, while others are unclear about the distinction between their products and their activities in environmental policies and management. While some companies in the sector limit the environmental information they disseminate to the environmental benefits of their products, others explicitly articulate that the predominantly product related environmental profiles in the sector drive them to additionally minimise environmental impacts of their own activities.</p><p>This thesis proposes environmental aspects of products and production as bases for corporate environmental profiles, corporate greening, and for defining ‘green’ and ‘green-green’ business, and concludes that companies within the environmental industry should be expected to be green-green business. This thesis concludes that companies within the environmental technology sector should increase their use of both production and product related environmental profile information in their presentations on their own websites and at platforms such as Swentec. Furthermore, the thesis shows that the use of the term ‘process’ within environmental technology sector to describe both the companies’ own operations and their products can create ambiguities in understanding. Companies that deliver ‘processes’ as products should avoid ambiguity by describing their own operations with terms such as ‘production processes’, ‘production’, ‘manufacturing process’, ‘operation’ or ‘activity’.</p> / <p>Ett företags miljöpåverkan kan vara kopplad till tillverkningsprocesser och till produkter. Miljöprogram inom de flesta industrisektorer är inriktade på direkta, produktionsrelaterade miljöaspekter. Däremot anses design och utveckling av produkter med minskad miljöpåverkan svårare. Inom miljötekniksektorn gäller det motsatta. Miljöteknikföretag erbjuder produkter och tjänster med framträdande miljöprofil och levererar lösningar som bidrar till förbättrad miljöprestanda hos deras kunder. Det betyder inte nödvändigtvis att dessa företag arbetar med miljömässiga mål för egna aktiviteter och tillverkningsprocesser, dvs. att dessa företag gör distinktion mellan tillverknings- och produktrelaterade miljöaspekter.</p><p> </p><p>Det övergripande syftet med avhandlingen är att öka förståelse av och insikt i miljöengagemang och miljöprofil inom miljöteknikföretag. Studien innehåller en onlineundersökning av miljöarbetet inom företag som är listade av Sveriges miljöteknikråd, Swentec i dess nätverk för den svenska miljöteknik­ sektorn. Studien visar att, beroende på undersektor, mellan 21 % och 45 % av företagen i undersökta miljöteknikområden har lagt ut information om sitt miljöarbete på företagets hemsida. Information om produktions- och produktrelaterade miljöfrågor varierar. Det finns företag som tydligt skiljer mellan produktorienterade miljöfrågor och miljöfrågor som berör deras tillverkningsprocesser och aktiviteter. Andra företag gör ingen tydlig åtskillnad mellan dessa frågor i sina miljöpolicydokument och miljöprogram. Vissa företag i branschen begränsar sin miljöinformation till miljömässiga fördelar med deras produkter. Det finns dock företag som tydligt uttalar att sektorns produktrelaterade miljöprofil är en drivkraft för att minimera miljöpåverkan från sin egen verksamhet.</p><p>I studien framkommer också att produktions- och produktrelaterade miljöaspekter behandlas på olika sätt, och är inte alltid tydligt differentierade i olika miljöverktyg och riktlinjer, som i ISO 14000 serien, Rapporteringsriktlinjer för UK Business, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) och i den svenska årsredovisningslagen (ÅRL).</p><p> </p><p>Produktions- och produktrelaterade miljöaspekter föreslås som dimensioner i ett företags miljöprofil och i beskrivning av företagets miljövänlighet. Det samma gäller som grund för definition av ’gröna’ och ’grön-gröna’ företag. En viktig ståndpunkt i denna avhandling är att företag inom miljötekniksektorn bör vara ’grön-gröna’ företag och att dessa företag bör öka användningen av informationen om produktions- och produktrelaterad miljöprofil, både på sina egna hemsidor och i sina presentationer inom nätverk som Swentec. Dessutom visar studien att användningen av begreppet "process" inom miljöteknikföretag för såväl den egna verksamheten som för sina produkter i vissa fall är otydlig. För att undvika denna oklarhet bör företag med ’processer’ som egna produkter, beskriva företagens egna verksamheter med begrepp som ’produktionsprocess’, ’produktion’, ’tillverkningsprocess’, ’aktiviteter’ eller liknande.</p>

In most business sectors environmental programs focus on direct, production-related environmental impacts. The design and development of products with reduced environmental impact is considered more difficult. The opposite applies in the environmental technology sector. The business model of environmental technology companies focuses on delivering solutions that contribute to improving the environmental performance of their customers. Products and services delivered by this sector have prominent environmental profiles. However, companies in this sector may not necessarily set and implement environmental goals for their own activities and manufacturing processes, and may not clearly distinguish between production and product related environmental aspects. This thesis presents results of an online survey of environmental technology companies listed by the Swedish Environmental Technology Council (Swentec). The survey found that depending on the subsector, only between 21% and 45% of companies provide information about their environmental work on their website. Environmental impacts of a company may be product and/or production related. The survey found that these dimensions are treated differently, and are not always clearly differentiated in environmental tools and guidelines, such as the ISO 14000 series, the Reporting Guidelines for UK Business, the GRI and The Swedish Annual Accounts (ÅRL). There are also differences in the ways that information about production and product related environmental impacts are considered within the environmental technology industry. Some companies clearly distinguish between product and activity related environmental issues, while others are unclear about the distinction between their products and their activities in environmental policies and management. While some companies in the sector limit the environmental information they disseminate to the environmental benefits of their products, others explicitly articulate that the predominantly product related environmental profiles in the sector drive them to additionally minimise environmental impacts of their own activities. This thesis proposes environmental aspects of products and production as bases for corporate environmental profiles, corporate greening, and for defining ‘green’ and ‘green-green’ business, and concludes that companies within the environmental industry should be expected to be green-green business. This thesis concludes that companies within the environmental technology sector should increase their use of both production and product related environmental profile information in their presentations on their own websites and at platforms such as Swentec. Furthermore, the thesis shows that the use of the term ‘process’ within environmental technology sector to describe both the companies’ own operations and their products can create ambiguities in understanding. Companies that deliver ‘processes’ as products should avoid ambiguity by describing their own operations with terms such as ‘production processes’, ‘production’, ‘manufacturing process’, ‘operation’ or ‘activity’. / Ett företags miljöpåverkan kan vara kopplad till tillverkningsprocesser och till produkter. Miljöprogram inom de flesta industrisektorer är inriktade på direkta, produktionsrelaterade miljöaspekter. Däremot anses design och utveckling av produkter med minskad miljöpåverkan svårare. Inom miljötekniksektorn gäller det motsatta. Miljöteknikföretag erbjuder produkter och tjänster med framträdande miljöprofil och levererar lösningar som bidrar till förbättrad miljöprestanda hos deras kunder. Det betyder inte nödvändigtvis att dessa företag arbetar med miljömässiga mål för egna aktiviteter och tillverkningsprocesser, dvs. att dessa företag gör distinktion mellan tillverknings- och produktrelaterade miljöaspekter.   Det övergripande syftet med avhandlingen är att öka förståelse av och insikt i miljöengagemang och miljöprofil inom miljöteknikföretag. Studien innehåller en onlineundersökning av miljöarbetet inom företag som är listade av Sveriges miljöteknikråd, Swentec i dess nätverk för den svenska miljöteknik­ sektorn. Studien visar att, beroende på undersektor, mellan 21 % och 45 % av företagen i undersökta miljöteknikområden har lagt ut information om sitt miljöarbete på företagets hemsida. Information om produktions- och produktrelaterade miljöfrågor varierar. Det finns företag som tydligt skiljer mellan produktorienterade miljöfrågor och miljöfrågor som berör deras tillverkningsprocesser och aktiviteter. Andra företag gör ingen tydlig åtskillnad mellan dessa frågor i sina miljöpolicydokument och miljöprogram. Vissa företag i branschen begränsar sin miljöinformation till miljömässiga fördelar med deras produkter. Det finns dock företag som tydligt uttalar att sektorns produktrelaterade miljöprofil är en drivkraft för att minimera miljöpåverkan från sin egen verksamhet. I studien framkommer också att produktions- och produktrelaterade miljöaspekter behandlas på olika sätt, och är inte alltid tydligt differentierade i olika miljöverktyg och riktlinjer, som i ISO 14000 serien, Rapporteringsriktlinjer för UK Business, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) och i den svenska årsredovisningslagen (ÅRL).   Produktions- och produktrelaterade miljöaspekter föreslås som dimensioner i ett företags miljöprofil och i beskrivning av företagets miljövänlighet. Det samma gäller som grund för definition av ’gröna’ och ’grön-gröna’ företag. En viktig ståndpunkt i denna avhandling är att företag inom miljötekniksektorn bör vara ’grön-gröna’ företag och att dessa företag bör öka användningen av informationen om produktions- och produktrelaterad miljöprofil, både på sina egna hemsidor och i sina presentationer inom nätverk som Swentec. Dessutom visar studien att användningen av begreppet "process" inom miljöteknikföretag för såväl den egna verksamheten som för sina produkter i vissa fall är otydlig. För att undvika denna oklarhet bör företag med ’processer’ som egna produkter, beskriva företagens egna verksamheter med begrepp som ’produktionsprocess’, ’produktion’, ’tillverkningsprocess’, ’aktiviteter’ eller liknande.

Public urban green spaces are crucial parts of cities due to the many connections existing between urban greenery and well-being. Additionally, public urban green space represents a wide range of spatial concepts, such as parks, urban forests, commons, in-between-spaces, and gardens. This study explores challenges for contemporary public urban green space in an increasingly urban world, with high demands on urban growth, and simultaneously the need for more sustainable societies and cities. The aim is to problematize the complex reality for contemporary public urban green space from an urban planning perspective in times of urban densification strategies, global competitiveness between cities and trends of ‘re-naturing’.   The scope of this thesis is based on four high profile case studies. The Green Walkable City in Stockholm and The Green Living Spaces in Birmingham constitute planning strategies with a holistic approach to urban green space, including a strong focus on well-being. The High Line in New York and Parklets in San Francisco represent urban green space concepts, influential both at the local level and in the larger urban planning debate. The results point to a need to acknowledge the complexity inherent to urban green space provision, design, and management. This study contributes with insights of direct connections between narratives of nature, materialized urban greenery projects and conceptualizations of functionality of nature in urban planning projects. From the post-industrial, pristine flirting, crafted wilderness of the High Line; a symbolic but cosmetic scrambling with planters and narratives of parks of parklets; dualistic argumentations of natural values connected to quality over quantity of nature in a densifying and growing Stockholm; to pragmatic yet emotional and ambitious conceptualizations of human nature in biohilic urbanism and green space planning in Birmingham. Gentrification, publicness and production of public space and densification strategies are central themes in urban studies – and public urban green space can play an active role in these processes. / <p>QC 20160518</p>