Thesis (MCom. (Accounting)) -- University of Limpopo, 2014 / This study explored the impact of Environmental Management Practices on firm financial performance through a case study of selected JSE SRI South African mining companies. Previous studies focused more on disclosure or international research but none focused on this impact in JSE SRI South African mining firms hence this study attempted to fill this gap. Using a mixed methods approach, the study examined whether the firms’ carbon emissions, energy usage and water usage had any impact on the firms’ return on equity. The study concluded that Environmental Management Practices did impact firms’ financial performance and offers many opportunities for academia, industry, managers, regulators and society to use these findings as a means for more research into and better understanding of these environmental management practices and their potential benefits to society.

Three different green technologies are compared in terms of net energy and carbon savings for a theoretical Toronto rooftop. Embodied energy values are calculated through Life Cycle Analysis and compared to the estimated energies produced and/or saved by each technology. Results show that solar photovoltaics displace the most carbon per m2 of roof space and solar thermal (for hot water) displaces the most energy. An in-depth analysis of an intensive green roof for growing food indicates that the high embodied energy of the materials is not quickly repaid by the sum of six energy savings that were examined (direct and indirect cooling, run-off treatment, transport of food, on-farm energy use, and activities that would otherwise be carried out). However, the energy and carbon benefits are not insignificant, but depend strongly on various assumptions. The methodology used is replicable and therefore useful for other locations.

Three different green technologies are compared in terms of net energy and carbon savings for a theoretical Toronto rooftop. Embodied energy values are calculated through Life Cycle Analysis and compared to the estimated energies produced and/or saved by each technology. Results show that solar photovoltaics displace the most carbon per m2 of roof space and solar thermal (for hot water) displaces the most energy. An in-depth analysis of an intensive green roof for growing food indicates that the high embodied energy of the materials is not quickly repaid by the sum of six energy savings that were examined (direct and indirect cooling, run-off treatment, transport of food, on-farm energy use, and activities that would otherwise be carried out). However, the energy and carbon benefits are not insignificant, but depend strongly on various assumptions. The methodology used is replicable and therefore useful for other locations.

Sustainable transportation aims encouragement of non-motorized (pedestrian and bicyclist) and shared-ride transportation modes instead of car-dependent travels. This is important for university campuses, as they have better chance to implement such policies in a rather controlled traffic network, and can set an example to other communities. Most of sustainable campus transportation programs boil down to reduction of car-based emission cost of campus mobility, which is always the first step in developing more sustainable transportation policies. Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara has a large campus area and a population over 30,000 people. To develop sustainable campus transportation policies, it was important to quantify the current levels of mobility and vehicle emissions within the campus, which was the main motivation behind this study. This required determination of i) campus origin-destination matrix, ii) in-campus vehicle-km-travelled (vehicle-km), and iii) carbon emissions. Travel data obtained from different sources, including the gate entry with RFID systems enabled analysis of different user groups, such as academic and administrative personnel and students, separately. The traffic simulations were prepared in PTV VISUM, which provided both speed and vehicle-km values for road segments, and could represent multi-user group demand matrices in a single traffic assignment. Based on the base case mobility and emission values, more sustainable campus transportation policies were simulated in PTV VISUM, and assessed in terms of carbon emission impacts. Discouraging of private car usage by students seemed the first and simplest action.

In this study, carbon dioxide emissions resulting from transportation are assessed, carbon emission reduction opportunities in the current service supply chain design of Cisco Systems, Inc. are explored. Among these opportunities, changing transport mode from a high-carbon transport mode to a low-carbon transport mode is found to be the most promising option and is scrutinized. The effect of transportation mode change on carbon emission and expected total cost are scrutinized by developing a mathematical model that minimizes expected total cost subject to aggregate fill rate constraint. Furthermore, a second model that minimizes the expected total cost under aggregate expected fill rate and carbon emission constraints is developed. In this model transportation mode choice decisions are integrated into inventory decisions. Since it is difficult to make transportation mode selection for each individual item, the items are clustered and transportation mode selection is made for each cluster. Therefore we propose two clustering methods that are k-means clustering and an adopted ABC analysis. In addition, a greedy algorithm based on second model is developed. Since currently there are no regulations on carbon emissions, in order to examine possible regulation scenarios computational studies are carried out. In these studies, efficient solutions are generated and the most preferred solutions that have less carbon emission and lower total cost among all efficient solutions are examined.

This research study focuses on providing evidence that indicates that, making use of contemporary green building practices within a low cost subsidised housing project have more social, economical as well as environmental benefits than that of a conventional, non-green approach. Low cost subsidised housing units have become an everyday sight in the light of the global as well as the local economy. The increasing levels of unemployment and subsequent social problems lead to growing needs for this form of housing. As these projects consume a number of resources, steps need be taken to lighten the load – such as the carbon emissions - that is put on the environment. According to the United Nations, the key areas that are influenced by sustainability are environmental, economical as well as social. In South Africa, a number of government as well as local policies exist that regulates the planning and building practices of the low cost subsidised housing projects. These policies have been used as a foundation for this study. This study focuses on the Lufhereng project as a case study, and technology used in the Kuyasa as well as Cosmo City developments furthermore assisted in the groundwork for the comparison between the different construction approaches. The challenges facing the utilisation of a contemporary green building approach were researched, identified, discussed and recommendations were made. SAM (social accounting matrix) multiplier analysis on the Gauteng SAM obtained from the DBSA (Development Bank of South Africa), analysis and comparison of existing data as well as a qualitative questionnaire that was sent to industry stakeholders were utilised to obtain relevant information. The quantitative as well as qualitative data obtained from the primary as well as secondary research indicated that there are a number of aspects which has an influence on method of construction used in subsidised low cost housing units. The findings from literature as well as empirical research were analysed and discussed accordingly. Recommendations and suggestions regarding strategies that may be followed to increase the use of contemporary green approaches in these projects were made. These recommendations were based on the findings from literature as well as the research conducted for this study. The use of contemporary green approaches are vital for the social, economic as well as environmental sustainability of the country, and thus, ultimately of the world as a whole. It is, in this light, imperative that everything in our power should be done to preserve our resources by any means possible. / PhD (Urban and Regional Planning), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

This research study focuses on providing evidence that indicates that, making use of contemporary green building practices within a low cost subsidised housing project have more social, economical as well as environmental benefits than that of a conventional, non-green approach. Low cost subsidised housing units have become an everyday sight in the light of the global as well as the local economy. The increasing levels of unemployment and subsequent social problems lead to growing needs for this form of housing. As these projects consume a number of resources, steps need be taken to lighten the load – such as the carbon emissions - that is put on the environment. According to the United Nations, the key areas that are influenced by sustainability are environmental, economical as well as social. In South Africa, a number of government as well as local policies exist that regulates the planning and building practices of the low cost subsidised housing projects. These policies have been used as a foundation for this study. This study focuses on the Lufhereng project as a case study, and technology used in the Kuyasa as well as Cosmo City developments furthermore assisted in the groundwork for the comparison between the different construction approaches. The challenges facing the utilisation of a contemporary green building approach were researched, identified, discussed and recommendations were made. SAM (social accounting matrix) multiplier analysis on the Gauteng SAM obtained from the DBSA (Development Bank of South Africa), analysis and comparison of existing data as well as a qualitative questionnaire that was sent to industry stakeholders were utilised to obtain relevant information. The quantitative as well as qualitative data obtained from the primary as well as secondary research indicated that there are a number of aspects which has an influence on method of construction used in subsidised low cost housing units. The findings from literature as well as empirical research were analysed and discussed accordingly. Recommendations and suggestions regarding strategies that may be followed to increase the use of contemporary green approaches in these projects were made. These recommendations were based on the findings from literature as well as the research conducted for this study. The use of contemporary green approaches are vital for the social, economic as well as environmental sustainability of the country, and thus, ultimately of the world as a whole. It is, in this light, imperative that everything in our power should be done to preserve our resources by any means possible. / PhD (Urban and Regional Planning), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

In this research, carbon emissions and carbon savings in the smart grid are modelled and quantified. Carbon emissions are defined as the product of the activity (energy) and the corresponding carbon factor. The carbon savings are estimated as the difference between the conventional and improved energy usage multiplied by the corresponding carbon factor. An adaptive seasonal model based on the hyperbolic tangent function (HTF) is developed to define seasonal and daily trends of electricity demand and the resultant carbon emissions. A stochastic model describing profiles of energy usage and carbon emissions for groups of consumers is developed. The flexibility of the HTF for modelling cycles of energy consumption is demonstrated and discussed with several case studies. The analytical description to determine electricity grid carbon intensity in the UK is derived, using the available fuel mix data from the Elexon portal. The uncertain realisation of energy data is forecasted and assimilated using the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF). The numerical optimisation of carbon emissions and savings in the smart grid is further performed using the ensemble-based Closed-loop Production Optimisation Scheme (EnOpt). The EnOpt involves the optimisation of fuel costs and carbon emissions (maximisation of carbon savings) in the smart grid subject to the operational control constraints. The software codes for the based on the application of EnKF and EnOpt are developed, and the optimisation of energy, cost and emissions is performed. The numerical simulation shows the ability of EnKF in forecasting and assimilating the energy data, and the robustness of the EnOpt in optimising costs and carbon savings. The proposed approach addresses the complexity and diversity of the power grid and may be implemented at the level of the transmission operator in collaboration with the operational wholesale electricity market and distribution network operators. The final stage of work includes the quantification of carbon emissions and savings in demand response (DR) programmes. DR programmes such as Short Term Operating Reserve (STOR), Triad, Fast Reserve, Frequency Control by Demand Management (FCDM) and smart meter roll-out are included, with various types of smart interventions. The DR programmes are modelled with appropriate configurations and assumptions in power plants used in the energy industry. This enables the comparison of emissions between the business-as-usual (BAU) and the smart solutions applied, thus deriving the carbon savings. Several case studies involving the modelling and analysing DR programmes are successfully performed. Thus, the thesis represents novel analytical and numerical techniques applied in the fast-growing UK market of smart energy solutions.

Thesis (Ph. D. (Accounting)) -- University of Limpopo, 2017. / This research examined the effect of carbon emissions reduction on financial performance Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s SRI companies. Empirical results of corporate fossil energy-based dependence on environment and economic performance thus far have been ambiguous. The major objective of this research was to examine the effect of emissions and energy intensity on market and accounting based performance measures. This research adopted the positivist paradigm approach and therefore used a quantitative causal research approach. Archival data was collected from fourteen JSE’s SRI companies for seven years. The research applied a panel data analysis, a total of 98 observations were derived from panel data set. Multiple linear and causal econometric models were applied in the data analyses namely ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed effects and dynamic models. OLS results showed a significant effect of energy usage intensity (ENGINT) on return on assets (ROA), and return on sales (ROS), with carbon emissions intensity (EMSINT) exhibiting a significant effect on return on assets (ROA), and return on sales (ROS). When the study controlled for omitted variable bias and possible orthogonality condition, a significant negative effect of energy intensity (ENGINT) on equity returns (EQRTNS) was found. Impulse response analysis revealed that shocks in energy intensity on average tend to decrease firms’ financial value, while shocks in emissions intensity on average increase firms’ financial value within the sampled companies. Whilst testing for causality, the Panel Granger causal analysis showed unidirectional effect of EMSINT on EQRTNS, and bidirectional causal relationship between EMSINT and MVE/S at 1% significant level. This research made a contribution by extending the model used by previous researchers through the use of multiple market and accounting based performance measures which were analysed using advanced econometric models: Arellano-Bond DPD model, impulse response function in short PVARs and Bootstrap dynamic panel threshold model. In addition, this thesis suggested a model to advance future research on carbon emissions and firm performance and managerial decision propensity for carbon reduction. / Carbon Disclosure Project and School of Accountancy of the University of Limpopo

As the largest source of iron in North America, and as the largest energy consumer in the modern integrated steel mill, the blast furnace is a critical part of modern ironmaking. Any improvements that can be made to the efficiency or emissions of the blast furnace can have far reaching environmental impacts as the production of one ton of steel results in 1.85 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Given the concerted push to reduce greenhouse emissions, novel technologies are needed to improve efficiency. In this study the injection of preheated natural gas, precombusted syngas from a variety of feedstocks, and hydrogen injection were all modeled using computational fluid dynamics, from the tuyere through the shaft of the furnace. The impacts of these various operational changes were evaluated using CFD calculated analogs for Raceway adiabatic flame temperature (RAFT), top gas temperature (TGT), and coke rate (CR). Results indicate that a reduction of 3% to 12% in CO2 emissions is possible through the implementation of these technologies, with each possessing distinct benefits and drawbacks for industrial implementation.