<p><strong><em>The environmental issues have during the last decenniums gained an increased role in both the political arena and in the market economy. The society is therefore more knowledgeable about the environment and our impact on it. Through this enlightened state, stakeholders tend to put pressure on the organizations of today. They, more or less willingly, incorporate this responsibility to be a part of their business. Entrepreneurs in the environmental area have seen this rising market as an opportunity to gain market shares and other positive outcomes. Organizations can, not only take a responsibility for the environment but, make a profit out of such a commitment.  IT has become known as one of the contributors to facilitate the environmental impact, but much is left to be done, as IT equipment is one of the contributors to the damaging effects throughout its entire lifecycle. The study was conducted at Umeå Energi and was aiming towards an examination of their IT equipment and its environmental efficiency. Therefore, following questions were asked in this thesis: How environmental efficient is the IT equipment and the using of it in the organization today? What effects can different equipment and behavior lead to? Because of the opportunity to make the environmental work into a positive outcome another question where raised as well: Can the equipment and the using of it be environmental efficient and at the same time mean less expenditure? The study focused on the equipment in itself and the using of it. This was made through measuring of equipment and later on through a questionnaire survey. The results was then added together and analyzed in three different scenarios to illustrate the energy consumption of the equipment with the relation to the using of it. The result showed that both the equipment and the personnel working at Umeå Energi tended to be environmental inefficient. This led to establishing of proposals for changes and further work in this area.</em></strong></p>

<p> </p><p>Världen idag blir alltmer globaliserad och öppen, vilket medför att betydelsen växer för företag att vårda och förvalta företagets varumärke och identitet. Ett sätt att göra detta på och som har fått stor spridning på senare år är Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), vilket kan beskrivas som bidragande till hållbarutveckling genom socialt-, miljömässigt- och ekonomisktansvarstagande. Företag påverkas även av en rad olika intressenter såsom investerare, ägare, kunder och medarbetare för att nämna några. Dessa intressenter ställer i olika utsträckning krav på företaget att förmedla information om företagets verksamhet.</p><p>Syftet med uppsatsen var att undersöka olika företags CSR-rapportering genom att studera varför innehållet i de undersökta hållbarhetsrapporterna skiljer sig åt, samt undersöka vilka intressenter som kunde tänkas påverka hållbarhetsrapporteringen.</p><p>De metoder som valdes ut för undersökningen bestod av en kvantitativ del samt en kvalitativ del. Den kvantitativa delen bestod av empiri i form av hållbarhetsrapporter inhämtade från undersökningsobjekten. Den kvalitativa delen bestod av intervjuer med tre företag som är verksamma inom området för rapportering av CSR. Även en förstudie genomfördes, för att motivera urvalet av undersökningsobjekten. Förstudien resulterade i följande urval som studerades: SKF, Atlas Copco, TeliaSonera, Holmen.</p><p>I uppsatsens teorikapitel presentas hur CSR utvecklas som begrepp. Vidare beskrivs teorier för att analysera arbetet med CSR samt Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) ramverk för hållbarhetsrapportering.</p><p>Empiri för studien inhämtades från undersökningsobjektens hållbarhetsrapporter. Empirin analyserades sedan utifrån teorierna samt även ifrån den infallsvinkel, som respondenterna som intervjuades för studien bidrog med.</p><p>I slutsatsen presenteras hur hållbarhetsrapporteringen är individuellt anpassad för olika verksamheter och företag. Vidare beskrivs i slutsatsen hur hållbarhetsrapporteringen kan tänkas påverkas i olika utsträckning beroende på intressent.</p><p> </p>

<p>Cause-Related Marketing (CRM) is not a completely new phenomenon, yet an idea whose time has truly come. To have commercial organizations cooperate with charity organizations for mutual profit is a "win-win-win" situation. The company gets added value to its brand, the charity organization gets to collect more money that it otherwise wouldn't and the customer gains a feeling that he or she has contributed to the society.</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to study how a company, in practice, works with CRM marketing. How do they choose which charity organization to work with,what type of product is most appropriate to market with CRM and how is the CRM campaign designed? A theoretical model is then formed to answer these questions, after a thorough research of relevant theory on the subject. Through a qualitative multiple case study we thereafter studied this at three large companies on the Swedish market, ICA, Kellogg's and Lindex.</p><p>Our findings showed that all three companies work very similar with these issues. They cooperate with large well known charity organizations and they think that it's very important that the product and the cause match each other. The products are consistently low involvement products, which is also shown in the theoretical model. The CRM campaign lasts for a shorter period of time and the message is clear so it fast and easy will reach the customers.</p>

Cause-Related Marketing (CRM) is not a completely new phenomenon, yet an idea whose time has truly come. To have commercial organizations cooperate with charity organizations for mutual profit is a "win-win-win" situation. The company gets added value to its brand, the charity organization gets to collect more money that it otherwise wouldn't and the customer gains a feeling that he or she has contributed to the society. The purpose of this thesis is to study how a company, in practice, works with CRM marketing. How do they choose which charity organization to work with,what type of product is most appropriate to market with CRM and how is the CRM campaign designed? A theoretical model is then formed to answer these questions, after a thorough research of relevant theory on the subject. Through a qualitative multiple case study we thereafter studied this at three large companies on the Swedish market, ICA, Kellogg's and Lindex. Our findings showed that all three companies work very similar with these issues. They cooperate with large well known charity organizations and they think that it's very important that the product and the cause match each other. The products are consistently low involvement products, which is also shown in the theoretical model. The CRM campaign lasts for a shorter period of time and the message is clear so it fast and easy will reach the customers.

Världen idag blir alltmer globaliserad och öppen, vilket medför att betydelsen växer för företag att vårda och förvalta företagets varumärke och identitet. Ett sätt att göra detta på och som har fått stor spridning på senare år är Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), vilket kan beskrivas som bidragande till hållbarutveckling genom socialt-, miljömässigt- och ekonomisktansvarstagande. Företag påverkas även av en rad olika intressenter såsom investerare, ägare, kunder och medarbetare för att nämna några. Dessa intressenter ställer i olika utsträckning krav på företaget att förmedla information om företagets verksamhet. Syftet med uppsatsen var att undersöka olika företags CSR-rapportering genom att studera varför innehållet i de undersökta hållbarhetsrapporterna skiljer sig åt, samt undersöka vilka intressenter som kunde tänkas påverka hållbarhetsrapporteringen. De metoder som valdes ut för undersökningen bestod av en kvantitativ del samt en kvalitativ del. Den kvantitativa delen bestod av empiri i form av hållbarhetsrapporter inhämtade från undersökningsobjekten. Den kvalitativa delen bestod av intervjuer med tre företag som är verksamma inom området för rapportering av CSR. Även en förstudie genomfördes, för att motivera urvalet av undersökningsobjekten. Förstudien resulterade i följande urval som studerades: SKF, Atlas Copco, TeliaSonera, Holmen. I uppsatsens teorikapitel presentas hur CSR utvecklas som begrepp. Vidare beskrivs teorier för att analysera arbetet med CSR samt Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) ramverk för hållbarhetsrapportering. Empiri för studien inhämtades från undersökningsobjektens hållbarhetsrapporter. Empirin analyserades sedan utifrån teorierna samt även ifrån den infallsvinkel, som respondenterna som intervjuades för studien bidrog med. I slutsatsen presenteras hur hållbarhetsrapporteringen är individuellt anpassad för olika verksamheter och företag. Vidare beskrivs i slutsatsen hur hållbarhetsrapporteringen kan tänkas påverkas i olika utsträckning beroende på intressent.

This thesis is designed to explore consumer attitudes and behaviors toward corporations that engage in socially responsible practices. The goal of this project was to determine if there was a relationship between a company’s perceived reputation for social responsibility and attitudes and behaviors that would favorably impact the company. Specifically, the project uses a case study of UPS and its support of Zoo Atlanta to further test these relationships in a true-to-life scenario. The findings reveal implications for corporate communication efforts in two ways: first, by serving as a framework to evaluate future corporate giving programs and to better understand company reputation; and second, by understanding the importance of strategically positioning one’s company as a good corporate citizen.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an important subject in business administration, and has been for many years. Over the past few years it has been become an increasingly debated topic. The CSR subject mainly focuses on multinational enterprises (MNEs), resulting in a research gap concerning CSR in small and medium size enterprises (SMEs). SMEs outline the majority of all companies on the European market; therefore, it is empirically interesting to further investigate how SMEs perceive CSR commitment. The purpose of this dissertation is to explain how CSR commitment of internal and external stakeholders influences CSR commitment in SMEs. The research was conducted with a quantitative survey. The data collected with the survey was tested and analyzed with both an explanatory and exploratory research strategy. Explanatory research was performed in order to test the derived hypotheses and explain the research question. Exploratory research was then performed in order to provide a further understanding of how SMEs view stakeholders and their CSR commitment. These two research strategies revealed that internal and external stakeholders influence CSR commitment in SMEs. However, SMEs perceive some stakeholders similarly because of their relationship with the company. There are three main concepts of CSR commitment: environmental, social and financial responsibility. Results showed that financial CSR is considered distinctly different from the two other measured CSR concepts. The theoretical contributions may be of importance to owners of SMEs and MNEs in order to gain a deeper understanding of CSR as a subject. Also, findings can help scholars interested in further researching CSR commitment in SMEs. The methodological contributions of this dissertation are of relevance for future research on the subject, since the developed instrument for measuring CSR commitment was successful. Without an established measure for this area, this instrument enables further development and thereby more valid research regarding CSR commitment and SMEs.

Introduction: Over the last few decades there has been a great increase in the attention to Corporate Social Responsibility. Organizations that up until recently have had profit maximization and shareholder value as their only concerns have found themselves in a position where stakeholder demands have created pressure to produce and act on sustainability agendas. Concepts like intergenerational equity, wealth distribution, equality and macroeconomic stability became a part of everyday business language and these days the majority of firms communicate a variety of CSR related issues through annual or separate sustainability reports. Up until recently the construction industry has managed to avoid such demands, however lately, the pressure from various stakeholders such as society, activist groups, governments and external competition, has put the industry among the more environmentally sensitive sectors. Although industry wide CSR involvement has increased within environmental construction management, much is still left to be done. Problem: One area which has received little attention is recycling after demolition. Most companies focus on making new building projects as environmentally friendly as possible, however hardly any attention is geared towards what happens to old buildings being torn down and the lifecycle of the old material. Although construction companies have the legal obligation to recycle hazardous material, much can be improved within the other areas especially regarding the reusing of materials from the demolishing sites which means both environmental and economical aspects are so far being overlooked.  Purpose: The authors aim to examine the complexities and challenges facing the construction industry in environmental management of demolition projects, and more specifically the effect this has on the recycling and reusing of materials. Methodology: In order to research the waste management practices on demolition sites the research employs interview studies conducted through qualitative mostly face-to-face and a few telephone interviews. Complementary cases were selected within different categories of the construction industry sectors related to demolition projects: client, construction, demolition and waste management companies’ employees were interviewed. Conclusion: The results show that companies within the construction industry realize the potential negative effects their line of business has on the environment. Sustainability agendas in all cases focus extensively on environmental management, which includes proper disposal of demolition waste. The main benefits for recycling and reusing (in some cases reselling) the material were financial incentives and generated competitive advantage, which resulted in better competitiveness concerning procurement. The main challenges identified are time and monetary constraints. Lack of regulation, common standard that would enable firms to compete equally, and lack of common effort and cooperation towards more efficient waste management practices on demolition sites were identified as main hindering factors for industry wide improvement.

In the past few years many businesses has suffered some serious setbacks and some banks have even undergone bankruptcy. That’s why Corporate Governance (CG) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) have increasingly become very important in the recent years. This thesis investigates the role played by CG and CSR in business expansion. Further it examines what is CG and CSR and how it can bring about growth in a business. For better understanding of the theories we used a case study approach and chose Grameen Bank (GB) a Bangladeshi bank because of its tremendous success and growth over the years even in the middle of the turbulent financial crisis. We wish to find out the role CG and CSR played in this success critically. The expected contributions of this work will be to see the visibility of CG CSR in a bank like GB which has deviated from conventional banking models and how this has influenced its growth.

Introduction – People and society are more concerned about Corporate Social Responsibility as well as the demand of outsourcing logistics services. When buyer companies select TPL providers, the selection criteria are focused on cost and on time delivery, while issues like CSR are often placed in a low priority. Purpose – The purpose of this master thesis is to analyze how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) impacts as selection criteria when buying services from Third Party Logistics (TPL) providers. Design/Methodology – The research approach of this thesis is qualitative. Both primary data and secondary data collection were used; semi-structured interviews, emails, field observation and documentation. There are seven respondents from three different companies. Findings – From buyer companies’ perspective, CSR was taken into account when buying services from TPL providers. However, it had impact on a low priority since the buyer company chose leading TPL providers that have a good reputation and image. The buyer company believes that those selected TPL providers have already implemented CSR practice. Moreover, the results show that the main driving force behind the application of CSR was the customer requirement Research limitations – This master thesis has studied in a specific Swedish company when selecting TPL providers. Moreover, this research has been studied from the buyer companies’ perspective.