The extraction of raw materials has environmental impacts. Forestry and the extraction of coal, oil, natural gas, gold and other minerals can have serious impacts on the environment. Exploration and evaluation, development activities, production and mine closure result in high costs. The years of waiting between the start of exploration, commencement of production and mine closure create specific challenges in accounting for mining organisations. Most of the damages caused by mining activities cannot be hidden because of the processes involved, it is best to prevent it rather than avoidance. It is important to implement Environmental Management Accounting (EMA), which will assist in presenting a decision-making system for corporations. The system measures and promotes environmental performance by identifying effective cost assessment structures. This study assessed the awareness of environmental management accounting in the mining industry. An analytical methodology was used. A questionnaire was administered to a selected group of participants. It was based on the employee’s understanding of their organisation’s practices or point of view on environmental issues to build a case about the awareness of environmental management accounting. Selected participants were mine management or mine production personnel, financial practitioners and environmental practitioners from different mining organisations in the Gauteng, Mpumalanga and North-West provinces of the Republic of South Africa. All participants in the study are employees in the mining industry. Mine management is less aware of environmental management accounting compared to environmental and financial practitioners. Mine production personnel only perceive environmental issues as costs to the operations. This group rated compliance with regulation as the main driver for their organisation’s environmental management system. Gauteng province is more aware of environmental management accounting compared to Mpumalanga and North West provinces. Organisations with high annual turnover tend to disclose more financial environmental information than those with low annual turnover. Organisations explain and classify environment-related costs differently according to the intended use of the cost information. There are standards and measures to collect and record environmental and accounting information stipulated in ISO14001 including environmental management systems (EMS) in different organisations. Systems and measures put in place ensure good environmental performance in the mining operations. The tracking and reduction in the amount of energy, water and materials used by organisations may result in environmental benefits. Employees should have environmental cost information associated with their operations in order to minimise environmental impacts of an organisation. The findings of the study indicated low levels of awareness of environmental management accounting in the mining industry; however, there is a higher level of awareness of environmental impacts and costs, environmental management system and financial environmental information. The level of rating at which organisations generate and record physical and monetary information of environmental management accounting is higher. / MBAm, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Corporate Social Environmental Reporting is a process through which companies and organisations can inform the societies within which they operate about their performance on non-economic issues including environmental performance. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is an internationally recognised organisation which has frameworks and guidelines organisations can use to standardise the reports which they issue to the society. Data gathering for reporting on environmental performance can be done in several ways, including by means of the data required for an Environmental Management System (EMS) based on the ISO 14001 “plan – do – check - act” commonly known as the Demming cycle, aimed at continual improvement of environmental performance by an organisation. The clauses in an EMS allow for an organisation to measure its performance and hence the generation of data which can be used for interpretation on environmental performance. The utility of data generated from an EMS is optimised for input towards the generation of a Corporate Social Environmental Report by the level of alignment between the reporting process and the system used for data generation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of such an alignment between the two processes for AngloGold Ashanti (AGA), a multinational gold mining company which issues its reports according to GRI guidelines and also has an ISO 14001 EMS in place. The method used entailed a desktop documentary analysis, a questionnaire answered by individuals responsible for implementation of the EMS and an interview posed at corporate level. It was found that despite corporate commitment to continually improve CSER, there is a relative weak alignment between the two systems, with consequent duplication of effort and sub optimal use of human resources. Recommendations for improved alignment include focused education and training of staff on the relationship between CSER and EMS, and improvements in EMS monitoring and measuring procedures. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

With more than half of the world’s population concentrated in urban areas, urban services are crucial for people’s lives. Some of these services are provided by urban trees, which are valued positively by most people. However, urban forest management (UFM) today faces a number of challenges, including accounting for the values of the public and climate change. These two are connected, since climate-driven biophysical changes will affect value provision and people’s urban forest values will determine the management direction by which we address the climate challenge. This study aims to understand how to incorporate public values and climate change in UFM by examining how people value the urban forest, how these values are managed, how urban forests are vulnerable to climate change, and how this vulnerability affects value provision. To address these questions, I review the urban forest values literature and reveal opportunities for research. Later I examine the content of 14 Canadian urban forest management plans and reveal that UFM today lacks detail in ecological and social themes. I argue that a management paradigm based on what the citizens consider important about urban forests may help deal with these shortcomings. I present urban forest values research from three Colombian cities (Bogotá, Cali, Pereira) using field tours, personal diaries, and focus groups. I then integrate this research with similar research in Canada to build a values typology that portrays how the public values the urban forest. I then review climate change in UFM and argue that climate change vulnerability assessments (CCVAs) are crucial for embracing climate adaptation in UFM. I present CCVA research in three Canadian urban forests (Halifax, London, Saskatoon) using an exploratory and expert-based method. I demonstrate that the survival of young trees and mal-adapted tree species are important sensitivity factors in urban forests. By mapping how urban forest vulnerability to climate change will affect value provision I argue that climate change is both a threat and an opportunity to bring specificity to ecological and social themes in UFM and to veer towards a UFM style that: plants more trees close to infrastructure and people; ensures tree survival by experimenting with different planting techniques and more-natural arrangements; embraces adaptive management and public engagement; and facilitates ecosystem transition without reducing values satisfaction.

The impact that organizations have on the environment is a growing concern for organisations, governments and ordinary citizens alike. The Global focus on environmental protection programmes has led to initiatives such as the Kyoto Protocol, and Conference of the Parties (COP) which attempt to develop policies and rules for practical and effective implementation of environmental protection programmes for countries and organisations alike. Deloitte is no exception to this as their commitment towards the environment in the Deloitte policy statement reflects a commitment to responsible behavior towards the environment. The concern, however, is the consistency of the implementation of the policy throughout the organization. The aim of this study was to understand the behavior and practices of staff in relation to the green office policies at the Woodlands and the Durban offices of Deloitte. An empirical study using a quantitative data collection approach was conducted. A random sample was used and 489 staff members participated in the study. In terms of sample size 6 tables, these results can be generalized to all non-management employees of Deloitte. Data was collected using an online questionnaire. The salient results showed that the Durban respondents were more au fait with the green policies of the company than the Woodlands respondents. It was evident that the younger staff had very little time to read the greening reports and as such were not entirely aware of the practices within the company. It was recommended that in order to ensure the awareness and participation of all employees in greening efforts that Deloitte should re-induct existing employees emphasizing the green policies. The policies and reports should be communicated in a format and media which appeals to younger employees. Competitions, incentives and rewards should be introduced in order to spread the awareness and change in green behaviour. Whilst the study was limited to two offices only, the recommendations of this study could be implemented in all the South African offices of Deloitte. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

<p> Green supply chain models and carbon emissions tracking have become increasingly prevalent in the supply chain management literature and in corporate strategies. In this dissertation, carbon emissions are integrated into cost-based freight transportation models that can be used to assist operations and supply chain managers in solving the "last mile problem". The models presented herein serve to provide the decision maker with choices on which strategy to implement depending on the strength of the management's desire to reduce carbon emissions. By comparing the optimal solutions that result from using different delivery strategies, this research provides a basis for evaluating an appropriate trade-off between transportation cost and carbon emissions. </p><p> This dissertation contributes to academia and the literature in several ways. The discrete supply chain models provide a method for decision makers to analyze and compare the lowest cost delivery option with the lowest carbon footprint option. The stochastic last mile framework that is introduced provides a method for researchers and practitioners to measure the expected carbon footprint and compare probabilistic costs, carbon emissions, delivery mileage, and delivery times in order to make decisions regarding the most appropriate delivery strategy. This framework is then applied to two different problem settings. The first involves optimizing a delivery fleet to produce the lowest total cost with carbon emissions integrated into the total cost equation. The second compares the carbon footprint resulting from last mile delivery (ecommerce retailing involving a central store delivering to end customers) to customer pick up (conventional shopping at a brick-and-mortar retail location); the break-even number of customers for carbon emissions equivalence provides a basis for companies to determine the environmental impact of last mile delivery and to determine the feasibility of last mile delivery based on objectives related to minimizing carbon emissions.</p>

Today, companies face a variety of environmental challenges, especially when it comes to evaluating energy consumption and minimizing environmental impact. This thesis examines how environmental management systems affects energy efficiency, and if it could contribute to sustainable development and increase corporate social responsibility. A case study research method was conducted on a multinational company and the empirical material is collected from the company's operations in China. The theoretical framework includes sustainable development, corporate social responsibility and environmental management systems. The results provide a model of calculation, in order to evaluate how the environmental management system affects energy efficiency. The analysis shows that the environmental management system has contributed to CSR practices in supporting the organization with guidelines toward continuous improvement of environmental impact, increased personal knowledge and some changes of production equipment. This has lead to that the case study company has managed to increase energy efficiency with respect to all energy sources, except water. / Företag stöter på allt fler utmaningar inom miljöområdet och inte minst när det gäller att utvärdera energianvändning och minimera miljöpåverkan. Denna uppsats handlar om hur miljöledningssystemet påverkar energieffektivitet samt om det kan bidra till en hållbar utveckling och kan leda till ett ökat samhällsansvar. Metodiken utgörs av en fallstudie på ett multinationellt företag, och det empiriska materialet är hämtat från en av koncernens fabriker i Kina. Det teoretiska ramverket omfattar huvudsakligen följande tre konsept: hållbar utveckling, företags samhällsansvar samt miljöledningssystem. Uppsatsen resulterar i ett förslag på beräkningsmodell för att utvärdera hur miljöledningssystemet har påverkat energieffektiviteten. Denna modell samt vilka faktorer som ligger bakom förändringar i energieffektivitet analyseras genom det empiriska materialet. Slutsatsen är att fallstudieföretaget har, genom ökad personalträning och uppgraderad produktionsanläggning, lyckats att öka energieffektiviteten med avseende på alla energikällor förutom vatten. / 企业面临更多的挑战在环境领域，尤其当涉及到评估能源使用，并尽量减少对环境的影响。这份报告是关于如何管理环境影响能源效率，这有助于实现可持续发展，并可能导致更大的社会责任。使用的方法是多的国际企业的案例研究和实证材料取自该公司在中国的业务。该理论框架包括可持续发展，企业社会责任和环境管理。论文导致提出的模型计算来评估环境管理体系影响能源效率。这种模式的背后改变能源效率的因素是由经验材料进行分析。得出的结论是，案例研究公司，通过增加人员培训和升级生产设施，管理，以提高能源利用效率相对于除水以外的所有来源。

This thesis deals with development of lean and green production systems from an action research point of view. The studies focus on Swedish-based automotive and vehicle industries and their aims to integrate sustainable thinking and environmental care into their operations management. Starting from operations management in manufacturing and corporate sustainable development, the research is built on how to integrate these two views into one production system. The systematic structure of a multiple-target improvement process with methodologies and tools designed to achieve the sustainability vision has been studied. Since lean as well as green production is based on the entire value chain, the research has gone beyond legal company limits and included the collaborative efforts between suppliers and customers in the value chain. The thesis includes six papers and describes approaches on how to implement integration, how to structure and integrate improvement management systems, how to set up an integrated monitoring and control system for the business and how to organise and redesign green lean tools and methodologies to support collaboration towards common targets. The results can be used for exploration and hypothesis formulation for further studies and development of integrated production systems and collaboration systems. The thesis helps answering how to integrate and implement company-specific green lean production systems.

This thesis describes PatchMapper, a model combining a population simulator based on individual behaviour, with a spatially explicit representation of a landscape. To investigate the robustness of the technique, representatives of three major taxa were modelled: the nuthatch (Sitta europaea L.), the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus Rafinesque) and the black hairstreak (Satyrium pruni L.). For the nuthatch and white-footed mouse, the performance of PatchMapper was compared with published models of the same species, but using different approaches, including, for the nuthatch, a comparison against observed numbers in a real landscape. To investigate the behaviour of the model, a sensitivity analysis was also undertaken. Written in Java, for portability, the model enables the user to select demographic and behavioural parameters via an interactive interface and includes a real-time (computer) display of the position of individuals during the simulation. Novel aspects of the model include perceptual range and field-of-view. Internally generated neutral landscapes can be used for modelling general cases, with imported digitised landscapes enabling specific study areas to be modelled. Habitat area and habitat quality dynamics can also be modelled. Dispersal flow diagrams can be generated, providing a visual explanation of the effects of landscape changes on inter-patch dispersal paths and populations in target patches. Performance compared well with published models, predicting a feasible match with observed numbers of nuthatches in the real landscape. Revealing predictable and realistic responses, the sensitivity analysis revealed that the model coding was valid. The value of specific case studies was illustrated, along with the dangers of relying on intuition when evaluating the response of species to habitat fragmentation. The individual-based SEPM approach was found to be best suited to the modelling of univoltine territorial species (such as nuthatch), with a single dispersal phase between fledging and territorial establishment. When demonstrating the model, the visual outputs proved particularly effective. Providing a set of features not seen in published models and enabling modelling at both local and landscape scales, PatchMapper is offered as a prediction tool for those engaged in activities such as biodiversity conservation and habitat management

Government (state) command and control strategies for addressing the complexities, uncertainties, and conflicts associated with ecological issues are no longer adequate. This is particularly true when addressing water resources. Water resources are inherently complex as a result of demands related to (1) competition between multiple users of water resources; (2) multiple scales at which water is managed; and (3) the mismatch between administrative and hydrological boundaries. Collaborative strategies for environmental governance are increasingly essential for addressing water resource issues. New legislation in Ontario has specifically mandated that collaboration be used as a strategy for source water protection. Government involvement is important for successful collaboration. However, little research has been undertaken to understand what impact mandating collaboration has on the process and outcomes. This thesis explores the relationship between mandated collaboration, the process of collaboration, and its outcomes in order to critically assess the potential impacts of government-mandated collaboration. The research was guided by a conceptual framework developed from the literature concerning government involvement in collaboration. Evaluative criteria were used to assess processes and outcomes. The empirical work explored a case study of the Niagara Source Protection Area in Ontario. The case draws attention to how government affects the collaborative process and outcomes.

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