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The implementation of an environmental management system such as the standard ISO 14001 is a common way to manage environmental responsibilities in an organisation. In 2015 ISO 14001 was updated with some major changes like Annex SL, management engagement, strategic engagement, risk-based thinking, life cycle perspective, improved environmental management and interested parties. The purpose of ISO 14001 is to improve the environmental performance of the organisation, but also to increase the degree of employee involvement and with that sustainable development can be supported through the implementation of the standard. The involvement of employees in an organisation with an environmental management system was studied at the Swedish University of Agricultural Science (SLU). By law a Swedish university must have an environmental management system. SLU has implemented ISO 14001 as their environmental management system and was chosen for the research. The applied methods were a literature review and case study where interviews and a survey were used. The changes in ISO 14001:2015 were investigated as a part of the literature review. In this method, review studies were investigated to see if any of the changes were discussed before the standard was updated. There was no found research that discussed if drawbacks of version 14001:2004 were actually taken into account when the newest version of the standard was produced. This subject therefore makes the study important to perform. Environmental coordinators were interviewed to find out if the changes in 14001:2015 supported increased participation in the standard. A survey was conducted with environmental coordinators at SLU to investigate how the changes in ISO 14001:2015 were viewed and if the results differed if performed from those obtained from a similar comparison at companies. The reason to study the effects of the changes in the standard at a university and to compare the results with companies is important since it is not optional for the university to adopt an environmental management system as it is for another type of organisation. Most of the discussed shortcomings from ISO 14001:2004 did match what was changed in the version from 2015. However, the review studies that were investigated did not discuss the life cycle perspective which was considered to be a major and important change. Therefore, this lack of discussion is viewed as a weakness in the review studies. It was also concluded that, even though employees did become involved to a greater extent in the environmental management system at SLU, it could not be made sure if it was because of the implementations of the changes in ISO 14001:2015. It was most likely because of the major work SLU had done the last three years when certifying the whole organisation. Instead, the conclusion was that it is important to work inclusively with the environmental management system and it seems that the more it is discussed in an organisation, the more employees will become involved. Lastly, it was seen in the thesis that a university and the studied companies viewed the environmental work both similarly and differently. Both thought that only small benefits would be the result of the implementation of the changes in ISO 14001:2015. What differed between the two groups of organisations was that SLU thought that the changes would not give any major difficulties while the companies on the other hand thought that it would create substantial extra work.

Gentrification, a process conceived to result in displacement of lower-income urban residents, is difficult to measure quantitatively due to its qualitative, social impacts. Additionally, the phenomenon is a wicked problem, with no decisive definition or a set list of causes. Whereas researchers have instigated attempts to numerically measure gentrification, there is a lack of a systematic and universal approach to evaluate the concept. To investigate this issue, an iterative process took place using gentrification theory and explorative work. A test index was created using the inner boroughs of the UK’s capital, London, aiming to use data which should be available within all cities. Indicators for the index based on the two main theories of gentrification were attained for three different time periods from governmental and census records, creating a longitudinal study to establish how an area has changed, and whether gentrification has occurred. The technique presents evidence of increasing socio-economic status within many of London’s inner  boroughs, with evidence of rising employment rates, house prices and managerial role residents. The highest scoring boroughs were areas considered to be undergoing super-gentrification. From the index, the next borough to super-gentrify will be Hammersmith & Fulham. For first time gentrifying boroughs, their index changes sit within the middle of the borough rankings. It is believed that further analysis and advancements are required on the index to ensure prevention of data misuse, conclusive results, and further consideration of cultural, political or social changes, however new contributions have been made within this topic from considering gentrification from a wicked problem viewpoint.

The occurrence of pharmaceuticals in environment originating from human consumption has received increased scientific attention during the last decades due to concerns regarding their combined environmental effects in aquatic and terrestrial environments, in flora and biota and by extent in human health. In this review, I summarized the existing knowledge on the entire life cycle of pharmaceutical substances, from their exposure (sources) and fate to their effects on the natural environment. Since the negative effects of several drugs along with the environmental damage they entail are now known, it can be suggested that pharmaceutical companies make greener pharmaceutical products to reduce these effects to the terrestrial and aquatic environment. The present review could provide suggestions to improve the pharmaceutical environmental management globally, such as methodologies for monitoring systems, that need to be put in place for consistent data collection. Another area of research that is important is the release of pharmaceutical compounds in manufacturing plants as well as from landfill effluent. Finally, one more area with need for further research is green chemistry which could reduce or even eliminate the potential hazards of pharmaceutical compounds that enter the environment, irrespective to the source of entry.

Sand and gravel are compounds that are directly needed in the fine fraction of making concrete. Concrete is used as a foundation in 90 % of the cases when establishing new buildings in Sweden. Usually, sand and gravel are taken from land based areas. These land based areas with sand and gravel are also needed for the cleaning of the groundwater. Groundwater is the source of drinking water in big parts of Sweden and should therefore not be jeopardized. In the marine environment, there are areas that possess sand and gravel that could be used instead of land based material, and therefore will not jeopardize the quality of drinking water. By learning how the law is regulated in marine sand and gravel extraction cases, looking at existing maps of the marine geology’s structure, learning about the environmental impacts and by looking at the technique that are used for extracting the material of the bottom of the ocean - this report shows the possibilities of marine sand and gravel extraction of the ocean floor outside of Umeå’s coastline. The result shows that there are a few areas that have the right material and lies on the right depth of the ocean floor, but these areas did not have the right thickness. Therefore, an extraction of marine sand and gravel at these areas (Area A and B) would affect the volume percentage. This could lead to a change of the bottom structure that destroys the recovery after the extraction and damage the marine environment.