<p>Most forestry machines being produced today include a PC that monitors and controls the harvester head, and an information system that stores data on every action the driver or the machine performs. ICT thus provides an opportunity to improve efficiency and competitiveness and possibly also opens up for new ways of working for actors in the forestry industry. The purpose of this study is to investigate how ICT can enable the transformation from selling products to selling services in the forestry industry. We investigate this through performing a Case Study including a number of actors from the Forestry industry in northern Sweden. First, we investigate the barriers for establishing an Open Innovation system in forestry. Then we describe the main steps to be taken and how the use of ICT can enable the establishment of such a system. The case study shows that the forestry industry is committed to working according to a traditional value chain and is committed to a closed innovation paradigm. We argue that the ICT component in Timbercut’s forestry machines constitutes a latent potential that cancaptured through changing the business model and setting up a joint venture with Rewire.</p>

Diss. Göteborg : Univ., 2002.

Lic.-avh. Linköping : Linköpings universitet, 2005. / På titelsidan felaktiga serieuppgifter.

Most forestry machines being produced today include a PC that monitors and controls the harvester head, and an information system that stores data on every action the driver or the machine performs. ICT thus provides an opportunity to improve efficiency and competitiveness and possibly also opens up for new ways of working for actors in the forestry industry. The purpose of this study is to investigate how ICT can enable the transformation from selling products to selling services in the forestry industry. We investigate this through performing a Case Study including a number of actors from the Forestry industry in northern Sweden. First, we investigate the barriers for establishing an Open Innovation system in forestry. Then we describe the main steps to be taken and how the use of ICT can enable the establishment of such a system. The case study shows that the forestry industry is committed to working according to a traditional value chain and is committed to a closed innovation paradigm. We argue that the ICT component in Timbercut’s forestry machines constitutes a latent potential that cancaptured through changing the business model and setting up a joint venture with Rewire.

Masters of Science / Globally plantation forestry plays a pivotal role in terms of timber production, ecological services and maintaining local livelihoods. In South Africa commercial forestry occupies a relatively small portion of the total land area, but contributes significantly towards the national GDP. Forestry had been labelled as a streamflow reduction activity. Thus further afforestation is not possible. It is of paramount importance that plantations are managed on a sustainable basis in order to meet future timber demands. However, sustainability goes beyond the replenishment of natural resources or economic prosperity and also includes social responsibility. (CSR) initiatives are a means for companies to maximize the positive contribution their operations can make to the promotion of fair work practices and ecological sustainability. Plantations are mostly located in rural areas and often reflect the only form of local employment. Often employees are at risk of economic exploitation and high risk of injury while little scope for economic and educational betterment exists. CSR incorporates people, planet and profit. It is important to fulfil the basic needs of the workers in order for the company to realize environmental and economic prosperity. It is the aim of this study to highlight the essential role of people in insuring the long-term sustainability of the Western Cape plantations. The primary aim of this study is to investigate the over-all well-being of forestry workers in the Western Cape plantations. In order for people to reach the over-all goal of the organization, they first need to satisfy their basic needs. More often than not this is the case with forestry workers. Some of the issues that negatively impact on their over-all wellbeing are:  Their working environment and conditions  Lack of investment in resident / neighbouring communities  Lack of adequate stakeholder consultation  Poor standards of worker accommodation If companies wish to be sustainable, they need to address these issues that forest workers are being confronted with. The secondary aim of this study is to explore CSR initiatives that could address these issues in the Western Cape plantation villages.This study deploys a mixed approach, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Data were collected through the distribution of structured questionnaires, interviews, meetings, company documents and reviewed literature. The research shows that the social issues that confront forest villages include poor sanitation facilities, lack of home ownership, poor state of worker accommodation, lack of extramural activities, substance abuse and relatively low remuneration rates. The company also faces challenges with regards to the implementation of its CSR programme. This study makes several recommendations which are based on the findings. One such recommendation is a tripartite approach to CSR. Here a tripartite approach refers to the partnership between the company, Government and civil society.

Some forestry industry operations in South Africa are currently on land that is under claim. This case study was aimed at identifying the most suitable model for future engagement of communities in forestry with forest land under claim in Mpumalanga. In total, 231 households were purposively sampled at Jessievale (n=100) and Roburna (n=131) where the primary data was collected through interviews and interactions with household heads. In general, 70% of the respondents indicated that they would opt for a settlement model that involves forestry. About 26.8% chose the joint venture model, whereas 18.6% chose the lease agreement model and 19.4% chose at least one of any other forestry settlement model among those that were given. The joint venture model was the most preferred due to its ability to transfer the land to the claimants and to transfer management skills, create jobs and empower communities. In addition, the study showed that age and forestry skills significantly contribute to the choice of a different model. The study also showed that while communities were interested in getting their land back, they are not fully utilizing the small portions of land currently available to them for agriculture and that the demand for land may be driven more by other land use options such as land for expanding new homes and grazing. In conclusion, communities are still interested in forestry as a land use option. However, future forestry models should clearly address land ownership and accommodate other land use options. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Plant Production and Soil Science / unrestricted

Sustainability and sustainable development is an important topic for today’s society. To manage organizational sustainability, companies use sustainability reporting to measure their performance. A new EU directive [2014/95/EU] requires all companies who have 500 or more employees, to report on non-financial information. Hence, sustainability reporting becomes more institutional. A number of different frameworks exist to help companies to report on sustainability. The most prominent framework is provided by the Global Reporting Initiative [GRI], which helps companies to disclose information on economic, social, and environmental dimensions. As the forestry industry in Sweden and Finland has been considered important for future sustainable development, this industry has been the focus in the thesis. Previous research has focused on why companies report on sustainability. The purpose of this thesis was instead to research how companies report, by investigating the development process of sustainability reports in Swedish and Finnish forestry companies. Moreover, the purpose was to create an understanding of the sustainability report development in accordance with GRI guidelines, within Swedish and Finnish forestry companies. The research question is: How do Swedish and Finnish forestry companies develop sustainability reports in accordance with the GRI guidelines? To answer the stipulated research question, the thesis adopted a qualitative method with an abductive approach. Moreover, the thesis had an descripto-exploratory research design to find relevant knowledge and findings. The thesis theoretical framework introduced concepts related to our research question: sustainability reporting, the organization GRI and their guidelines, a reporting process that was retrieved from GRI’s handbook, and the forestry industry in Sweden and Finland. In addition to this, system-oriented theories such as legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory, and institutional theory were presented. Through seven semi-structured interviews, with various managers from Swedish and Finnish forestry companies, information about the companies’ sustainability report development was collected. The thesis identified several essential segments in the report development process. These included: reasons for using GRI, planning, stakeholder engagement, materiality, data collection, and reporting. We concluded that the phases of the process presented in the theoretical framework, instead were included in a continuous process where the phases turned to segments that were integrated with each other in the companies reporting practices.

Raw biomass material is bulky, high in void fraction, and very low in transportation efficiency. Furthermore, biomass dissipates quickly in harsh environments of high heat furnaces because of its relatively low calorific value (BTU/lb) and has grinding or size degradation properties highly dissimilar from commonly-used fossil fuels like coal. Therefore, the development of transformational technologies are necessary to convert raw biomass into high-value and useful products of high hardness and calorific value without requiring excessive process energy. This thesis investigates the sustainability of densified biomass fuels. In addition, a procedure that converts raw biomass from agro/forest industry waste into a fuel source known as semi-carbonized densified biomass (SCDB) is shown to have the necessary performance qualities that are conducive to applications involving the harsh conditions of high heat furnaces. The SCDB is produced at temperatures between 115-230°C and pressures between 8-25 MPa. The raw biomass is transformed into a densified fuel source with maximum compressive strengths between 60-200 MPa and calorific values between 18-23 MJ/kg, which are essential to operating in high heat furnace environments. The procedural steps and equipment used to manufacture this densified fuel source are outlined in detail along with experimental results and discussions of initial testing.

Digital transformation (DT) continuously reshapes and disrupts industries organizations operate in. Although the rising phenomenon is increasingly being investigated by academia, the factors influencing the adoption of DT in pre-digital and traditional industries are sufficiently unexplored. This study investigates managers’ perspectives on the drivers and barriers surrounding DT in traditional industries. To do this, we conducted an industry-level qualitative case study of the five biggest firms in the Swedish forestry industry. Through analysis using a DT framework, our results indicate that changing customers’ expectations and improving firm performance, to name a few, were the main drivers for DT in the forestry industry. However, our findings revealed that the main barriers to DT were related to the cultural and organizational identities of employees in the forestry industry. This study contributes to existing literature and provides suggestions for practitioners in traditional industries to address the challenges that may arise during the digital transformation process.

The use of digital technologies has changed the way organizations operate. Engaging in digital transformation has become a crucial activity for organizations to stay relevant in today’s rapidly changing business environment. Recent research has started to focus on digital transformation at a project level but limited research has been done on projects at a multi-organizational level. To contribute to this research gap, an exploratory case study investigating an ongoing multi-organizational digital transformation project in the forestry industry has been conducted. The research question is “What is the role of collaboration in a digital transformation project and how does it affect the expected outcomes?”. The findings reveal that collaboration is a requirement to realize the expected project outcomes, but also that the outcomes can generate further collaborations. This creates a continuous process that can induce digital transformation at an industry level.