Mining is essential to the human well-being in many aspects. Mining activities, however, contribute significantly to pollution and other environmental impacts in South Africa. Recently much more stringent environmental legislation has been developed in South Africa due to increased public awareness and environmental disasters caused by mining activities. Authorisations constitute one of the main "command and control" instruments that can be used to influence and direct the behaviour of individuals and organisations to achieve sound environmental protection ultimately. The problem is that in the ever-changing maze of South African environmental legislation, it is often difficult for individuals and organisations to identify, obtain and maintain environmental authorisations. This article provides a legislative framework for the mining sector, explores the purpose and importance of environmental authorisations, gives an overview of the underlying relationship between environmental authorisations, risk assessment and environmental management systems before proposing a generic procedure for identifying, obtaining and maintaining environmental authorisations. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

The first essay of this dissertation focuses on studying the relationship between private politics and corporate environmentalism. This work analyzes the determinants and effects of two private political actions, boycotts and proxy contests. The analysis shows that: (i) the size of a firm is an important predictor of whether a firm will be chosen as a target of an activist campaign; (ii) firms headquartered in states with larger environmental constituencies are more likely to be targeted by activist campaigns; (iii) "dirty firms" (with larger relative or absolute emissions and/or high level of regulatory scrutiny) are more likely to become targets of an activist campaign; and (iv) private political campaigns are effective in improving the environmental performance of their targets. The second essay examines the trends in Total Factor Productivity (TFP) and investigates the effects of major changes in the economy on measures of TFP in eight industries during the Interwar period from 1919 through 1939. TFP estimates show that each industry followed a different path of TFP change. There is no consistent evidence on large TFP decline during the years 1929-33 in the industries studied, as proposed in the literature. TFP measures also do not support the hypothesis that the 1930s were a period of interrupted TFP growth but there is evidence that five industries out of eight had higher productivity in the 1930s than in the 1920s. Regression analysis of major determinants of the TFP change for the motor vehicles and the cotton goods industry shows that TFP fell with increases in employment and strike activity. The NRA code might have also contributed to a decline in TFP.

Idag blir det allt vanligare att kunder stä̈ller krav på att företag ska arbeta med miljöfrågor. Det finns ett antal verktyg företag kan använda sig av för att profilera sig som miljövänliga - exempelvis livscykelanalys, socialt ansvarstagande och certifierade ledningssystem.  Företaget Formteknik Verktyg Unnaryd AB tillverkar formverktyg och har påbörjat att profilera sig som miljövänliga genom att använda ekodesign på sina produkter. De arbetar även med miljö- och kvalitetsledningssystem. För att få kunskap om Formteknik kan få mer vä̈lvilligt inställda kunder genom sitt arbete med ekodesign har några av deras kunder intervjuats och några av dem har svarat på en enkät. Vilka gröna verktyg som kunderna föredrar har också undersökts. Resultaten visar att de flesta kunderna var tämligen samstämmiga gällande vilka faktorer som var viktigast vid inköp. Av de gröna verktygen var ISO 9001 och ISO 14001 mest uppskattade, medan pris och materialets kvalitet sågs som de viktigaste faktorerna att ta hänsyn till vid inköp. Ekodesign kan även skapa ett mervärde för Formteknik genom att öka produkternas prestanda. / It is becoming more common that companies require that their suppliers work with evironmental issues. There are a number of tools that businesses can use to market themselves as environmentally friendly - for example life cycle assessment, corporate social responsibility and certified management systems. The company Formteknik Verktyg Unnaryd AB manufactures molds and have begun to integrate ecodesign in their product development. They also work with environmental and quality management systems. To find out if Formteknik receive more well-disposed customers through their work with ecodesign, some of them have been interviewed and some of them answered a questionnaire. Which green tool their customers prefer have also been investigated. The results show that most customers were quite unanimous about which factors that were most important when purchasing a mold. Of the green tools were ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 most appreciated, while the price and quality of the product were seen as the most important factors to take into account. Ecodesign can also create added value for Formteknik by increasing product performance.

South Africa is one of the world's foremost mining nations and mining and its associated industries continue to form the cornerstone of the country's economy. However, the mining industry has, by its very nature, the potential to endanger human health and safety, as well as the physical environment. Consequently, mining will always contend with major environmental challenges and remain under constant public pressure to demonstrate its commitment to responsible environmental management. The key to effective environmental management is the use of a systematic approach to plan, control and improve environmental efforts. An Environmental Management System (EMS) employs such an approach and allows organisations to address environmental concerns in an orderly and consistent manner. Such a system allows organisations to anticipate and meet their environmental objectives and to ensure ongoing compliance with national and/or international requirements. An organisation with no existing EMS should, initially, establish its current position with regard to the environment by means of an initial review process. The aim should be to consider all environmental aspects of the organisation as a basis for establishing the EMS. Although a few gold mines in South Africa have implemented an EMS, the question of which significant environmental aspects need to be managed in such a system at a deep level gold mine shaft, remains largely unanswered. This study endeavoured to provide answers to this question and develop a generic model for the initial review process of a deep level gold mine shaft. The development of such a model should facilitate the development and implementation of an EMS at such shafts, thereby contributing to reduce the environmental impact of gold mines. The research consisted of a literature review of national and international literature on the topic and a comparative empirical study, which evaluated the mining operations of two deep level gold mine shafts. Data collection and analysis was done according to the IS0 14015 guideline on the environmental assessment of sites and organisations. Other techniques used included business process analysis, the use of modified Leopoldt matrices and risk analysis to determine the significance of the environmental impacts and aspects. This study contributed to a generic model for the initial environmental review process that precedes the development of an EMS at deep level gold mine shafts through: developing a generic sub-model that can be used to determine the scope of any deep level gold mine shaft; identifying some of the significant environmental impacts and aspects of deep level gold mine shafts, as well as identifying some generic business activities that are potentially destructive and carry a high risk of causing significant negative environmental impacts. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

Mining is essential to the human well-being in many aspects. Mining activities, however, contribute significantly to pollution and other environmental impacts in South Africa. Recently much more stringent environmental legislation has been developed in South Africa due to increased public awareness and environmental disasters caused by mining activities. Authorisations constitute one of the main "command and control" instruments that can be used to influence and direct the behaviour of individuals and organisations to achieve sound environmental protection ultimately. The problem is that in the ever-changing maze of South African environmental legislation, it is often difficult for individuals and organisations to identify, obtain and maintain environmental authorisations. This article provides a legislative framework for the mining sector, explores the purpose and importance of environmental authorisations, gives an overview of the underlying relationship between environmental authorisations, risk assessment and environmental management systems before proposing a generic procedure for identifying, obtaining and maintaining environmental authorisations. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

An Environmental Management System (EMS) can be defined as "... a formal set of procedures and policies that define how an organization will manage its potential impacts on the natural environment and on the health and welfare of the people who depend on if (Andrews et al, 1999:2). In an effort to sustainably manage its own activities, products, services and facilities, various municipalities around the world have, in the past few years, started to follow the private sector trend and implemented the International Standards Organization (ISO) 14001 EMS voluntarily (Von Malmborg, 2003:1). Despite recent growth of EMS literature, evidence in terms of the effectiveness of EMS is still sparse, and little data exists on the effectiveness and benefits of an EMS (Edwards et al, 1999:36) especially in relation to local government. It's also possible that the potential benefits an EMS holds for an organization remains only "talk" and "paper commitments" (Andrews et al, 1999:2). The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of ISO 14001 for local government with specific reference to the City of Tshwane (CoT). The research results suggest limited effectiveness of EMS. The main reasons for limited achievement of expected EMS benefits and thus its partial effectiveness were mainly identified as low commitment to environmental issues, insufficient resources, poor EMS implementation, low environmental awareness, ignorance and limiting internal procedures. This research concludes with recommendations to the CoT and municipalities in general to improve the overall effectiveness of its EMS. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

The focus of this study was to investigate the perception of employees on environmental performance within a corporate company. In this instance Absa Bank Limited was the organisation under investigation referring directly to the banks impact on the environment. A literature study was conducted to establish an awareness of all related terms and subjects to environmental performance. Further a specific focus on Absa Bank Limited?s environmental impact and the policies and procedures set out by this organisation was researched and discussed. An empirical study was conducted by means of a self completion questionnaire administered by a random sample of employees working for Absa Bank Limited. Quantitative research that was conducted by means of questionnaires were distributed through the Absa Bank Limited Group to 200 employees in the Gauteng and North West Province and distributed through different departments and management levels. 52 usable questionnaires were gathered out of the abovementioned areas. Cronbach Alpha coefficient values were used to determine the internal consistency amongst items in the research instrument. The research instrument used in this study to assess perception of employees on the environmental performance within Absa Bank Limited had acceptable reliability, since not one of the constructs had a lower Cronbach Alpha coefficient than 0.7. The correlation between the demographical variables and the seven constructs were examined by independent t–tests and effect sizes. The demographical factors used were the gender classification of respondents, number of years employed by Absa Bank Limited and the management level of the respondents. In all instances the effect sizes were too small to be of any practical significance since none of the effect sizes had a large effect (d–value = 0.8). Recommendations and practical ways in which environmental performance could be enhanced and maintained in Absa Bank Limited were discussed. It was also reccomended that systems and procedures should be revisited and adapted to ensure adherence to the requirements of environmental performance. The report concluded by addressing the achievement of all the objectives, and by recommending possible future research that could be undertaken based on this study. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

The focus of this study was to investigate the perception of employees on environmental performance within a corporate company. In this instance Absa Bank Limited was the organisation under investigation referring directly to the banks impact on the environment. A literature study was conducted to establish an awareness of all related terms and subjects to environmental performance. Further a specific focus on Absa Bank Limited?s environmental impact and the policies and procedures set out by this organisation was researched and discussed. An empirical study was conducted by means of a self completion questionnaire administered by a random sample of employees working for Absa Bank Limited. Quantitative research that was conducted by means of questionnaires were distributed through the Absa Bank Limited Group to 200 employees in the Gauteng and North West Province and distributed through different departments and management levels. 52 usable questionnaires were gathered out of the abovementioned areas. Cronbach Alpha coefficient values were used to determine the internal consistency amongst items in the research instrument. The research instrument used in this study to assess perception of employees on the environmental performance within Absa Bank Limited had acceptable reliability, since not one of the constructs had a lower Cronbach Alpha coefficient than 0.7. The correlation between the demographical variables and the seven constructs were examined by independent t–tests and effect sizes. The demographical factors used were the gender classification of respondents, number of years employed by Absa Bank Limited and the management level of the respondents. In all instances the effect sizes were too small to be of any practical significance since none of the effect sizes had a large effect (d–value = 0.8). Recommendations and practical ways in which environmental performance could be enhanced and maintained in Absa Bank Limited were discussed. It was also reccomended that systems and procedures should be revisited and adapted to ensure adherence to the requirements of environmental performance. The report concluded by addressing the achievement of all the objectives, and by recommending possible future research that could be undertaken based on this study. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.