Thesis (MTech (Public Relations Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / The history of public relations include facets of “publicity” and “press agentry,” and has matured beyond these narrow, tactical functions, rising to accept positioning as strategic communications which can drive corporate social responsibility decision-making that resonate credibly with community stakeholder. The study explored public relations models of communication within stakeholder engagement to establish corporate social responsibility projects in the mining sector in Richards Bay, South Africa. The stakeholder engagement process depends greatly on principles outlined in the King Reports, which includes a stakeholder ‘inclusive approach’ and ethical guidelines for ‘governing stakeholder relationships’ and emphasises ‘sustainable development’. Furthermore, a socially responsibility business integrates the economic, legal, ethical and discretionary obligation of business to society and further recognizes its place in the broader community. Although qualitative research design was chosen for this study, the research used purposive sampling to select individuals and groups for data collection on the stakeholder communication experience. Six Individual in-depth interviews and one focus group interview were conducted with the organisation’s Communities and Corporate Relations team and the community leaders. The research reports that the corporate social responsibility stakeholder engagement process has five stages (consultation, engagement, agreement, decision making and feedback) and there is an evaluation process on community development projects set by the organisation. Consequently, the organisation and the communities both benefit from the corporate social responsibility projects. Additionally, the analysis shows that the model used for stakeholder engagement within corporate social responsibility is the mixed-motive model of public relations. Hence, the relationship between the organisation and its host communities is established and maintained, as well as the social licence to operate and reputation is enhanced. Therefore the research concludes that a public relations’ mixed-motive model of communication is best suited for stakeholder engagement in order to establish corporate social responsibility projects in the host communities that can enhance favourable organisation-community relationships. The model intends to achieve equilibrium between the organisation and the community stakeholder. However, further research is recommended into the development of a new African public relations model of communication that encompasses the concept of ‘Ubuntu’ where the community leader is the final decision maker in consultation with the traditional council.

Orientador: Emília Wanda Rutkowski / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Civil, Arquitetura e Urbanismo / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-16T04:13:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LopezCabrera_Magali_M.pdf: 650924 bytes, checksum: 0db14cac467cb45d58d8669f2746ac94 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: A ecoeficiência é um instrumento de gestão ambiental que pode ser entendido de diversas formas. Na literatura encontramo-lo como uma abordagem genérica ou específica. Considerando que é segundo o entendimento da ecoeficiência que os negócios determinam a sua gestão, esta pesquisa apresenta os usos da ecoeficiência numa abordagem genérica ou específica. São organizadas um grupo de ferramentas para a sua implementação considerando três focos de atenção: pontual, incremental e estratégico cruzadas com o objeto do processo: ao produto, ao processo produtivo ou a cadeia produtiva / Abstract: The literature presents eco-efficiency in different ways, as a general approach or specific approach. The understanding of eco-efficiency determinates its management. The present study submits the different uses of eco-efficiency for industrial business. A matrix shows the ecoefficiency implementation tools focused as punctual, incremental and strategic based on different objects: product, productive process, productive chain and business / Mestrado / Saneamento e Ambiente / Mestre em Engenharia Civil

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy: Business Administration, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / The South African mining sector has over the years been perceived to be exploitative and not responsive to the investment interest of immediate stakeholders where they extract (local communities and labour). The perception of non-investment has resulted in amongst others, extensive community and labour unrests leading up to mass killings of mine workers at Marikana by the South African Police. The South African government has enacted policies to guide Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for the sector but the historic problems associated with this sector persists. As a result of community concerns around mining CSR, communities are mobilising around civic organisations, with the aim of brining the mining sector to account and fostering community development in their localities. This research explores and analyses if the mining sector adheres to CSR in their ventures and how communities perceive the sector’s activities and CSR approaches. The epistemological foundations of this research are mainly positivist adopting theoretical assumptions of the stakeholder theory. The research methods are however those of mixed methods – quantitative sequential qualitative methods. The subsequent research designs are a survey in the quantitative methods and exploratory interviews in the qualitative methods. Data was gathered using a survey questionnaire in the quantitative methods and recorded phenomenological interviews in the qualitative methods. Data was gathered from a sample of 200 community members in the two sampled mining areas of Marikana (100) and Carletonville (100). The former is a platinum belt and the latter is an old gold mining area. To augment quantitative data from the field survey sequential qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews (phenomenological interviews) with mining company executives, government leaders, trade unions leadership as well as community members in Makhado and Tshikondeni mining sites. The researcher encountered various limitations including travels to remote areas with lengthy distances on gravel roads, and respondents’ “over-researched” attitudes especially in Marikana and Makhado. The findings suggest that the mine workers’ location, living and working conditions influence their understanding and therefore definition of CSR. Although numerous CSR definitions emerged in the case of Marikana CSR was equated to basic service provision similar to those provided for by the municipality like houses, schools, roads and clinics. In the case of Carletonville which is a well-developed mining town, CSR meant skills development, local enterprise development and provision of bursaries. It emerged that the majority of community members are not aware of the CSR programmes implemented in their localities. Respondents further cited collusive corrupt activities between the mining companies, traditional authorities and municipal leadership as the main deterrent to CSR and to local economic development. Overall findings suggest that the mining sector is adherent to CSR legislation at the minimal level but this does not meet the needs and expectations of community members. The mismatch between community expectations and their understanding of CSR does not align with government policy on CSR requirement of the mining sector. The study recommends, among others, that bold and decisive government enforcement of penalties, which include consistent revoking of mining licences for non-CSR compliance by mining companies. The thesis also highlights the implications for managers as the rise of civic organisations propels a new engagement approach between mining companies and communities. This new approach would have inherent challenges such as delays in reaching consensus and exposing mining companies to internal community politics. Additionally, the study recommends future research be focused on evaluating constitutional powers of traditional leaders in relation to community interests in mining CSR. Furthermore, research could be conducted to establish previous compliance records on post-mining social commitments and environmental rehabilitation of mining companies in South Africa. This thesis brings to the fore, an illustration of the emergent bargaining power communities has and how it compels mining corporates to engage with communities more consultatively. Failure to do so, result in situations such as Coal of Africa impasse in the Makhado area where losses amounting to billions of Rands are incurred. / D

International awareness and demands for the protection of the environment by the public on industry has only been pushed into the limelight in the past couple of decades. Prior to this it could be argued that it was accepted that environmental protection and economic development were at odds. However it has since been recognised that there is a need to achieve environmental sustainability, the concept of which was released in the 1987 Brundtland Report released by the United Nations. There are a number of ways that industry can reduce its impact on the environment and thus help reach this goal. While some advocated that stricter legislation would result in greater innovation by industry in “cleaning-up” its act, such as the Porter Hypothesis, there were also a number of new concepts and voluntary industry codes being developed. These new practices and codes have been promoted by organisations such as the International Chamber of Commerce and include technological improvements within organisations and improved resource productivity. The aim of this case study research was to find out what the environmental policy and related performance of Summerpride Foods Ltd, a pineapple processing factory in East London was and does an understanding of its environmental performance provide insights for improved efficiency. This involved the identification and analysis of what resources were used during the processing of pineapples as well as making recommendations that would result in increased efficiencies of their use. Due to the number of resources identified, only the use of water and coal which were ranked as having the highest impact were investigated further. The literature review showed that there are industry moves to applying cleaner production and eco-efficiency concepts as a means to attaining environmental sustainability. There are a number of voluntary environmental management system standards and codes that organisations can subscribe to with most probably the ISO 14001 standard being the most internationally recognised. There are many benefits to organisations adopting such standards. The use of lifecycle assessments is a useful tool that can be used to assess the environmental impact of a product through its entire life and thus enable one to identify all resources used and their impact, as well as to provide the information required to quantify areas where the greatest improvements can be made. The results of this research showed that at the start of the study, there was no formal environmental policy in place at Summerpride Foods Ltd and that this was starting to become a requirement with some customers. The detailed results which focused on water and coal usage showed that current operating methods do not recognise the importance of any wastage and that there are a number of changes that could be made that would not only result in better efficiency of use but would also result in substantial financial savings to the organisation. Summerpride Foods Ltd currently has a number of systems in place that help reduce its impact on the environment but these are not formally recorded. Summerpride Foods Ltd should adopt the principles of eco-efficiency and record all systems that impact on the environment. This would be the first step to attaining a formal environmental management system accreditation which due the increasing competitiveness of the international market in which Summerpride Foods Ltd operates, would give it a degree of advantage over those competing pineapples processing factories that do not have such accreditation.

There is a growing concern from government, communities, civil society and mining companies on the sustained development of the impact of mining on communities and the benefits of mineral development. Communities are more vocal in expressing their expectations for benefits and on the other hand mines are concerned about profits and maintaining a social licence to operate. This study critically evaluates the impact mining has on socio-economic development in mining communities. The focus area of the study is the West Rand District Municipality in Gauteng Province, South Africa. The ‘impact’ refers to the mine’s contribution to infrastructure development and poverty reduction projects in areas where the mine is operating and sourcing labour from. Forecasts for better performance in the future will be assessed. Issues such as community consultation, identification of projects, development forums, the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and partnerships are addressed. The literature was reviewed from existing national and international research on the topic. The study starts from two assumptions. The first is that minerals are potentially a great resource of wealth for poor countries. The second assumption is that minerals have the potential to benefit the local population through the creation of indirect employment, skills transfer, enhancing the capacity of health and education services, improved infrastructure and small and medium business opportunities. Poverty levels are viewed on a national and international scale. The study reveals problems, with existing approaches, on mine community development. It concludes that the impact of mining on infrastructure development and poverty reduction projects can be huge, but only if a variety of demanding preconditions are met. The study concludes that the reality of mineral led development in mine communities has not lived up to a roaring promise.

M.Sc. / Coal mining is a mature industry and plays a vital part in the economy and development of South Africa. Coal mining however is a temporary use of land. Historically, when an ore body was exhausted, production ceased and mines were boarded up and abandoned. Today mine closure requires the return of land to a viable and sustainable post-mining land use but a number of challenges are associated with mine reclamation. One of the greatest challenges is the inability of mines in South Africa to return mined land to its pre-mining state or land capability. The minimization of loss of land use capability and equally soil resource is a key part in achieving success in mine reclamation. This study verifies and assesses the replaced soil depth and actual post-mining land capability at a surface coal mine in Mpumalanga province, according to the Chamber of Mines “Guidelines for the rehabilitation of mined land” (2007). Five of the seven reclaimed sites within the study area exceeded the planned land capability proportions determined during the pre-mining stage. A top soil balance done at the end of January 2010 however indicates that the available volume of soil resource at the mine will not suffice the amount needed to achieve the planned land capability in areas not yet reclaimed. It is suggested that the lack of an adequate soil monitoring and management strategy in the past, has led to the shortfall of the available soil resource at the mine. The soil monitoring and reconciliation strategy developed will hopefully assist mine managers and rehabilitation planners to prevent further soil loss at the mine.

Thesis (LLM.) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / Section 24 of the constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 guarantees a right to a healthy and safe environment. It provides for the environment which is beneficial, conducive and productive to the community. However, this right is being violated on a daily basis by the mining companies which degrade the environment through their activities or operations within the mining communities by violating the legal regulations aimed at restoration, rehabilitation, management and prevention of degradation to the environment. Therefore this mini-dissertation advocate for stringent enforcement of the laws aimed at prevention of environmental degradation and further compels mining companies to comply with existing laws. It calls for the minister not to hesitate to revoke the mining licences or withdrawal of the mining permits of any erring mining companies. It utilises the jurisprudence from China and Australia as comparative study in order to draw relevant lessons from their approaches

Environmental impact assessment follow-up has been widely addressed by various researchers. However, there is still a gap in the actual implementation of this process. This study addresses this gap by evaluating the effectiveness of implementing the environmental authorizations of Eskom’s Kusile and Medupi Power Stations during the construction phase. The main aim of the study is to determine whether the environmental authorization conditions were effectively implemented by project developers and whether full compliance which could lead towards sustainable development was at the forefront of Kusile and Medupi developments. The survey method was used whereby questionnaires were formulated and completed by fifty (50) participants involved in the implementation of both power stations’ environmental authorizations. The results showed that the importance of protecting the environment and overall compliance with the projects’ environmental authorization conditions are well understood and implemented. However, some of the responses indicated the difficulty in implementing certain environmental authorization conditions such as retaining existing vegetation cover. About Nineteen (19) external audit reports (of which nine were for Kusile and ten for Medupi) between the periods of 2008 to 2014 were reviewed and the audit results shown good percentage of over 90% compliance with the environmental authorization at both power stations. In conclusion, the environmental authorizations were well implemented by both Kusile and Medupi Power Stations. The environmental management through compliance with the environmental authorization is at the forefront of the Eskom’s developments and thus promotes sustainable development. The outcome of this study has a wide application that includes application to any new project that involves building infrastructure. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Management)

M.Sc. (Zoology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Current life cycle assessment tools are often deficient in assisting design for sustainable manufacturing efforts. Integrating an improved assessment method into a decision support framework will provide a means for designers and engineers to better understand the impacts of their decisions. A unit process modeling-based sustainability assessment method is presented to assist design decision making by accounting for and quantifying economic, environmental, and social attributes. A set of these sustainability metrics is defined as a basis for comparison of component design alternatives. The method is demonstrated using two titanium component production alternatives that represent typical design for manufacturing scenarios. The modeling method significantly increases the resolution of sustainable manufacturing metrics over conventional assessment techniques, and is one aspect of the overall decision support framework developed. Additionally, fixed sum importance weighting, weighted sum modeling, and scenario analysis were selected as easily employed and transparent design decision techniques to provide the remaining elements of the framework. The demonstration of the decision support framework for titanium component manufacturing illustrates that the sequential approach developed can assist engineers in developing more sustainable components and products. / Graduation date: 2012