<p>On-going and future climate change is universally acknowledged. Climate changeincorporating global mean temperature rise, impacts on global hydrology and ecosystems willaffect human society and global economy. Corporations will encounter a changing world,most likely including negative effects on business and the global markets, influencingdevelopment and economic growth. Some companies will likely face increasing threats, whileothers may be less affected or may even benefit from direct or indirect change.Affected by climate change interruptions to every-day-business may come as a result or evenbe unavoidable in some regions. Business as usual may therefore not be an option. CorporateClimate Change Adaptation offers companies a solution for responding to climate change andthe interconnected uncertainties, adjusting to noticed or expected climate change effects,focusing on avoiding negative consequences and/or possibly taking advantage of newopportunities.With the aim of studying corporate awareness and understanding of climate change as well ason-going Corporate Climate Change Adaptation a case study including interviews with eightSwedish fashion and textile companies was conducted, supplemented by a literature reviewand discussions with line-of-business and monitoring organizations.Presented in this master’s thesis, the study established that Swedish fashion and textilecompanies show awareness and acceptance of the climate change issue, agreeing to thatclimate change will have ecological and social consequences. However, Swedish fashion andtextile companies, portraying a greatly varying focus on climate change issues, seem only toshow limited understanding of climate change effects regarding natural resources, and docommonly not connect climate change to their own status, to their business activities,processes, supply chains or corporate needs. Displaying low proactivity none of theinvestigated eight Swedish fashion and textile companies had started to adapt to on-going orfuture climate change or plan for future adaptation. The Swedish fashion and textilecompanies, it seems, will need an alarum for the process of Corporate Climate ChangeAdaptation to start.</p>

<p>Political consumers, by using their consumerism to make political statements, constitute a potential force in changing global consumption patterns towards more sustainable ones. Thus new insights concerning this specific group and its ways of searching for information prior to a purchase decision might help understand the mechanisms behind sustainable consumption choices. This study is based on a series of twelve personal qualitative interviews conducted with Swedish consumers of sustainable goods. These interviews confirmed certain characteristics known to political consumers, such as a high level of commitment, high standards regarding information and the frequent use of labelling schemes. Furthermore this study has shown the complexity experienced by this group of consumers regarding sustainability claims and the role of a chosen “sustainability champion” in helping make sense of this complex information. Finally this study reminds of the significance of respecting the consumer and his trust for a message as well as the need for simple and clear information tools to distinguish proper sustainable goods from others.</p>

<p>Debatten om affärsetik och företagets sociala ansvar i globala sammanhang med olika naturliga, ekonomiska och kulturella förutsättningar har fått en mer framträdande roll i och med globalisering. Syftet med denna studie är att fastställa hur kulturella och lokala förutsättningar påverkar arbetet inom Corporate Social Responsibility genom att undersöka och jämföra CSR arbetet på hotell i kulturellt och geografiskt olikartade länder. Data för indikatorer för avfallsproduktion, vattenförbrukning, energianvändning, jämlika anställningsmöjligheter, yrkesutbildning och facklig organisering samlades in från hotell i Sverige, Norge, Danmark, Island, Storbritannien, Kina, Saudiarabien, Oman, Egypten och Förenade Arabemiraten och jämfördes mot benchmarks.</p><p>Data från hotellen i de olika länderna jämfördes mot Hofstedes analys av kulturer för att undersöka eventuella samband mellan kulturella aspekter och CSR-arbete. Resultaten visar att det finns en omvänd korrelation mellan Maktdistans och facklig organisering, och även mellan Maskulinitet och andel kvinnor i tjänstemannapositioner. Dessa samband är framförallt tydliga på hotell i Skandinavien och Mellanöstern. Resultaten visar även att politiska system och nivå av ekonomisk utveckling kan påverka nivån på CSR-arbetet. Skandinaviska hotell låg närmare benchmarknivåer med avseende på alla indikatorer jämfört med hotellen i Mellanöstern, vilket bekräftar slutsatser från tidigare studier som visat att utveckling och socialdemokratisk dominans har positiv påverkan på CSR-aspekter. Vidare visar resultaten att äganderättigheter, lokala traditioner och samhällsförväntningar kan påverka CSR arbetet.</p><p>Slutligen visar resultaten, samt bristen på resultat, vikten för hotell att använda sig av ett gemensamt mätningssystem och konsekventa enheter, och av att ha ett centralt rapporteringssystem för miljö- och arbetsfrågor. Utan ett system för att utvärdera och jämföra nivån på CSR-arbetet på olika hotell är det omöjligt att fastställa den relativa effektiviteten av olika satsningar på miljö och arbetsfrågor och därmed svårare att uppnå effektivitet och framgång inom CSR-arbetet.</p>

<p>Frölunda-Aspvik Säteri, a company just outside Stockholm within the agriculture and forestry sector, has developed a business idea around countryside tourism as a complement to their existing business. The idea is to offer a high quality and functional way of living in small cottages surrounded by beautiful nature and landscape of cultural importance. There will also be a range of additional activities available such as hunting, canoeing, cycling etc. The project should be done with minimum impact on the surrounding environment and the importance of the ecological system should be at the forefront of all business decisions. At present the company wants to have a better understanding of what the future trends are within tourism, how its business idea fits in with future trends within tourism and how to stay competitive.</p><p>The purpose of this research paper is to identify the social driving forces that have an impact on people’s lifestyle and choice of holiday destination in the future, and present how these factors affect the travel industry. The result will then be used to evaluate the feasibility of Frölunda-Aspvik´s business idea around tourism. </p><p>A literature study has been carried out and the result of that has then been used to evaluate the company´s business idea. The main future trends are that tourists will have higher expectations, be more quality conscious and expect greater diversification regarding how they spend their holiday. This leads to travellers becoming more sophisticated. The reason can be explained by a higher disposable income and levels of education, better health, increased experience of travel and that people’s needs and expectations become more heterogeneous and individual. Many prefer several but shorter vacations spread out over the year. Time efficiency will also be crucial where demand for a combination of holiday, relaxation and various types of activities will increase. The health aspect will become more important where spa- and health destinations will be favoured. Outdoor activities and nature experiences will increase in popularity but also tourist products that are more intellectual and creative. More people expect peace and quiet where the primary purpose of the holiday is to escape from everyday life. Concern for the environment will be more significant as will the search for a deeper meaning beyond material possessions where also authenticity emerges as a selection criterion regarding tourist products and destinations.</p><p>The conclusion of the study is to further develop Frölunda-Aspvik Säteri’s intentions to benefit from future tourism by extending its activities to include holiday facilities to compliment its existing business. From the study, it is clear that the company will be able to fulfil some of the needs of what future tourists value most. However, the company should also take into consideration other external factors that have not been included in this report which are stemming from ecological, economical, political and technical origin. In some cases, particularly in a longer perspective, the impact of threats such as climate changes, increasing oil prices and downturn in the economy could imply more threats to company. These should be looked at in more detail if they decide to realise its business plan within tourism.</p>

<p>Tack vare datorer finns det idag möjligheter att utöka det befintliga stödet till patienter som är i behov av hjälp inom vården. I ett pågående projekt på Karolinska institutet utvecklas ett datorstyrt telefonstöd (Telephone-Linked Care, TLC) för rättpsykiatriska patienter i öppenvård. En långsiktig målsättning är att reducera antalet våldsincidenter som inträffar i sammanhang där denna patientgrupp är inblandad. Huvudsyftet med denna uppsats var att finna en förtroendeingivande kvinnlig och manlig röst för användning i TLC. Ett annat syfte var att undersöka om olika rösters trovärdighet bedömdes olika av olika kategorier av bedömare. En enkätundersökning genomfördes där olika rösters trovärdighet bedömdes av patienter och av en jämförelsegrupp. Resultaten visade att de manliga rösterna bedömdes som signifikant mer trovärdiga än de kvinnliga rösterna, samt att de yngre bedömarna (<31 år) var signifikant mer negativa i sina bedömningar av rösternas trovärdighet än de äldre bedömarna (>31 år). I övrigt kunde en kvinnlig och en manlig röst utses som de mest förtroendeingivande hos patienterna. Enkätundersökningens resultat diskuteras i relation till tidigare forskning beträffande interaktion mellan människor och datorer.</p>

<p>There's no doubt today that mankind has contributed to the changing climate by</p><p>her use of fossil fuels. This must change in the nearby future. The European</p><p>leaders are expressing concern that renewable energy sources are not being</p><p>used to their full potential. The 2001/77/EC Directive on Electricity Production</p><p>from Renewable Energy Sources was accepted in 2001 to encourage the</p><p>development of energy production from renewable sources, which is</p><p>considered a step towards the fulfillment of the goal of the Union, that 12% of</p><p>the gross energy consumption should come from renewable energy sources by</p><p>the year 2010.</p><p>The objective of this thesis is to illuminate the common legislation of the EU</p><p>regarding renewable energy with regard to goal fulfillment, judicial quality,</p><p>conflicts with other goals of the EU and other faults. The objective is reached</p><p>by a hermeneutic study in which interpretation of written text is the main</p><p>method. To analyze whether the EU stimulates the usage of renewable energy</p><p>within the union I have applied a method used in audits. I have analyzed an</p><p>empirical material and drawn conclusions using an inductive method.</p><p>It is difficult to make specific demands on the legislation of member states</p><p>because the circumstances vary heavily depending on external factors and other</p><p>laws. The laws of the European Union must conform to a large number of</p><p>criteria to be considered rational and legitimate. They must be in line with the</p><p>basic goals of the union, serve the purpose of the legislator, not violate any</p><p>human rights and be coherent with other legislation.</p><p>Directive 2001/77/EC complies with the fundamental goals of the union. It also</p><p>complies fully with basic human rights, particularly the right to a good</p><p>environment, which is included in the third generation human rights. The</p><p>directive does not however meet all the political rationalities because it does not</p><p>serve all intended political purposes. The directive was accepted as an important</p><p>step for the union to reach the goals of the Kyoto protocol. It is, however, clear</p><p>that the goals for the year 2010, as presented in the directive and the Kyoto</p><p>protocol, will not be reached unless the use of renewable energy sources sees a</p><p>drastic increase.</p>

<p>The Swedish government has set up 16 environmental goals for Sweden to achieve. One of</p><p>them is “Living forests”, which is the foundation for the “National strategy for the formal</p><p>protection of forests”. The “National strategy” puts the private forest owner at the centre of</p><p>attention in order to achieve the environmental goal “Living forests”. Adaptive Management</p><p>could help with the implementation of the “National strategy”. 9 qualitative interviews have</p><p>been done in order to examine how the communication between private forest owners and</p><p>responsible authorities works. The interviews give the private forest owners’ perspective, and</p><p>what they want the communication to be like, when it comes to conservation biology.</p><p>Communication, language, and how to deal with conservation biology have been the main</p><p>issues brought up during the interviews. The private forest owners also demand more</p><p>flexibility and a keener ear from responsible authorities. The private forest owners would like</p><p>a better knowledge of what is happening when it comes to conservation biology on their land.</p><p>The private forest owners and the responsible authorities do have similar goals for what they</p><p>want to achieve with the forest, but they disagree on how to achieve that goal.</p>

<p>The study aims to give a description of the conditions in which matters is prepared within</p><p>Swedish Government`s offices, to describe the adaptive capacity in the agency`s internal</p><p>processes by investigating the experiences of some civil servants restricted to the Ministry of</p><p>Enterprise and the Ministry of Environment in their work with the EU Maritime Policy Green</p><p>Paper. The results have been analyzed against the basis of eight identified criteria of building</p><p>adaptive capacity in socially dominated systems. The criteria are comprised of both individual</p><p>and organizational abilities. Only two of them were fully met; the criteria about diversity in</p><p>experiences and knowledge and the criteria about information and how the information has</p><p>been applied. However, the process has traces of all the identified criteria. Hence, there are</p><p>elements of adaptive capacity in the Governments office internal processes and this ability</p><p>exists mainly on individual scale. The two most crucial factors that limit the ability to build</p><p>adaptive capacity are the scarcity of time and the work overload experienced by the</p><p>employees.</p>

<p>According to several scientific reports, climate change will have an impact on water provision and thus agriculture, which depends on soil moisture for plant survival. India is a country that is heavily dependent on agriculture as a source of income. One of the country’s future challenges is securing water for irrigation. Cotton in India is an important cash crop which is grown under high evapotranspirative demand, using about 15% of the national water resources, making the crop vulnerable to changes in water availability.</p><p>The purpose of this study is to evaluate the resilience of cotton production with regards to water availability and pesticide use in Punjab and Andhra Pradesh. Three aspects of resilience: latitude, resistance and precariousness has been used to analyse three variables, precipitation, irrigation and pesticide in order to understand how these cotton growing systems are going to be affected by climate change. By bringing together existing data from several scientific reports and governmental websites, assumptions could be made whether these systems are resilient or if they are reaching a threshold. The results show that the cotton growing regions of Punjab are highly vulnerable when it comes to water provision in the region and that they might be reaching a threshold. Changes in climate are predicted to affect precipitation and temperature in the area, which in time might ultimately affect water resources in the region. Groundwater depletion and water logging are already prevailing problems in the area where almost all cotton production is irrigated. Cotton farmers in Andhra Pradesh are struggling with pest infestation which induces them to overconsume pesticides, affecting not only water quality in the area, but also farmers’ livelihood. It is likely that climate change will not minimize the outbreaks; on the contrary it might benefit some pests, which might increase the consumption of pesticide in the region. Coastal districts are more exposed to extreme weather which can harm cotton cultivation.</p>

<p>This thesis aims to investigate perceptions of sustainability in relation to business</p><p>strategy within the Swedish chemical industry. To this end, a survey was</p><p>distributed with the assistance of industry organization Plast- och Kemiföretagen</p><p>to companies that are part of the Responsible Care® program.</p><p>A second purpose of the study is to explore critical factors when implementing an</p><p>integration of sustainability with business strategy. To do this as well as dig deeper</p><p>into a couple of questions raised in the survey, a qualitative study was carried out</p><p>at Akzo Nobel business unit Pulp and Paper Chemicals (operating under the brand</p><p>name of Eka Chemicals). Semi-structured interviews were performed with seven</p><p>company representatives from different organizational levels, to explore critical</p><p>factors identified in a literary study.</p><p>From the survey, it could be concluded that the studied companies considered</p><p>sustainability as an important issue today and with growing importance for the</p><p>future. It was also observed that sustainability is currently not an issue at the core</p><p>of business strategy, as 35% of respondent companies did not think that top</p><p>management handled issues related to sustainability. Enhanced reputation and</p><p>cost reduction/resource efficiency were seen as the primary creators of business</p><p>value when addressing sustainability. Additional top motivating forces to consider</p><p>sustainability were legislative demands and company core values.</p><p>From the literary study a model of critical factors when implementing changes in</p><p>strategy was developed. Four different aspects identified were explored in the</p><p>semi-structured interviews at Eka Chemicals: change leadership, shared vision,</p><p>sense of urgency and aligning goals. In that specific setting, the critical factors of</p><p>having a shared vision and aligning individual, organizational unit and corporate</p><p>goals were found to exist to a high degree, while the critical factor of change</p><p>leadership was only partially existent, and a sense of urgency not existent.</p>