Adopted in 2015, the 2030 Agenda and the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for integrated approaches and aim to “leave no one behind”. This licentiate thesis focuses on localisation of the SDGs in Swedish municipal organisations, and more specifically at early stages of SDG localisation processes. It investigates how the SDGs can be operationalised into municipal organisations and in what ways municipal organisations can engage with other actors in SDG localisation. The thesis takes it theoretical point of departure in governance, strategic planning, and management connected to sustainability and municipal organisations. This cover essay is based on three qualitative studies, mainly built on interviews but complemented with observations and document studies. The three studies explore SDG localisation from different perspectives. The first study focus on SDG operationalisation in a municipal organisation, the second on regional SDG collaboration and the third focuses on the intersection between SDG operationalisation and collaboration in municipal organisations.  The findings (in this thesis) reveal that all studied municipalities showed ambitions to operationalise the SDGs holistically across sustainability dimensions (and sectors) through strategy and practices in the municipal organisation. The examples also show different levels and ways of how municipal organisations can engage with external actors in SDG localisation, from no specific external engagement to communicating the SDGs or initiating local SDG networks. In short, the SDGs can serve as a common denominator and contributes to learning, in both external and internal sustainability efforts. Moreover, the SDGs give municipal organisations an opportunity to approach a leader role to forward local sustainability. However, there is a tendency wanting to operationalise the SDGs internally before engaging with external actors, and hence, to act as a good example to have the credibility to engage other actors. Yet, this is challenging as the SDGs cover many areas. There is also a risk to get stuck in the details regarding operationalisation, hampering the municipal organisations to take a more active role in externally in SDG localisation. To manage this, it is suggested that SDG operationalisation and actor engagement should be approached as parallel (and intertwined) processes. This, and SDG localisation overall, puts a lot of pressure on municipal (SDG) process leaders, who need to have the mandate to act (i.e. placed centrally, organisational and political support) and have a generalist, flexible and open approach. This research contributes with knowledge and examples of SDG localisation and forwarding sustainability in municipal organisations, additionally it contributes theoretically to further understanding of the connections between sustainability management and local governance. / År 2015 antogs Agenda 2030 och de sjutton globala målen, de är byggda på devisen att “ingen får lämnas utanför” och kräver integrerade förhållningssätt. Den här licentiatavhandlingen fokuserar på lokalanpassning av de globala målen i svenska kommuner och mer specifikt i tidiga faser av sådana processer. Forskningen som ligger till grund för denna avhandling undersöker hur globala målen kan bli operationaliserade i kommuner (internt) och på vilka sätt de kan arbeta med globala målen tillsammans med lokala aktörer (externt). Den här avhandlingen har en teoretisk utgångspunkt i styrning (governance), strategisk planering och management kopplat till hållbarhet och kommuner. Avhandlingen innehåller tre studier byggda på kvalitativa metoder, vilka är främst är baserade på intervjuer men också kompletterade med dokumentstudier och observationer. De tre studierna utforskar lokalanpassningen av globala målen från olika perspektiv. Den första studien har ett internt perspektiv och fokuserar på operationalisering av globala målen i en kommun. Den andra har ett externt perspektiv, i form av ett regionalt samarbete för globala målen. Den tredje fokuserar på skärningen mellan det interna och externa arbetet med globala målen i kommuner.   Forskningen som ligger till grund för den här avhandlingen visar att alla studerade kommuner har ambitionen att operationalisera globala målen holistiskt, tvärsöver hållbarhetsdimensioner (och sektorer) genom strategier till praktik. Kommunerna demonstrerar också olika nivåer och sätt som de kan arbeta med externa aktörer i lokalanpassningen av globala målen, från inget direkt externt arbete till att kommunicera eller initiera lokala nätverk för globala målen. Kortfattat så kan globala målen fungera som en gemensam nämnare och kan bidra till lärande, i både externt och internt hållbarhetsarbete. Globala målen ger även kommunerna en möjlighet att ta en ledande roll för att främja lokalt hållbarhetsarbete. Dock finns en tendens att vilja operationalisera globala målen innan ett externt arbete påbörjas. Med andra ord, för att ha trovärdighet nog att engagera andra aktörer vill kommunen först vara ett ”gott exempel” vilket är utmanande eftersom globala målen omfattar många områden att vara ”goda exempel” inom. Det finns också en risk att kommunen fastnar i detaljer gällande operationaliseringen, vilket hindrar kommunen att ta en mer aktiv roll externt i lokaliseringen av globala målen. För att hantera detta, föreslås i denna avhandling att intern operationalisering och externt arbete med aktörer ska hanteras som två parallella (men sammanflätade) processer. Detta, och lokalanpassning av globala målen överlag, lägger mycket ansvar på processledarna (som arbetar med lokaliseringen av globala målen i kommunen), vilka behöver mandat att agera (exempelvis placerade centralt i organisationen, organisatoriskt och politiskt stöd) samt med fördel ha ett generalistiskt, flexibelt och öppet förhållningssätt. Denna forskning bidrar med kunskap och exempel av lokalanpassningen av globala målen samt lokalt hållbarhetsarbete mer generellt. Den bidrar också teoretiskt till förståelse gällande kopplingen mellan hållbarhetsmanagement och lokal styrning (governance).

Yes / The central aim of this chapter is to describe the policy and practice of affirmative action measures. It synthesizes findings from published studies and highlights the rationale, drivers, benefits, beneficiaries, effectiveness, and impacts of affirmative action policies and practices in different countries. The chapter will discuss the possible lessons from these studies and highlight the link between affirmative action policies and practices and contributions to achieving target 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Yes / Business leaders and policymakers within service economies are placing greater emphasis on well-being, given the role of workers in such settings. Whilst people’s well-being can lead to economic growth, it can also have the opposite effect if overlooked. Therefore, enhancing subjective well-being (SWB) is pertinent for all organisations for the sustainable development of an economy. While health conditions were previously deemed the most reliable predictors, the availability of data on people’s personal lifestyles now offers a new dimension into well-being for organisations. Using open data available from the national Annual Population Survey in the UK, which measures SWB, this research uncovered that among several independent variables to predict varying levels of people's perceived well-being, long-term health conditions, one's marital status, and age played a key role in SWB. The proposed model provides the key indicators of measuring SWB for organisations using big data.

Brucellosis is an economically important bacterial disease of both animals and humans. In sub-Saharan Africa, the diagnosis of the disease remains a challenge. Brucellosis is underreported in South Africa, due to inconsistency in reports of bacteriological and serological tests, which lack adequate sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of the disease. They also are ineffective in confirming brucellosis during early stages of the disease. The aim of this study was to develop a 16S-23S ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acid (rDNA) internal transcribed spacer (ITS) quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay for early diagnosis of brucellosis and as a rapid screening tool. To achieve this, blood, milk and tissue samples were spiked with B. abortus biovar (bv.) 1 (B01988-18 strain) to determine the analytical sensitivity and specificity of the assay. The efficiency was 105% in tissue, 99% in blood, and 93% in milk. The 95% limit of detection (LOD) of the ITS qPCR assay was highest in tissue, followed by blood, then milk; thus (1.45, 13.30 and 45.54 bacterial genome copies/PCR reaction). Furthermore, the diagnostic performance of the assay was compared to the Brucella cell surface protein real time polymerase chain reaction (BCSP31 qPCR) assay. Out of 56 aborted foetal tissue samples from bovine, ovine and caprine, 33% (19/56) were positive for Brucella spp. The sensitivity and specificity of the ITS qPCR assay were 87% and 95% respectively, compared to the 92% and 89% for the BCSP31 qPCR assay and 47% and 55% for bacterial culture, respectively. The ITS qPCR gave earlier CT’s with a difference in CT (ΔCT) between ITS and BCSP31 ranging between 7.1 and 3.24. The assay was efficient, sensitive and specific. It detected as little as 1.45 bacterial genome copies/PCR reaction in tissue, making this assay a valuable tool in early detection of the presence of the Brucella pathogen. It is sensitive and specific in the diagnosis of brucellosis. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Veterinary Tropical Diseases / MSc / Unrestricted

Vermeersiekte or ‘vomiting disease’ is an economically important disease of ruminants following ingestion of Geigeria species in South Africa. Sheep are more susceptible and poisoning is characterised by stiffness, regurgitation, bloat, paresis and paralysis. Geigeria aspera was collected in the Vrede district (27° 25′ 48″ S; 29° 9′ 36″ E), Free State Province. The plant material was dried, milled and the toxic principles, known as sesquiterpene lactones, were extracted and isolated following chromatographic procedures. Even though geigerin and ivalin were previously isolated, an unknown sesquiterpene lactone, isogeigerin acetate, was also purified. Mouse myoblast (C2C12) and rat embryonic cardiac myocyte (H9c2) cell lines were exposed to different concentrations of geigerin, ivalin, isogeigerin acetate and a commercially available sesquiterpene lactone, parthenolide. An in vitro colorimetric assay 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) was used to assess cytotoxicity. The median effective concentrations (EC50) indicated that ivalin and parthenolide were significantly (p<0.05) more toxic than geigerin and isogeigerin acetate. A concentration-dependent cytotoxic response was observed in both cell lines, however, C2C12 cells were more sensitive. A high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis was used to evaluate the in vitro metabolism of parthenolide, following the addition of a mouse liver microsomal fraction. Results revealed that parthenolide, incubated with the microsomal fraction, undergoes enzymatic transformation to form a metabolite. / Dissertation (MSc (Veterinary Sciences))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / pt2021 / Paraclinical Sciences / MSc (Veterinary Sciences) / Unrestricted

Syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera hållbarhetsrapportering med fokus på klimatrelaterade redogörelser. Tre noterade företag i Sverige respektive Tyskland undersöks med genomgång och innehållsanalys av företagens hållbarhetsrapporter och årsredovisningar och specificeringen sker i en jämförelse mellan företagens klimatrelaterade hållbarhetsredovisning.  I denna uppsats har det tillämpats en kombination av kvantitativa och kvalitativa forskningsstrategier och en abduktiv utgångspunkt i forskningen. Genom innehållsanalys och kvantifiering av kvalitativa data har empiri insamlats från företag inom läkemedelsbranschen, affärssytembranschen och elektronikbranschen. Genom att kombinera tre redovisningsteorier, nämligen legitimitets- och intressentteori, samt harmoniseringsteori, möjliggörs en koppling och analys av studiens resultat som resulterar i välgrundade slutsatser och förslag på vidare forskning. Uppsatsen konkluderar att de tyska företagen ligger i en marginell framkant när det gäller hållbarhetsredovisning och att branschpraxis är vital för företagens redogörelse av klimatrelaterade hållbarhetsfaktorer. / The purpose of this paper is to analyze environmental sustainability reporting with focus lying on climaterelated factors. Three listed companies in Sweden and Germany are reviewed with the help of content analysis of the entities annual and sustainability reports and the specification takes place in a comparison between the environmental reporting of each company.  In this essay there has been a usage of both quantitative and qualitative research strategies and takes its premise in an abductive approach. Through content analysis and quantification of qualitative data the empirical base has been collected from companies in the pharmaceutical, business system and electronics industries. By combining three theories, specifically the legitimacy, stakeholder and harmonization theory the possibility of qualitative analysis and well-founded conclusions together with guidelines on further research are made possible. The essay concludes that the German companies are marginally better in terms of sustainability reporting and that industry practice is essential when it comes to accounting for climate- related sustainability factors

Minskningen av miljöbelastningen är ytterst viktig för att värna om planeten för de kommande generationer. Tillsammans med den höga efterfrågan för hållbart arbete har Förenta nationerna, FN, framfört och utvecklat 17 globala mål för en hållbar utveckling, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Detta arbete kallas för Agenda 2030. Arbetet utreder Green Kaizen, eller Green Accelerator, metoden på Scania, hos en större produktionsenhet. Metoden avser att öka medvetenhet och engagemang, med målet att minska miljöpåverkan samt accelerera hållbarhetsarbetet på Scanias motormontering. Verktyget Green Performance Map, GPM, användes för att tydliggöra vilka aktiviteter som kan utföras direkt i monteringsstationerna med ändamålet att förbättra hållbarhetsarbetet. Syftet med studien var att utforska hur en produktionsenhet inom motormonteringen på Scania kan bidra till accelerationen av det totala hållbarhetsarbetet. Fallstudien skall besvara huruvida Green Kaizen metoden accelererar det miljömässiga hållbarhetsarbetet inom Scanias motormontering. Utöver det undersöktes även hur mer effektiv och tydlig kommunikation kan stimulera delaktigheten och sprida god arbetsmiljö hos samtliga medarbetare på den avsedda avdelningen miljöförbättring. Metoder som användes för att reda ut frågeställningarna var: observationer, enkäter samt intervjuer. Tjänstemän och montörer på Scanias motormontering var nyckelpersonerna som data grundades på. Resultatet visade brister i miljöförbättringsarbetet. Bristerna som identifierade svar inom följande områden: informationsöverföringen, involveringen av medarbetarna samt kunskap, verktyg och resurser. Detta kan behövas för att tillföra en kultur av kontinuerlig miljöförbättringsarbete på området och hela företaget. Åtgärder såsom att förbättra avfallshanteringen samt öka involveringen av medarbetarna genom diverse aktiviteter har framtagits för att gynna det undersökta området i Scanias motormontering. Slutsatsen visade att metoden Green Kaizen kan effektiviseras för att accelerera miljöförbättringsarbetet på Scanias motormonteringsenhet. Även vikten av ökad motivation, stöd, informationsspridning, utbildning och miljömässig kommunikation påvisades för kontinuerlig miljöförbättringsarbete på enheten. / Reducing the environmental impact is extremely important to protect the planet for future generations. Together with the high demand for sustainable work, the United Nations, the United Nations, has developed and developed 17 Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A project called Agenda 2030. The work investigates the application of Green Kaizen, which is a method that increases awareness and commitment, to reduce the environmental impact and accelerate the sustainability work of the case study that took place at Scania's engine assembly. The Green Performance Map tool, GPM, is used to process which activities that can be executed directly in the assembly line to contribute to the overall durability improvement in engine assembly. The purpose was to explore how a production unit in engine assembly at Scania can contribute to accelerating the overall sustainability work. Whether the method adds to the commitment of the employees by communicating the sustainability work was investigated within Scania's engine assembly. In addition, how clearer communication can stimulate participation and spread agood working environment around the environmental improvement work among all employees in the intended department. Observations, surveys, and interviews were conducted with fitters and key people at the assembly unit at Scania. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. The results showed the shortcomings in the environmental improvement work. These shortcomings included the transfer of information, the involvement of employees and knowledge, tools, and resources, performed by the employees. There is a need to add a culture of continuous environmental improvement work to the area and the entire company. Measures such as improving waste management and increasing the involvement of employees through activities have been developed based on the results in the area studied in Scania's engine assembly. The conclusion showed that the Green Kaizen method can be used to accelerate the environmental improvement work on Scania's engine assembly unit that was investigated. Furthermore, it was shown that increased motivation and support, dissemination of information and training can communicate the importance of continuous environmental improvement work at the unit.

Background and motivation Informal food vending has many benefits that range from food security for the urban poor, to contribution to local economies. Yet, the street food sector is not recognized and is treated as a major public health risk. This is based partly on perceptions of local authorities that street food vendors are undesirable, or are a temporary phenomenon that will disappear in due course as a result of development. Moreover, a number of studies have documented contamination of street foods with pathogenic microorganisms like Staphylococci aureus and enteric organisms. The former can grow and express virulence in foods such as meat and meat products post cooking. To date no participatory risk analysis methods have been applied to informal markets in Tshwane, to study the food value chain of ready-to-eat (RTE) chicken and quantify the risk of exposure to selected foodborne diseases, or to determine predictors for contamination of RTE chicken sold by informal vendors. Methodology A cross-sectional analytical study design was adopted to achieve the objectives of the present study. The study area was city of Tshwane, Gauteng Province, South Africa. The study population was informal vendors selling RTE chicken to commuters at taxi and bus stations and the sampling design involved cluster sampling. Markets were the sampling units and the informal vendors the units of concern. All clusters (n=13) that were identified were included in the study and all informal vendors located within the markets were invited to be part of the study. A total of 237 vendors agreed to be interviewed, have checklists filled in for their vending stalls, and provided a sample of RTE chicken (n= 237) for laboratory analysis. Participatory Risk Analysis, a novel approach to understanding food safety in data scarce environments, was used to collect data for analysis. Participatory research methods employed in this study included: check-lists and structured interviews with informal vendors, proportional piling and focus group discussions. Enumeration of bacterial colonies from RTE chicken samples was performed using 3MTM PetrifilmTM plates (3M, St. Paul. Mn, USA). Data for the demographic profile of vendors (n=237) was analysed using descriptive statistics to establish means and proportions. Thematic analysis combined with descriptive statistical analysis was used to establish and quantify the food value chain of informally traded RTE chicken. Stochastic risk analysis using @Risk 4.5 (Palisade Corp., Ithaca, N.Y.), was used to estimate the risk of staphylococcal food poisoning from consumption of street-vended RTE chicken. Univariable and multivariable regression models were developed using Stata 9.0 (StataCorp, College Station, Texas, USA) to determine predictors for contamination of RTE chicken with E. coli and coliform bacteria respectively. Results The majority of vendors in the markets studied were females (92%), and were between 25-50 years of age. Very few young people (< 25 years) were involved. More than half of the vendors (69.47%) ran the informal food outlet as a personal business. The minority were long term employees (15.04%) or were hired to help out for a short period of time (0.88%). A high level of literacy was observed among informal vendors. Assessment of hygiene practices showed a low level of compliance with regard to possession of a certificate of acceptance, washing of hands and utensils in the same container and controlling flies at the vending site. The environment in which informal vendors operated was not conducive to production of safe food. This means that Key 1 of the WHO five keys to safer food that requires that food production takes place in a clean environment was violated. Contamination of RTE chicken was associated with the use of water collected and supplied in containers of questionable microbiological status. This was because vendors also violated Key 5 of the WHO five keys to safer food, which requires that raw materials, including water used to prepare food should be of a high microbiological quality. However, high compliance was observed with regard to the following aspects: not wearing jewellery while preparing food, using cutlery to pick up RTE chicken, washable floors (concrete slabs and cemented floors), use of potable municipal water, preparing food in a closed structure (temporary or permanent) and locating vending stalls within 30m from the toilets. Four food value chains for RTE chicken, sold by informal vendors, were identified showing extensive cross-over from the formal to informal sector. This extensive cross-over, was corroborated by the fact that over 79.3% of the RTE chicken sold on informal markets in Tshwane metropolis, was sourced from formal markets such as supermarkets or wholesalers. The food value chain for RTE chicken was short, meaning that it involved very few stages from farm to fork. Furthermore the tendency was for the RTE chicken to be purchased, cooked and consumed the same day. Although the prevalence of contamination of RTE chicken with S. aureus was high (44%), the risk of staphylococcal food poisoning was estimated to be only 1.3% (90% CI: 0% - 2.7%) for each meal of RTE chicken consumed. The mean S. aureus counts in the RTE chicken was 103.6 (90% CI: 103.3 – 103.9). This level was lower than the 105 CFU/g needed to induce staphylococcal food poisoning. While contamination of RTE chicken with E. coli (6.32 %) was low, contamination with coliforms (23.21 %) was moderate. This suggests a moderate level of food hygiene. The fly population at the stalls where the RTE was on display, intermittent washing of hands, the location of the stall >30 m from the toilets and holding RTE chicken at <70 C were identified as important predictors of contamination with E. coli. Whereas, the use of potable toilets without hand washing facilities and poor hand washing practices were a positive predictor for contamination with coliforms. Conclusions The informal trade in food in Tshwane is dominated by women and for the majority of these vendors the informal trade in food, is the main source of employment. A risk communication strategy needs to take this into consideration. There is need for intervention to improve the hygiene in the informal markets and ensure that informal vendors observe the WHO five keys to safe food. The high level of literacy observed among informal vendors is good news, as it presents a situation of educated vendors; a fertile ground for initiatives aimed at improving their lives and the service they offer to their customers. There is neither a food policy aimed at ensuring food security for the urban poor nor evidence it is being implemented. This is supported by the high number of vendors operating in temporary structures. There is a need for the municipal authorities to intervene, to provide appropriate structures. Planning of new taxi ranks should include a proper food market, with facilities that meet the legal requirements for production of safe food. Informal vendors have demonstrated an awareness of the need to practice good food hygiene as proved by the compliance with certain hygienic food handling practices. The link between the formal and informal markets suggests that the informal market of RTE chicken is well-established with a reliable source of raw chicken. Furthermore, the strong inter-linkage between the formal and informal value chain for RTE chicken, further confirms the informal sector as a potential market for locally produced product. It also emphasizes its potential to impact on the economy of the city. In addition, this strong inter-linkage, suggests that the risks associated with the formal sector might be mirrored in the informal. Therefore, as the supermarket proliferation takes root in the rest of Africa, this food value chain and its associated risks might become the norm on the continent. The present study shows that participatory risk analysis is a good way to obtain data on informal markets. Such data can then be subjected to quantitative microbial risk analysis using sophisticated biostatistical techniques, to determine and quantify the microbial risks. The low risk of staphylococcal food poisoning proved that despite the poor working conditions under which the informal food vendors prepare food, they are able to produce food that is unlikely to result in food poisoning. However, due to the high prevalence of contamination of RTE chicken with S. aureus, there is a need for the informal vendors in these markets to be trained to improve hygienic food handling practices. On the positive side, the present study demonstrated that high prevalence of contamination does not always translate into high risk. The relatively low to moderate level of contamination with E. coli and coliforms respectively, suggests a low risk of enteric foodborne diseases from ingestion of RTE chicken. Given that some and not all hygiene practices were significantly associated with contamination of RTE chicken, monitoring authorities should emphasise identified predicators to reduce the risk of contamination and the subsequent risk of contracting foodborne diseases. The difference in hygiene scoring highlights that the one-size-fits all approach to monitoring of informal markets may not be effective. These need to be tailored to suit the individual informal markets. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / tm2015 / Paraclinical Sciences / PhD / Unrestricted

Syftet med denna uppsats har varit att analysera och förklara utvecklingen av den frivilliga och lagstadgade hållbarhetsredovisningen mellan år 2015 och 2018. Anledningen till detta är att frågor som rör miljön och klimatet blivit allt viktigare i dagens samhälle. Konsekvensen av detta har dels blivit att nya lagstiftningar har instiftats, dels att diverse olika organisationer tagit fram en mängd olika direktiv och ramverk som är frivilliga att följa. För att undersöka denna problematik har empiri tagits fram genom en innehållsanalys där års- och hållbarhetsrapporter har analyserats. Innehållsanalysen har utförts på sju olika företag inom tre branscher. Dessa branscher är dagligvaruhandeln, skogs- och pappersindustrin samt bygg- och anläggningsindustrin.  I analysen har empirin tolkats med hjälp av en teoretisk referensram innehållande följande teorier: legitimitetsteorin, intressentteorin och multi-level governance. Resultatet har visat att den frivilliga rapporteringen blivit allt viktigare för samtliga företag i uppsatsen, detta på grund av att intressenter och investerare idag har högre krav på företagen i dessa frågor. Slutsatsen i arbetet är därav att hållbarhetsredovisning och framförallt den frivilliga delen har utvecklats från att tidigare vara mer ytlig till att idag karaktäriseras av ett mer omfattande arbete. Under analysens första år fanns tendenser till att företag endast kort beskrev sitt hållbarhetsarbete. Detta har utvecklats under analysens sista år då hållbarhetsrapporterna istället innehåller en mer djupgående och omfattande beskrivning. Det innebär att både förarbete och resultat av hållbarhetsarbetet beskrivs. / The purpose of this paper has been to analyze and explain the development of the voluntary and mandatory sustainability reporting between 2015 and 2018. The reason behind is that issues relating to the environment and the climate have become increasingly important in today's society. The consequence has been that legislation has been instituted, but also that organizations have produced a variety of directives that are voluntary to follow. In order to investigate this problem, empirical data has been developed through a content analysis where annual and sustainability reports have been analyzed. The content analysis has been implemented on seven different companies within three industries. These industries are the grocery trade, the forest and paper industry and the construction industry.  The analysis has been interpreted by a theoretical framework containing the theory of legitimacy, stakeholder theory and multi-level governance. The result has shown that the voluntary reporting has become increasingly important for all companies in the paper. The reason behind is that stakeholders today have higher demands on the companies. The conclusion is therefore that the sustainability report and, above all, the voluntary part have evolved from earlier being more superficial to today being characterized by a more extensive work. During the first year of the analysis, companies tended to only briefly describe their sustainability work. This has been developed during the last year of the analysis as it now contains a more comprehensive description. This means that both preliminary work and results of the sustainability work are described.

The major objectives of this study were to investigate the antioxidant properties of flaxseed lignans secoisolariciresinol (SECO 2) and secoisolariciresinol diglycoside (SDG 1) and their major oxidative compounds using 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH 47) in an in vitro model of lipid peroxidation. This investigation was facilitated by the structural elucidation of the major oxidative compounds and the ability of flaxseed lignans to delay the onset of oxidation in two model systems. <p>This study showed that SECO 2 oxidation occurs at the aromatic (4-OH) and aliphatic (9-OH) hydroxyl groups. Conversely for SDG 1, only compounds derived from the oxidation of aromatic hydroxyl groups were obtained because the 9-OH position is glucosylated. <p>SECO 2 oxidation with AAPH 47 showed that the intermediate 2a is most likely involved in the generation of early-forming (48 and 52) and 2c for the formation of late-forming (49, 50 and 51) oxidation compounds. Compound 48 is formed from dimerization of 2a that is converted to 52 and then to 51. Compound 50 was formed by the addition of a carbon-centre free radical of AAPH (AP radical) to 2c. Compounds 50 and 51 trap carbon-centered AP radicals supporting SECO 2 as a chain-breaking antioxidant and AAPH 47 as a proper model for study of SECO 2 oxidation in vitro. <p>SDG 1 oxidation with AAPH 47 indicated that intermediates 1b and 1c are most likely involved for the formation of early forming compounds (55 and 58) and 1a leads to the late forming compounds (56 and 57). Compound 55 is a result of dimerization. Compound 56 may be directly formed via intermediate radical 1a by adding AP free radicals. Compound 56 was a stable non-radical compound that could trap AP free radicals, thereby supporting SDG 1 as a chain-breaking antioxidant. Hydrogen abstraction from 4-hydroxyl yielded the radical 1a and hydroxyl radical addition to 1a yielded 57. Compound 58 formed from the addition of OH or H2O to 1c. <p>This study demonstrated that AAPH 47 produces carbon-centred AP radicals upon thermal decomposition and mimics the formation of lipid peroxyl radicals. Interaction of carbon-centred AP radicals with SECO 2 and SDG 1 provides a good model to study the antioxidant reactions of SECO 2 in vitro. p*The relative antioxidant capacity of the flaxseed lignans versus BHT 17, in two model systems, was determined. The stoichiometric ratio for SECO 2 and SDG 1 were 1.5 and 1.1-1.2, respectively, compared to BHT 17 (2.0). The induction time by Rancimat analyzer measured inhibition of autoxidation mediated by flaxseed lignans SECO, SDG and SDG polymer in comparison with BHT 17. The induction time data demonstrated that SECO 2 protected canola oil better than either SDG 1 or SDG polymer 3. <p>These results are important for better understanding about the chemistry behind flaxseed lignan antioxidant activities. This study provided useful evidence that flaxseed lignans can be used as natural antioxidants.