The aim of the research is to identify core conditions that support increased delivery of sustainability in the built environment. The selected methodology is constructive research, which is distinguished by the dual focus on practical industry perspectives and theoretical knowledge. The first research question examines how Target Value Design (TVD), an integrated design management process, can elicit better delivery of sustainability values. This is developed through case study research of an exemplary design team and project. The findings identify a gap in the capability of the team to adopt a whole systems approach in order to make explicit the values of sustainable prosperity and develop a unified vision. This provides the basis for the second research question - how can design teams gain an understanding of the systemic nature of sustainability, and how can this understanding impact the design process? �The research proposes an intervention method that aligns learning models from the disciplines of experiential learning cycles, design thinking, behavior modeling, systems thinking and unified vision. This integrated approach leverages creative design activities to capture the learning potential for individual skills and team building. �While the research acknowledges the limitations from the testing of a single workshop experiment, post-workshop data suggests the intervention framework is sufficiently robust and versatile enough to adapt to individual workshop circumstances. �The key research outcome is the importance of the people in the process of collaborative design, in their ability to envision a future state of sustainable prosperity and articulate explicit actionable values. / Ph. D.

Climate change is increasingly acknowledged as one of the greatest threats facing humanity in the 21st century. Given the enormity of the potential impact of global warming, worldwide collective action from all sectors of society appears to be the only appropriate way to address the problem. Within the corporate sector companies appear to be responding to the threat through the introduction of climate change mitigation strategies. Understanding the motivations driving such action could provide insights into how best to engage companies to ensure a sustainable future. The purpose of this study was to determine the motivation for corporate investment in sustainability projects, with a focus on the voluntary climate change mitigation actions of South African companies. The first phase of the study focused on conceptual research through a literature review which investigated sustainability in a corporate context with a view to understanding motivational drivers. The second phase of the study empirically tested the insights obtained from the literature. The literature review led to the development of a proposed conceptual framework which illustrated proposed linkages between business and the natural environment. The key motivational drivers supporting these linkages appeared to be legitimacy concerns, the financial business case and moral responsibility. The empirical phase took the form of an exploratory case study focused on six South African companies across three industries. An interpretive research process was followed using pattern models to analyse the data. To enhance transparency and rigour, qualitative data analysis software was used in the analytical process. Three key areas were investigated and the main findings were as follows: <ul> <li>Overview of sustainability values: The sustainability values of the companies reflected top management commitment to environmental issues and a shift away from a purely technocentric view of the business relationship with the natural environment however, these sentiments were not necessarily translated into actions.</li> <li>Motivations for sustainability initiatives: As suggested by the proposed conceptual framework, company motivations were driven by legitimacy concerns, the financial business case and moral responsibility. In addition, the study revealed a number of sub-drivers which provided additional information regarding motivations.</li> <li>Impact of voluntary action on company value: From a value perspective there was limited disclosure regarding the financial implications of climate change mitigation, however there was general agreement that the financial impact of mitigation action would be either neutral or positive as current strategies focus predominantly on energy and operational efficiencies.</li> </ul> Therefore, while companies appear to be motivated by a range of factors, the key consideration in decisions taken focus predominantly on aspects linked to the current paradigm dominated by financial concerns. There is little evidence of an evolution of sustainability consciousness which could potentially lead to a new sustainable business paradigm. In light of these findings, it would appear that current solutions to climate change issues need to send financial signals to companies to ensure adoption of mitigation actions. Further work is required to understand what will drive a fundamental value shift in the way companies operate to ensure a sustainable future. Copyright / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Financial Management / unrestricted

Over the next 40 years industrialised economies will need to change the way in which they use resources by a Factor of 10: this equates to a 90 per cent increase in resource productivity and will require a radical shift in our thinking and practice. This research explores what such change may mean and how it may be facilitated. Such a change resonates with the growing need for industrial systems to operate within the Earth s natural limits and fundamentally challenges business-as-usual responses to sustainability. This research addresses how people can begin to create sustainability. It is qualitative in nature, follows a constructivist grounded theory methodology and is strongly based on dialogues as a process to enable deeper understanding and a creative participatory approach. Dialogues were conducted with ten sustainability experts, three sustainability consultants and six organisations that are already shifting ways of thinking and practice towards creating sustainability. Early dialogues with sustainability experts and organisations were central in understanding mindsets and personal experiences and the research shows that individuals and their values, beliefs and motivations are essential in challenging the business-as-usual paradigm. Dialogues were further cultivated in three workshops conducted with a broad audience to explore the early research findings and to help refine the development of the main output of the research, SuCo. SuCo is a methodology to address innovation for sustainability that addresses both Sustainable Cultural and Operational transformations. In the latter stage of the research two organisations were approached to apply SuCo to better understand its validity and usability. SuCo addresses innovation for sustainability from a radical perspective to promote an approach towards sustainable cultures and outputs. It is a useful beginning to an ongoing and much needed dialogue about sustainable-oriented futures.

Date: 2022-06-02    Level: Master thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr  Institution: School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University  Authors: Ida Pesiö Linnéa Rossander Title:  The Impact of Consumer Sustainability Values and Companies’                        Sustainability Work on Consumer Attitude and Purchasing The Importance of Product and Price Tutor: Aswo Safari Keywords: Consumer values, Consumer purchasing, Sustainability values,                    Online fashion sustainability, Companies’ sustainability work, Consumer attitude. Research question: How does consumers' sustainability values and companies'      sustainability work affect consumers' attitude and purchasing? Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how consumers’ sustainability values and companies' sustainability work affect their attitude and purchasing in online fashion. Furthermore, the study  aims  to identify what factors may lead consumers to unsustainable purchasing in an online fashion context.    Method: The study was conducted with an explanatory qualitative approach. The empirical data was obtained through semi-structured interviews, and followingly analyzed by combining the study's conceptual model together with a thematic analysis. Conclusion: The findings reveal that consumer values and companies’ sustainability work affects consumer attitude. However, consumer values and companies’ sustainability work do not affect consumers’ clothing purchases online. The most important factors that guide consumers purchasing are product and price. This does not mean that consumers do not care about sustainability during clothing purchases online, however, sustainability is not a priority.

This master’s thesis delves into the inner dimension of Sustainability, aspiring to highlight the vitality of Human Values (HV) in creating durable societal change. Its purpose is to identify particular (individual and communal) values that can be vital in transformations, as well as to underline the role of Education in reinforcing them. Guiding questions for the research were the following: i) what sorts of character qualities are beneficial to be stimulated in individuals through pedagogical practices to facilitate Sustainability changes, and ii) how Education for Sustainability can contribute to achieving that mission? To answer the questions, both theoretical literature and a pedagogical application were examined. Firstly, through reviewing relevant texts focused on Human Values (HV), Environmental Ethics (EE) and Sustainability Ethics (SE). Secondly, a two–week ethnographical based research in ‘‘Arillas’’ outdoor pedagogical project on Corfu - Greece, to explore their pedagogical ethos and praxis. Aiming to frame a holistic view of the project’s pedagogical approaches, the ethnographic research was conducted with field–observations, dialogues, a video–stimulated recall with the teacher and official document investigation. Based on the ethnographic findings and the theory of Human Values developed by Shalom S. Schwartz, this study synthesizes and proposes the value framework of Eutopía, consisted by three core egoistic, altruistic and biospheric values: Autenérgeia, Synérgia and Symbíosis.

This three-year PhD study looks at heritage performance in impact assessment (IA) practices, analysing the urban planning context and management experiences of selected urban World Heritage (WH) sites in the UK. The research develops recommendations for assessing the impact of plans, programmes and projects on heritage values in culturally significant urban areas with the emphasis on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of large-scale projects in an urban environment. The research analyses theoretical and empirical approaches to heritage management, investigates methodologies for heritage IA and explores opportunities for and barriers to improved heritage IA in the context of current UK policy. In particular, the research contributes with the conceptual framework of identification, interpretation and management of the cultural heritage in the urban planning system. The review of academic and other relevant literature helped to develop the conceptual framework. The data was collected by means of desk-based documents analysis, case studies, focus-group seminars and an on-line Questionnaire with the experts in the heritage and IA fields. The world’s most well-known and arguably most protected sites with officially identified Outstanding Universal Value – WH sites – provide general lessons for the heritage management and IA of new developments and infrastructure projects. The management of UK WH sites could be said to have the features of what is known as a values-based approach to conservation. This approach emphasises the identification of cultural heritage significance with the early participation of different stakeholders in the planning process; the latter has a scope for improvement in the UK context. Research on the boundaries of the heritage and IA fields leads to an improved understanding of cultural heritage and provides a framework for the IA process. The developed framework and the criteria for an enabling environment could be useful for achieving agreement between the different stakeholders, and could allow a smoother planning decision-making process, leading in turn to a reduced need for monitoring from international bodies. The results are useful for planners and developers in the context of western practice, and could also be relevant to the development of international guidelines.