Den här uppsatsen har undersökt hur offentliggörandet av en inkludering eller exkludering ur Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America (DJSI NA) har påverkat bolagets aktiekurs. Detta för att studera relationen mellan hur bolag presterar ur hållbarhetssynpunkt mot hur de presterar finansiellt. DJSI NA har använts som riktmärke för hur bolag presterar ur ett samhällsperspektiv. En eventstudie har använts som metod, för att undersöka förekomsten av abnormal avkastning till följd av den årliga annonseringen av indexets komponentlista under åren 2017–2019. Studien finner flera signifikanta resultat där nollhypotesen angående att inkludering eller exkludering från DJSI NA inte påverkar en akties avkastning kan förkastas. Resultatet ger dessutom en konkret insikt i hur avkastning för inkluderade bolag utvecklats från 2017 till 2019. Ett starkt positivt signifikant resultat för 2019 kan möjligen visa på att DJSI NA stärker bolagens hållbara identitet och därmed blir av intresse för kapitalförvaltare. / This thesis has explored how the announcement of an inclusion or exclusion from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America (DJSI NA) affect stock price. This was done to further investigate the relation between sustainability performance and corporate financial performance. DJSI NA has been used as a benchmark on companies’ sustainability performance. An event study methodology has been conducted to examine the occurrence of abnormal returns due to the annual announcement of DJSI members, during the years 2017- 2019. The findings reveal several significant results where it is possible to reject the null hypothesis that inclusion or exclusion from DJSI NA does not affect stock price. The results also give a substantial insight on the development of abnormal returns from 2017-2019. A strong significant result for 2019, could possibly show that DJSI NA enhances companies’ sustainable identity and is therefore of interest to asset managers.

Det finns mycket och omfattande forskning kring företags engagemang i miljö- och socialrelaterade frågor, också benämnt CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). Det råder dock ännu ingen konsensus om hur CSR påverkar marknadsvärdet av företag och huruvida hållbarhetsarbete är värdeskapande eller ej. Trots att Europa anses ligga i framkant inom hållbarhet är flertalet studier gjorda på den amerikanska marknaden. Därför syftar denna studie till att undersöka hur inkludering/exkludering ur ett hållbarhetsindex påverkar kortsiktigt aktiekurs för företag i Europa. Dessutom undersöks om det finns en skillnad i kortsiktig marknadsreaktion vid inkludering beroende på om ett företag antas ha små respektive stora agentproblem. För att undersöka detta genomförs en eventstudie, dels för annonseringsdagen av Dow Jones Sustainability Index World, dels för dagen då justeringen av indexet görs gällande. Studien påvisar ingen signifikant marknadsreaktion för varken inkludering/exkludering. Små och stora agentproblem kan heller inte fastslås orsaka en skillnad i marknadsreaktion vid inkludering. Detta utesluter dock inte att CSR kan ha en effekt på aktiekursen på längre sikt. Något som rekommenderas för framtida studier är därför att undersöka hur arbete med hållbarhet påverkar företags aktiekurs på längre sikt.

This thesis work addresses two research questions regarding sustainability that may be of interest to the planning profession, namely, is it useful and meaningful to measure the sustainability of residential neighborhoods in terms of their long-term viability? And if it is, is it then feasible to design an instrument for measuring neighborhood sustainability that can be used to inform neighborhood-scale planning and decision making? Interpreting from a review of planning literature regarding sustainability at the neighborhood scale that efforts to measure neighborhood sustainability provide insight and knowledge to planners about neighborhood conditions, I followed a step wise process to construct an instrument. This process involved defining sustainability as is relevant at neighborhood scale, identifying forces that influence it, defining the unit of analysis for the measurement instrument, and operationalizing the instrument. It is my conclusion that while it is feasible to construct an instrument for measuring sustainability, it is through additional research work outside of the graduate thesis that such an instrument can successfully be constructed. Due to time and resource constraints, I have only been able to develop an instrument of measurement that may be useful to planners chiefly as a heuristic tool rather than a policy making analytic tool. / Thesis / Master

I och med ett ökat krav på öppenhet av företags hållbarhetsarbete är kommunikationen av företags hållbarhetsinformation av stor relevans. Intressenter som mottagare baserar bedömningar och beslutsfattande på den kommunicerade hållbarhetsinformationen varpå dess kvalitet är viktig. Då miljöstörande branscher utgör en stor miljöpåverkan och förväntas vara föregångare vid hållbarhetsredovisning har denna studie undersökt miljöstörande industriföretag. Denna studie poängsätter och förklarar vad kvalitet inom de svenska industriföretagens hållbarhetsinformation är och genom metoden PSI kunde det urskiljas vad som bidrog till företagens höga kvalitet. Resultaten visar att kvalitet är att ha en transparent, detaljrik och balanserad information som tydligt redovisar företagets aktiviteter och prestationer på ett jämförbart sätt. Kvalitet innebär även att som företag ta både ett socialt och miljömässigt ansvar för en hållbar utveckling. Studien bidrar med en ökad förståelse för begreppet kvalitet i samband med hållbarhetsinformation samt med praktiska implikationer för vad företag bör sträva efter för att uppnå kvalitet.

The objectives of this study were to: assess the sanitation conditions and sustainability of sanitation technologies, using a comprehensive framework of sustainability indicators. A survey of 500 households and focus group discussions of 40 key informants were conducted in five villages. Ninety-six percent of the households had toilets, with only 9.4% having improved toilets. A strong relationship existed between the percent of sanitation coverage and the diarrhea incidence rates. Education and family wealth were the two significant determinants of sanitation coverage. On the basis of the sustainable development index, SanPlat and VIP latrine were the top two probable sustainable technologies. Variation did exist in the rankings of sanitation technologies across the study villages. Improvement in sanitation in rural Tanzania requires education of people about its health benefits, proper training, and extension of rural health workers

Kenya has over the last few years witnessed tremendous growth as an emerging market with the GDP growing at 5% and the capital markets having a year on year growth of 19%. Despite the growth and sophistication of the financial markets, a host of hurdles have kept Kenya off the mainstream Responsible Investing agenda. This has resulted in no Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) fund assets and none of the market players being signatories to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investing (PRI). One of the building blocks to this journey could be introducing a Sustainability Index for listed companies on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). This would form a basis for integrating Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) aspects into the private sector and other proponents of the society, including the public sector. This research is thus aimed at linking the growing sophistication of the financial markets in Kenya with the possible creation of a Sustainability Index. In this sense, financial markets are seen to have the power to affect social, economic, and environmental outcomes in which a Sustainability Index could become a good tool in measuring such outcomes. The study adopted a qualitative research design which was used to obtain information based on the key research questions of the study. The research findings suggest that Responsible Investing (RI) is understood within the realm of business ethics and corporate governance. RI is inferred to as a manner of doing business that goes beyond short term financial returns and also takes into account the needs of other stakeholders. ESG aspects identified from the study provide for the requisite issues out of which a Sustainability Index can be developed for measuring the impact of Responsible Investing. Within the framework of a Sustainability Index, it is clear that companies will be made more accountable; redefine their corporate boundaries and through shared value, measure the social and environmental impact of their business model. However, there is still need for increased awareness on RI, stakeholder activism and an improved regulatory framework. Embedding Responsible Investing in Kenya will entail understanding the system of actors, so as to look at opportunities of Creating Shared Value whilst setting this up in the right disclosure model.

Submitted by JOSIANE SANTOS DE OLIVEIRA (josianeso) on 2017-06-13T16:47:42Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Eendrik Lima Gomes_.pdf: 447091 bytes, checksum: 668e89a408815405b1c3484fe5b2d6a3 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-13T16:47:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Eendrik Lima Gomes_.pdf: 447091 bytes, checksum: 668e89a408815405b1c3484fe5b2d6a3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-04-19 / CFC/CRCs - Conselho Federal de Contabilidade / O presente trabalho objetivou investigar quais fatores são relevantes na decisão da empresa de buscar adesão ao ISE da BM&FBOVESPA. Foram verificados os seguintes fatores para adesão ao ISE: ser reconhecida pelo mercado como empresa que atua com práticas sustentáveis, promovendo a reputação da empresa, a transparência na evidenciação das ações da empresa, o engajamento entre os envolvidos, a vantagem competitiva, e buscando novos conhecimentos, redução de custo de capital a longo prazo, antecipação das regulamentações que podem ser estabelecidas no futuro, aumento no valor da empresa, fortalecimento dos canais de diálogo e comunicação com mídia e indicador para mensurar as ações e práticas sustentáveis. Foram identificados como fatores para não adesão ao ISE: critérios do ISE, estratégia da empresa, falta de estrutura, custos, desconhecimento da carteira do ISE, falta de benefícios e em avaliação para adesão. Metodologicamente, o estudo caracteriza-se como descritivo, realizado por meio de entrevistas e com uma abordagem qualitativa, utilizando o método de análise de conteúdo de Bardin (2011), para tratamento de dados. A coleta de dados teve como base o conjunto de 243 empresas que foram consideradas elegíveis para compor o ISE pelo menos um ano, entre 2009 e 2016. Após, foram selecionadas 74 empresas para composição da amostra. Este conjunto de empresas da amostra, por sua vez, foi subdividido em dois grupos: 1) 22 empresas que tentaram ingressar na carteira do índice, e 2) 52 empresas que não tentaram ingressar no ISE. Concluiu-se que as empresas buscam o ISE, principalmente, para serem reconhecidas pelo mercado e a fim de terem um indicador para mensurar as ações e as práticas sustentáveis. Sendo assim, trata-se de uma ferramenta brasileira importante e reconhecida, que certifica as empresas que possuem um maior comprometimento com a responsabilidade socioambiental. / The present work aimed to investigate which factors are relevant in the decision of the company to seek adhesion to the BM & FBOVESPA ISE. The following factors were verified for adherence to the ISE: to be recognized by the market as a company that acts with sustainable practices promoting the company's reputation, transparency in the disclosure of company actions, engagement among stakeholders, competitive advantage, new knowledge seeking, cost reduction Long-term capital, anticipation of regulations that can be established in the future, increase in the value of the company, strengthening channels of dialogue and communication with the media and an indicator to measure sustainable actions and practices. And the factors for non-adherence to ISE were: ISE criteria, company strategy, lack of structure, costs, lack of knowledge of ISE's portfolio, no benefits and evaluation for membership. The study is characterized as descriptive, conducted through an interview and with a qualitative approach, using the content analysis method of Bardin (2011) for data treatment. The data collection was based on the set of 243 companies that were considered eligible to compose the ISE for at least one year between 2009 and 2016. We selected 74 companies for sample composition. This group of companies in the sample, in turn, was subdivided into two groups: 1) 22 companies that tried to enter the index portfolio, and another; 2) 52 companies that did not try to join the ISE. It was concluded that companies seek ISE mainly to be recognized by the market and as an indicator to measure sustainable actions and practices, being an important and recognized Brazilian tool that certifies companies that have a greater commitment to social and environmental responsibility.

Denna studie undersöker indexinkluderingar och indexexkluderingars påverkan på europeiska företags aktiekurser genom att studera bolag som inkluderats i eller exkluderats ur hållbarhetsindexet Dow Jones Sustainability Index Europe under perioden 2017–2019. Vidare undersöks även specifikt svenska bolag som inkluderats, exkluderats eller bibehållit sin plats i indexet under samma tidsperiod. Detta till följd av det ökade intresset och utbudet av ESG- relaterade investeringar i världen, inte minst i Europa. En standardmässig eventstudiemetod baserad på marknadsmodellen används för att på kort sikt undersöka detta eventuella samband. Vi kan i resultatet inte finna några starka bevis på att en annonsering i sig har någon tydlig påverkan på företagens aktieavkastning för vare sig europeiska eller svenska bolag. Däremot finner vi att svenska bolag som behållit sin plats eller inkluderats i indexet visar en positiv genomsnittlig kumulativ avvikelseavkastning (CAR) mellan två och tio dagar efter annonseringsdagen. Det kan trots det inte bevisa indexets relevans för marknaden vilket stödjer tidigare studiers resultat. / This paper examines the impact of index inclusions and index exclusions on the share prices of European companies by studying companies that are included or excluded from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index Europe during the period 2017-2019. Furthermore, Swedish companies that have been included, excluded or retained their place in the index during the same time period are also specifically examined. This due to the increased interest and supply of ESG- related investments in the world, especially in Europe. A standard event study method based on the market model is used to investigate this possible connection in the short term. We cannot find strong evidence that an announcement has any evident impact on companies' return on investment for either European or Swedish companies. On the other hand, we find that Swedish companies that have retained their place or are included in the index show a positive average cumulative abnormal return (CAR) between two and ten days after the announcement date. Despite this, the results cannot prove the index's relevance to the market which supports previous studies.

<p>An abstract of a dissertation that examines different dimensions of legitimacy stemming from different sources, and how they condition the effects of each other. The traditional literature studies organizational legitimacy as a uni-dimensional phenomenon, however, there are multiple audiences with different systems of values that evaluate organizations and based on the fit with their values grant or withdraw legitimacy from the firm. This dissertation examines three different dimensions of legitimacy (i.e. social, market, and home country) and shows that they may substitute each other in affecting organizational outcomes. This is shown in a financial event study of additions and deletions from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, a qualitative study of the nature of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the emerging market of Russia, and a large-scale quantitative analysis of M&A deals, where the acquirer comes from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS).</p> / Dissertation

Este trabalho investigou o comportamento dos retornos e risco das ações quando da divulgação das carteiras teóricas do Índice de Sustentabilidade Empresarial (ISE). Este índice foi implementado em 2005 pela Bolsa de Valores São Paulo e é considerado referência de boas práticas de sustentabilidade e responsabilidade corporativa no Brasil. No entanto, a inclusão de uma empresa em indicadores de sustentabilidade não garante, necessariamente, um melhor desempenho de suas ações. Neste contexto foram utilizadas as metodologias de estudo de eventos, análise de repetições, backtesting, regressão logit e análise envoltória de dados para analisar a reação dos retornos das ações do ISE e verificar se fatores ligados ao desempenho econômico, impacto ambiental e níveis de governança corporativa são fatores que influenciam esses retornos. Foram analisadas as ações pertencentes à carteira teórica do ISE no período de 2005 a 2010. Os resultados sugerem que os retornos das ações que integram o ISE foram influenciados pela divulgação das carteiras teóricas do ISE, uma vez que foi constatado: i) retornos anormais ao mercado; ii) não aleatoriedade dos retornos anormais ao mercado; iii) concentração dos retornos anormais ao mercado após a divulgação das carteiras teóricas e; iv) retornos anormais ao Value at RisK (VaR). Os resultados constataram que, em média, houve valorização positiva das ações na divulgação das carteiras teóricas, porém, apenas os fatores ligados à dimensão econômica puderam explicar o fenômeno estudado. A pesquisa concluiu que a reação dos retornos das ações do ISE, parece não estar associada, no período analisado, à integração das dimensões ambientais, sociais e econômicas, mas sim ao desempenho dessas dimensões. Assim, no que se refere à reação dos retornos das ações, o índice de sustentabilidade empresarial brasileiro parece não captar para todas as empresas que o integram a dinâmica das dimensões sociais, ambientais e econômicas, privilegiando esta última, o que não corresponde às premissas de sustentabilidade corporativa. / This study investigated the behaviour of stocks return and risk when the release of theoretical portfolios of Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE). This index, launched in 2005 by the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange, is considered a benchmark of good practice in sustainability and corporate responsibility in Brazil. However, the inclusion of a company into sustainability indexes does not necessarily guarantee better performance of their stocks. In this context this research make use of event study methodology, analysis of repetitions, backtesting, logit regression and data envelopment analysis to capture the reaction of stock returns of the ISE and verify whether factors related to economic performance, environmental impact and levels of corporate governance are explanatory factors of these returns. It was analyzed the theoretical portfolio of ISE from 2005 to 2010. The results suggest that the returns on stocks that comprise the ISE were influenced by the release of its theoretical portfolio, since it was verified: i) abnormal returns to the market, ii) non-randomness of the abnormal returns to the market, iii) concentration of abnormal returns to the market after the release of the theoretical portfolio; and iv) abnormal returns of the Value at Risk (VaR).The results showed that, on average, there was positive valuation of the shares by the release of theoretical portfolios, however, only factors related to the economic dimension could explain the phenomenon under study. The research concluded that the reaction of stock returns of the ISE does not seem to be associated, in the period analyzed, with the integration of environmental, social and economic dimensions, but the performance of these dimensions. Thus the Brazilian corporate sustainability index showed that, regarding to the reaction of stock returns, it doesn\'t capture to all the companies comprising the index the dynamics of social, environmental and economic dimensions, favouring the latter, which does not match the assumptions of corporate sustainability.