South Africa has a fragmented past. Attempts to redress inequalities must acknowledge and understand the context of rural South Africa in terms of natural ecosystems. We are used to be being told that forests are good for us all. Certainly, the range of benefits that can be derived from forests, specifically natural woodlands are legion. The woodlands in South Africa are essential in the lives of many South Africans. It is for this reason that woodland resources are regarded as extremely important, not only for the maintenance of rural livelihoods but also as a potential contributor to the national economy. The woodlands are a diverse resource, extending over a vast area of the country and across several provincial boundaries. This as well as varied tenure systems as well as management objectives which exist, make the woodlands of South Africa a complex, yet essential resource to manage, monitor and sustain on a national level. Policy should therefore be able to ensure some kind of balance so that woodlands can be conserved, developed and sustainably managed in the most suitable ways possible. The findings of previous studies conducted on the woodland biome have highlighted the lack of sufficient knowledge of community perceptions with regards to the policy issues. This has been the catalyst in promoting informed reviews of current policies, in effect, which are affecting woodlands in African communal rural areas in South Africa. This particular study illustrates that there are a range of policies, both national and international, that impact either directly or indirectly on the woodlands in South Africa. The research identifies some of the key limitations in the various existing policies. Furthermore, the key concern raised is that current policies remain fragmented and are not in synergy with each other. Additionally, the ability to translate policy intentions into practice (that is, the implementation of policy directives) remain problematic. The gaps in the policy environment as well as the failure to implement are the key threats to ensuring the effective use of policy in promoting the sustainability of the woodlands in the South Africa context. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2002.

This dissertation is an attempt to examine how humans in wealthy, post-industrial urban contexts understand sustainability and respond to their concerns given their sphere of influence. I focus specifically on sustainable consumption policy and practice in Sweden, where concerns for sustainability and consumer-based responses are strong. This case raises interesting questions about the relative strength of sustainability movements in different cultural and geo-political contexts as well as the specific factors that have motivated the movement toward sustainable living in Sweden. The data presented here supports the need for multigenic theories of sustainable consumerism. Rather than relying on dominant theories of reflexive modernization, there is a need for locally and historically grounded analyses. The Swedish case illustrates that the relative strength of sustainable living is linked not only to high levels of awareness about social, economic and ecological threats to sustainability, but also to a strong and historically rooted emphasis on equality in Sweden. In this context, sustainable living is often driven by concerns for global equity and justice. The research therefore affirms the findings of those like Hobson (2002) and Berglund and Matti (2005) who argue that concerns for social justice often have more resonance with citizen-consumers - driving more progressive lifestyle changes than personal self-interest. Yet despite the power of moral appeals, this research also suggests that the devolution of responsibility for sustainability - to citizens in their roles as consumers on the free market – has failed to produce significant change. While many attribute this failure to “Gidden’s Paradox” or the assumption that people will not change their lifestyles until they see and feel risks personally, the data presented here illustrates that even those most committed to sustainable living confront structural barriers that they do not have the power to overcome. The paradox is not that people can’t understand or act upon threats to sustainability from afar; but rather that it is extremely difficult to live more sustainably without strong social support, market regulation and political leadership. Sustainability policy must work to confront the illusion of choice by breaking down structural barriers, particularly for people who do not have the luxury of choosing alternatives.

Engineering for sustainable development requires prudent utilization of resources under economic, environmental and societal constraints. Resource utilization must follow a holistic approach. This brings in a need for comprehensive metrics which are simple, standard and universal. Thermodynamics may offer a metric that focuses on both quality and quantity of energy resources which may carry information to be combined with other metrics. This metric may be a thermodynamic property called exergy or available energy, which provides a better insight into resource use in both energy and non-energy producing systems. This thesis is devoted to a study of the exergy concept in manufacturing. A high volume PCB assembly, manufactured in a state of the art soldering facility is chosen for the study. Various mass and energy resources flowing through the production line were quantified in terms of exergy. On the basis of exergy content and exergy utilization in the production process, the sustainability in terms of resources use is discussed. An early version of this approach was presented at the International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technologies, IEEE, Washington DC, in May 2010.

This thesis presents a new metric-based Life-cycle Assessment (LCA) method for assessing the sustainability performance of metallic automotive components. The unique feature of this research work include the development and use of a metrics-based product sustainability index (ProdSI) methodology by considering the total life-cycle approach and the triple bottom line (TBL) with the 6R methodology. It has been shown that the manufactured product’s sustainability performance can be comprehensively assessed using this new methodology. The major focus of this research is the integration of the 6R activities (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover, Redesign and Remanufacture). Four life-cycle stages of the product, with various end-of-life (EOL) product scenarios, are modeled and analyzed. These scenarios include: reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling the products at EOL. Furthermore, a new mathematical model is developed and presented to determine the optimum percentage mix for various product EOL strategic options. By using the 6R methodology, the overall product sustainability was significantly improved. This improvement was quantitatively assessed by computing the ProdSI score. Ultimately, this research shows that a closed-loop material flow can be achieved.

A field study evaluating the sustainability of four organic vegetable production systems was conducted in Lexington, Kentucky in 2006 and 2007. The four systems included no-till, raised beds covered with biodegradable black mulch, bare ground with shallow cultivation, and bare ground with shallow cultivation and wood chip mulch. The two-year study compared yield, weed control, labor, and costs associated with each system, as well as physical, chemical, and microbiological soil characteristics. In 2006, tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) were grown in the four systems, with no significant difference in yield. Summer squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) was grown in the four systems in 2007. The no-till system had significantly lower yields than other systems. The bare ground with cultivation and mulch system had the best weed control in both years.

Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera och systematisera vilka drivkrafter som är aktuella idag gentemot tidigare framtagna drivkrafter, för publika företag, för att upprätta en hållbarhetsredovisning. Metod: I denna uppsats har den kvalitativa arbetsmetoden tillämpats. Vi ansåg att den kvalitativa metoden var mer tillämpbart på vår studie då vi hade avsikt att på en djupare förståelse för företagens drivkrafter bakom hållbarhetsredovisningen. Vi har valt att genomföra semistrukturerade intervjuer i form utav både ett personligt möte och via telefon. Empiri: Det sammanställda resultatet från vår undersökning är att det finns en hel del olika drivkrafter bakom företagens hållbarhetsredovisningar. Majoriteten utav företagens drivkrafter är likadana, skillnaden är inte betydande.. Många utav drivkrafterna från tidigare gjord forskning är inte förekommande idag. Slutsats: Slutsatsen med denna studie är att drivkrafterna till varför publika företag upprättar en hållbarhetsredovisning till en viss del skiljer sig gentemot tidigare framtagna drivkrafter. De främsta aktuella drivkrafterna bakom publika företags hållbarhetsredovisningar är att företagen skapar en legitimitet genom att ha en transparens emellan företaget och dess intressenter, det föreligger en efterfrågan från ägare och nya potentiella investerare och förbättra interna processer och den interna organisationen för att skapa en långsiktighet.

In pace with a growing awareness among customers, so does the demand for sustainable products increase in various markets. Sustainability is even referred to become a mega-trend (Lubin & Esty, 2010). Although, extensive research can be found on sustainability and its three pillars; environment, social and economic, little is known whether there is a general customer demand for sustainability for any type of good. Therefore, this study’s purpose has been to compare sustainability demand for convenience goods and shopping goods, with the research question ‘Is the customer’s sustainability demand different between different types of goods? And if so, what are the differences?’ By using a deductive approach, hypotheses has been drawn by examining existing research in the fields of consumer behaviour, customer behaviour and sustainability in general but also for the food and apparel industry respectively.With a quantitative method using a questionnaire, primary data has been collected of customers’ sustainability demand within the food and the apparel industries as representatives for convenience goods and shopping goods respectively. The questionnaire was designed to capture customers’ sustainability demand based on their perceived importance of the three pillars of sustainability. A comparison between the industries resulted in significant mean answers of 3,97 for food and 3,17 for apparel, on a six-point scale. Further,a marginally equal level was demanded for the three pillars within food whereas the environmental pillar was considerably less ranked within apparel. The study further compares the sustainable attitude against sustainable behaviour. Actual buying of sustainable goods within all three pillars was shown to be lower than demand for both types of goods. Lastly, an exploratory research was conducted on the two types of goods in combination with demographic factors, resulting in indications of what factors companies should take into consideration. The final conclusion of the research question was that there is a difference in customers’ sustainability demand for different types of goods.

Syfte: Syftet är att studera statligt ägda företags inställning till integrerad redovisning och <IR> ramverket som publicerades i december 2013. Vidare är syftet att undersöka vad företagen tror ligger till grund för behovet av ett nytt sätt att redovisa, samt få en insikt i hur statligt ägda företag ser på en framtid för integrerad redovisning. Metod: En kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer har använts för att besvara studiens syfte. Empiri: Empirin har samlats in via sju intervjuer med respondenter från statligt ägda företag. De företag som medverkat är PostNord, Samhall, Green Cargo, TeliaSonera, Svensk exportkredit, Swedfund och Almi. Slutsats: De statligt ägda företag som deltagit i studien har en övergripande positiv inställning till integrerad redovisning och till <IR> ramverket. Företagen uppger att det funnits ett behov av att redovisa och förmedla en mer rättvisande bild av organisationen som helhet. Resultatet av studien visar vidare att <IR> ramverket innebär en del utmaningar och möjligheter samt att företagen tror på en framtid för integrerad redovisning. / Purpose: The aim is to study state-owned company's attitude to integrated reporting and the <IR> framework that was published in December 2013. Additional the purpose is to examine what the companies think is the basis for the need for a new way to report and gain an understanding how stateowned companies are thinking about the future for integrated reporting. Methods: A qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews were used to answer the purpose of the study. Empirics: The empirical data were collected through interviews with seven respondents from stateowned companies. The participated companies are PostNord, Samhall, Green Cargo, TeliaSonera, Swedish Export Credit, Swedfund and Almi. Conclusions: The state-owned companies that have participated in the study have an overall positive attitude towards integrated reporting and to the <IR> framework. The companies states that there has been a need to present and convey a more accurate picture of organizations as a whole. The results of the study show that the <IR> framework implies some challenges and opportunities and that the companies believe in a future for integrated reporting.

Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att studera hur Sveriges kommuner förhåller sig till hållbarhetsmått. Vi ska studera vilka hållbarhetsmått som rapporteras samt vad som påverkar användningen av dessa hållbarhetsmått. Metod: Vi har använt oss av en enkätundersökning som skickats ut per mail för att samla in vårt empiriska underlag. Vi har sedan analyserat underlaget med hjälp av programmet IBM SPSS Statistics 22 för att sedan redovisa våra resultat i form av tabeller och löpande text. Resultat & slutsats: Resultatet av vår studie visar att kommuner rapporterar hållbarhetsmått i genomsnitt i viss till måttlig utsträckning. Den visar även att kommuner med drivande kommunledning tenderar att rapportera och använda hållbarhetsmått i större utsträckning än andra kommuner. Den pekar också på att antal miljöprojekt som kommunen bedriver samt om kommunen låter sig inspireras av andra kommuner även påverkar utsträckningen av rapporteringen och användningen av hållbarhetsmåtten. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Vårt förslag till fortsatt forskning är att göra en mer ingående analys av Sveriges kommuners hållbarhetsredovisning då vi på grund av tidsbegränsning inte kunnat göra någon mer ingående analys. Vidare forskning kan granska vilka effekter den bristande hållbarhetsredovisningen i många kommuner orsakar. Uppsatsens bidrag: Vår undersökning bidrar till nya insikter om hur Sveriges kommuner hållbarhetsredovisar. Vi belyser vilka hållbarhetsmått som kommunerna rapporterar samt vad som påverkar rapporteringen och användningen av hållbarhetsmåtten.