As scientists become more aware of the imposing threats associated with climate change, university leaders are encouraged to become familiar with the principles of sustainability. Abundant research already supports the relevance of environmental sustainability in higher education; however, there exists a gap in the literature which investigates an understanding of environmental sustainability and the implementation of its practices. By examining colleges at the University of Kentucky, this study identifies organizational barriers to recognizing a thorough understanding of environmental sustainability at the departmental level. The results indicate that out of the eight colleges selected, two have no existing environmental sustainability programs or initiatives. Based on this research it is possible for departments to initiate self-assessment and situate themselves firmly inside an institutional vision of sustainability.

Palm oil is a growing market, and environmental and social concerns have led to a global demand of sustainable palm oil. In this study I investigate the certification process of the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) from the experiences of independent smallholders. I perform interviews and observations in two independent smallholder associations in the Riau province in Indonesia who are in the end of the RSPO certification process. What I find is that most smallholders have extrinsic motivators (an increase in price) for wanting to join the certi fication, but that a few smallholders express intrinsic motivators as well (a care for the environment). I find that the certification process is creating a lot of changes to the agricultural practices of the smallholders, mainly regarding harvest, fertilisation, pesticide usage, and pruning. The challenges that the independent smallholders experience mainly regard their knowledge, level of organisation, institutional support, fertilisation, and documentation. I find that many of the smallholders use traditional knowledge while the RSPO is an organisation that mainly use modern knowledge, and I claim that some of the dif ficulties that independent smallholders experience when certifying derives from this collision of knowledge systems. Lastly, I claim that the organisation is an expression of modernity and risk society, and that the rise of voluntary sustainability certi fications the last decade can be seen as a response to the modern risk of climate change.

Masonry construction is labor-intensive. Processes involve little to no mechanization and require a large number of crews made up of workers with diverse skills, capabilities, and personalities. Relationships among crews are tight and very dependent. Often crews are re-assembled and the superintendent is responsible for assigning workers to crews and allocating crews to different tasks to maximize workflow. This dynamic environment can influence the motivation of workers and impose pressure and stress on them. Workers, unlike other resources, have their own needs and requirements beyond the financial compensation for their work. Workers place a great value on requirements such as certainty about work assignments, matching assignments to career development goals, and work satisfaction. If managed properly, workers may bring considerable benefits to both the project and the contractor. A project that links workers to career goals not only allows contractors to develop more qualified staff for its future projects, but also gives the worker opportunities for career growth and development. Additionally, job satisfaction and efficiency increases from suitable worker assignment and consideration of tasks. Therefore, the study of sustainable labor management practices is of interest in masonry construction and other labor-intensive industries. A mixed-integer programming (MIP) model enables the integration of workers needs and contractor requirements into the process of labor allocation. Furthermore, the model can be used to quantify strategies that maximize productivity, quality of work, and the well-being of workers. Developing such a model is a necessary task. To plan and manage masonry construction, the contractor has to take into account not only multiple workers with different characteristics but also rules for crew design and makeup and project requirements in terms of personnel needs. Providing an analytical description of all the needs and requirements is challenging. Therefore, to determine labor management practices that indeed maximize production and maximize workers satisfaction, the model needs to realistically represent the realities in masonry construction sites and staffing practices, while remaining computationally manageable such that optimization models can be derived. This dissertation proposes a decision support system (DSS) for sustainable labor management in masonry construction that takes into consideration information on workers and job characteristics with the intention of assisting decision makers in allocating crews. Firstly, semi-structured interviews were conducted with masonry practitioners to gather perspectives on labor requirements, rules for crew design, and drivers for crew makeup. Secondly, a model that incorporates realities was implemented. The model supports masonry contractors and superintendent in the challenging process of managing crews, that is, to determine the composition of each crew and the allocation of crews to maximize productivity and workflow while considering workers’ preferences and well-being. With the DSS, project managers and superintendents are not only able to identify working patterns for each of the workers but also optimal crew formation and investment and labor costs. Data from real case study is used to compare the schedule and allocation on the site with the one proposed by the model. The comparison shows the model can optimize the allocation of crews to reduce the completion time to build the walls while maximizing the utilization of masons and outlining opportunities for concurrent work. It is expected that the DSS will help contractors improve productivity and quality while efficiently managing masonry workers in a more sustainable way. The contributions for the masonry industry are two-fold. Firstly, the proposed model considers a set of rules that masonry practitioners typically use to design crews of masons and analytically captures the realities of masonry construction jobsites when managing labor. Secondly, it attempts to quantify and mathematically model the practices that contractors use for crew makeup and evaluate labor management allocation both in terms of contractor requirements and worker needs. Literature review indicates that the existing models for labor allocation have not taken into consideration masonry site realities. An optimization framework, which combines masonry site realities from the semi-structured interviews is proposed. The framework results in a MIP model that is used to solve a crew scheduling and allocation problem. The model is formulated to determine which masons are in a crew and to assign crews to the different walls in a project. Additionally, it is used to evaluate crew design strategies that maximize productivity.

The purpose of the study was to draw parallels between the Hindu religious teachings and environmental sustainability. A literature review on Hindu teachings on the environment as well as the practical application thereof as experienced or practiced by religious leaders and devotees were conducted. This was similar to the study that was conducted at the Bhaktivedanta Manor Temple near Watford in England at a Janmashtami festival in 2007 (Chauhan et al., 2009).The intention of the 2007 campaign was to raise spiritual self-consciousness by linking the concept of karma to environmental degradation, i.e. the concept of every action has a reaction. It also prompted the devotees to realise that there were practical steps that could be taken to alleviate the environmental crises by reducing one‟s ecological footprint. Literature on similar themes and hypotheses were referenced in the mini-dissertation, exposing the double-edged sword practices of Hinduism, where some religious practices have a harmful impact on the environment, which is contradictory to the teachings themselves. A survey was conducted at the Benoni Temple in Eastern Gauteng in South Africa where there is a strong Hindu community. The study was specifically aimed at two target audiences: Hindu religious leaders and Hindu devotees. The purpose was to establish both the religious leaders‟ and devotees‟ viewpoints regarding the correlation between Hindu religious teachings and lifestyles. The outcome was synonymous that there is a need for better communication and more environmental awareness from the Hindu religious teachings. Limitations of the study: Bearing in mind the vastness of the topic the study has been limited to Hinduism for the Masters in Environmental Management qualification and lays the foundation for expansion of further studies. The purpose of the study was not to denounce any religion, nor is it to promote one religion over the other, but rather to evaluate objectively both the positive and negative influences Hinduism has on the environment. / M Environmental Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Laurence A. Clement / The Sustainable Sites Initiative (SSI) put forth by the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is a set of standards which promotes sustainable land development and management practices. The SSI allows the role of the landscape architect to become increasingly important with society’s push to be sustainable. This has become evident with the involvement of landscape architects in projects not traditionally associated with the profession. Equestrian facilities that were once designed solely by “horse people” are now being designed by architects and landscape architects. Equestrian facilities are complex developments that have multiple functions and needs, most importantly being the safety of the horse and rider. Kansas State University has determined a need for a new facility to host the equestrian needs of the campus and has chosen a site located near the corner of Kimball Avenue and Denison Avenue, north of the main campus. Using the location chosen by K-State as a hypothetical site, a program for the EquiCenter was developed to meet the needs of the Animal Science Program, the equestrian and rodeo teams and the Equine Assisted Human Development and Rehabilitation Program. Precedent studies informed the early stages of this project and a thorough review of the SSI led to a selection of credits for application in this project. The selected credits were then applied to the equestrian facility program and the site in a design process. Evaluation of the design concepts yielded a determination regarding the ability of this facility to receive a sustainability rating. Due to constraints of the site and the SSI, it has been determined that the K-State EquiCenter will not be eligible to be rated sustainable under the Sustainable Sites Initiative. The SSI presented unique challenges in developing the equestrian facility. These challenges presented opportunities to discuss limitations and recommend changes to the SSI that may allow equestrian facilities to receive a sustainability rating in the future.

Master of Science / Department of Hospitality Management and Dietetics / Elizabeth B. Barrett / Along with increasing environmental challenges and large quantities of energy demand, many have become concerned about the environment and have implemented “Going Green” strategies. As a result, plans for sustainable development are being adopted by governments, institutions, operations, and individual households. Many National Association of College & University Food Service (NACUFS) members may have heard about sustainability, but they may not apply their knowledge to developing practical outcomes and solutions. Very little research has been published that measures how NACUFS members are responding to Sustainable Waste Management (SWM) and to the new Sustainability Guide published by the NACUFS organization in September 2009. The primary purposes of this study were to ascertain what SWM programs have been implemented in college and university foodservices operations and determine how NACUFS members’ attitudes, subjective norms, and barriers affect the implementation of additional SWM programs based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). A secondary purpose was to identify the differences in intention to implement sustainable waste management programs based on characteristics of the respondents’ age, size of facility, region of the country and if the facility had a sustainable waste management committee. In this study, 2,184 NACUFS members whose e-mail addresses were listed in the NACUFS membership directory were selected as subjects. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 17.0. Multiple linear regression analysis, T-tests, and ANOVA were used to test the hypotheses and research questions. Statistical significance was set at p≤0.05. The total number of responses was 212 resulting in a 13.5% response rate. The majority of respondents had implemented SWM programs that don’t require major resources. NACUFS members had positive attitudes about implementing a SWM program and their superiors, university administrators, and students’ opinions were important others to consider when implementing a SWM program. Whether a college and university foodservice has a sustainability committee was the only demographic that significantly influenced NACUFS members’ intentions to implement a SWM program. Overall, attitude and subjective norms were the only significant predictors of intention to implement a SWM program (p≤.05). Therefore, if NACFUS members have a positive attitude about sustainability, important others around them who agree and there is a sustainability committee within the operation, they are more likely to implement a SWM program. Keywords: Sustainable waste management, TPB, college and university foodservice

Article / The vision of CUT as a sustainable university is to become a teaching, research and learning environment which maximizes and mainstreams environmental, economic and social sustainability in all its operations and educational activities. In driving this process, the university established a Sustainable Development Project to facilitate, oversee and report on the roll-out of this project.

The purpose of the study was to draw parallels between the Hindu religious teachings and environmental sustainability. A literature review on Hindu teachings on the environment as well as the practical application thereof as experienced or practiced by religious leaders and devotees were conducted. This was similar to the study that was conducted at the Bhaktivedanta Manor Temple near Watford in England at a Janmashtami festival in 2007 (Chauhan et al., 2009).The intention of the 2007 campaign was to raise spiritual self-consciousness by linking the concept of karma to environmental degradation, i.e. the concept of every action has a reaction. It also prompted the devotees to realise that there were practical steps that could be taken to alleviate the environmental crises by reducing one‟s ecological footprint. Literature on similar themes and hypotheses were referenced in the mini-dissertation, exposing the double-edged sword practices of Hinduism, where some religious practices have a harmful impact on the environment, which is contradictory to the teachings themselves. A survey was conducted at the Benoni Temple in Eastern Gauteng in South Africa where there is a strong Hindu community. The study was specifically aimed at two target audiences: Hindu religious leaders and Hindu devotees. The purpose was to establish both the religious leaders‟ and devotees‟ viewpoints regarding the correlation between Hindu religious teachings and lifestyles. The outcome was synonymous that there is a need for better communication and more environmental awareness from the Hindu religious teachings. Limitations of the study: Bearing in mind the vastness of the topic the study has been limited to Hinduism for the Masters in Environmental Management qualification and lays the foundation for expansion of further studies. The purpose of the study was not to denounce any religion, nor is it to promote one religion over the other, but rather to evaluate objectively both the positive and negative influences Hinduism has on the environment. / M Environmental Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

In this thesis, the framework within which long-term goals are set and subsequently achieved or approached is analyzed. Sustainable development and climate change are areas in which goals have tobe set despite uncertainties. The analysis is divided into the normative motivations for setting such goals, what forms of goals could be set given the empirical and normative uncertainties, and how tomanage doubts regarding achievability or values after a goal has been set. Paper I discusses a set of questions that moral theories intended to guide goal-setting should respond to. It is often claimed that existent normative theories provide only modest guidance regarding climate change, and consequently have to be revised or supplemented. Two such suggested revisions or supplements are analyzed in order to determine whether they provide such guidance. Paper II applies the deep ecological framework to survey the extent to which it can be utilized to discuss issues concerning the management of climate change. It is suggested that the deep ecological framework can provide guidance by establishing a normative framework and an analysis of how the overarching values and principles can be specified to be relevant for actions. Paper III is focused on normative political theory, and explicates the two dimensions of empirical and normative uncertainty. By applying recent discussions in normative political theory on ideal/non-ideal theory, political realism, and the relation between normative demands and empirical constraints,strategies for managing the proposed goals are suggested. Paper IV suggests a form of goal that incorporates uncertainties. Cautious utopias allow greater uncertainty than realistic goals (goals that are known to be achievable or approachable, and desirable),but not to the same extent as utopian goals (goals wherein it is highly uncertain whether the goal can actually be achieved). Such goals have a performance-enhancing function. A definition and quality criteria for such goals are proposed. Paper V considers whether a goal that is becoming all the more unlikely to be achievable should be reconsidered. The paper focuses on the two degrees Celsius target, and asks whether it could still be a sensible goal to aspire to. By applying the principle that ‘ought’ implies ‘can’, the role of such obligations is investigated. Paper VI surveys how to treat circumstances in which an already set goal should be reconsidered and possibly revised, and what would evoke doubt in the belief upon which those goals have been set.Two situations are analyzed: (i) a problematic or surprising event occurs, upsetting confidence in one’s relevant beliefs, or (ii) respectable but dissenting views are voiced concerning one’s means and/or values. It is suggested that the validity of doubt has to be considered, in addition to the level in a goal-means hierarchy towards which doubt is raised. / <p>QC 20151204</p>

Diese Arbeit ist ein empirischer Versuch zu verstehen, warum und wie Energieunternehmen Nachhaltigkeit durch Sustainability Accounting and Reporting institutionalisieren und wie sie von zahlreichen institutionellen Mechanismen im Rahmen der Institutionentheorie und der Stakeholder sowie aus deren Ansprüchen im Rahmen der Stakeholder Theorie beeinflusst werden, Theorien, die sich gegenseitig bedingen. Diese Arbeit möchte sich anhand normativer und deskriptiver Literatur über die Praktikabilität des Konzeptes und der Systeme informieren und durch die Entwicklung einer Fallstudie ein praktisches Beispiel vorstellen. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist die Entwicklung eines unternehmerischen Nachhaltigkeitssystems des Fallbeispielunternehmens, das pragmatisch zielgetrieben und – basierend auf den strategischen Schwerpunkten des Managements – auf die Einflüsse und Ansprüche der Stakeholder abgestimmt ist. Dafür wird die Fallstudie das Konzept des Sustainability Accounting and Re-porting anhand des regionalen Energieversorgungsunternehmens ReVU untersuchen und die Institutionalisierung prüfen. Im Rahmen der Stakeholderanalyse werden auch die Branche und der Wettbewerb auf ihre Nachhaltigkeit untersucht. Somit ist zu überprüfen, ob auch für ReVU Nachhaltigkeit ein Thema ist, in welcher Form und Ausprägung es zu implementieren wäre und welchen Nutzen es überhaupt bringen könnte. Im Ergebnis ist zu sehen, dass verschiedene institutionelle Mechanismen und das Stakeholdermanagement auf das nachhaltige Handeln des Unternehmens einwirken. Besonders ist im Moment der normative Druck der gesellschaftlichen Erwartungen aufgrund aktueller Ereignisse zu spüren, der auf die regulative Gesetzgebung der Energie- und Klimapolitik wirkt und die Energiewende beschleunigt. Diese nachhaltige Entwicklung ist auch kulturell-kognitiv in der Branche und bei den Wettbewerbern zu sehen. Dadurch ist ein deutlicher Wettbewerbsdruck zu bemerken, der auf dem Zusammenspiel von normativen, regulativen und kulturell-kognitiven Mechanismen beruht und durch das mimetische Verhalten zu einem Isomorphismus von nachhaltigen Strategien und Maßnahmen sowie Managementsystemen mit dem besonderen Bezug zur Ökologie führt.