Background: Trends for more sustainable and environmental friendly business practices have transformed many industries, especially Volvo CE as an OEM within heavy vehicle industry, where company needs to continuously innovate and develop environmental sustainability technologies. Volvo CE is trying to balance the cost and profit with environmental impact through engaging in sustainable operations and do it through the optimization of Environmental Performance Management (EPM). There is a need for Volvo CE to improve their whole supply chain throughout the entire tier of suppliers since the suppliers create a major value within company business and Volvo CE need to find the way on how to diffuse the EPM to supplier networks. Also, to control and evaluate the process, Volvo CE is looking for systematic control mechanism to measure and control the practice of EPM. Research questions: 1. How does the environmental regulation in heavy vehicle industry impact the EPM of Volvo CE? 2. How should the EPM be efficiently diffused to the supplier network of Volvo CE? 3. Which are the effective control mechanisms of the EPM on the supplier network of Volvo CE? Purpose: The purpose of this paper is two-fold. Firstly, it aims to identify the impact of environmental regulations has in Volvo CE. Secondly, it is set to analyse the possible ways to efficiently diffused the EPM on the supplier network of Volvo CE and identify control mechanisms for the EPM implementation on the supplier network, from the perspective of Volvo CE. Method: By using Volvo CE as the research object, this study adopts case study method with qualitative approach. The study is conducted in ii Volvo CE perspective where it has an abductive approach with the intention to examine the impact of environmental regulation in EPM of Volvo CE, understand how Volvo CE implement the diffusion back to the supplier network and control the process through EPM. Conclusion: The findings emphasize that the environmental sustainability regulations impact the EPM in Volvo CE are distributed in manufacturing/production, managerial, strategic, technical and compliance area. Volvo CE needs to work a lot with energy efficiencies, material efficiencies and waste reduction management and find the products, which need less energy to produce and environmental friendly. To achieve the efficient of EPM adoption, EPM should perceive to have relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability characteristic. The control mechanism can be built through formal and informal control techniques. Specifically, Volvo CE needs to identify more joint KPI:s with suppliers and include important suppliers in the process. A long-term relationship with an important supplier will alleviate the control of 2:nd and 3:rd tier supplier since the important supplier will have the trust and authority to control, monitor and oversee how they are implementing the environmental aspect in their daily work.

The designer explores how to improve souvenir design in the real market by questioning the issues of authenticity and the need of sustainable strategies. It takes the city of Växjö as a start point for a touristic place and analyses different categories. Through observations and interviews, the issues are confirmed and a design brief is made. Based on theories of product semantics and emotional design, the result from the investigation summarised to suggest guide for souvenir design. The guide is illustrated in a series of videos meant to anyone working in the souvenir industry.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities University of the Witwatersrand In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Organisational Psychology 2016 / Recent environmental awareness has led to an expanding interest surrounding environmental consciousness and a greater social shift world over towards energy efficiency and the sustainability of technologies and resources. Consequently, there has been the development of sustainable technologies within the automobile industry including that of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). With the development of these technologies, it becomes necessary to investigate the factors that underpin the use and adoption of them within our society, so as to ensure their greater diffusion, use and adoption. In this light, this study aimed to investigate the factors that function in predicting the Intention to Adopt the sustainable technology of HEVs. This has been investigated in accordance with the constructs of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. This model comprises the constructs of: Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence and Facilitating Conditions. This study also intended to examine these constructs and determine whether they are moderated by the constructs of Pro-Environmental Behaviour and Dispositional Resistance to Change in predicting the Intention to Adopt HEVs. The sample for this study was comprised of 133 final year Law students from the University of the Witwatersrand. The adapted UTAUT Scale, the adapted Dispositional Resistance to Change Scale and the Pro-Environmental Scale were utilised as the measures within this study. Several subscales of the UTAUT Scale as well as the Pro-Environmental Behaviour (PEB) Scale had low Internal Consistency Reliabilities within both the Pilot and Main study. However, the researcher chose to run the analyses taking this into consideration. Several subscales of the UTAUT Scale as well as the Dispositional Resistance to Change (DRC) Scale had acceptable levels of Internal Consistency Reliabilities for use in conducting analyses. Multiple regression equations and moderated multiple regression equations were run in order to investigate the effects of these constructs in predicting the Intention to Adopt HEVs. The results drawn from this study illustrated that there was a positive, significant effect of two questions concerning lifestyle factors and a reduced taxed levy of the construct Facilitating Conditions on Intention to Adopt HEVs. The results also showed that the constructs of PEB and DRC had no direct moderating influence on Intention to Adopt HEVs. / MT2017

Thesis advisor: Charles Derber / This paper examines the capacity of post-secondary institutions, namely colleges and universities, to assist in the development of more sustainable, socially just food systems. The global, industrial paradigm of food production and distribution creates innumerable problems related to human health and ecological degradation. Due to its reliance on cheap energy and government subsidies, in conjunction with the social and environmental costs associated with it, the industrial food system is not sustainable in the long-term. The opening chapters of this thesis analyzes the dominant trends of food production and distribution, and explores the alternative movements that have propagated in response to the devastating failures of the industrial food system. For various reasons, the education sector has demonstrated vast potential to incubate and advance these alternatives. This thesis explores the main initiatives gaining momentum throughout the education system, and attempts to discern the potential for educational institutions—in particular, institutions of higher education—to support local, sustainable agriculture and to empower the next generation of producers and consumers to take back control of their food system. Since the unique role of higher education in reforming the industrial food system remains in the realm of speculation for the time being, this paper also provides a concrete case study of sustainable food initiatives at Boston College, in hopes that further studies of this kind will continue to encourage the transition from speculation to reality. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: Sociology.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a synopsis of the current issues facing ecotourism in Costa Rica; critically examine the impacts and challenges of ecotourism; analyze the potential of ecotourism as a strategy for sustainable development; look at ways in which ecotourism and sustainable development can be evaluated; and suggest ways to improve current ecotourism practices and policies for Costa Rica. What are the impacts and challenges of ecotourism? What are the possible benefits that ecotourism can bring? Is ecotourism in Costa Rica sustainable? Based on the guiding principles of ecotourism, a legitimate argument can be made that ecotourism in Costa Rica has not produced desired outcomes and is not sustainable. However, an equally strong argument can be made that although ecotourism may not currently be sustainable, it has yet to fully mature, and has shown signs that it can achieve a balance between development and conservation goals.. Ecotourism has more promise for achieving sustainability than alternative types of land use such as agriculture, cattle grazing, logging, or mass tourism. Whether or not ecotourism in Costa Rica will prove to be sustainable in the long-term remains to be seen. In order to increase the likelihood that ecotourism achieves goals of sustainable development in Costa Rica, all of the key actors must to begin to take more proactive measures in order to ensure that ecotourism is carefully planned and implemented. Ecotourism must account for social, economic and environmental implications, in order to succeed. A much more balanced and integrated approach, founded on the guiding principles of sustainable development, is essential to maximize the benefits and minimize the negative impacts of ecotourism in Costa Rica. / Master of Public and International Affairs

M.Sc. (Development Planning) thesis, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, 1999

Arising from drastically different world views, misconceptions between foreign NGOs working in Mali and local Malians often lead to actions that perpetuate unjust power dynamics and/or do more harm than good. In order to better align NGO sustainable development efforts in ways that are beneficial to the populations they serve, it is crucial to listen to perspectives that are typically marginalized in our current global system. This thesis explores synergizing NGO-Malian artist partnerships in innovative, mutually understandable, and mutually beneficial ways to increase NGO project effectiveness and efficiency. This case study features twelve interviews with Malian dancers and musicians residing in Bamako, Mali. The intersections between this data and current academic sources indicate suggested 1) processes to cultivate understanding and mindfully work to shift unjust power dynamics; and 2) projects (themes, partnerships with existing opportunities, and innovations) that demonstrate promising, new potential to improve development efforts. / 2014-12-16

What place do historic environments and structures have in cities after their original uses have ceased to have relevance in contemporary urban life? And how does these relate to sustainable city planning, in particular social sustainability? Using the cisterns at the former oil harbour of Loudden, in Stockholm, Sweden as a case study, the purpose of this report is to investigate adaptive reuse strategies and idealogies of the industrial heritage in contemporary cities. These topics are analysed in relation to the prevailing neoliberal planning objectives of branding, economic growth and development and place-making. A critical analysis of the city of Stockholm’s stated sustainability goals reveals a significant disconnect between the technical, economic and environmental sides of sustainability and the equally important social aspects of the term. The overall conclusion is that social sustainability is first and foremost a rhetorical discourse that must be more aggressively pursued as a concrete planning objective and the adaptive reuse of industrial heritage provides a unique opportunity to accomplish this. Furthermore, social, environmental and economic sustainability must be seen as integral and coequal parts to the overarching sustainable ideal. The predominance of economic considerations does not adequately account for the equally crucial aspects of social sustainability such as culture, inclusiveness and integration and historic preservation.

Background: Many change processes in organizations fail and efficient change management is therefore crucial for success. For successful change to be possible, an organization needs to be readied for that change. The growing demand on sustainable business practices leads organizations to embrace sustainable development and therefore go through change. Change readiness can be viewed on two levels; organizational and individual and there are different factors impacting each of these levels. Examples of such factors are Vision & Goals, Organizational structure and A sense of urgency. Purpose: The purpose of this research was to explore how ready Swedish organizations were for sustainability-oriented change, taking both organizational and individual change readiness into account. Method: 8 Swedish organizations were studied with the help of 15 factors that impact change readiness. By using mixed methods, qualitative data from interviews and quantitative data from surveys was collected, and the factors were evaluated. Findings: The organizations had an average of 67 % change readiness overall, with the factor A sense of urgency scoring the highest results indicating that Swedish organizations understand the importance of sustainability. The data suggested that the organizations were more change ready on the individual compared to the organizational change readiness level. The findings also showed that the factors Vision & Goals and Organizational structure had no positive impact on the organizations´ change readiness.

A preocupação mundial em relação aos impactos ambientais e seus reflexos positivos ou negativos na natureza têm mobilizado diversos setores da indústria. O processo de fabricação da viscose quando não controlado é altamente poluidor, causando impactos ao meio ambiente. Portanto, a escolha da sua matéria-prima pode amenizar esses problemas. O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar comparativamente os tecidos de malha fabricados com fibras de viscose convencional eucalipto e outras - com fibras de viscose obtidas a partir do bambu. Para a análise foram escolhidas as seguintes matérias-primas: fios 100% viscose convencional (fiação de anéis e jato de ar) e fios 100% viscose de bambu (fiação de anéis) e fabricadas malhas com gramaturas médias estatisticamente iguais. Os tecidos foram beneficiados e realizados os ensaios de gramatura, tendência à formação de pilling e resistência à solidez à água. Os resultados experimentais mostraram que não existem diferenças significativas entre as características estudadas. / The global concern regarding the environmental impacts has assembled several industry sectors. This study has as a goal to analyze relatively two types of mesh fabrics: viscose, which can be produced through cellulose regeneration obtained by bamboo or from other trees or plants, and thus, it can be chosen one or the other within a sustainable development context. This manufacturing process of viscose is highly pollutant, provoking negative impacts to the environment. Therefore, the choice of raw material might reduce these issues relating to sustainability. This comparison also has an objective to open a space for discussions regarding to sustainability concept in textile sector, which many studies are limited to analyze the results comparing materials only, not considering the process as a whole, from the choice of raw material, obtention, cultivation, transformation, to the final product, including the lifecycle, the durability and disposal of a fashion product. The experimental results showed that no significant differences between the characteristics studied.