The Global Production Networks (GPNs) framework has shown how interactions among various types of firm and non-firm actors at different geographic scales are often crucial to improve the design and implementation of social and environmental standards. However, one set of actors that the GPN framework has largely overlooked are business associations. Sectoral expertise, access to member firms and the ability to represent firms towards external standard-setters make local business associations interesting as regulatory intermediaries between member firms and local and global standard setters. Nonetheless, the ways in which such intermediary roles may operate, and how they may build on local collective action within business associations, remain conceptually and empirically understudied. In seeking to contribute to this gap, this thesis addresses the question: What roles do business associations play in the governance of sustainability standards within GPNs? To address this question, the thesis explores the value-added of an analytical approach that integrates concepts from the literature on associational governance and regulatory governance into the GPN framework. It focuses on collective self-regulation and intermediation as two distinct but potentially complementary roles that business associations can take on in the governance of sustainability standards. In the GPN context, intermediary roles can play out towards local and global standard-setters. This analytical framework is applied to a case study of the CSC9000T standard created by the China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC). Empirical data was collected over a 10 months period between December 2014 - September 2015. It includes secondary documents and 58 semi-structured primary interviews with Chinese business associations and firms as well as international actors involved in CSR in China. A congruence analysis is used to examine the extent to which each of the two conceptual roles of self-regulation and intermediation can explain CNTAC's roles in CSC9000T. Findings show that both roles add value to explaining the case study. However, limitations faced in both roles reflect how the association's embeddedness in the overall GPN influences these roles. Overall, the thesis argues that a conceptual lens that views business associations both as collective actors and as regulatory intermediaries may add value to understanding their ability to govern sustainability standards, but needs to be seen in the context of an association's embeddedness in the wider GPN. These findings have implications for considering when, and how, local business associations may be relevant in wider research on sustainability standards in global production.

There has been a steadily growing concern by governments, NGO's and international agencies regarding the rising rate of consumption in industrialised countries. Despite warnings and evidence showing the relationship between rising consumption and climate change, and the uptake of initiatives and education at business and consumer levels, the trend towards consuming more and more continues unabated. Questions have been raised regarding the relationship between marketing and rising consumption. In line with this, the research will investigate the responsibility of marketing to encourage consumers to moderate their consumption behaviour.  The research will address three broad objectives:· To identify whether marketing professionals feel responsible for encouraging consumers to moderate their consumption· To identify and explain the reasons why marketers would encourage moderation of consumption· To understand the construct 'marketing responsibility to encourage moderation of consumption' and explain the influences upon the acceptance of responsibilityThe research adopted a mixed-methods design. Qualitative research methods were used to explore perceptions of responsibility and develop a typology of motivations to explain why marketers would encourage moderation. An online, quantitative survey (n=359) was conducted in the USA and UK in January 2011. The results evidenced an acceptance of responsibility which is suggestive of a changing role for the marketing discipline. The results found support for the typology of motivations which were developed during the qualitative phase of the research, in particular, highlighting the importance of ethical and cost-saving motivations. The level of environmentalism in the workplace, and in the private life of the marketer, was found to influence the acceptance of marketing responsibility to encourage moderation. Finally, the motivation to remain competitive was also associated with the acceptance of marketing responsibility. The acceptance of responsibility to encourage moderation of consumption highlights a changing role for marketing which could potentially signify far-reaching changes in practical terms, in the way marketing is taught, and in the public policy domain.

Organisational sustainability is associated with the concept of organisational development, which emanates from the resources and capabilities that the organisation has in place. Sustainable organisations possess a strategic system, which is reliant on sustainable resources, and good capabilities that lead to strategic success. This study sets out the extent to which the Egyptian National Olympic Committee (ENOC) and its members the National Federations (NFs) are able to create organisational sustainability. The purpose of this research is to empirically study organisational sustainability and to provide insight into its creation within NFs. It has used a mixed-methods strategy that involved two phases. The first, a thematic analysis, identified the characteristics of the sustainable National Federation. It was undertaken by carrying out semi-structured interviews with ENOC and NF board members, experts, and NF consultants to generate the benchmarks or the requirements needed for sustainable National Federations. The second phase used the Readiness Assessment Tool (RAT) (Robinson and Minikin, 2011) in investigating the organisational development pillars based on the resources and capabilities of the Egyptian NFs (organisations that are responsible for developing the overarching performance of the ENOC). The findings indicated that the NFs included in this study need to develop further in terms of resources and capabilities in order to improve their readiness for sustainability. At their current levels of development, they do not exhibit the necessary or sufficient characteristics to become sustainable sports organisations. In other words, the research reveals that the NFs under investigation are not sufficiently developed to establish organisational sustainability due to their limited resources and low levels of capabilities. The study contributes to the body of knowledge by providing a better understanding of organisational sustainability in NFs. In addition, it creates the characteristics, or the requirements needed for a sustainable NF. Furthermore, it offers the first evidence to suggest that Egyptian NFs need more improvements in terms of resources and capabilities to create a strong sports system leading to sustainable success.

Alkali-activated binders (AABs) are the third-generation class of binders after lime and Portland cement. These binders have the potential to be made from a variety of industrial waste sources, many of which have remained largely unexplored. Significant drawbacks of AABs are the requirement of highly alkaline solutions for its production and the lack of available data regarding its implementation in the field. To bridge this gap, this study aimed to research the recycling and valorization of tungsten mining waste (TMW) to produce AABs, using waste glass (WG) as a supplementary material for reducing the alkali activator demand. Finally, a connection was made between the fundamental research on AABs and a practical engineering application. A detailed approach was undertaken to determine the most appropriate TMW-WG AAB preparation methods and curing conditions, an understudied area, with a strong emphasis on the microstructural development during hardening. The alkali activator appeared to be sensitive to prolonged stirring, which appeared to induce a stripping effect of the water molecules from the alkali metal ions, leading to a less intense attack on the silicon-oxygen bonds in precursor material. The effects of WG (dissolution and chemical reaction) were investigated to understand its contribution to the AAB system. WG was observed to provide an additional source reactive silica, contributing to the formation of a calcium-containing N-A-S-H gel, and significantly improve the mechanical strength. PCM macro-encapsulated aggregates (ME-LWAs) were also researched and incorporated into the TMW-WG AAB for the development of an energy-saving building material. The ME-LWAs stood out to be leak proof, with excellent thermal stability and thermal conductivity, latent heat capacity and abrasion resistance. It was also found out it is feasible to produce foamed lightweight alkali-activated materials using tungsten mining waste (TMW-WG FAAB) and other precursor materials. FAAB can be used in several applications where low density and fire resistance is required. The TMW-WG FAAB was also designed to suit a wide range of densities and compressive strengths using chemical foaming, achieving very low thermal conductivity. Finally, the TMW-WG AAB proved itself to be convenient to prepare on-site, demonstrating in service its ease of preparation, rapid hardening and durability as a novel road repair mortar.

FundaÃÃo Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TecnolÃgico / Essa dissertaÃÃo intitulou-se âZingando nos Saberes de Caetanos de Cimaâ, porque perseguiu durante toda sua temporalidade, a descriÃÃo e compreensÃo dos saberes da pesca, da agricultura e da arte de Caetanos de Cima, estabelecendo uma discussÃo sobre a relevÃncia desses para a sustentabilidade ecolÃgica, social e cultural local. O termo âzingandoâ refere-se a uma metÃfora da pesquisadora ao comparar seu olhar pelos saberes da comunidade estudada, ao movimento da zinga na Ãgua do mar, quando esta à impulsionada pela forÃa e pela danÃa do pescador. Nesse estudo considerou-se que tanto para a ciÃncia como para a sociedade faz-se relevante conhecer os saberes que existem dentro da complexidade do real, entendendo que nÃo existe superaÃÃo entre a dimensÃo dos saberes, mas sim que esses se complementam, tornando assim, relevante um estudo que busque o questionamento e a compreensÃo dos saberes populares. Essa pesquisa pretendeu elucidar os seguintes pontos: descriÃÃo dos cenÃrios locais; identificaÃÃo dos atores sociais; identificaÃÃo e compreensÃo das estratÃgias de sobrevivÃncia (pesca, agricultura e arte) que se manifestaram na comunidade e verificaÃÃo das inter-relaÃÃes entre os saberes locais e a sustentabilidade ecolÃgica, social e cultural de Caetanos de Cima. As anÃlises multireferencial e qualitativa foram os mÃtodos utilizados na descriÃÃo e interpretaÃÃo dos saberes mencionados. A metodologia caracterizou-se como observaÃÃo participante, onde a vivÃncia e convivÃncia da pesquisadora com os atores sociais envolvidos no estudo tornaram-se de profunda importÃncia na descriÃÃo e reflexÃo dos saberes estudados. A pesquisa contemplou as seguintes etapas: a) Pesquisa bibliogrÃfica e documental dos dados secundÃrios existentes e de estudos correlatos; b) Pesquisa qualitativa de campo, de natureza multireferencial, caracterizada por um estudo de caso dos saberes locais da comunidade de Caetanos de Cima e c) AnÃlise e reflexÃo dos saberes estudados, na perspectiva da sustentabilidade. Essa pesquisa permitiu constatar ainda, que os saberes que se manifestam nas estratÃgias de sobrevivÃncia (pesca, agricultura e arte) de Caetanos de Cima, contribuem para a sustentabilidade ecolÃgica e principalmente, cultural da comunidade, na medida em que percebemos o ser pescador-agricultor-artesÃo, em equilÃbrio consigo mesmo e com seu meio, nÃo deixando de reconhecer que algumas prÃticas tradicionais provocam impactos negativos ao meio, porÃm, com grau de relevÃncia inferior aos impactos negativos ocasionados por algumas prÃticas tidas como âmodernasâ. PorÃm, ressaltamos que os saberes da pesca, agricultura e arte nÃo sÃo suficientes para garantir a sustentabilidade da comunidade, pois outros saberes tambÃm sÃo revelados atravÃs dos indivÃduos multireferenciais de Caetanos de Cima. Saberes que devem ser inseridos em uma anÃlise da sustentabilidade que considere outras dimensÃes da realidade local. / This dissertation is entitled âZingando nos Saberes de Caetanos de Cimaâ (Rowing in the knowledge of Caetanos de Cima), because during its evolution it pursued the description and comprehension of the forms of knowledge on the fishery, the agriculture, and the art of Caetanos de Cima, establishing a discussion on the relevance of these aspects for its ecological, social and cultural sustainability. The term âzigandoâ (ârowingâ) refers to a metaphor by the author, as she compares her views on knowledge of the researched community with the motion of the sea, which is driven by the force and the dance of the fisherman. This research considered that, not only for science but also for society, it is crucial to know the forms of knowledge that exist within the complex of reality, understanding that there is no superiority on the knowledge dimension, but that these kinds of knowledge complement each other, making necessary a study that questions and understands the popular knowledge. This research intends to clarify the following points: description of the local scenery; identification of the social actors; understanding of the survival strategies (fishery, agriculture and art) which manifest themselves in the community; and verification of the inter-relationships between the local forms of knowledge and the ecological, social and cultural sustainability of Caetanos de Cima. Multi-referential and qualitative analyses were the methods used to describe and interpret the forms of knowledge mentioned. The methodology was characterized by active observation, where the author became embedded with the social actors involved in the study. This close relationship between the author and the social actors became of profound importance for the description and reflection of the researched knowledge. The research was divided by the following phases: a) Bibliographical review and study of related works: b) Field research, of multi-referential nature, characterized by the study of the local knowledge of the community of Caetanos de Cima; and c) Analysis and reflection of the forms of knowledge studied in terms of sustainability. Furthermore, this research concluded that the forms of knowledge â which manifest themselves in the survival strategies (fishery, agriculture and art) of Caetanos de Cima â contribute to the ecological sustainability and mainly to the cultural sustainability of the community because there is a balance between the fisherman-farmer-artisan and the environment. However, it must be recognized that some of the traditional practices have negative impacts on the environment, even though these negative impacts are still not as harmful as the impacts caused by the socalled âmodernâ practices. It is also important to point out that the knowledge of fishery, agriculture and art is not sufficient to guarantee the sustainability of the community, given that other forms of knowledge become relevant through the multireferential individuals of Caetanos de Cima â forms of knowledge that need to be introduced in an analysis of the sustainability which considers other dimensions of the local reality.

Universidade Federal do Cearà / Esse trabalho à um estudo sobre o atual modelo de atuaÃÃo das Sociedades de crÃdito ao Microempreendedor (SCM). Particularmente, à mostrado o desenvolvimento do marco legal dessas instituiÃÃes, seus limites de atuaÃÃo e as dificuldades encontradas para o pleno desenvolvimento dessa categoria privada de instituiÃÃo de microcrÃdito que tem atuaÃÃo em diversos estados brasileiros. Diante disso foi explorado o dilema entre seus objetivos sociais, o atendimento aos microempreendedores sem acesso ao sistema financeiro formal e seus objetivos econÃmicos e a remuneraÃÃo do capital dos sÃcios dessas empresas. Para tanto, o trabalho està dividido em trÃs capÃtulos, alÃm da introduÃÃo e da conclusÃo final. O primeiro capÃtulo aborda o porquà e como surgiram as instituiÃÃes de microcrÃdito, em conexÃo com as particularidades no atendimento do pÃblico alvo nesse mercado. O segundo capÃtulo expÃe os princÃpios que regem a atuaÃÃo das entidades de microcrÃdito, bem como as dificuldades e soluÃÃes encontradas com a experiÃncia e evoluÃÃo das mesmas. No terceiro capÃtulo sÃo analisadas as SCMs especificamente. No estudo à apresentado o atual marco regulatÃrio, uma anÃlise econÃmico-financeira dessas empresas e sÃo feitos comparativos com outros modelos de entidades jurÃdicas que atuam no mercado brasileiro de microfinanÃas. AlÃm disso, testes estatÃsticos permitiram concluir que as SCMs nÃo se apresentam em um ambiente econÃmico que leve à sustentabilidade e expansÃo de suas atividades. Por fim, sÃo feitas sugestÃes de algumas mudanÃas para que haja maiores oportunidades de crescimento e desenvolvimento das SCMs. / This work is a study about the current model performance of the Micro Entrepreneur Societies ( SCM ). Particularly, it is shown the civil mark development of these institutions, their performance limits and difficulties found for the full development of this private category of microcredit institution that act in many of Brazilian states. Up to that it is explored the dilemma between their social goals, the assistance to microentrepreneurs without access to the formal financial system, and your economic goals, the partners capital remuneration of these companies. For so much, the work is broken in three chapters, besides the introduction and of the final conclusion. The first chapter boards the reason why and as arose microcredit institutions in connection with particularities in the publicâs target assistance in this market. Second chapter exposes which ones are the principles that govern microcredit entities performance and which ones are the difficulties and solutions found with the experience and evolution of those. In the third chapter are analyzed SCMs specifically. In the study It is introduced the current civil mark, it is done a economic and financial analysis of this companies and a comparative with other juridical entities models that act in microfinances Brazilian marked. Yet, statistics tests conclude that the SCMs are in a economic environment that not allows their sustainability and growth. Finally, it is suggested some changes so that has larger growth opportunities and SCMs development.

Proposta: Com o objetivo de subsidiar uma abordagem crítica do uso do sistema LEED no Brasil, este trabalho partiu da análise de suas características intrínsecas, sua evolução e aplicação ao longo do tempo no seu país de origem. Método de pesquisa/Abordagens: O trabalho apresenta uma análise do sistema LEED e sua aplicação a partir de: [1] histórico da iniciativa LEED nos EUA; [2] indicações do uso do sistema LEED no Brasil e em outros países; [3] evolução do nível de avaliação do LEED ao longo do tempo e [4] banco de dados de todos os projetos certificados pelo LEED para construções novas (LEED-NC) aproximadamente 264 projetos no total entre 2000 e 2005. Resultados: Essa análise embasou um retrato do sistema no seu país de origem, mostrou os resultados da sua aplicação nos empreendimentos do mercado americano, apresentou o perfil de certificação dos projetos e a evolução dessa dinâmica ao longo de cinco anos. Contribuições/Originalidade: Como resultados, o trabalho apresentou indicações e lições aprendidas com a utilização do LEED no seu país de origem, constatou o início do uso do sistema de avaliação no Brasil e relacionou potencialidades e inconsistências dessa aplicação para o contexto local. / Propose: Aiming to support the critical analysis of the LEED system application outside the USA, this work focuses on the evolution of LEED-NC application in its native environment between 2000 and 2005. Methods: This work presents an analysis of the LEED rating system encompassing: [1] LEED initiative history in the USA (from the early versions to the recent ones); [2] indications of LEED use in Brazil and in other countries; [3] evolution of the certification level throughout the different LEED versions; and [4] a data bank with all the LEED-NC certified projects between 2000 and 2005 (approximately 264 projects in total) based on the public search tool of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) website. Findings: This analysis supported a clear figure of the system use, showing its application results on the American building sector and its implications on other countries outside USA. Collecting the certification profiles of such developments, a historical LEED road map was produced showing the evolution of this dynamic along five years and future trends. Originality/value: The results present lessons learned as guidelines for its eventual use in other countries and evidences of the insertion of the rating system in Brazil, indicating potentialities and inconsistencies for its application in this local context.

The recent financial crisis of 2008 has caused significant turbulence in the financial sector and the strategic direction of a number of banking organizations. To survive situations characterised by adversity and changing institutions, various organisations in the sector needed to renew their legitimacy with diverse groups of stakeholders and to refocus their business models into more sustainable ones requiring change and development in the company’s operational capabilities. Recent scholarly interest in the study of organisational and more specifically dynamic capabilities has focused on exploring the development processes through such capabilities emerge. However, the recent literature has been focused much more on the conceptual nature of capabilities rather than on offering empirically grounded accounts on how a specific type of an organisational capability is developed and transforms in line with the changing institutional contexts, and fluctuating levels of environmental uncertainty. Scant attention has been paid to the relationship between institutional change and the capability development process. In order to shed light on the development of such capabilities, this study specifies the micro-foundations of the capability development process and illustrates the relationships between the development process and the changing institutional context through a multilevel of analysis. Explicitly, it aims to find out how and what micro-foundations participate in the development of a sustainability-banking capability and how the changing institutional and market contexts and its dynamics influence the development process. This work is a phenomenon-driven study, which centres its empirical and theoretical contributions in the exploration of the case of the Royal Bank of Scotland – a particularly interesting case of an organisation, which has survived a near-death experience during times of immense institutional turbulence. The selected company case is special for the richness of organisational changes that assisted in tracing the main events and processes in which dynamic capabilities emerge. Inductively, this research study found ‘sustainability-banking’ capability to be conductive for the explored case company’s adaptation in the rapidly changing context of the financial crisis of 2008. To respond to the research questions and meet the research objectives, the work follows a process research methodology, involving the triangulation of multiple sources of primary and secondary qualitative data, collected both in real-time and retrospectively of the observed longitudinal period 2004-2012. The adopted process analysis revealed three key phases through which sustainability banking capability which emerged in the context of Royal Bank of Scotland, accordingly Phase One: The Philanthropic route (2004-2007), Phase Two: The Responsive engagement route (2008-2009) and Phase Three: The Stakeholder co-creation route (2010-2012). Each one of the charted phases of development pictures diverse set of micro-foundations constituted the company’s capability diachronically (over time) and synchronically (across levels and layers of learning). The research indicates that the capability development process is a complex process moderated by changing market environment and the presence of a number of institutional and market inhibitors and accelerators which moderate the occurring micro-foundational transformations. By illustrating the transformations in the micro-foundations of the explored capability, the research work casts light on the temporal changes that accompany capability learning, which affect the capability nature and unfold into different forms of capabilities – ordinary, transitional and dynamic. The key finding of this study is that the variability in the alignment of micro-foundational constructs defines the form and the function of the observed organizational capability – sustainability-banking capability. Although drawing on macro-institutional perspective to demonstrate the types of institutional pressures, which trigger changes in individual and organizational behaviours and processes, this research study contributes primarily to the organisational capability literature. First, the main contribution of this thesis is the development of a novel process model perspective of sustainability-banking capability in the context of institutional and market changes. The process model indicates the interactions between individual-based, process-based and structure-based micro-foundations and how this interaction, alignment, between their capability micro-foundations changes in the course of social, political and regulatory disruptions in the sector, which either inhibit or accelerate these transformations. Secondly, the observed processes of interaction suggest how an operational capability can escalate to become a dynamic capability, which has not been mapped in the field of study. Previously, scholars (e.g. Helfat and Winter, 2011) have suggested conceptually the possible existence of dual-purpose or multiple variant capabilities where the complication of drawing a line between operational and dynamic capabilities occurs due to the speed of change they enable in organisations. Within the context and content of study – sustainability-banking capability at the Royal Bank of Scotland, this study demonstrates the existence of what is entitled in the thesis as a “transitional capability”, which responds to the recent call for research work in this domain. Scholars have suggested that sometimes the low pace in which changes occur can disguise one capability as operational but in fact it can have a dynamic variant when it is explored longitudinally. The analysis of the findings in the second stage of capability development proves that the contrary can be also true. Although previously the literature has associated radical changes somehow instantly with dynamic capabilities, the analysis suggest that extremely turbulent exogenous shocks can lead to internal disturbances and misalignment in the relationship between some of the micro-foundations composing them which on the other hand can constrain the level of impact that the capability under study has in the process of organisational adaptation and development. The third contribution of this work is methodological which is accomplished by the adoption of a process methodology and a ‘hybrid’ strategy of processual data analysis, which complements the existing variance research stream in the study of organisational capability, which is predominately positivist in nature. Lastly but not the least important, this phenomenon-driven research contributes to the recent call in the strategic management field for exploring “bigger issues”, such as the global financial crisis which are often a “window of opportunity” and lead to relevant knowledge for managerial practice, citizens and policy makers.

The changing climate and damaging effects of CO2 on the environment has led to awareness throughout the construction industry of the need to deliver more sustainable solutions. The use of geosynthetics as a sustainable construction solution was demonstrated by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) in a report entitled Sustainable Geosystems in Civil Engineering Applications (WRAP, 2010). The WRAP report presented a series of case studies in which geosynthetic solutions provided both cost and CO2 savings in comparison to non-geosynthetic solutions. However, in what is a huge field the report concentrated on specific areas relative to the calculation methods or on the potential construction applications. This EngD research built on this work by WRAP and aimed to establish a rigorous framework for the comparison of CO2 emissions between geosynthetic and non-geosynthetic solutions. This EngD research reviewed CO2 calculation methodologies and techniques to produce a rigorous framework that could be adopted in comparative CO2 studies between geosynthetic and non-geosynthetic solutions. It was demonstrated on three case studies looking at geosynthetics in the function of containment, drainage, and reinforcement, highlighting the possible CO2 benefits of employing geosynthetics. The development of the case studies and framework highlighted the need for accurate embodied carbon data. There was an absence of geosynthetic specific embodied carbon values in the commonly employed databases. The EngD research sought to address this and through some experimental work in collaboration with geosynthetic manufacturers calculated embodied carbon values for four types of geosynthetics.

<p> This dissertation details a doctoral research project studying three food-plants&mdash;and their potential for introduction into diet and agriculture in Northern California. Applying post-qualitative methods to multispecies ethnography, I followed three food-plants (millets, edible bulbs, and milkweeds) through their life cycles and production chains, considering their many interactions with other species and the biosphere, as well as with humans. Each food's story emerged while investigating the food-plant and its potential as an appropriate crop for Northern California's changing climate. I followed each food's lifecycle, both textually and in the field, uncovering intra-actions along a "soil to sustenance" framework. The study is presented as a narrative that examines each food within cultural and biological contexts. Expanding current crop introduction efforts within a biocultural diversity framework, I call for a diversification of our choices for crops based not only on historical and cultural relevance, but also on current and future relevance for an evolving place and time. In this way, we can look to adaptive crops and traditions from around the globe, representing both a decolonization and a diversification of agriculture and diet.</p><p>