Thesis (M. S.)--Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Doyoyo Mulalo; Committee Member: Will Kenneth; Committee Member: Yavari Arash. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2007. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Thomas R. Wood. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 64).

The negative impact of the fashion industry on both society and environment cannot be ignored, especially in recent years, due to news and reports on the negative impacts of the industry has raised awareness among consumers. Some of the consumers started questioning the fashion companies’ operations and demand for more sustainable supply chains. In order to respond the request coming from consumers’ side, the companies started to regulate their operations and communicate about them. Even though there are many different ways to communicate about sustainability approach, This study is questioning the potential outcomes of developing a common CSR label based on Higg Index 2.0 tool. To answer the research question, existing literature has analyzed from three different perspectives; social and environmental problems led by the industry and raising consumer awareness about negative impact of the industry. After the literature review, CSR communication approaches of the selected companies were analyzed. The second step of the research was, to apply a consumer survey in the Gothenburg Central Station to understand Swedish consumers’ perception. Outcomes of the consumer survey has compared with the existing literature and communication strategies followed by the analyses of selected companies.The company analyzes show that, even though, they are good at about regulating their supply chain with more sustainable approaches, the majority of fashion companies do not communicate about their CSR practices. Consumer survey expose that, consumers are lack of awareness regarding to existed CSR labels. Moreover, even though exist labels focus on only environmental factors or social factors, the consumers expect from labels to cover both areas. The data collected from the study expose that, even the majority of the consumer not completely influenced by the sustainability approach of the companies, there are consumers that influence by the companies CSR approach. Moreover, the lion share of consumers believes that a common labeling system based on Higg Index 2.0 will be helpful guide when they give their purchasing decision. Based on the findings from existed literature -consumer survey and analyze of companiesapproach-, it was observed that companies are lack of effective communication strategies which is a barrier for the consumers to get an action for to purchase more sustainable fashion products. Therefore, developing a common CSR labeling system that will controlled by third party institution such as Sustainable Apparel Coalition will increase the effectiveness of CSR label and influence the consumers response positively.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:30:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-08-29Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:40:41Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 kimpara_jm_dr_jabo.pdf: 1460371 bytes, checksum: 34bc43658d7ea14ffd674c08ae0f3ec1 (MD5) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) / O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar o uso da água e aeradores na fase de crescimento final (engorda) do camarão-da-amazônia Macrobrachium amazonicum, em sistema semi-intensivo, sob as perspectivas limnológica, zootécnica e da sustentabilidade. Foi realizado um experimento em 12 viveiros de fundo natural (0,01ha), estocados com 40 juvenis.m-2, no qual testou-se os seguintes tratamentos: sem aeração + sem renovação de água (SS), aeração diurna + sem renovação de água (AD), aeração noturna + sem renovação de água (AN) e fluxo contínuo de água (FC). Observou-se que a aeração e o fluxo contínuo de água foram eficientes para quebrar a estratificação térmica e do oxigênio nos viveiros e nenhum tratamento influiu no acúmulo de subprodutos na coluna d´água ou no sedimento. No entanto, isso não afetou a sobrevivência, ganho de peso e produtividade dos camarões. Portanto, embora sob a perspectiva limnológica a renovação da água e a aplicação de aeração criem condições mais favoráveis, sob o ponto de vista zootécnico não há diferenças entre os tratamentos. Para o estudo da sustentabilidade, realizou-se uma simulação de cultivo comercial da espécie, embasada nos resultados do experimento realizado e na literatura disponível. A seguir, aplicou-se uma análise emergética. As transformidades encontradas variaram de 5,19E+02 a 1,51E+03 sej.J-1, aumentando com uso da aeração e renovação da água. O valor de renovabilidade foi 90,5% em FC e ~70% nos demais. Os valores de razão de carga ambiental (ELR) foram 0,1 em FC e 0,4 nos demais, indicando baixo impacto ambiental causado pela atividade em todos os tratamentos. O cultivo SS apresentou a menor pegada ecológica (adaptada pela análise emergética). Nenhum sistema mostrou rentabilidade sob a visão econômica biofísica. O cultivo de... / The aim of this work was to study the use of water and aerators in the grow-out phase of the amazon river prawn Macrobrachium amazonicum in a semi-intensive system, under the limnological, zootechnical and sustainable perspectives. An experiment was conducted using 12 earthen ponds (0.01 ha) stocked 40 juveniles.m-2, in which the following treatments were tested: no aeration + no water exchange (NN), diurnal aeration + no water exchange (DA), nocturnal aeration + no water exchange (NA) and continuous water flow (CF). It was observed that aeration and continuos water flow were efficient to break thermal and oxygen stratification and none of the treatments influenced by-products accumulation in water column or sediments. However, it did not affect survival, weight gain and productivity of prawns. Thus, although under the limnological perspective water exchange and the use of aerators create more favourable conditions, on the zootechnical view there is no difference among treatments. To evaluate sustainability, a simulation of a M. amazonicum commercial farming was performed, based on the results found in the experiment and the available literature. Then, an emergy analysis was applied. Transformities found varied from 5,19E+02 to 1,51E+03 sej.J-1, being higher when using aerators and water exchange. Renewability value was 90,5% in CF and ~70% in other treatments. The values of the Environmental Loading Ratio were 0.1 in CF and 0.4 in the other treatments, indicating low environmental impact caused by the activity in all treatments. Farming praws with NN presented the lowest ecological footprint (adapted from the emergy analysis). None of the systems showed profitability under the biophysical economic approach. The M. amazonicum grow-out presented itself more sustainable than... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Orientador: Luzenira Alves Brasileiro / Banca: Dib Gebara / Banca: Marisa Teresa Françoso / Resumo: Este trabalho apresenta um procedimento para analisar a sustentabilidade econômica do sistema de coleta seletiva de resíduos recicláveis urbanos. Com o intuito de caracterizar o cenário econômico, o objetivo da pesquisa é realizar uma análise de sustentabilidade econômica da coleta seletiva de resíduos sólidos urbanos recicláveis. Um estudo de caso foi realizado para a cidade de Votuporanga - SP. Os resultados mostram que o sistema de coleta seletiva analisado apresenta sustentabilidade econômica. O estudo demonstrou também que se a população urbana segregar todos os resíduos recicláveis que são gerados, o custo da coleta seletiva reduz significativamente. Um sistema de coleta seletiva eficiente e eficaz proporciona, além da sustentabilidade econômica, outros benefícios para a sociedade em geral, tais como: ambiental, educacional e social. / Abstract: This work presents a procedure for analyzing the economic sustainability of the system of selective collection of recyclable waste city. A case study was conducted for Votuporanga city. The results show that the selective collection system has analyzed economic sustainability. The study also showed that the urban population segregate all recyclable waste that are generated, the cost of selective reduced significantly. A selective collection system provides efficient and effective, and economic sustainability, other benefits to society in general, such as environmental, educational and social. / Mestre

Following the suggestions of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative publications on Life Cycle Management (LCM) as a business management approach to improve sustainability performance, this research explored LCM as a promising research area that could help identify the factors that influence the integration of sustainability aspects into organisational processes. The initial research strategy was comprised of LCM literature analysis to explore LCM and identify potential factors that could direct the data collection. The analysis of the LCM literature shows that LCM is vaguely described. This research analysis puts into context the various LCM approaches through the introduction of the four LCM elements. The LCM elements were used as a frame to analyse the LCM cases found in the literature and identify the factors that influence integration of sustainability in organisational processes. The next stage of the research strategy was to conduct action research studies to explore in close proximity the integration of sustainability aspects in organisational processes. Two in depth action research studies were conducted, influenced by engaged scholarship. During Case A, the LCM elements were used in practice to influence the project whilst the LCM factors were observed in practice. Case A demonstrated the complexity of sustainability-related information integration in organisational processes and the division of information flows towards different organisational functions to inform their own decision. The analysis highlighted that developing knowledge is a key LCM factor that influences the application of LCM. As the importance of developing knowledge became apparent, a novel sustainability related intellectual capital (SrIC) framework was developed then used during Case B. This framework is shown to assist the sustainability professionals of Company B in enhancing the sustainability related intellectual capital of the company, which in turn led to more effective sustainability integration. This research used LCM as a ‘vehicle’ to explore the integration of sustainability aspects into organisational processes and hence contribute to the LCM literature with the four LCM elements framework of analysis, descriptions of the factors that influence the application of LCM, bringing a focus on the importance of developing knowledge for the effective application of LCM, and identifying the intellectual capital factors that influence the integration of sustainability aspects into organisational processes.

Orientador: Sandra Regina Monteiro Masalskiene Roveda / Banca: Sandro Donnini Mancini / Banca: Magda da Silva Peixoto / Resumo: Mudar o comportamento e os hábitos das pessoas, privilegiando uma produção e um consumo sustentável, tem sido motivo de investimentos e de ações por parte dos governos para promover a sustentabilidade como modelo de desenvolvimento. Embora muitos trabalhos tenham sido desenvolvidos ao longo dos últimos anos na criação de índices e mensuração da sustentabilidade, poucos são completos no sentido de levar em conta os aspectos econômicos, ambientais e sociais subentendidos no conceito de desenvolvimento sustentável. Dessa forma, esta dissertação apresenta o desenvolvimento de um índice para avaliar o grau de sustentabilidade dos municípios a partir de indicadores das dimensões sociais, demográficas, econômicas e ambientais. A metodologia de elaboração do índice fundamentou-se nos conceitos da Teoria dos Conjuntos Fuzzy o que contribuiu para a concepção de um sistema baseado em um conhecimento específico e que sintetiza várias informações complexas de maneira direta e de fácil compreensão. O índice foi aplicado a todos os 5.565 municípios brasileiros gerando um cenário de sustentabilidade nacional e habilitando-se como um instrumento efetivo no auxílio à tomada de decisão dos gestores que podem a partir dos resultados revelados indicar necessidades e prioridades para a formulação, monitoramento e avaliação de políticas públicas. / Abstract: Change the behavior and habits of people, promoting sustainable production and consumption, has been cause for investments and actions by Governments to promote sustainability as a development model. Although many jobs have been developed over the past years in the creation of indices and measurement of sustainability, few are complete in order to take into account the economic, environmental and social aspects subtext in the concept of sustainable development. Thus, this dissertation presents the development of an index to evaluate the degree of sustainability of municipalities from indicators of the social dimensions, demographic, economic and environmental. The methodology of compiling the index was based on the concepts of Fuzzy set theory that contributed to the design of a system based on a specific knowledge and synthesizing several complex information of direct and easy to understand way. The index has been applied to all 5,565 municipalities in Brazil generating a national sustainability and scenario enabling as an effective instrument in aid to decision-making of managers that can from the results revealed indicate needs and priorities for the formulation, monitoring and evaluation of public policies. / Mestre

Problematisering: Företag står inför utmaningar som handlar om att inkludera hållbarhetsbegreppets tre dimensioner: det ekonomiska, sociala och miljömässiga ansvaret. Påtryckningar ökar från samhällets olika intressenter, som sätter press på att företag och företagsledare agerar ansvarsfullt. Hållbarhet är idag en aktuell och relevant fråga som företag, styrelser och ledare på något sätt får ta i beaktning på grund av dessa påtryckningar från samhället. Relationen mellan ledarskap och hållbarhet är, enligt oss, en samhällsaktuell fråga för företag. Det finns idag omfattande forskning kring ledarskap och en hel del forskning om hållbarhet. Forskningen däremellan är däremot relativt outforskad. Det behövs därför en förståelse för hur denna relation ser ut. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att bidra till förståelse av hur relationen mellan ledarskap och hållbarhet ser ut i ett svenskt företag, samt identifiera de aspekter i ledarskapet som kan vara av betydelse för hållbarhet. Metod: För att besvara syftet är denna studie uppbyggd av en pilotstudie och en enfallsstudie av kvalitativ karaktär, där vi har genomfört semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem ledare i ledningsgruppen på Transdev Sverige AB. Studien har en induktiv ansats. Slutsats: Resultatet från denna studie har visat att relationen mellan ledarskap och hållbarhet ser olika ut. Ledningsgruppens kontext och ledarnas ansvarsområden har varit avgörande i beskrivningen av hur relationen ser ut. Kontexten och ansvarsområdena har dessutom varit avgörande för var i hållbarhetsbegreppet ledarna lägger sin tyngdpunkt. Relationen beskrivs vidare utifrån tre identifierade “relationsbyggare”: mål, moral och kunskap. Dessa tre är aspekter som vi anser vara av betydelse för hur relationen ser ut i denna studies specifika kontext. / Background: Due to increasing expectations and demands from different stakeholders, companies are being called upon to take actions to integrate the three dimensions of sustainability; economic, social and environmental. Corporate sustainability is therefore an inevitable topic of discussion among business organisations and top executives. Separately, there is extensive research on the two topics leadership and sustainability. However, the amount of research of the intersection of these two research fields is scarce and fairly unexplored, which makes this an interesting field of study. As a result of the actuality evolving around leadership and sustainability for corporations and the above stated lack of research, there is a need of a deeper understanding of the relationship between leadership and sustainability. Aim: The aim of this study is to understand the relationship between leadership and sustainability, as well as identifying aspects in the leadership that could be of importance regarding sustainability leadership. Methodology: This is a qualitative case study using a hermeneutics perspective of interpretation. The empirical data consist of a pilot study and five semi-structured interviews with top executives at Transdev Sverige AB. The study revolves around the empirical data and is therefore to be considered to have an inductive approach. Conclusion: The findings of the study has shown that the relationship between leadership and sustainability differ. The context of the top management team and the responsibility of the leaders have been vital in the explanation of their relationship. The context and the area of responsibility have additionally been vital in order to identify where in the sustainability spectrum the leader position himself. The relationship is further explained by three identified “relationship builders”; goal, morale and knowledge. We consider that these three aspects are of relevance to understand the relationship between leadership and sustainability within the specific context of this study.

The sharing economy is a new promising trend with many positive outcomes on society and the environment, as it provides potential for sustainable solutions due to the reduction of resource consumption and less waste. However, research and practice show that sharing comes with its own share of problems. People often act selfishly, and in worst-case scenarios try to take advantage of others without contributing to the shared good. To achieve the higher goal of sustainability, it is important that conflicts in the sharing economy are prevented, and a setting is achieved that allows people to easily behave in a cooperative and sustainable way. The present research examines which conflicts emerge in sharing communities (study 1) and community gardens in particular (study 2), and whether regulation can prevent conflicts in large groups. Two exploratory studies were conducted. First, a qualitative study with consumers and non-consumers of the sharing economy revealed that regulatory systems are perceived as important for preventing the exploitation of other community members, but also that cooperation should not be enforced with strict controls and punishment. Rather, problems should be discussed in a democratic group setting, rules and goals should be set up together, and trust should be built. Second, a questionnaire study with community gardeners in Austria confirmed these results, and showed that trust is related to less conflict in community gardens, while harsh forms of regulation are related to a potential for greater conflict. Additionally, the results indicate that soft forms of regulation are related to fewer relationship and task conflicts, better conflict resolutions, a high sense of community, and greater trust in the community. We then discuss how these findings can be used to regulate sharing economy activities and give limitations and directions for future studies.

The focus of the thesis was verifying the effects of fish breeding in production-oriented fish farming on the ecosystem of fish ponds. The observation was conducted in R1 and R3 Boheľov fish ponds in 2014 and 2016 seasons. The RKK and SGR parameters, the natural fish pond production and the overall production were monitored. The monitored chemical and physical parameters included the developments of the essential parameters at two-week intervals; oxygen, pH, transparency, temperature and insoluble substances. Chlorophyll-a, total phosphorus and total nitrogen were monitored to assess the timely trophy in the ponds. To assess the effects on water organism community zooplankton succession by Cladocera, Copepoda and Rotifera taxonomic orders was monitored at two-week intervals. The monitoring also included periodical checking of the biomass of undesired fish that reached the value of 44,5 kg.ha-1 in the R3 pond. Roach (Rutilus rutilus) was the dominating specie. Control fishing was carried out during the seasons to estimate the actual biomass of carp stock. The total production ranged between 922,1 - 1181,5 kg.ha-1. The RKK level was 2,73 - 3,26. The SGR value of 0,902 %.day-1 was reached in stock C1-2. High carp stock influenced the zooplankton communities. During the observation no occurrence of the intermediate zooplankton was found. The prevailing species of the Cladocera order included Bosmina longirostris, Dafnia galeata and D. parvula. In the Cladocera order there was prevalence of Acanthocyclops trajani and in rotifera order there was prevalence of Brachionus calycifloris, Asplanchna priodonta, Polyartha sp. Spearman's correlation confirmed difference between the total zooplankton in R1 pond compared with R3 pond in both seasons (R3 2014: rho=0,066; pval=0,854; R3 2016 rho=-0,018; pval=0,96). The TSI index showed hypertrophic condition in both ponds. The average values of the index were 78,3 (6,2) in R1 and 75,6 (?3,8) in R3. The lowest average oxygen values, namely 3,2 mg.l-1 (2,0), were in pond R3 in 2016. Taking account of the adverse development of the essential parameters (oxygen and clarity deficits) and the status of the trophy certain limitation of the farming intensity was proposed, namely: reducing the carp stock down to 1/3 including a calculation of the production-related financial loss. Reducing the stock is the only way how to make the fish ponds sustainable. Relevant compensation, in line with the effective European regulations, needs to be addressed hand in hand with the proposed measures.