Lack of water access is an issue of global importance. The WHO and UNICEF’s Joint Monitoring Program estimated that in 2015 71% of the world’s population used a safely managed drinking water source and 89% of the world’s population used an improved water source within a 30-minute round trip of home. Madagascar’s national statistics lags far behind these global statistics with 54% of the population using improved water sources, 31% using unimproved water sources, and 16% with no service at all. This research studied water access in Madagascar with self-supply Pitcher Pumps attached on hand-driven tubewells. The term self-supply in this context refers to privately owned and constructed water sources that are not financially subsidized by governments or non-governmental organizations. Self-supply is typically seen in the form of private wells in rural areas of developed countries like the United States or in developing countries in the form of shallow wells or rain water harvesting. Self-supply Pitcher Pumps are common along the coast in Madagascar in areas where the first aquifer is shallow and in sandy soil. They are ubiquitous at the site of this study, the port city of Tamatave. People in Madagascar have benefited from increased access to affordable water because of Pitcher Pumps for decades, however, there are health risks associated with consuming the water due to lead and microbial contamination of the water. This study sought to improve microbial water quality of Malagasy Pitcher Pumps by testing two different types of well head protection: 1) a partially buried short 100-mm diameter PVC pipe collar placed around the rising main, and 2) a 50-cm diameter, circular concrete apron. The study was a mixed design experiment that allowed for between subject comparisons of wells over the same time period and for within subject comparisons of the same well sites with different types of well head protection. Wells were selected for the study that had a high risk of localized pathways of contamination and low risks of aquifer contamination relative to other wells in the area. Membrane filtration was used for microbial water quality measurements and detected a wide spectrum of bacteria grown at 37◦ C. In this study, data from 690 water samples of 44 wells (with and without well protection added) over a 9 months period was analyzed. Weak but statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05) and marginally statistically significant (0.05 < p ≤ 0.10) correlations were found between bacteria concentrations and antecedent rainfall depth for wells with aprons but not for wells with a pipe collar or no protection. No statistically significant relationship was found between bacteria concentrations in wells and type of well head protection. The lack of reduction in bacteria concentrations with well head protection is likely due to the high density of on-site sanitation near the wells and the relatively shallow water table. Generally, study results indicate that there is a wide variation of bacteria concentrations both from the same well across many months and between wells that are near each other. The second observation is consistent with other studies of wells in the area. It appears as if the best solution for improving water quality from Malagasy Pitcher Pumps to a potable level is point-of-use treatment of the water.

In September 2015, the world leaders gathered to endorse 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), demonstrating a paradigm shift for people and the planet build on shared values, principles, and priorities for a common destiny. In the process of consolidating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) consultations with business representatives raised two issues related to the potential success of the goals. The first issue was to better measure and value true performance of business preconditioned by identifying the most significant impact areas. The second issue was concerned with integration of sustainability into core business strategies. Both issues lead back to the proclaimed paradigm shift built on shared values for a sustainable future as demonstrated by the SDGs and demonstrate challenges with implementation of the SDGs. Although comprehensive frameworks to help business integrate the goals have been developed, the complexity and sheer volume of the various targets and indicators hinder many companies from reporting on their performance and contributions. The textile and apparel industry, while endowed with enormous potential related to development of countries has drawn increased attention to its negative impacts along the value chain. The industry is also one of the first to integrate the SDG into their sustainability reports. However, critics point to the fact that simply linking sustainability activities to the SDGs is not enough and cherry-picking the goals that have the easiest business case will be insufficient. Thus, to address this potential discrepancy between communication and action, the aim of this study has been to investigate the perceived value of SDGs integration in sustainability reporting within the apparel industry. Through a critical discourse analysis, the study has reviewed six sustainability report by two Swedish apparel companies, Lindex and Filippa K, from 2015 to 2017. conceptual framework has been developed according to the SDG compass including two variables; communicated motives for SDG integration and methods to measure and report on goal fulfilment. The findings show that both companies are using the SDGs as a communicative tool to point to the conceptual motives which drives the sustainability work. Discursive strategies to frame the companies’ sustainability methods are made by utilizing the concept of “circularity”. The level of SDG integration differs between the companies. Lindex show discursive developments between 2015 to 2015 reflecting extended responsibility with correspondence between communication and action. While Filippa K does not show the same level of discursive maturity in terms of motive, the methods to address the sustainability issues related to circular fashion has accelerated significantly over the years comparatively to Lindex. The lack of communicated methods to address social issues is however evident. The findings further show that there is a correspondence between level of SDG integration and SDG contribution. This study corroborates with previous research arguing that the business world is more complex than something that can be assessed in a black and white dichotomy of hypocrisy versus sincerity and needs a much more sophisticated approach to the gap between promise and performance and that the SDGs have a transformative potential. It also provides insights on how the application of the SDGs can be seen through a spectrum between weak and strong sustainability depending on the maturity of a company’s sustainability management.

Ethiopia is rapidly urbanising. Similar to other urban areas in developing countries, major issues in Ethiopia include a high level of income inequality, lack of formal employment opportunities and deeply rooted poverty, tenure insecurity, poor infrastructure, and limited access to electricity and energy. Frequently settlers end up in impoverished urban squatters and slums which do not offer them even the most basic infrastructure and hence lack to provide them with the perspectives they came for. Onward migration to farer off destinations such as the EU member states thus often remains as sole option for those caught in such urban poverty traps. Although the issue of informal urban settlements is not new to the context of Ethiopian cities, the current rapid urban growth rates are exposing urban rental markets as well as infrastructure and energy supply to considerable pressure. The paper investigates the respective situation in Ethiopia and demonstrates some best practice examples. In the context of Ethiopian cities, energy production and distribution have been highly centralised under state entities and the scope for exploring local/business driven and decentralised systems has been limited. Transitions can be implemented towards sustainability and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals if collective identification and structuring of issues along with collective envisioning of future is provoked or facilitated.

Following the increase of transnational organisations, global governance today is mainly relying on voluntary standards. One standard is the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This motivates a need to understand how such an idea unfolds within organisations and what impact global CSR standards have, leading to the research question: How are CSR standards deriving from global ideas translated into organisations and influencing sustainability activities? Based on a literature review of Scandinavian institutionalism, soft rules and standards, CSR, traveling of ideas, translation, identity and image, decoupling and aspirational talk, five assumptions were formulated as to what implications the standard might have. These are examined qualitatively through multiple case studies in the Swedish food industry using semi-structured interviews and examining CSR reports. The analysis find partial support for all assumptions. Main findings include the use of the 2030 Agenda mainly as a communication tool, constituting a common sustainability language and a platform for collaborations. The standard is thus interpreted as being symbolically translated. This open up possibilities for future research regarding the translation of standards and the implications of an facilitated way of framing sustainability work, adding the concept of symbolic translation to translation theory.

Universal full coverage of birth registration by 2030 is one of the sustainable development targets which itself is of great significance for the accomplishment of many development goals such as poverty eradication, inclusion, as well as improvement of several health factors. Despite the importance of this topic, not much academic attention has been paid to study the problem of birth under-registration from the perspective of development studies. This research studies the issue of birth under-registration through a case study of Iran. The four main questions of this research are the quantitative significance of the problem, the main causes of birth under-registration, the most affected social groups, and the main problematic domain of action, in the context of Iran. By utilizing an abductive content analysis method, this research aims to understand the problem, rather than proposing policy recommendations. This desk study uses secondary sources and almost all of the sources are of qualitative nature. It is not based on any pre-defined theory and therefore does not aim to generalize nor theorize the findings. It, however, is based on available theories for developing the analytical framework. The adopted analytical framework is Bottleneck analysis which is a method designed by UNICEF specifically for the purpose of birth registration programming and policy evaluation. Birth under-registration in Iran - compared to other countries in the region - turned out to be very low. The findings provide information on many good practices regarding birth registration programming and also about several areas in need of improvement in Iran. By applying the analytical framework to the findings, identified disincentives have been categorized in three domains of supply, demand, and enabling environment, and the significance of disincentives in each domain has been assessed. Based on the analysis, it can be concluded that almost all of the main causes of birth registration are of legal nature, especially patriarchal nationality laws. Also, it was found that the main risk groups were children of illegal immigrants, non-nationals, and unregistered parents, and the main problematic domain is found to be the domain of supply.

Some retail companies have been facing boycotts and negative criticism due to their association with sweatshop practices and human rights scandals. In order to deal with such criticism, it has become common for these garment sector businesses to implement corporate responsibility projects in countries in which their independent suppliers are located. These projects fall within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework, more specifically on how the private sector can contribute to the achievement of the 8th goal, which is related to decent work and economic growth. In this sense, this work analyzes how the understanding of problems related to work processes influence the design and outcome of an initiative partially implemented by the private sector. A project implemented in Cambodia by H&amp;M, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) was used as case study.

Millions of people in the world, particularly women and people in sub-Saharan Africa, suffer from hunger and poverty. Three of the major 2015-2030 United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to eliminate hunger through food security and sustainable agriculture, eradicate poverty, and achieve gender equality through women’s empowerment. Shea trees and their associated fruit and butter can play a major role in each of these three SDGs for women and their families throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Shea trees are located over a wide expanse stretching more than 5,000 kilometers across over eighteen countries in sub-Saharan Africa. These trees produce fruit that encase a kernel within a nut from which shea butter can be extracted. Shea butter production is unique in that it is predominately controlled by women and they utilize the profits they earn from selling the nuts or butter for items to support their families such as purchasing grain for depleted stores during the hungry season and paying for children’s school fees or clothing. Shea butter is also cited as a sustainable oil compared to other world oils such as peanut, palm, soybean, or cocoa butter which require heavy land use land change and fertilization while shea trees often grow in existing fields or fallows without fertilization, application of pesticides, or clear cutting of forests. However, shea butter production is still human and material energy intensive, requiring substantial amounts of firewood to heat and dry the shea nuts and the shea tree distribution and associated shea butter production and role in African livelihoods is under threat from the increasing effects of globalization and climate change. Thus, this dissertation fills in important research gaps in the existing literature on shea (Vitellaria paradox and nilotica) and sustainable development by developing and implementing methods to model food security, energy, and climate and cultural impacts of a process using shea butter production as a case study. To begin, the first comprehensive shea tree land suitability model to estimate potential shea production and amount of women collectors was created using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) that combined eight parameters: land use, temperature, precipitation, elevation, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), soil-type and soil-drainage. Even under conservative estimates, the model produced an extensive shea tree suitability area of 3.4 million square kilometers with 1.8 billion trees in 23 countries and over 18 million women collectors, encompassing a total population of 112 million. Next, this dissertation improved the global application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), a tool used to measure the entire environmental impacts of a process from extraction of materials through end-of-life stages, by utilizing a hybrid-LCA methodology that incorporated human energy and embodied energy and emissions from firewood of five traditional and improved shea butter production processes common throughout West Africa. When the LCA results of shea butter production were compared to other LCA studies of world oils, shea butter performed better in abiotic depletion and human toxicity impact categories as well as global warming potential when indirect land use land change was considered. Nevertheless, a large amount of human and firewood embodied energy and emissions were involved in shea butter production. However, mechanization of certain production steps was found to significantly reduce human energy without increasing total embodied energy. Furthermore, improved cookstoves modeled in this dissertation could reduce global warming potential, human toxicity, and embodied energy by 77-78%, 15-83%, and 52% respectively. These results would not have been captured in traditional LCA methodology and this was the first study to compare process-based and economic input-output LCAs in a developing country with very different reliance on and accessibility to resources than developed countries. Finally, an in-depth ethnographic study was conducted in this dissertation, combining qualitative and quantitative methods to better understand the importance of shea butter to African’s livelihoods in the context of food security and climate change. Shea butter was found to have a vital role in the maintenance and development of social bonds between female friends and family as well as an integral role in all religious and traditional ceremonies including a special shea ceremony. Additionally, 93% of survey respondents agreed there has been a decrease in shea fruit yields during their life time, 80% of which believed this was attributed to decreased rainfall. Moreover, 83% of 181 shea trees sampled were found to have an invasive vine species, drying out and/or have large worms. Therefore, recommendations derived from this dissertation for development agencies, governments and industry include further research on and promotion of: parkland management, preservation, and regeneration as well as reduction in the amount of human energy and firewood in shea butter production by providing better access of women collectors to mechanization, improved cookstoves, and transportation (i.e. donkey carts and bicycles) for harvesting shea fruit. Overall the research developed in this dissertation contributed significantly to the existing literature on shea and developed methods and a framework that has applications for achievement of the UN’s SDGs for 2030 particularly to obtain food security.

Globally, there is still a large number of people without access to safe drinking water; a known health risk. In rural areas of countries like Peru, when potable water systems are built the responsibility for maintaining these systems is given to volunteer water committees. Despite its prevalence as a management model, there is a consensus that community management alone cannot ensure sustainable water service. Therefore, the overall goal of this research is to assess the sustainability of community-managed water systems in rural areas of the department of Amazonas, Peru. Specifically, this research examines two mechanisms that have been shown to improve the sustainability of rural water systems: 1) monitoring for asset management and service delivery, and 2) provision of long-term external support. In Amazonas, three sustainability assessment tools have been used recently to monitor the service level and management of water systems. These assessment tools are: the Rural Water and Sanitation Information System (SIASAR, in Spanish), Tracers in Rural Water and Sanitation (Trazadores, in Spanish), and the Diagnostic Survey for Water Supply and Sanitation (Diagnostico, in Spanish). The three tools were assessed using a question mapping technique as well as a sustainability assessment tool evaluation matrix. This analysis identified the SIASAR assessment tool to be the most appropriate for ensuring sustainability of rural water supply systems. This research also used the data collected with the SIASAR and Trazadores assessment tools to assess the state of community-managed rural water systems in Amazonas. The analysis showed that 81% of systems in the SIASAR analysis and 58% of systems in the Trazadores analysis have deficiencies that are beyond the ability of the water committee to overcome. In recent years, the Peruvian government has prioritized the creation of an office in each district dedicated to providing external technical support to local water committees. This office, called the Área Técnica Municipal de Agua y Saneamiento (ATM), is charged with formalizing and training water committees which are given the name, Juntas Administradoras de los Servicios de Saneamiento (JASS). In order to examine the provision of long-term external support provided by the ATM to the JASS, field research was conducted in six districts in Amazonas. Valuable anecdotal evidence was provided by the field research that helped to form recommendations for strengthening the capacity of the ATM office at the local municipal level. The results of this research demonstrate that currently a large number of community-managed rural water systems in Amazonas are not sustainable but that the prioritization of monitoring and external support is an encouraging sign. If these mechanisms continue to be prioritized then it is highly likely that water systems throughout Amazonas and Peru will become more sustainable, bringing benefits to millions of Peruvians in rural areas.

Anaerobic digestion is the process by which organic carbon is converted into biogas in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). Both of these products are greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Therefore if anaerobic reactors are improperly maintained and biogas is leaked or intentionally released into the atmosphere because biogas production exceeds household demand, these reactors may become generators of greenhouse gas emissions instead of sustainable energy producers. The objective of this research was to develop a framework to assess if the demand for biogas by a rural adopter of an anaerobic digester matched with the associated local gas production. A literature review of the energy required to prepare commonly consumed food of rice and beans was conducted to establish required household biogas volumes. This review determined that 0.06 m3 of methane was required to prepare a half a kg of rice (on a dry weight basis) and 0.06 m3 of methane was required to prepare a half a kg of beans (on a dry weight basis). Furthermore an analysis of occupants of a rural Panamanian town was performed along with a design model for rural anaerobic reactor gas production to determine if an overproduction of biogas would occur if anaerobic reactors were built for families who owned swine. It was determined using this approach that all of the fifteen household would experience an overproduction of biogas based on household demand of methane and therefore would risk the release of greenhouse gases. Household size ranged from one to seven occupants and swine ownership ranged from one to fifteen per household. The differences of biogas supply with respect to demand from these fifteen situations ranged from 0.09 to 0.35 m3 of a biogas with 40% methane and 0.27 to 6.17 m3 of excess biogas with a methane content of 70% per household per day. An average of 0.45 m3 of a biogas with 40% methane per household per day was calculated and 0.87m3 for 70% methane for all fifteen households, excluding one outlier. However, because this research uses a model based on plug flow reactor mechanics, results may produce varied results from other studies concerning small scale anaerobic digestion.

As a response to the ‘Grand Challenges’ of the 21st century such as climate change and social inequalities, the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), released by the United Nations in 2015, became a matter of urgency. The SDGs are a continuation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) aiming to cover an even broader scope of social, environmental and economic challenges. To ensure that the 2030 Agenda, represented by 17 goals and 169 underlying targets, becomes a positive force for all available resources have to act in concert. Governments, NGOs, civil society and the private sector bear the responsibility to guide the way of transformation towards a more sustainable future. However, the most significant shift regarding the development of the SDGs has been the central role of the private sector that is considered to be a key player towards the accomplishment of the 2030 Agenda. In order examine the role and contribution of the private sector, the thesis aims to contribute to previous research within a five-step investigation: (1) analysis of which business opportunities or challenges emerge out of active involvement with the SDGs, (2) how partnerships or collaborations can contribute to a more effective implementation process, (3) whether goal prioritization is of relevance to advance the progress of SDG implementation, (4) how the SDG progress can be measured, reported and communicated and lastly (5) how effectively (Swedish) companies have currently managed to implement the Global Goals into their business operations. Based on the review of the literature and the identified research gaps, the following research question has been formulated to gain in-depth knowledge and investigate the phenomenon of the overall research purpose:   RQ: How do companies in the private sector implement the SDGs into their business operations and what are the determinants that drive the progress of the implementation? This study has been conducted through a qualitative research approach consisting of interviews with private sector representatives, governmental and non-governmental organizations. The framework for this study is based on three elements of theory: (1) Stakeholder Theory by Edward Freeman (1984), outlining how sustainable development can be approached with a stakeholder mindset, (2) the Triple-Bottom-Line approach by Elkington (1997) characterized by efforts to localize universal concepts of sustainability and (3) Sustainable Business Model Innovation represented by the Flourishing Business Model Canvas (Upward 2013, 2016) and the Triple Layered Business Model Canvas (Joyce and Paquin, 2016) supporting individuals and organizations seeking competitive sustainability-oriented change. The main conclusion of this research includes the requirement of a shift of how the Global Goals are approached by the private sector. SDG implementation or sustainable actions in general are not to be seen as an add on but need to be actively integrated into core business operations. However, to initiate fruitful change the expected role of the private sector needs to be clearly communicated. Identified actions to drive the progress of SDG implementation range from increased partnership engagement, the prioritization of goals up to the measurement and reporting on sustainable efforts taken. Finally, Credible Sustainability Standards turned out to be the most promising solution to eradicate many of the by our participants identified shortcomings of the Global Goals.