M.Tech. Internal Auditing / Mining can have a positive impact on Namibia by contributing towards economic growth and infrastructure development, by creating jobs, and by increasing foreign currency earnings; but on the other hand, the exploration of natural resources often runs in parallel with corruption, exploitation, environmental devastation, and population displacement through migrant labour. It is therefore imperative for mines to be sustainable in their operations: in other words, mines must protect and enhance the economic, social and environmental milieus of Namibia. The main objective of a mining company is profit maximisation through exploitation of natural resources, and the company can therefore be defensive, even antagonistic, towards sustainable operations and sustainability reporting. The pressure from mining companies' stakeholders for them to be transparent in their operations, and to report on all sustainability-related issues is increasing, and research has indicated that mining companies are, in the majority, supportive of the initiative, and realise the advantages of pursuing sustainable operations. Research results from the study indicated that between the different types of companies, and between countries, there is a significant variation in the sustainability reporting performance, both delivered and required. Improvement opportunities were identified in a number of areas with regards to the quality, consistency and extent of sustainability reporting. The rationale and the motivation for this study was therefore to determine the standard of integrated sustainability reporting being achieved by mining companies in Namibia, in order to determine the needs and shortcomings in the sustainability reporting arena. The final deliverable of this study was to develop a reporting framework which could enable enhanced integrated sustainability reporting by providing the mining industry in Namibia with a structured framework that conforms to world class standards.

Alternative fuels and technologies for truckload carriers can provide significant environmental and social benefits over traditional heavy duty diesel vehicles by reducing petroleum-based fuel consumption and vehicle tailpipe emissions. These alternative fuels and technologies, however, often carry a cost premium or require significant capital investment. Dedicating vehicles, equipment, and infrastructure to an alternative fuel or technology also represents a significant risk in the extremely volatile trucking business. A Triple-Bottom-Line analysis, which includes economic, social, and environmental impacts of an alternative fuel or technology will strengthen the business case by incorporating the benefits of emissions reduction. A stronger business case will promote the use of alternative fuels and technologies while mitigating the risk. This thesis proposes a method for identifying alternative fuels and technologies that provide the best Triple-Bottom-Line benefit and provides a structure for modeling the emissions of the target application, quantifies the value of emissions reduction, and constructs a Triple-Bottom-Line business case. The Triple-Bottom-Line business case proposed by this method is incremental. It presupposes an existing or planned truckload carrier business already exists and only investigates the changes which occur with implementation of an alternative fuel or technology. This method may be useful for any carrier business or any company with an extensive shipping and logistics network. A case study, which was created for large automotive manufacturer, details the Triple-Bottom-Line business case for an on-site compressed natural refueling system and vehicles.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Victoria University (Melbourne, Vic.), 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

The integration of sustainability performance of companies is becoming increasingly important. The recent global requirements (i.e. the Kyoto Protocol) for significant reduction of the negative impact of companies on the environment over the next 6 years have been putting pressure on the companies, requiring them to lower the negative environmental impact of market performance. This requirement challenges the profitable growth of the companies' business functions, given the change needed for business operations to improve on their environmental impact. In this dissertation a new corporate sustainability performance index, called: The Green Index, for measuring and assessing the integrated sustainability performance of companies is developed. The Green Index integrates Environmental Performance, Green Innovativeness and Financial Performance, by quantifying the expert opinions toward their integration. Development of the Green Index is a holistic approach in defining and measuring "green" performance for companies, integrated into their market performance. Green Index, for the first time in the literature, introduces Green Innovativeness in defining and measuring Green Performance of companies, in integration with Environmental and Financial Performance. In the literature and business practices, there are various sustainability indices used, and methodological approaches in measuring corporate sustainability performance with more than hundred performance indicators. The Green Index, uniquely refers to the collective expert opinion of management researchers, executive managers of corporations, high-tech companies' R&D managers, financial managers, corporate social responsibility managers, in defining a shorter list of 29 performance measures under the three core performance dimensions. Hierarchical Decision Modeling is used for the development of Green Index based on experts' collective decisions. At the next level, desirability levels for each one of the 29 performance measures are scaled by a group of angel investors and investors. And their collective desirability quantifications are used toward the application of the Green Index to quantify the Green Index value for a set of scenario analyses for alternative company performance states. Green Index fills a major gap in the scholarly literature and business practices. It meets the needs prioritized in the near future strategy of World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) towards development of new performance metrics and business models for industries that are financially successful while innovating with green products as they are reducing their negative environmental impact (WBCSD Annual Report 2010, 2011).

In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of: Masters of Commerce University of the Witwatersrand / In recent years, the call for companies to account for their activities to a wide group of stakeholders has grown. Integrated reporting provides a platform for such stakeholder communication. Recent studies have, however, concluded that integrated reporting is viewed merely as an exercise to be undertaken to ensure compliance. This thesis explores the challenges faced by those charged with the preparation of the integrated report in the South African eco-tourism industry. It adopts a social constructivist ontology and is grounded in an interpretive epistemology. The eco-tourism industry is particularly suited to this study as the notion of sustainability and, more recently, integrated reporting is of great importance in a rapidly growing industry which places significant reliance on natural resources. It is required to deliver economic profits whilst ensuring that the differing needs of a range of stakeholders are met. A theoretical framework of change implementation, based on different mechanisms presented by existing literature, was developed and used in exploring the challenges encountered by a case organisation when preparing its integrated report. A qualitative case study was undertaken in which the role-players in the preparation of the integrated report of the case entity were interviewed, and the minutes of internal meetings and workshops and an external assurance report were reviewed. In this context, this thesis provides further understanding of the challenges faced by organisations in the preparation of an integrated report, providing insight into how preparers are interpreting and applying the guidelines found in the integrated reporting frameworks and codes on corporate governance. / MT2017

Alternative fuel types and technologies are increasingly being advocated for transportation needs to ameliorate concerns around energy security, climate change, and fuel cost. Each fuel type has unique advantages and disadvantages for cost structure and emissions. Meanwhile, corporate fleet customers are often making more sustainable choices of vehicle type due to public perception and other influencing factors. The sustainability of these vehicles can be viewed from a triple bottom line perspective of financial, environmental, and societal implications. However, there is currently a lack of organized knowledge that would allow a decision-maker to elect the appropriate vehicle type beyond lifecycle cost and carbon emissions. The simplification of the impact of fuel type choice disregards issues that are emerging in prominence around water consumption and public health. Water consumption is of particular importance to investigate as fuel types that have reduced carbon emissions are often more water intensive. This thesis develops a tool that examines these issues through modeling to provide a more holistic lifecycle view of a prospective fleet's impact. The choice of vehicle type then can be optimized by utility theory preference elicitation of the different customer desires. Various scenarios of corporate preference and fleet specifications are explored to provide case studies that exemplify the complexity of the decision process. Each potential scenario has its own characteristics that cannot be optimally fulfilled by an overarching fuel type but rather should be thoroughly examined individually to understand the true consequences.

M.Com. (Business Management) / South African companies now realise that they have a responsibility to ensure that the natural resources as well as the people living within the communities in which they operate must be preserved and nurtured to ensure that future generations enjoy their benefits as much as the current generation does today. Companies are under ever-increasing pressure from both internal and external stakeholders to consider the environmental and social impacts of their operations and to mitigate these impacts. To this end, sustainable development (SD) has gained significant importance and the reporting of sustainability performance is the means by which companies communicate their efforts to their stakeholders. This study analyses the relationship between sustainability performance and financial performance to ascertain whether the ‘business case’ for sustainability exists in South African listed companies. There has been a substantial amount of research on the topic of SD and its implications for companies; the focus for this study however is on whether sustainability initiatives are important indicators of financial performance. Research conducted by Montabon, Sroufe and Narashiman (2007:998), assessed the relationship between corporate reporting, environmental management practices and company performance, however the unit of analysis was North American, British and Australian companies. This study will replicate the study of Montabon et al, with a focus on South African Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listed companies. In addition, comparisons will be drawn between developed world companies and companies within an emerging market. Pertinent literature on the topic has been reviewed and the results will be compared to the work of Artriach, Lee, Nelson, and Walker, J. (2010); Reed (2001) as well as Porter and van der Linde (1995). The results of the study reveal that an overall positive relationship exists between sustainability performance and financial performance thus, the research supports the notion that efforts to preserve and nurture environmental and human resources lead to improved financial performance.

Sustainability has gained prominence globally among nations, regions and organisations as a result of factors such as the effects of climate change on the environment, diminishing natural resources and rising population growth with their concomitant impact on economies and social systems. South Africa is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) that promotes international principles and best practices on sustainable development. Sustainability Reporting is one such best practice. Sustainability Reporting is imperative for good governance and organisations are now expected to support sustainability issues, risks and performance in a balanced and reasonable way. The United Nations and other global bodies have been in the vanguard in promoting guidelines for sustainability reporting with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) being the most Prominent Sustainability reporting guideline. The South African Higher Education Institutions generate a number of reports in the course of any given academic year. As has been the case in the global corporate world, failures in governance in some South African universities point to weaknesses in their governance, especially when it comes to oversight of the operations of institutions. Considering this, it is important to critically examine strategic planning processes to understand the aspects that are important for the survival of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and therefore they should be regularly and closely monitored. The study begins by exploring literature relating to strategic planning, governance, sustainability reporting practices and Business Intelligence (BI) technologies in Higher Education. The primary objective of the investigation is to propose a sustainability reporting framework for Higher Education Institutions in South Africa. It is argued that with the aid of appropriate BI tools, the proposed Sustainability Reporting framework would be useful in tracking progress in the implementation of strategic plans and at the same time strengthen governance in institutions. The study identified elements of Sustainability Reporting that are important for strategic planning. To develop the proposed framework, an empirical investigation was undertaken. Four online questionnaires were completed and returned by 108 participants comprising of Registrars and Information Managers at 23 South African Higher Education Institutions as well as to Information Managers in selected International Higher Education Institutions and Managers at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU). The online questionnaires were developed to elicit information to include in the proposed framework. To analyse results, both descriptive and inferential statistics such as Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used. Results from the surveys revealed that Higher Education Institutions globally and in South Africa are grappling with the same issues. When it comes to Sustainability Reporting, factors such as information culture and Business Intelligence maturity levels were not found to be very different among the various institutions. In the case study at NMMU, correlational analysis confirmed that variables such as Management buying and the availability of BI reports were positively related to effective strategic planning and vice versa. Similarly, a strong correlation was observed between reporting guidelines and strategic planning. Moreover, the study highlighted the critical role of management and leadership in a university in creating an environment that supports Sustainability Reporting. In conclusion, it was recommended that efforts should be directed at creating awareness and at training staff on aspects that promote sustainability. It is incumbent upon the institution to take advantage of and promote technological tools and techniques to enable the easy flow of data and information in understandable and usable formats to all its stakeholders. Finally, a Framework for Sustainability Reporting for Higher Education Institutions (FSRHEI) and guidelines for implementing Sustainability Reports are proposed.

Businesses, governments and communities are increasingly interested in measuring the non-financial impacts of their activities and investments. This assessment often takes the form of measurement models that utilize a Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework, namely looking at the areas ofthe environment, the economy, and the social simultaneously. Despite its many accounting flaws, more and more organizations adopt this philosophy by applying it literally in the form of impact reports. In this framework, the social dimension is the most challenging to measure. Because of its complexities, this aspect of TBL reporting has often been vague and lack rigor. The research question I am addressing is: what facilitates or inhibits the uptake and use of meaningful social bottom line reporting? From conducting case studies that include document analyses and in-depth open-ended interviews with key decision-makers of organizations in the Community Development Financial Institution industry (CDFI), I examined how and why these organizations effectively measure their social and community impact. Given that there are inherent flaws with the logic of the social dimension of Triple Bottom Line reporting but organizations nevertheless are using it, this study looked in-depth at Community Development Financial Institutions that utilize various measurement methods to assess their particular impact on the social dimension of communities. The struggles, experiences, processes and content of social bottom line reporting by CDFls revealed that their uptake and use is facilitated by being mission driven, having a compatible business model, and by demands from their stakeholders, funders, and regulation requirements. It is hindered by a lack of sufficient capacity, unclear social bottom line definitions, and a lack of embedded ness in their day to day operations.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Corporate governance in South Africa was institutionalised by the publication of the King Report on Corporate Governance in 1994. The King Reports were set up to ensure transparency and accountability within companies. The second King Report on corporate governance for South Africa was released in 2002 and compliance with certain aspects of the report made compulsory as a listing requirement for companies trading on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 2003. These requirements adopt an approach of comply or explain, and companies have to report on whether they comply with the recommendations of the second King report, or have to explain the reason for such non-compliance. In 2004 the Johannesburg Stock Exchange launched the SRI Index with the aim to facilitate investment in such companies that have adopted the triple bottom line approach to reporting. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) develops and disseminates globally applicable sustainability reporting guidelines which provide a framework for reporting on an organisation’s economic, environmental, and social performance. The first draft guidelines of the GRI were released in 1999 and updated in 2002. The third generation (3G) of the reporting guidelines were released in October 2006. The focus of this research project was to conduct a survey on all companies that are listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange All Share Index as well as the companies listed on the JSE SRI Index, with the aim of giving some insight into the development of corporate governance and sustainability reporting applied by South African companies. The findings of the 2006 study were compared to the findings of a similar study on compliance on integrated sustainability reporting done in 2004, and trends were identified, analysed and discussed. Specific focus was placed on the reporting on issues of climate change, biodiversity and compliance with applicable sector charters. The 2006 survey established that overall reporting on sustainability and governance issues has improved, that companies are publishing additional detail on the implementation of BEE and transformation policies and that corporate governance and ethical compliance have been entrenched in the companies’ corporate culture. Environmental management is the matter that was least reported on. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Korporatiewe bestuur in Suid Afrika was geinstitusionaliseer deur die publikasie van die King Verslag oor Korporatiewe Bestuur in 1994. Die King Verslag was ontwikkel om deursigtigheid en aanspreeklikheid in maatskappye te verseker. Die tweede Verslag oor Korporatiewe Bestuur in Suid Afrika was vrygestel in 2002 met sekere aspekte van die verslag wat verpligtend is as ’n maatskappy wil noteer op die Johannesburgse Effektebeurs. Die verslag vereis van maatskappye om ’n standpunt in te neem van voldoening of verduideliking. Die maatskappy moet ’n verslag inlewer om redes te verskaf hoekom hulle voldoen aan die regulasies, of verduidelik hoekom hulle nie aan die regulasies van die tweede King Verslag voldoen het nie. In 2004 het die Johannesburgse Effektebeurs die SRI Indeks bekend gestel met die doel van fasilitasie vir beleggings in maatskappye wat die ’triple bottom line’ standpunt aanwend. Die ’Global Reporting Initiative’ ontwikkel en versprei globale riglyne vir ’triple bottom line’ verslagdoening – dit verskaf 'n raamwerk vir verslagdoening van ’n organisasie se ekonomiese, omgewings en sosiale optrede. Die eerste stel riglyne is vrygestel in 1999 en aangepas in 2002. Die derde generasie van die riglyne is vrygestel in Oktober 2006. Die fokus van die navorsing was alle maatskappye wat op die JSE All Share Indeks geregistreer is asook die maatskappye wat deel vorm van die JSE SRI Indeks, met die doel om insig te gee in die ontwikkeling van korporatiewe maatreëls en verslagdoening wat toegepas word deur Suid Afrikaanse maatskappye. Die resultate van die 2006 studie is vergelyk met resultate van ’n soortgelyke studie in 2004. Spesifieke fokus was geplaas op verslagdoening oor sake met betrekking tot klimaatsverandering, biodiversiteit en voldoening met toepaslike sektor verslae. Die 2006 ondersoek het bevind dat algehele verslagdoening verbeter het; dat maatskappye verdere inligting beskikbaar stel oor die implementasie van swart ekonomiese bemagtiging, transformasie beleid en korporatiewe bestuur; en dat etiese voldoening ge-integreer was in die maatskapy se korporatiewe kultuur.