This dissertation approaches the question of sustainability and its influence on company performance, with special focus on the manufacturing industry. In the contemporary production environment, manufacturing operations must take into account not only profit, but also environmental and social performance, in order to ensure the long-term development of the company. Companies have to decide whether they should allocate resources to environmental and social practices in order to improve their competitive advantage. Consequently, in decision-making processes concerning operations, it is important for companies to understand how to coordinate profit, people, and planet. The objective of this dissertation was to investigate the current situation regarding manufacturers’ sustainable initiatives, and to explore the relationship between these sustainable practices and companies’ performance, including financial performance, operational performance, innovation performance, environmental performance, and social performance. First of all, a structured literature review was conducted to identify sustainable factors considered to be important in the decision making of manufacturing operations. The findings were synthesized into a conceptual model, which was then adopted as the basis for designing the survey instrument used in this dissertation. Drawing on Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reports, empirical research was performed to explore the relationship between environmental management practices and company performance. Interestingly, the findings showed that many environmental management practices had a strong positive impact on innovation performance. Sustainability disclosures and financial performance were further analyzed using extended data from the GRI reports. The results also showed that several sustainability performance indicators, such as product responsibility, human rights, and society, displayed a significant and positive correlation with return on equity in the sample companies. In order to further explore the research area and to verify these findings, a triangulation approach was adopted and new data were collected via a survey conducted among middle and large sample companies in the Swedish manufacturing industry. The results indicated that the sustainable improvement practices had a positive impact on company performance. Some environmental and social improvement practices had a direct and positive correlation with product and process innovation. Furthermore, findings suggested that better cooperation with suppliers on environmental work could help to strengthen the organizational green capabilities of the focal companies. When considering the company’s general approach to implementing sustainable practices, some interesting findings emerged. There were limited significant differences in sustainable practices when comparing different manufacturing sectors, and different countries and regions. However, the results showed that Swedish manufacturing companies often place higher priority on implementing economic and environmental sustainability practices than on social ones. This dissertation contributes to the literature on manufacturing sustainability. The study expands the understanding of how environmental, social, or economic perspectives as a triple bottom line can influence company performance and to a certain extent the supply chain. Identifying and understanding such relationships gives companies the opportunity to integrate sustainability into their manufacturing operations strategy in order to sustain their manufacturing operations over the long term.

This study explored the experiences of early childhood educators who sought to increase young children’s participation with the purpose of identifying how children’s participation can be made sustainable in early childhood settings. Increasing interest in young children’s participation rights as a result of the UNCRC, General Comment 7 and the new sociology of childhood, has led to a growing expectation that early childhood educators will enact participation rights in practice. There is a limited body of research on both young children’s participation and on the sustainability of early childhood practices. Of the available literature, the majority is framed within a modernist paradigm that fails to acknowledge the multiple and contradictory nature of early childhood practice. / This study used Foucauldian discourse analysis and selected poststructuralist understandings of power, knowledge and truth to explore how socially constructed understandings of young children and of early childhood educators influence participation practices and their sustainability. Three semi-structured interviews were conducted with four early childhood educators across three settings. The analysis of interviews showed particular discourses of childhood informing early childhood practices and creating and maintaining regimes of truth. It highlighted the need to recognise that early childhood educators work within and through multiple and conflicting discourses, each offering a particular subjectivity. The analysis also illuminates the micro-practices of power that limit the possibilities for children’s participation and illustrate the ‘danger’ of assimilating children’s participation into existing early childhood practices without critically reflecting on that process. The study raised the question of whether—rather than how—children’s participation should be sustained if it is operating within a singular dominant discourse. The study’s selected poststructuraist approach enabled it to fill a gap in the existing research, and has implications for practice, policy and training and provides direction for future research in the area of children’s participation.

Yes / Studies estimate that Africa's urban population is expected to triple over 40 years, from 395 million in 2010 to 1.339 billion in 2050. Challenges associated with increasing urbanisation and the rise of large cities in the African sub-region represent critical challenges to the environment and the rich ecosystem. The growing population, particularly in most cities in Africa, has resulted in increasing demand for non-degradable consumable waste products, changes in lifestyle and consumption patterns, and rising demand for transportation and associated solid waste disposal problems, especially tyre waste. However, few studies have examined circular economy practices such as tyre pyrolysis to attenuate Africa's ever-increasing waste disposal challenges. Moreover, most of these studies failed to account for specific risk-based decision-making attributes in an integrated way, such as technology readiness, risk identification, carbon footprint analysis, supply chain and procurement factors, and financial risk quantification. As a result, to the best of our knowledge and understanding, research-based tyre recycling feasibility practices are limited and scattered. We contribute to the literature by providing systematic literature on tyre pyrolysis in Africa from 2008-2022 inclusive, covering 16 African countries. To address tyre waste in Africa, this chapter provides a 10-point strategy on how pyrolysis can be integrated into production plants and associated businesses to minimise tyre waste in Africa. / The full-text of this article will be released for public view at the end of the publisher embargo on 29 July 2025.

Construction Sustainability involves the processes, decisions, and actions during the construction phase of capital projects that enhance current and future environmental, social, and economic needs while considering project safety, quality, cost, and schedule. Most of the currently available published literature and advances in project level sustainability practices have focused on the early Concept Planning and Design phases of capital projects. Knowledge of sustainability practices during the Construction phase of capital projects is still in the early development stages and is highly fragmented; information regarding the selection, assessment, and implementation of construction sustainability solutions has remained largely unavailable or underdeveloped. Moreover, capital project owners and constructors increasingly seek practical guidance and resources to better integrate and evaluate sustainability decisions and actions within project construction services. The dearth of research on effective sustainability practices during the construction phase suggests that higher levels of sustainability attention and effort are needed in this area, in addition to the creation of support guidance and tools. To fill this gap in knowledge, this research has identified 54 unique actions that project teams can apply during construction to enhance the overall sustainability of their project. These construction phase sustainability actions (CPSAs) have been cataloged, characterized, and evaluated to facilitate their consideration and implementation by project teams. To further support the selection process and implementation of these actions, the research team developed a high-level strategic work process, a spreadsheet-based CPSA Screening Tool, and additional in-depth guidance for three CPSAs. In addition, both input- and output-oriented construction sustainability metrics have been developed and identified. Equipped with the findings from this study, owners and construction contractors will be better prepared to implement sustainability actions during the construction phase of capital projects. / text

Background: Looking at many different studies, it’s known that the topics mentioned before are well researched. However, there are not many cases of brand community and customer engagement like the one with Estrella Damm. That’s why the authors wanted to work on the combination of all of them with the use of the company Estrella Damm, as they are highly involved in its community and it has made a big change in the last few years. Going from a brand of living life to a brand that generates consciousness about the Mediterranean Sea. Purpose: The purpose of the following research is to demonstrate that by putting into a side the brand's product the researchers can feel engaged through the actions they have. The objective is to answer the question; “How do consumers get engaged in a brand community? The case of Estrella Damm”. Method: For this qualitative study, case study and autoethnography methods were used to analyze in-depth the research question due to the deep knowledge of how this engages since the researchers are part of its brand community. These methods are the most appropriate since the analyzed brand is focused on creating awareness of the Mediterranean contamination, and the researchers know first-hand the engagement with the brand. Thus, a case study of this company, and with the support of the autoethnography of the authors, permit to develop as properly as possible study. Conclusion: Consumers get engaged in a brand community through different actions the company makes. In this study, the main factor of being engaged involves the company showing to the consumer that it is not only focused on its product/service, but is using its influence and power to improve social and environmental welfare, and thus, the company gets an engaged and committed consumer in its community.

The focus of this study is to explore the sustainability practices of SME suppliers as influenced by the stakeholders in the mining SC in Zambia. The study aims to provide the policymakers and senior managers of focal firms by developing a detailed framework that helps in examining the SME environment with regard to sustainability practices and formulate measures to increase their sustainability performance to decision making. This qualitative research used 50 semi-structured interviews in addressing the research objective. Interviews undertaking with cross section of stakeholders and using content analysis, the findings revealed that SMEs engage in sustainable practices when working with mining firms but disengage when working with non-mining firms. The findings further revealed the mechanisms employed by SC members in extending sustainability practices to direct and indirect suppliers (mainly informal SMEs) from focal firms. In so doing, the findings highlighted the role of first-tier suppliers as a bridge between the focal firms and sub-suppliers in disseminating sustainability practices. Besides revealing the drivers and barriers to sustainability, the research revealed the mechanisms for mitigating the barriers in order to increase the volume of SME suppliers adopting sustainable practices. This research has several contributions to both academia and practice. The main contribution to academia is a stakeholder framework, which provides a systematic mechanism of examining the sustainability phenomenon. Thus, presenting a theoretical approach for analysing and understanding sustainability practices of SMEs in a developing country context. The main contribution to practice is the production of tools that support practitioners to analyse and better comprehend the relationships in the SMEs sector and by identifying the key stakeholders that support the SMEs. / Copperbelt University

Background: E-commerce has grown rapidly since the introduction of the Internet, changing consumer behavior and transaction patterns all over the world. Due to that, there has been an increase in CO2 emissions caused by both delivery of products and returns. Some organizations have tried to minimize their emissions by employing different types of policies that have not been perceived well by their customers.Purpose: The purpose of this thesis was to identify the impact of different return policies on consumer willingness concerning online purchases. Additionally, we also investigated consumers’ perceptions of AI-driven initiatives aimed at promoting sustainable return practices.Method: This study was based on a qualitative research approach. We followed an inductive research approach. The reason for this is that we wanted to understand the connections between different return policies and consumer willingness regarding online purchases. As well as the connections between consumers and their perceptions regarding AI-driven initiatives aimed at promoting sustainable return practices. The data was gathered through nine semi-structured interviews.Conclusion: Consumers are increasingly prioritizing convenience, transparency, and environmentally conscious practices. Retailers who can adapt their return policies to align with these evolving preferences, while effectively communicating their terms and conditions, stand to gain a competitive edge.

L’objet de la présente recherche est d’examiner l’impact des attributs durables, tant environnementaux que sociaux, sur la qualité perçue des produits de luxe. Pour atteindre cet objectif, nous avons adopté une approche qui articule deux démarches complémentaires, l’une qualitative auprès des professionnels et consommateurs Parisiens, l’autre quantitative, nous avons mobilisé un modèle expérimental factoriel between-subject, réalisée en France et l’Arabie Saoudite. Le principal résultat de notre étude quantitative est que mentionner l'information durable sur un produit de luxe a un impact négatif sur la qualité perçue. En effet, les consommateurs saoudiens perçoivent un produit de luxe comme étant de qualité inférieure lorsqu’il comporte une information durable. A l’inverse les consommateurs français se montrent indifférents. Plus précisément, nos résultats montrent que c’est plutôt l’information sociale qui présente un effet significatif sur la qualité perçue. L’information environnementale semble avoir un effet neutre. Enfin, nos résultats indiquent que l’effet de l’information sociale sur la qualité perçue est modéré par le goût des consommateurs pour le luxe, l'image RSE et le pays d'origine des consommateurs. / The purpose of this research is to examine the effect of sustainable attributes on the perceived quality of luxury products. To get to our goal, a complementary approach using both qualitative and quantitative studies has been adopted. In the qualitative method, two studies with professionals and consumers are conducted. For the quantitative method, we employed an experimental between-subject factorial design realized in France and Saudi Arabia. The key finding of our quantitative study is that mentioning sustainable information has a negative impact on the perceived quality of luxury products. However, while no significant effect is observed in the case of French respondents, Saudi consumers perceive a product to be of lower quality when sustainable information is presented compared to the absence of this information. More particularly, social information impacts strongly and negatively the perceived quality in contrary with environmental information which has no effect. This effect is moderated by the degree of liking of luxury, the CSR image, and consumers’ country of origin.

Submitted by Sandra Pereira (srpereira@ufrrj.br) on 2017-01-16T11:50:57Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2015 - Josilene Vargas Xavier.pdf: 13449262 bytes, checksum: 7e1ad5b891772498477dfe5bb180c84f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-16T11:50:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2015 - Josilene Vargas Xavier.pdf: 13449262 bytes, checksum: 7e1ad5b891772498477dfe5bb180c84f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-11-27 / This qualyquantitative research was carried with students from IFF (Fluminense Federal Institute) ? campus Bom Jesus intending to stimulate and evaluate environmental perception. Incentives were proposed through dialogical classes and sustainable agricultural practices from pedagogical activities elaborated from a socio environmental critical perspective. The analyses support the idea that the method is favorable to the stimulus of environmental perceptions, as well it contributes to the rupture of a fragmented and conservative environmental education. It allows more emancipation for the pupil, contributing to his critical position in face of the natural, social and localcultural dimensions, before the disciplinary curricular subjects / Foi realizada uma pesquisa qualiquantitativa com estudantes do Instituto Federal Fluminense ? campus Bom Jesus, com o intuito de estimular e avaliar a percep??o ambiental. Foram propostos est?mulos atrav?s de aulas dial?gicas e pr?ticas agr?colas sustent?veis, a partir de atividades pedag?gicas elaboradas com a perspectiva socioambiental cr?tica. As an?lises corroboram que o m?todo ? favor?vel ao est?mulo das percep??es ambientais, bem como contribuem para o rompimento de uma educa??o ambiental fragmentada e conservadora. Isso permite maior emancipa??o do educando, contribuindo para sua posi??o cr?tica diante das dimens?es natural, social e cultural local, frente aos conte?dos disciplinares curriculares

Submitted by Rebeka Godeiro (rebeka_carvalho@hotmail.com) on 2018-06-13T14:16:22Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MARIA DE FÁTIMA COSTA CABRAL PEIXOTO - DISSERTAÇÃO CIÊNCIAS FLORESTAIS 2011.pdf: 14529919 bytes, checksum: 2b511b30e0fe66031fe375c6f14a6e39 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-13T14:16:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MARIA DE FÁTIMA COSTA CABRAL PEIXOTO - DISSERTAÇÃO CIÊNCIAS FLORESTAIS 2011.pdf: 14529919 bytes, checksum: 2b511b30e0fe66031fe375c6f14a6e39 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-05-27 / Capes / Os registros da história humana surgiram por volta de 6.000 anos a . C , com a utilização de entalhes na pedra, na madeira ou em placas de argila. Com o aperfeiçoamento deste processo artesanal, surgiu o papiro para registro de informações, depois o pergaminho e o papel. Assim, a evolução das técnicas de produção industrial do papel contribuiu para a degradação ambiental. Diante disso, o objetivo do trabalho é avaliar a percepção dos atores sociais quanto aos impactos ambientais resultantes da produção e uso do papel, sob o foco da sustentabilidade ambiental. A metodologia empregada nesta pesquisa foi o uso de estudo de caso, embasado por uma revisão bibliográfica, aplicação de questionários semi estruturados em duas Instituições de Ensino Superior e com atores sociais e, ao final, apresentam-se propostas para auxiliar projetos de educação ambiental. Identificou-se, no ambiente acadêmico, em relação à percepção, sustentabilidade e impactos ambientais, uma visão globalizante, evidenciando-se as relações recíprocas entre natureza e sociedade. Em ambas as lESs, constatou-se que há um maior entendimento quanto à produção de papel, enquanto que a reutilização, a reciclagem e o descarte de papel foram pouco abordados. Quanto às práticas pedagógicas, poucos projetos são desenvolvidos, ficando a discussão voltada mais para sala de aula. Os atores sociais consideraram a prática do reuso do papel necessária para a reciclagem, minimizando os impactos ambientais e contribuindo para a preservação dos recursos naturais, embora não representem segurança econômica. As propostas para alcançar a sustentabilidade no âmbito acadêmico devem partir de diretrizes e ações que contribuam para o ensino, a pesquisa e a extensão, dando suporte às experiências locais de reuso e reciclagem do papel na preservação ambiental. / The records of human history appeared around 6000 years BC, with the use of stone and wood carvings or clay tablets. With the improvement of this handmade process, papyrus emerged in order to record information, and then came parchment and afterwards paper. Thus the evolution of industrial production techniques of paper contributed to environmental degradation. Therefore, the objective of this project is to assess the perception of the social actors regarding environmental impacts resulting from production and use of paper under the focus of environmental sustainability. The methodology used in this research was the use of case study, based on a literature review, application of semi-structured questionnaires in two higher education institutions and with social actors. In the end, proposals were presented in order to help environmental education projects. It was identified, within the academic environment, regarding perception, sustainability and environmental impacts, a global view, highlighting the mutual relations between nature and society. In both Institutions, we found that there is a great understanding about the paper production, whereas reusing, recycling and discarding paper was rarely mentioned. In regard to the pedagogical practices, few projects are carried out, so the discussion occurs mostly in the classroom. The social actors considered the practice of reuse of paper necessary for recycling, minimizing environmental impacts and contributing to the preservation of natural resources, although it may not be financially viable. Proposals to achieve sustainability in the academic environment must come from guidelines and actions which contribute to teaching, research and extension, supporting local experience of reusing and recycling paper, as they play an essential role in environmental preservation.