Environmental issues are an increasing concern for various stakeholders in the mining industry. To address these concerns, managements of mining companies should embrace sustainable mining practices in their daily decision making processes. Internal decision making processes are strongly dependent on the quality of data included in reports used by management. Currently environmental issues are only considered as a separate item which is attached to the annual financial statements. No link is made between the environmental performance of the mine and the economic performance that is achieved. To achieve greater acknowledgement by management of the importance of controlling environmental costs on a daily basis, environmental costs need to be identifiable in internal management reports, including management accounting reports. Various methods are available with which the value of environmental inputs and outputs can accurately be determined. If these values are correctly integrated into information systems, reporting these environmental costs will be possible, allowing a mining company to consider triple-bottom-line reporting. The goal of this study is to assist mining companies, specifically platinum mining, in measuring and reporting on environmental costs by setting up a framework. This framework will be formulated by means of conducting a thorough study of the recent and current literature pertaining to the measurement methods of environmental costs upon which a comparison will be drawn between this theory and the actual measurement and reporting of environmental costs by means of case study research. A gap analysis has identified the problems that platinum mines are experiencing, and consequently, the framework created will assist platinum mines in introducing the reporting of environmental costs. A case study on a platinum mine was done in order to evaluate the current measurement methods and reporting on environmental costs. The collected data was analysed through explanation building and an organisational-level logic model was developed in order to understand the reasons that costs are recorded and reported on by using the method currently applied in the case study principal. This organisational-level logic model will assist in identifying problems within the current costing method in relation to environmental cost measurement and reporting. The findings identified by the case study were compared to the theory underlying environmental management accounting after which a gap analysis identified the problems that platinum mines experience. Based on the findings of the gap analysis, a framework was developed to assist platinum mines in closing the gap that has been identified. The framework, if applied within an organisation will assist mining companies in expanding their current reporting on environmental issues to an in-depth review of environmental impacts which can be linked to the achievement of economic performance. This will allow a step forward in triplebottom- line reporting as the value of environmental costs has been identified as the missing link in current financial reports. The framework could not be tested as the application of the framework requires a procedural change within the organisation which needs to be approved at top management level. This limitation does, however, open the possibility for a follow up study. Additional reporting on environmental costs will help management in adding value and quality to daily and overall decision making processes. This hypothesis can be tested in possible future studies which involve multiple-case studies and which will extend the framework to include a decision making matrix. / MCom (Management Accountancy), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Business is arguably the most powerful institution of our society and ever since the publication of the second King Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa (King II) in 2002, South African corporate companies have sharpened their focus on their commitment to the “Triple Bottom Line”, an expanded baseline for measuring a company’s performance which includes, in addition to the traditional financial yardstick, accounting of the impact of their activities on society and the environment. It is impossible for organisations to ignore the impact of social, ethical and environmental issues on their business. This research provides an overview of Corporate Social Investment initiatives in South Africa towards developing education. There is a demand for corporate companies to comply with both the King Report on Corporate Governance as well as Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment. Considering the poor state of education, both Government and the private sector are contributing financially to improve the socio-economic conditions of the country, specifically the state of education. Government’s contribution to public education remains its single largest investment, because it is the key to reducing poverty and accelerating long-term economic growth. However, very little impact can be measured as conditions are still very poor and problems still persist. There is no integrated, sustainable focused approach which can be effectively measured and evaluated. The purpose of this research is to investigate initiatives toward the development of education, the focus and the magnitude and effects of initiatives. Thereafter a more synergetic and integrated plan is presented and recommended to the corporate sector to assist in developing education. / MCom (Business Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Environmental issues are an increasing concern for various stakeholders in the mining industry. To address these concerns, managements of mining companies should embrace sustainable mining practices in their daily decision making processes. Internal decision making processes are strongly dependent on the quality of data included in reports used by management. Currently environmental issues are only considered as a separate item which is attached to the annual financial statements. No link is made between the environmental performance of the mine and the economic performance that is achieved. To achieve greater acknowledgement by management of the importance of controlling environmental costs on a daily basis, environmental costs need to be identifiable in internal management reports, including management accounting reports. Various methods are available with which the value of environmental inputs and outputs can accurately be determined. If these values are correctly integrated into information systems, reporting these environmental costs will be possible, allowing a mining company to consider triple-bottom-line reporting. The goal of this study is to assist mining companies, specifically platinum mining, in measuring and reporting on environmental costs by setting up a framework. This framework will be formulated by means of conducting a thorough study of the recent and current literature pertaining to the measurement methods of environmental costs upon which a comparison will be drawn between this theory and the actual measurement and reporting of environmental costs by means of case study research. A gap analysis has identified the problems that platinum mines are experiencing, and consequently, the framework created will assist platinum mines in introducing the reporting of environmental costs. A case study on a platinum mine was done in order to evaluate the current measurement methods and reporting on environmental costs. The collected data was analysed through explanation building and an organisational-level logic model was developed in order to understand the reasons that costs are recorded and reported on by using the method currently applied in the case study principal. This organisational-level logic model will assist in identifying problems within the current costing method in relation to environmental cost measurement and reporting. The findings identified by the case study were compared to the theory underlying environmental management accounting after which a gap analysis identified the problems that platinum mines experience. Based on the findings of the gap analysis, a framework was developed to assist platinum mines in closing the gap that has been identified. The framework, if applied within an organisation will assist mining companies in expanding their current reporting on environmental issues to an in-depth review of environmental impacts which can be linked to the achievement of economic performance. This will allow a step forward in triplebottom- line reporting as the value of environmental costs has been identified as the missing link in current financial reports. The framework could not be tested as the application of the framework requires a procedural change within the organisation which needs to be approved at top management level. This limitation does, however, open the possibility for a follow up study. Additional reporting on environmental costs will help management in adding value and quality to daily and overall decision making processes. This hypothesis can be tested in possible future studies which involve multiple-case studies and which will extend the framework to include a decision making matrix. / MCom (Management Accountancy), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Business is arguably the most powerful institution of our society and ever since the publication of the second King Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa (King II) in 2002, South African corporate companies have sharpened their focus on their commitment to the “Triple Bottom Line”, an expanded baseline for measuring a company’s performance which includes, in addition to the traditional financial yardstick, accounting of the impact of their activities on society and the environment. It is impossible for organisations to ignore the impact of social, ethical and environmental issues on their business. This research provides an overview of Corporate Social Investment initiatives in South Africa towards developing education. There is a demand for corporate companies to comply with both the King Report on Corporate Governance as well as Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment. Considering the poor state of education, both Government and the private sector are contributing financially to improve the socio-economic conditions of the country, specifically the state of education. Government’s contribution to public education remains its single largest investment, because it is the key to reducing poverty and accelerating long-term economic growth. However, very little impact can be measured as conditions are still very poor and problems still persist. There is no integrated, sustainable focused approach which can be effectively measured and evaluated. The purpose of this research is to investigate initiatives toward the development of education, the focus and the magnitude and effects of initiatives. Thereafter a more synergetic and integrated plan is presented and recommended to the corporate sector to assist in developing education. / MCom (Business Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Sustainability has become an undoubtedly popular and important topic, being discussed among many researchers as well as practitioners. Previous research has focused on the importance of implementing sustainability into organizations’ core business, as well as highlighting potential risk of an inadequate focus on the economic perspective of the triple bottom line (TBL). However, it has still been argued that there is not enough theoretical and practical knowledge on how to implement sustainability with the use of management control systems (MCSs). The aim of the study was thus to explore how traditional management control (metrics and measurements) as well as culture, values and communication can be used to implement the social, economic and environmental perspectives of sustainability into the organization. The authors performed an exploratory study, interviewing six sustainability managers/directors working at companies with a strong sustainability focus, as well as collecting data from the chosen companies’ sustainability reports. The findings suggest that companies implemented and created awareness for the sustainability objectives through the use of both metrics and measurements relating to the TBL perspectives, as well as through communicating and spreading the organizational learning of the culture and values connected to sustainability. The study also provided for challenges and possibilities when implementing the TBL perspective of sustainability.

The decision has been made: The new cruise-ship quay in Visby will soon be an essential part of the Swedish island Gotland. This can be a great deal not only in regard to Gotland’s Vision 2025 and its citizens but also for Gotland as a tourist destination and its sustainable tourism development. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore which sustainable considerations and goal settings Gotland’s municipality emphasised in the decision process of construction a new cruise-ship quay in Visby. Besides, we intended to raise awareness of discussing the cruise project from a sustainable tourism development perspective. This study explored the decision process through an overarching sustainability lens with the help of the triple bottom line (TBL) concept. The analysis was based on a triangulation of protocols and reports, meetings and semi-structured interviews with different key actors. This study contributes to the existing tourism literature by adopt the TBL concept on a political setting. The empirical contribution was to better understand and explain the results normally used by organisations from a broader, more holistic sustainable tourism development perspective. An overall conclusion from our study is that the planning and decision process for building a cruise quay in Visby has left residents not involved in the industry with split reactions. The case study reveals that public participation and public information throughout the decision process is essential to the public legitimacy.

Vi lever i ett samhälle där arbete för en hållbar utveckling uppmärksammas allt mer. Företag kan påverka samhället och miljön omkring dem både positivt och negativt. Genom en hållbarhetsredovisning kan företagen att redovisa sin påverkan på sin omgivning. En hållbarhetsredovisning är en sammanställning över företagets ekonomiska, miljömässiga och sociala effekter. Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) är en organisation och de tillhandahåller världens mest använda riktlinjer för upprättandet av hållbarhetsredovisningar. Uppsatsens syfte är att skapa en djupare förståelse för om GRI:s riktlinjer för upprättandet av hållbarhetsredovisningar bidrar till hållbar utveckling i företagen. Den teoretiska referensramen innehåller relevanta teorier och begrepp som förklarar varför företag upprättar hållbarhetsredovisningar, samt en sammanfattning av GRI:s riktlinjer. För att besvara uppsatsens syfte och frågeställningar har kvalitativa semistrukturerade telefonintervjuer använts för att samla in data. I urvalet av respondenter har vi använt oss av ett målstyrt urval och kontaktat den person som är ansvarig för hållbarhetsrelaterade frågor och/eller upprättandet av hållbarhetsredovisningen i respektive företag. Alla tillfrågade företagen upprättar sin hållbarhetsredovisning enligt de senaste riktlinjerna utgivna av GRI. Data som samlats in har analyserats med hjälp av tidigare forskning och teorierna i den teoretiska referensramen. Slutsatsen visar att GRI:s riktlinjer kan vara komplicerade att använda i företag som är verksamma inom andra branscher än tillverkningsbranschen men att riktlinjerna bidrar till hållbar utveckling i företagen.

Investors, stock exchanges and financial regulatory institutions can be used as strong levers for making firms accountable for achieving sustainable operational performance and not just maximizing profits. The objective of this research study is to enhance the quantitative tools available to stakeholders for evaluating relative operational performance of firms, thereby encouraging the financial investors to base their portfolio investment decisions on the basis of sustainable operational performance of firms. The study reviews the existing literature on evaluating relative operational performance of firms on sustainability metrics and proposes multi-level multi criteria decision making (MCDM) quantitative methods for measuring the same. The research work demonstrates the research framework proposed in the study by evaluating the 2014 Sustainable Operational Performance of firms in the oil & gas sector. The reason for choosing the oil & gas sector for this case study is in view of the relative large ecological and social impact which this industry has on different stakeholders. Due to the same reasons, the oil & gas sector is a bit more advanced in terms of its sustainability performance reporting standards. The review of past literature and the sustainability reports of firms for the year 2014 is initially used to develop the construct for measuring the firm operational performance on three pillars of TBL i.e. for the ecological, social and economic dimensions. / February 2017

The coffee industry affects both people and the environment in a negative way, which is an aspect coffee producers are forced to relate to. Today, more and more organizations are involved in CSR and communication about CSR. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine young consumers of Generation Y, their attitudes and opinions towards coffee producers' CSR work and its communication on CSR. The study has two research questions “what does Arvid Nordquist communicates about its CSR work through their official website?” and “what kind of attitudes and opinions does a group of young consumers have on coffee producers' CSR work and communication on CSR?” For this study two theories have been used, the CSR theory Triple Bottom Line as a theoretical starting point and Deegan Unerman’s theory on the social contract, based on Freeman’s stakeholder theory, as a theoretical framework. This qualitative study used two methods of data collection. First, a document analysis of Arvid Nordquists offical website. Secondly, a focus group interview with young consumer of Generation Y. The conclusion that can be drawn from our research is that consumers from Generation Y are positive to CSR as a phenomenon, but that communication of CSR is followed by scepticism in combination with ignorance. This paper sheds light on a issue that in previous research has used quantitative methods, while this study uses qualitative methods. The importance of this paper is its contribution to how organizations can improve their communication of CSR to young consumers.

Urban water utilities in the United States face challenges due to a combination of external drivers. These include urbanization and population growth, which are stressing a system of aging infrastructure. Compliance with increasing regulations is also a challenge in a fiscally-constrained economic environment. A changing climate threatens infrastructure and past assumptions for water supply and quality. Urban utilities provide clean water and sanitation services to over 80% of the country’s population and its industrial centers. Therefore, the sustainability of these water utilities are crucial to the country’s and the public’s well-being. New operating models are emerging for a “utility of the future.” Future utilities will recover resources, reduce their overall environmental impact, partner in the local economy, and deliver watershed-wide benefits to improve quality of life. These are all elements of a sustainable utility, but the sector has not agreed upon an applicable definition of sustainability, which intuitively incorporates an inter-generational approach to utility operations. For the purposes of this research, a sustainable utility is defined as one that will provide its crucial services for current and future generations, protect public and environmental health, and enable economic growth, all while minimizing resource consumption. Previous research provided little guidance on the most important sustainable practices for U.S. urban water utilities or the key attributes of those utilities that enable the shift toward sustainability. Additionally, the practice of sustainability measurement, and the closely-related practice of performance measurement, has not been widely adopted in the U.S. water sector. This research program addressed the challenge of providing guidance on, and measurement of, sustainability by developing a framework to quickly and quantitatively assess a utility’s sustainability and key organizational attributes. A mixed methods approach to this research used qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The approach utilized accepted anthropological methods to assess engineering and business concepts at water utilities. Data originated from semi-structured interviews of an external advisory committee of 12 widely-recognized, progressive, U.S. water utility leaders along with online surveys of water utility professionals. The analyzed data revealed the most important sustainable practices for sustainable utilities and organizational attributes that enable the shift toward sustainable operations. Practices are actionable, quantitative, and in some cases, unique to the water sector. Attributes are generally qualitative; largely controlled by internal decisions and actions; and influence a utility’s ability to operate sustainably. Datasets for sustainable practices and organizational attributes were generated using the techniques of discourse analysis on the semi-structured interview transcripts and freelisting on the online survey results. Top results from each dataset were cross-compared to generate the final, consolidated list of top practices and attributes. A sustainability index was developed from the top eight sustainable practices, measured via a total of 14 indicators. Indices were tailored to water, wastewater, and combined utilities. The top sustainable practices were: Education and Communication; Financial Management; Green Infrastructure; Habitat/Watershed Protection; Long-term Resource Plan; Resource Recovery; and Water Conservation. These eight practices provided sufficient coverage of the economic, social, environmental, and infrastructure components of the triple bottom line-plus concept used to frame sustainability for this research. This research also established the top six organizational attributes that enable the shift toward sustainability. These attributes were: Board Support / Political Will; Flexible Staff; Innovative Culture; Leadership; Organizational Commitment; and Staff Training / Development. These six attributes were assessed via a total of seven indicators, with guidance and scaling similar to the practices for ease of use by the end user. Current sustainability and performance measurement frameworks were analyzed for indicators and measurement approaches that matched the top practices and attributes. Some of the practices and only one of the six attributes matched an existing framework. When there was a match, the existing assessment was used to help with ease of use. In other cases, new indicators, guidance, and scaling (for assessment) were developed. Practices and attributes without a match suggests these aspects of sustainable utilities are relatively new to the sector, or at least, measurement of these practices and attributes is not widespread. The practices and attributes were combined into the final framework, a survey tool, which was pilot tested with three water utilities. The pilot testing demonstrated that the survey was comprehensive, yet at the same time, concise enough that it could be completed in under two hours by a limited number of utility staff. The application of this framework to a representative sample of U.S. urban water utilities can generate data to establish which attributes correlate to sustainable utilities. This will help utilities focus their limited resources on attributes which are shown to enable the shift toward sustainability.