The thesis purpose is to analyze sustainability from a Swedish luxury fashion brands perspective. By investigate their product development and green communication it will provide a valuable understanding in how to be internationally competitive. It is a discussed subject within the fashion industry. Therefore, relevant aspects have been taken under consideration regarding luxury fashion brands sustainable thinking to be able to conduct the research. The thesis have been used the qualitative research method to get a deeper understanding from the respondents perspective in their process to become more sustainable. The subject of the thesis is relatively unexplored, which required a good pre understanding. Therefore, the deductive approach has been used, since the findings are based upon the theoretical framework.   The thesis has been based upon different relevant theories which are related to the subject. Sustainability, CSR, luxury branding and international competition are the four main theories which have resulted in a conceptual framework to demonstrate the relation between them. Furthermore, the conceptual framework has been used to analyze the empirical findings which have been founded from the cases. In the analysis chapter, a comparison between the theories and empirics is presented in accordance with the conceptual framework. In the final chapter, a conclusion has been conducted based on the analysis. Further on, it contains answers of the research questions, implications, recommendations, limitations and suggestions for research in the future. The result of the main theoretical implication was to fill the research gap together with a higher understanding in sustainability within Swedish luxury fashion brands.   The result of the study is that Swedish luxury fashion brands have implemented sustainability into their business strategies, but on different levels. It is agreed that sustainable fashion is important internationally to decrease the negative effects on the environment.

The first part of this dissertation attempts to add to our understanding of two aspects of the climate change issue, using tools from two different disciplines: Economics and Hydro-Climatology, for the case of India. The two aspects addressed are :( 1) understanding and summarizing changes in the climate system (and systems driven by it, such as the hydrologic system) and (2) translating such an understanding into quantitative assessments of impacts upon different activities. Modifications of conventional approaches in Environmental Economics are used to obtain a quantitative understanding of the type of changes in agricultural productivity induced by probable scenarios of climate change. Using a newly available observational rainfall data set from the Meteorological Department, assessments are carried out of changes in extremes of rainfall. These putative changes are then assessed in relation to certain larger scale climatological phenomena which presumably impact hydrologic extremes, based on hypotheses presented in the literature. The second part of the dissertation addresses the issue of unified, coherent and more realistic analysis of groundwater-based models in the Economics literature.

The concept of sustainability has been widely discussed in relation to human activity and scientific development in recent times. There is an increased awareness of the current and future ramifications of people’s everyday activities on the environment, and sustainable development aims to mitigate these impacts, as well as promote social equity and economic efficiency. A majority of research concerned with transportation sustainability addresses it at the policy-planning level, though there have been recent attempts at quantitatively evaluating it. These evaluations are mostly based on multicriteria decision making processes using performance measures. However, the methods and the performance measures developed are often not geared toward being practically implemented within a transportation agency’s regular planning activities. This research effort seeks to improve upon existing sustainability evaluation processes for highways by proposing a methodology that addresses sustainability within the regular transportation planning paradigm, rather than as a separate concern. A more scientific approach to the scaling of various performance measures, as well as the evaluation of current and future planning scenarios on a common basis provides for an improved multi-criteria evaluation method. A case study was conducted using the proposed methodology for a section of US Highway 281 in San Antonio, Texas. The evaluation model developed in this study provides the basis for further research into applying decision-making processes to improve transportation sustainability by addressing some of the inherent drawbacks of existing research on sustainability evaluation.

<p> As societies work toward more sustainably functioning systems, it is important to study those systems that currently operate unsustainably. While unsustainability can take many forms, in general, when the natural world or human welfare are neglected, the outcome is an unsustainable system. Moving from unsustainable to sustainable systems requires dialogue and coordination between disparate disciplines. Understanding the complex hurdles associated with this emerging dialogue is essential. Current examples of the implementation of sustainability and healthy living initiatives have focused on minimizing impact to the environment by reducing energy usage. In the case of healthy living communities, the focus has been on designing neighborhoods to encourage more walking by residents or building homes designed to reduce indoor allergens. Exploring the depth and breadth of what can be done to create sustainable, healthy communities was the focus of my study. The primary objective of my research was to provide information and supporting documentation to a redevelopment project with the goal that they would include design elements that would benefit the health of the natural world and the human world.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to gain information from tourists about their experience with ecotourism on Kauai, Hawaii, and how this experience shapes their behaviors as tourists in the future. The data collected addressed if the tourists felt they would increase or decrease their future consumption of responsible tourism experiences and how these experiences impacted their behavioral intentions as tourists in general. The literature reviewed in the areas of responsible tourism, ecotourism, and mass tourism showed that there is still a lack of knowledge about tourists&rsquo; perspectives, attitudes and behaviors within these areas in Hawaii. This paper added to the body of knowledge on responsible tourism which resulted in advancement in the area of ecotourism, specifically focused on Kauai, Hawaii. The increased tourism demand and lack of research on ecotourism, and responsible tourism in general, created a definite need for further exploration to thus optimize any strategies for implementation which will help positively impact the economy and conservation efforts on Kauai, Hawaii. This paper describes the current tourism situation on Kauai and why forms of responsible tourism, such as ecotourism, are a better alternative to mass tourism.</p><p>

abstract: It is widely recognized that, compared to others, minority and low-income populations are more exposed to environmental burdens and unwanted land uses like waste facilities. To prevent these injustices, cities and industry need to recognize these potential problems in the siting process and work to address them. I studied Phoenix, AZ, which has historically suffered from environmental justice issues. I examined whether Phoenix considered environmental justice concerns when siting their newest landfill (SR-85) and transfer station (North Gateway Transfer Station). Additionally, I assessed current views on sustainability from members of the Phoenix Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee and of decision-makers in the Public Works Department and Solid Waste Division. Using a mixed methods approach consisting of interviews, document analysis, and a demographic assessment of census tracts, I addressed two main research questions: 1. Do the distributions and siting processes of environmental burdens from SR-85 and North Gateway Transfer Station constitute a case of environmental injustice according to commonly held definitions? 2. Do current Solid Waste and council members on the Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee consider environmental justice, defined as stakeholder engagement, to be a part of sustainability? The results show that the distribution and siting processes of environmental burdens from these facilities may constitute a case of environmental injustice. While city officials do involve stakeholders in siting decisions, the effects of this involvement is unclear. An analysis of long-term demographic data, however, revealed no significant racial, ethnic, or economic effects due to the locations of the SR-85 and North Gateway Transfer Station. Interviews with current members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, Public Works Department, and Solid Waste Division indicated that Phoenix’s decision-makers don’t consider environmental justice as part of sustainability. However, they seem to consider stakeholder engagement as important for decision-making. To help mitigate future injustices, Phoenix needs buffer zone policies for waste facilities and stakeholder engagement policies for decision-making to ensure the public is engaged appropriately in all circumstances. Enacting these policies will help Phoenix become both a more sustainable city and one in which stakeholders have the opportunity to provide feedback and are given decision-making power. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Sustainability 2015

abstract: The need for alternative energy efficient building heating and cooling technologies has given rise to the development and widespread use of Ground Coupled Heat Pump (GCHP) systems. This dissertation looks at the feasibility of using GCHP systems as a viable economic alternative to traditional air source cooling systems (ASHP) for conditioning buildings in the hot, semi-arid climate of Phoenix, Arizona. Despite high initial costs, GCHPs are gaining a foothold in northern climates where heating dominates, in large part due to government incentives. However, due to issues associated with low ground heat exchanger (GHE) efficiency and thermally-induced soil deformations, GCHPs are typically not considered a viable option in hot climates with deep groundwater and low permeability soil. To evaluate the energy performance and technical feasibility of GCHPs in Phoenix, the DOE 5,500 sq.ft small office, commercial building prototype was simulated in EnergyPlus to determine the cooling and heating loads. Next, a commercial software program, Ground Loop Design (GLD), was used to design and simulate the annual energy performance of both vertical (V-GCHPs) and horizontal GCHPs (H-GCHPs). Life cycle costs (LCC) were evaluated using realistic market costs both under dry, as well as fully saturated soil conditions (meant as an upper performance limit achievable by ground modification techniques). This analysis included performing several sensitivity analyses and also investigating the effect of financial rebates. The range of annual energy savings from the GCHP system for space cooling and heating was around 38-40% compared to ASHPs for dry soil. Saturated soil condition significantly affects the length of the GHE. For V-GCHPs, there was about 26% decrease in the length of GHE, thereby reducing the initial cost by 18-19% and decreasing the payback period by 24-25%. Likewise, for H-GCHPs, the length of GHE was reduced by 25% resulting in 22% and 39-42 % reduction in the initial cost and payback period respectively. With federal incentives, H-GCHPs under saturated soil conditions have the least LCC and a good payback periods of 2.3-4.7 years. V-GCHPs systems were been found to have payback periods of over 25 years, making them unfeasible for Phoenix, AZ, for the type of building investigated. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Built Environment 2014

abstract: Sustainable food systems have been studied extensively in recent times and the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) nexus framework has been one of the most common frameworks used. The dissertation intends to examine and quantitatively model the food system interaction with the energy system and the water system. Traditional FEW nexus studies have focused on food production alone. While this approach is informative, it is insufficient since food is extensively traded. Various food miles studies have highlighted the extensive virtual energy and virtual water footprint of food. This highlights the need for transport, and storage needs to be considered as part of the FEW framework. The Life cycle assessment (LCA) framework is the best available option to estimate the net energy and water exchange between the food, energy, and water systems. Climate plays an important role in food production as well as food preservation. Crops are very sensitive to temperature changes and it directly impacts a crop’s productivity. Changing temperatures directly impact crop productivity, and water demand. It is important to explore the feasibility of mitigation measures to keep in check increasing agricultural water demands. Conservation technologies may be able to provide the necessary energy and water savings. Even under varying climates it might be possible to meet demand for food through trade. The complex trade network might have the capacity to compensate for the produce lost due to climate change, and hence needs to be established. Re-visualizing the FEW nexus from the consumption perspective would better inform policy on exchange of constrained resources as well as carbon footprints. This puts the FEW nexus research space a step towards recreating the FEW nexus as a network of networks, that is, FEW-e (FEW exchange) nexus. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Sustainability 2019

No description available.

There is not just one official definition of sustainability, but instead over three hundred. Previous studies together show tendencies towards a possible gap in the consumer versus company definitions of sustainability in apparel. A gap in how sustainability is defined. This thesis aims to contribute to the filling of this possible gap with a description and analysis of the matter. Deep semi structured interviews with ten female fashion consumers from the conscious Generation Y, defining and discussing sustainability were performed. The same consumers also attended a one-hour focus group session. The consumer definitions of sustainability were compared with the definitions from Gina Tricot, H&amp;M, Kappahl, Lindex and MQ via their sustainability reports. Our findings shows several gaps in the way sustainability was defined by the conscious female fashion consumer from Generation Y and the conscious fashion company presenting a sustainability report. The two main gaps are the consumers defining sustainability as long lasting quality and less consumption. The companies in their sustainability reports do not address these definitions. Communication, deeper interaction and enhancements in the business model supply chains are concluded in order to address the gaps. For further research a larger more extended study could enhance the results and give deeper insights.