Background: There are several strategies that focal companies can opt for to manage their supplychain. Different combinations of configurations and governance mechanisms are argued to havedifferent sustainability outcomes. First, main firms need to decide if they manage the relationshipwith suppliers themselves or if they hire a third party. Second, the buying companies could leadthe relationship with providers by incorporating collaboration or relying on industry certificates.Besides, Swedish companies, as well as Swedish citizens, are claimed to be highly sustainable.Purpose: The goal of this project is to discover the strategies top Swedish companies implementin their supply chains regarding sustainability, and their influence on the position of the companyin the Sustainable Brand Index. As a result, this project will help to determine which specificactions are most likely to lead to increased supply chain sustainability.Method: To fulfil the research purpose, a qualitative study has been conducted. Seven case studies,consisting of five semi-structured interviews with employees from Swedish companies, and twoperipherical secondary-data based ones, were coded and analysed using the grounded analysisfollowing an abductive approach.Conclusion: The results show that the configuration framework available in the literature is notas accurate as it could be, therefore, a new one is proposed. The combination that appeared to havethe best sustainability outcomes entailed a partially closed configuration i.e., extending monitoringto lower tiers, and a spectrum in the governance mechanisms gathering focal company owninitiatives and certifications.

[pt] A gestão de resíduos sólidos urbanos domésticos (GRSU) é um problema central nas cidades do mundo inteiro. A quantidade de resíduos produzidos diariamente nessas áreas desafia a sociedade a melhorar suas práticas de gerenciamento de resíduos. Embora países desenvolvidos como a Alemanha tenham alcançado resultados respeitáveis com diferentes iniciativas de GRSU, países em desenvolvimento ainda lutam para ser eficazes com suas políticas. Dado o constante crescimento das favelas, a falta de recursos econômicos, a desigualdade social e a falta de participação dos principais atores do processo, países como o Brasil ainda não encontraram o caminho certo para um sistema sustentável de gestão de resíduos, que é uma parte essencial da gestão sustentável da cadeia de suprimento (SSCM). Embora a literatura ofereça um grande e crescente número de publicações em SSCM e GRSU, há uma falta de estudos ligando os dois temas, especialmente considerando a realidade prática de um país em desenvolvimento. A presente tese visa preencher esta lacuna estudando formas de melhorar a GRSU nos países em desenvolvimento incorporando os conceitos da SSCM a partir da perspectiva da indústria, do setor público e da comunidade local, no sentido de apresentar alternativas para sua melhoria no Brasil. Para isso, foi adotada uma abordagem multimétodo com quatro etapas principais de pesquisa: primeiro, uma Revisão Sistemática da Literatura em SSCM; em segundo, um estudo de caso longitudinal na favela da Rocinha localizada na cidade do Rio de Janeiro (Brasil); em terceiro, uma análise interna e cruzada do GRSU entre duas cidades do Brasil (Macaé) e da Alemanha (Münster); e, finalmente, uma pesquisa com residentes da região metropolitana de Macaé para compreender sua aceitação quanto a adoção das práticas alemãs. A violência presente em favelas brasileiras, assim como a necessidade de moradia em outro país foram os maiores desafios ligados aos estudos de caso citados. Os principais resultados da pesquisa indicam que para enfrentar os problemas ambientais relacionados ao GRSU nos países em desenvolvimento, é necessário resolver questões sociais básicas relacionadas à educação, segurança e infraestrutura, com a integração e apoio do governo, da comunidade local e da indústria. A comparação com o sistema alemão indica que a indústria brasileira ainda está longe de cumprir os pilares social e ambiental do SSCM e deve ser considerada economicamente responsável pelo ciclo de vida de seus produtos, enfrentando o princípio da responsabilidade ampliada do produtor (EPR). Este investimento adicional pode permitir a melhoria das condições de trabalho, investimento em tecnologias e em campanhas públicas regulares para aumentar a educação em assuntos importantes na área de sustentabilidade, levando à formalização da cadeia de reciclagem. Os pilares do sistema alemão (i.e., leis claras, campanhas públicas regulares e a metodologia de taxas) aparecem como uma solução viável para a GRSU nos países em desenvolvimento, porém os resultados da pesquisa indicam que a população ainda não está disposta a pagar (WTP) por todos os custos envolvidos no processo, especialmente aqueles relacionados à coleta/tratamento de recicláveis. Este cenário reforça a necessidade de grandes campanhas educacionais, sobretudo em escolas, que fortaleçam uma visão holística e multi-perspectiva capaz de ampliar a compreensão do problema. Para facilitar esta agenda, também são apresentadas diretrizes para apoiar os formuladores de políticas públicas nos países em desenvolvimento a lidarem com os desafios associados ao GRSU, e para cumprir as Metas de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (MDS) relacionadas. Finalmente, esta pesquisa contribui para que acadêmicos e profissionais forneçam evidências empíricas para enriquecer o debate contínuo sobre o tema, dado que esta não apenas apresenta situações de casos reais em diferentes realidades, mas também destaca questões que devem ser consideradas e gerenciadas na prática, no desenvolvimento e na implementação de técnicas apropriadas para lidar com o GRSU nos países em desenvolvimento. / [en] Urban household solid waste management (UHSWM) is a central problem in cities worldwide. The amount of waste produced daily in urban areas challenges society to improve its waste management (WM) practices. While developed countries like Germany have achieved respectable results with different UHSWM initiatives, developing countries still struggle to be effective with their policies. Given the constant growth of slums, the lack of economic resources, the social inequality, and the lack of participation of the main stakeholders of the process, countries like Brazil still have not found the right path towards a sustainable WM system, which is an essential part of the sustainable supply chain management (SSCM). Although the literature offers a large and growing number of publications in SSCM and UHSWM, there is a lack of studies linking the two themes, especially considering the practical reality of a developing country. The present thesis aims to fulfill this gap by analyzing UHSWM integrating the principles of the SSCM from the perspective of industry, public sector, and the local community, towards presenting alternatives for its improvement in Brazil. To achieve this goal, a multimethod approach with four main research steps was adopted: firstly, a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) in SSCM; secondly a longitudinal case study at the Rocinha slum located in the city Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); thirdly a within and cross-case analysis on UHSWM between two cities from Brazil (Macaé) and Germany (Münster); and finally, a survey with residents of the metropolitan area of Macaé to understand their acceptance of German practices. The violence present in Brazilian slums, as well as the need to live in another country were the biggest challenges linked to the case studies cited. The main research findings indicate that to tackle environmental problems related to UHSWM in developing countries, it is necessary to solve basic social issues related to education, security, and infrastructure, with the integration and support of government, local community, and industry. The comparison with the German UHSWM system indicates that the Brazilian industry is still far from fulfilling the social and environmental pillars of SSCM and should be held economically responsible for the life cycle of its products, facing the principle of extended producer responsibility (EPR). This additional investment can enable improvement in work conditions, in technologies, and on regular public campaigns to increase education in important sustainable matters, leading to the formalization of the recycling chain. The pillars of the German system (i.e., clear laws, regular public campaigns, and fee methodology) appear as a viable solution to improve UHSWM in developing countries, however the research findings indicate that Brazilians are still not willing to pay (WTP) for all the costs involved in this process, especially those related to the collection and treatment of recyclables. This scenario reinforces the need for large educational campaigns, especially in schools, strengthening a holistic and multi-perspective view to increase the comprehension of the problem. To facilitate this agenda, a guideline with feasible alternatives to support policy makers in developing countries to deal with the challenges associated to UHSWM, and to meet the related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is also presented. This research contributes to academics and practitioners providing empirical evidence to enrich the ongoing debate on the topic, as it not only presents real-life case situations in different realities, but also highlights issues that should be considered and managed in a real context to develop and implement appropriate techniques to deal with UHSWM in developing countries.

In light of globalisation and sustainability challenges, the potential of shared mobility, or Mobility as a Service (MaaS), has been acknowledged as a way to improve mobility and transport both for the individual user and society at large. A specific type of mobility is that of corporate mobility, or how companies enable their employees to transport themselves during the workday as well as to and from work. This is a an area where MaaS has previously not been applied, thus potentially creating an unexplored business opportunity for someone to offer shared mobility as a service towards companies in need of efficient corporate mobility. To investigate the new solution of corporate Mobility as a Service (cMaaS) and the potential to transform it into a service offered to external customers, this study has been carried out as a single case study applying a business model perspective to the pilot project Sustainable Mobility Services Södertälje, where MaaS is applied to an existing corporate mobility solution. Inquiries have revolved around what constitutes a cMaaS service and what value is created from it, as well as what value a potential customer and their potential users envision. Lastly, we investigate practical challenges associated with our specific case, as well as strategic challenges regarding the business model design for cMaaS. Our findings help to describe the novel concept of cMaaS and propose a definition of it, based on previous definitions of corporate mobility and MaaS. Furthermore, the study concludes that value from cMaaS is multi-dimensional and hard to account for in a single value proposition, both due to the interrelationship between customer and users, and the sustainability value created from it. This is especially critical since cMaaS is a user-centric service. Lastly, the study concludes that the development of a business model for cMaaS is subject to a number of challenges, however this is not a sign that cMaaS is not a promising business opportunity, but rather that it is in an early stage. An experimental approach to it is beneficial, however it is crucial to continue development in an informed way, building on acquired knowledge to improve the experiment and to ultimately decide if cMaaS is an attractive business opportunity and if so, what the most suitable business model is. / I takt med globalisering och ökande hållbarhetsutmaningar har potentialen i delad mobilitet, eller Mobility as a Service (MaaS), fått allt mer uppmärksamhet, som ett sätt att förbättra mobilitet och transporter både för den enskilda användaren och för samhället i stort. En särskild typ av mobilitet handlar om företags interna transporter (Corporate Mobility), det vill säga hur företag kan förbättra transport för sina anställda, både under arbetsdagen och till och från jobbet. MaaS har inte tidigare applicerats på den typen av mobilitet, och det skulle kunna vara en intressant affärsmöjlighet att erbjuda delad mobilitet som en service, till företag med behov av välfungerande interna transporter. Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka kombinationen av delad mobilitet (MaaS) och företags interna transporter (Corporate Mobility), kallat corporate Mobility as a Service (cMaaS), och möjligheten i att sälja den som en tjänst till externa kunder. För att uppnå det har studien genomförts som en enfallsstudie där ett affärsmodellsperspektiv applicerats på pilotprojektet Sustainable Mobility Services Södertälje, som introducerar MaaS i ett företags existerande interntransportsystem. Undersökningarna har handlat om vad en cMaaS-lösning innefattar och vilket värde det skapar, samt vilket värde en potentiell kund och dess potentiella användare vill ha från det. Dessutom har utmaningar kring att sälja och definiera en affärsmodell för cMaaS undersökts. Våra resultat bidrar till att beskriva konceptet cMaaS och vi föreslår en definition av det, baserad på definitioner av företags interna transporter och MaaS. Vidare indikerar resultaten att värde från cMaaS är multi-dimensionellt och därför svårt att beskriva i en enda value proposition, detta både på grund av den inbördes relationen mellan kunden och användarna, och hållbarhetsvärdena cMaaS skapar. Detta är särskilt kritiskt eftersom cMaaS är en användarfokuserad tjänst. Till sist visar resultaten att affärsutvecklingen av cMaaS står inför ett antal utmaningar, men att det inte nödvändigtvis innebär att cMaaS inte är en lovande affärsmöjlighet, utan snarare att utvecklingen är i ett tidigt skede. Att testa sig fram med en experimentell affärsutveckling kan vara bra, men det är också viktigt att göra det på ett strukturerat sätt, och bygga vidare på insamlad kunskap för att justera och förbättra testandet. På så vis kan man uppnå målet att avgöra om cMaaS är en attraktiv affärsmöjlighet, och i så fall hur en lyckad affärsmodell ser ut.

No description available.

In the context of complying with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), this study looks at how stakeholder relationships and brand image are affected by sustainability communication from energy companies. Key people from Swedish energy companies have been interviewed and the results show that businesses place a high priority on incorporating social and environmental concerns into their daily operations. Clear CSR communication strengthens brand reputation by improving interaction with internal and external stakeholders, even in the face of economic difficulties. More restrictive laws, like the Green Claim directive, force businesses to enhance their environmental performance and communicate differently, which boosts their credibility. But there are still issues, such as resource limitations and administrative responsibilities. It is believed that these changes are essential to building customer confidence and achieving environmental objectives. The research highlights the intricate relationship that shapes the strategies of energy companies between CSR, stakeholder involvement, and regulatory compliance. In a market that is changing quickly, it highlights how crucial it is to maintain long-term sustainability and stakeholder trust through open communication and proactive regulatory change adaption.

Good corporate governance should be the cornerstone of all company management. Directors ought to know in whose interests the company should be managed. This thesis attempts to answer the following question: whose interests must be granted primacy in the management of a company? In chapter 1 it is stated that shareholders' interests are traditionally granted primacy in the management of a company. There has, however, been a shift in public opinion towards recognition of a wider variety of interests that should be considered than only those of the shareholders. These interests include, inter alia, environmental interests and those of the investors, employees and consumers. This thesis thus focuses on the primary stakeholders, namely individual shareholders, creditors, employees, consumers and suppliers. In chapter 2 a theoretical foundation is provided on the nature of a company. The different theories on the nature of a company, emphasising either shareholder primacy or stakeholder protection, are discussed. A combined new theory is proposed. It is suggested that the confusion relating to the meaning of "the company" needs to be eliminated. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 provide an international comparison of the company law in Botswana, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The focus falls, firstly, on directors' duties, secondly, on the question in whose interests directors should manage a company and, thirdly, on the codification of their duties. In chapter 6 the South African position is evaluated. First, the possible stakeholders are identified and the protection currently afforded them is explained. The reports of the King Committee on Corporate Governance, the Policy Document on company law reform as well as the Companies Bill of 2007 are discussed. Draft clauses are recommended to be incorporated in new company legislation to provide directors with clarity on what is expected of them. It is the aim of this thesis to provide clarity on whose interests should receive primacy when directors manage a company. The outcome of this research should provide a clear indication to South African directors of what is expected of them and who the beneficiaries of their fiduciary duties are. / Law / LL.D.

The Clean Community System (CCS) is a method of waste management education widely used in the USA by the Keep America Beautiful organization. The CCS has been applied by the eThekwini Municipality since 1981. The training of staff and volunteers in the CCS has to date been limited and based on the American model. The aim of this study is to provide guidelines for the training of participants in the Clean Community System in the South African context. This will be achieved by a study of two community groups that have successfully applied the CCS. The results of the research will be compared with the principles of the CCS and relevant literature. The conclusions drawn from the study will provide guidelines for the training of participants in the CCS. / Further Teacher Education / M. Ed. (Didactics)

The risk of climate change has gained prominence globally and also in South Africa. Companies operating in developing countries such as South Africa are perceived to be particularly vulnerable to climate change. There have been mixed reactions to this risk by companies ranging from inaction to significant financial outlays expended on mitigating this risk. Whilst climate change is potentially a downside risk to financial performance, certain companies have identified opportunities to enhance their returns in the course of adapting to climate change. This study assessed whether there is a relationship between climate change and the financial performance, as manifested in the mitigation of risks and exploitation of opportunities of selected South African companies. The study sought to establish the extent to which climate change creates relevant and material risks, returns and opportunities for companies. The study was conducted using a combination of a literature review and empirical research in the form of secondary analysis. Data on climate-change performance, risks and opportunities was compared to data on financial indicators. The population of companies selected for the empirical research consisted of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed companies that had publicly disclosed information to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) in 2012. Climate-change data was categorised to differentiate between varying levels of climate-change performance, and the identified categories were compared to a range of ratios that demonstrated financial return. The research concluded that climate-change risks and opportunities are expected to have a significant and highly likely impact on company operations, revenue and expenditure. Positive and statistically significant correlations were identified between climate-change performance and equity analyst recommendations, historical internal rates of return, market values to book values, forecasted earnings per share, beta coefficients, and return on equity. Climate-change performance was not found to have a significant effect on the cost of capital. / Management Accounting / M. Com. (Accounting)

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal / Le Québec a toujours connu un fort taux d’immigration. Cependant, depuis quelques années, la composition de la population issue de l’immigration semble changer et se composer beaucoup plus de minorités visibles. Toutefois, cette population a tendance à rencontrer certaines difficultés dans son intégration sur le marché du travail, c’est pour cette raison, que le gouvernement québécois a adopté le programme d’accès à l’égalité (PAE) pour limiter les effets de la discrimination et du racisme en emploi, en exigeant des employeurs que les obstacles à l’embauche et à l’emploi des membres des groupes discriminés soient levés. Une des modalités d’application des PAE est représentée par l’obligation contractuelle qui exige l’instauration d’un tel programme par chaque entreprise québécoise de 100 employés et plus recevant un contrat du gouvernement ou une subvention, de 100 000 $ et plus. A travers notre étude, nous tentons d’examiner s’il existe une voie complémentaire de sensibiliser et d’intéresser les entreprises à s’impliquer davantage sur la question de l’égalité à travers la gestion de la diversité culturelle. L’objectif premier de toute entreprise étant de faire des profits, nous tentons donc de voir si cette voie complémentaire serait liée à la recherche de bénéfices de marché issus de la diversité. La question qui se pose alors est de savoir si l’adoption de bonnes pratiques de gestion de la diversité culturelle peut avoir des répercussions sur la performance organisationnelle et la rentabilité économique. A cette fin, nous avons analysé deux catégories d’entreprises : une qui est « passive »en matière de gestion diversité et l’autre plutôt « active ». Nos résultats ont indiqué qu’en effet, il existerait un lien entre les initiatives de diversité, l’intégration des minorités et les profits commerciaux des entreprises. Ceci appuie notre hypothèse de départ selon laquelle, une vaste gamme de meilleures pratiques visant la diversité va de pair avec des bénéfices tant pour l’entreprise que pour les membres des minorités visibles. Nous ne sommes toutefois pas parvenu à prouver de façon directe et significative le lien qui existe entre la performance organisationnelle et les pratiques de gestion de la diversité culturelle, à cause des nombreux facteurs autant externes qu’internes aux entreprises pouvant influencer ce lien. La prise en compte de ces différentes conditions d’émergence des bénéfices de la diversité culturelle constitue une importante avenue de recherches futures. / Quebec aiways knew a high immigration rate. However, for a few years now, the make up of the population resulting from immigration seems to have changed and to be composed much more of visible minorities. Yet, this population tends to encounter certain difficulties in its integration on the labor market, it is for this reason, that the Québec government adopted the program of access to equality (PAE) to limit the effects of discrimination and racism in employment, by requiring employers that the obstacles at the time of recruitment and during the employment of the members of the discriminated groups be lified. One of the methods of application of the PAE is represented by the contractual obligation which requires the introduction of such a program by each Québéc company of 100 employees and more receiving a govemment contract or a subsidy, of 100 000 $ and more. Throughout our study, we try to examine whether there is a complementary way to sensitize and to interest the companies to be more involved on the question ofthe equality through the management ofcultural diversity. The main objective of ail companies being to turn a profit, we thus try to see whether this complementary way would be related to the search for market benefits resuiting from diversity. The question which arises then is to know if the adoption of good managerial practices of cultural diversity can have effects on the organizational performance and the economic profitability. For this purpose, we analyzed two categories of companies: one winch is ‘passive” as regards to diversity management and the other, rather “activ&’. Our resuits indicated that indeed, there would be a link between the initiatives of diversity, the integration of the minorities and the commercial profits of the companies. Tins supports our starting hypothesis according to winch, a vast range of better practices aiming at diversity goes hand in hand with the benefits as much for the company as for the members of the visible minorities. Nevertheless, we did not manage to prove in a direct and significant way the relation that exists between the organizational performance and the administrative practices of cultural diversity, because of the many factors, as much extemal as internai to the companies, able to influence tins relation. The taking into account of these various conditions of emergence of the benefits of cultural diversity constitutes an important avenue of future research.

The title of the research is Sustainability Performance Evaluation Management Systems Model for Individual Organizations and Supply Chains. This research has achieved its aim to develop and demonstrate the practical implementation of a simple and objective sustainability performance evaluation management system model for individual organizations and supply chains. It has resulted in the recognition that a new concept – Network of Interested Partners – underpins the achievement of sustainability. The term acknowledges the interdependence and reflects the essential cooperation that must be achieved between business organisations, their commercially related entities and the local community if progress towards sustainability is to be achieved. It therefore encompasses and extends the concept of a supply chain as currently used. Sustainable Development is defined by the World Commission on Environment and Development as development, which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future societies to meet their own needs. Organizations, as part of human activities, also have to be sustainable. The sustainability of organizations is directly linked to the continual improvement of business performance. Many organizations have found a way to improve performance through the establishment of management systems. International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards are recognized worldwide as reliable and efficient tools for the implementation of management systems. However, they do not always result in the desired improvement in outcomes. Therefore, if the required improvement of business performance is to be achieved, improved methodologies for development and implementation of performance evaluation (PE) processes are necessary. These methodologies must take into consideration sustainability principles. They also have to be applicable to individual entities and supply chains, with or without management systems in place. Supply chains are important because it is being increasingly recognized that overall supply chain performance is a means of adding value and competitive advantage to all businesses. In the first part of the research a performance evaluation model or PE (version 1 model) was developed. This was used as criteria to compare and evaluate existing performance evaluation processes and outcomes of individual organisations and their respective supply chain within the Gladstone region, Australia. Questionnaires have also been used to identify and evaluate the needs of the interested parties in relation to the organizations’ and supply chains’ business performance and processes of performance evaluation. All the information provided in the first part of the research was used by the researcher to develop the Sustainability Performance Evaluation Management Systems model or SPEMS (version 2 model). This incorporates the concepts of Network of Interested Parties/Partners. In particular, one of the outcomes is recognition that organizations need to establish partnerships if effective supply chain performance improvement is to be achieved. Therefore the establishment of partnerships has become a key requirement for the implementation of SPEMS. The establishment of partnership among participants of a supply chain of Gladstone and implementation of the eight first steps of the SPEMS (version 2 model) in this supply chain was commenced successfully through workshops. The supply chain was formed by commercial organizations, government entities and interested parties from the community. SPEMS requires that partners all have the same level of ownership and authority in the decisions of the supply chain. Some new terms and their definitions have been created within the research to support the new SPEMS model. They include: Network of Interested Partners, sustainability for organizations, sustainability KPI and sustainability friendly organizations. All of the above are encompassed within the final SPEMS (version 3 model).