Företags ansvar för sin omvärld är ett högaktuellt ämne som diskuteras i media och i företag. Hållbarhetsarbete är något som stora företag förväntas syssla med och företagets varumärke påverkas i allt större grad av dess hållbarhetsarbete. Utvecklingen av nya kommunikationsvägar, som internet, mobilt bredband och sociala medier, har inneburit att kraven på transparens hos företag har ökat och det upplevs som tvivelaktigt om företagen inte kommunicerar sitt ansvarstagande externt. Svårigheten med hållbarhetskommunikation är att nå ut med vad företaget gör så att den bild som skapas i så stor utsträckning som möjligt stämmer med verkligheten, och inte uppfattas som ett förskönande åtagande. Syftet med denna studie är att skapa förståelse för hur kopplingen mellan hållbarhet, kommunikation och varumärke ser ut samt identifiera framgångsfaktorer för att skapa ett hållbart varumärke. Studien har genomförts som en kvalitativ fallstudie av projektet One Tonne Life, som genomfördes av Vattenfall i samarbete med flera andra partnerföretag 2009-2011. Vattenfall ser detta projekt som ett exempel på lyckad hållbarhetskommunikation och det är därför ett intressant fall att studera för att utveckla teorier kring hur företaget bör arbeta. Ett företags varumärke är inte begränsat till dess logga och grafiska profil, utan handlar om företagets identitet och personlighet. Företagets varumärke kan ses som en sammanvägning av flera olika identiteter, där verklig, kommunicerad, uppfattad, utlovad, kulturell, ideal och önskad identitet är de sju som används i denna studie. En analysmodell har tagits fram som beskriver sambandet mellan hållbarhetsarbete, hållbarhetskommunikation och varumärke. När hållbarhetsarbetet är helt integrerat i företagets strategi och kommuniceras genom att involvera intressenterna i kommunikationen, kan arbetet med hållbarhet inte skiljas från kommunikationen om hållbarhet. Det är endast med detta arbetssätt som företagets varumärke kan byggas av hållbarhet. Denna studie visar att ett företags varumärke påverkas av alla företagets aktiviteter, vilket innebär att företagets hållbarhetsarbete och hållbarhetskommunikation ska vara oskiljbara för att kunna användas för att bygga ett starkt varumärke. Lärdomar ur fallstudien visar på vikten av att 1) arbeta med ett relevant hållbarhetsproblem, 2) synliggöra sitt arbete och sätta det i ett större sammanhang, 3) arbeta tillsammans med andra för att kunna lösa komplexa frågor och förbättra trovärdigheten, 4) involvera mottagaren i kommunikationen, 5) kommunicera ett budskap genom många kanaler, 6) paketera inhållbarhetsarbetet i en intressant historia samt 7) arbeta med att förankra hållbarhetsarbetet internt. / Corporate social responsibility is a highly relevant subject discussed in media and business. Larger companies are expected to deal with sustainability questions and the corporate brand is highly affected by their sustainability work. The development of new communication channels, such as the internet, mobile broadband and social media, has led to increased demands for transparency and companies who do not communicate their responsibility externally are seen with suspiciousness. The difficulty with sustainability communications is to communicate to the public what the company is doing in terms of sustainability. The communication must create an image of the company that is as close to reality as possible and not being perceived as a manipulating PR trick. The purpose of this study is to understand the link between sustainability work, sustainability communication and corporate brand. It also aims to identify success factors for creating a sustainable corporate brand. The study was conducted as a qualitative case study of the project One Tonne Life, conducted by Vattenfall in collaboration with several other partners in 2009-2011. The One Tonne Life project is seen by Vattenfall as a good example of a successful sustainability communication, which makes it an interesting case to study in order to develop theories about how a company should work. A corporate brand is not limited to its logo and graphic profile, but consists of identity and personality. The corporate brand can be seen as a combination of several different identities. In this study we have chosen to focus on seven identities: actual-, communicated-, conceived-, covenanted-, cultural-, ideal- and desired identity. An analytical model was developed to describe the relationship between sustainability, sustainability communications and corporate branding. When sustainability is fully integrated into the company’s strategy and when it is communicated by involving stakeholders in the communication, the work and communications are inseparable. It is only with this approach that the corporate brand can be built for sustainability. This study shows that the corporate brand is influenced by all the company’s activities, which means that the company’s sustainability efforts and sustainability communications must be indistinguishable in order to be used to build a strong corporate brand. Findings fromthe case study concludes the importance of 1) working with a relevant sustainability issue, 2) making the work visible and put in context, 3) working with others to solve complex issues and improve the credibility, 4) involving the recipient in the communication, 5) communicating the same message through multiple channels, 6) packaging the sustainability efforts into an interesting story, and 7) gaining support for sustainability efforts internally. When following these factors, the sustainability work can be integrated into the corporate brand.

With corporate social responsibility (CSR) becoming more important to stakeholders and thus firms, understanding the relationship between CSR and corporate financial performance (CFP) is becoming more and more important. Although there is much research examining the general CSR-CFP relationship, there is very little, if any, research that investigates the CSR-CFP association across industries. With a sample of 429 firms from the S&P 500, my study looks to see if this association differs between the consumer and nonconsumer sectors. Time-series regression analyses reveal that while the CSR-sales relationship is negative for both consumer and nonconsumer companies, the CSR-gross profit association is more positive for nonconsumer than consumer firms.

Mining activities have impacted on the health and safety of mining communities for many decades. Despite the economic contributions of mining to its surrounding communities, there is also a huge amount of environmental and social harm to be associated with the industry. Much attention has recently fallen on reducing health and safety risks, but there is still a long way to go before working and living in the mining environment would be regarded as healthy and safe. The lack of proper accountability has been a significant factor in the damaging effects of corporations on society. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is essential for the mining industry to ensure that there is an adequate balance between economic development and the well-being of people and the environment. Mining companies have recently started implementing different health programmes around mines [e.g. NIHL (noise induced hearing loss), HIV/AIDS and TB - programmes]. It is, however, the long-term impacts (such as mental health impacts) of mine activities that will remain long after the company closes and there is little evidence that these long-term responsibilities are being addressed. This study examines the impact of mining on the mental health of mining communities (including the mine workers) as experienced by community members, mine employees, as well as other role players involved in the industry. By doing so, the aim of this study is to determine the need for the inclusion of mental health care in the CSR programmes of mining companies, in order to advance sustainable development of mining communities. The study was done by means of qualitative methods undertaken in the North-West and Limpopo Provinces of South Africa, where different stakeholders from the mining industry were interviewed. It has been found that "mental health care" is still a huge gap that needs and waits to be filled in terms of mining companies' CSR performance. / Thesis (M.A. (Sociology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Thesis (M.A. (Communication Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Despite the contribution of mining to the South African economy, this industry has impacted negatively on the environment and society for many decades. These negative impacts are evidence of poor corporate actions. Instead of contributing to society, it seems that mining companies, more often than not, neglect their corporate social responsibilities mostly in the pursuit of financial profit. It has been well documented that it is mostly local populations, living close to mining operations, which pay the price of social and environmental damages and degradation, while the industry's benefits are measured in economic and political terms. Such an imbalance between the economic, environmental and social factors will make Sustainable Development impossible to achieve. Welverdiend is a community paying a dear price in terms of social problems caused by mining operations. The aim of this study, therefore, is to assess the impact of these problems on the social well–being of Welverdiend and the surrounding community's residents. In the light of these findings on different social issues, the research aims to confirm the importance of a people–centred approach to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The following is a brief outline of the course of the study. Chapter One serves as the introduction to the research project. Chapter Two, aligned with Objective One, provides a theoretical overview on Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development. Chapter Three, which is aligned with Objectives Two and Three, reports on the findings obtained through a survey and Chapter Four, aligned with Objective Four, presents the conclusion and recommendations. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Personeelvermindering as gevolg van operasionele redes word gelykgestel aan 'n ekonomiese doodstraf, aangesien geaffekteerde werknemers weinig, indien enige skuld het aan hierdie traumatiese ervaring. Die toenemende bekommernis oor hierdie verskynsel en die totstandkoming van mense-en arbeidsregte het dan ook veroorsaak dat hierdie verskynsel op 'n internasionale vlak omsigtig en deeglik benader word deur beide wetgewers en arbeidsorganisasies. Verandering in die wêreld geskied teen 'n snelle pas en vind op alle terreine van die samelewing plaas. Suid-Afrika is onlosmaakbaar deelgemaak van hierdie wêreld en word dus ook blootgestel aan honger internasionale maatskappye wat almal veg vir oorlewing en groter markaandele in 'n globaliserende wêreldekonomie. Dit laat Suid - Afrika met 'n dringende behoefte om meer mededingend te word. Om dit te kan bereik, moet aan die knellende behoefte aan opleiding aandag geskenk word, sowel as aan die skepping van aantreklike internasionale beleggingsgeleenthede. Internasionale beleggers raak gou afgeskrik deur hoë werkloosheid en misdaad, en hier is Suid -Afrika ver agter die Ooste. Die tendens van globalisering en die uitwerking van sekere aspekte daarvan op werkloosheid noodsaak dus dringende fokus op kwellende kwessies, soos: Hoe om werkloosheid te verminder, teenoor die behoefte aan verhoogde produktiwiteit en verbeterde internasionale mededingingsvermoë. Hierdie veranderinge het ook meegebring dat verbruikers, werknemers en die gemeenskap waarin maatskappye besigheid bedryf, uiters sensitief begin word het vir onverantwoordelike optrede van maatskappye teenoor die gemeenskap, die werknemers en die omgewing. Hierdie veranderinge en die gevolge daarvan lei tot 'n groeiende bewustheid van en ernstige behoefte aan korporatiewe sosiale verantwoordelikheid. Die waarde hiervan word in 'n al hoe groter mate besef en maatskappye aanvaar hierdie verantwoordelikheid toenemend in alle dimensies van die gemeenskap. Die manier waarop maatskappye met mense omgaan, word direk beïnvloed deur werkspraktyke en korporatiewe sosiale verantwoordelikheid het dus 'n fundamentele uitwerking op hoe potensiële hoëgehalte kennis-werkers die maatskappy beskou. Dit word derhalwe al hoe belangriker dat werkgewers die menings van hulle eksterne en interne belangegroepe ernstig opneem, aangesien globalisering besig is om die magsbasis tot voordeel van die werknemers te verskuif. Intussen sal personeelvermindering voortgaan ten spyte van duidelike bewyse dat die langtermynvoordele daarvan verdag is, en dit plaas 'n enorme sosiale verantwoordelikheid op werkgewers. Die goed nagevorste verband tussen misdaad en werkloosheid dui duidelik op die onderprestering van die regering teenoor beloftes wat gemaak is. Dit is juis om dié rede dat die rol van maatskappye in die gemeenskap al hoe meer onlosmaaklik deel van die besigheid word. Die uiteindelike gevolg hiervan is 'n onaanvaarbare hoë misdaadsyfer, wat weer lei tot 'n gebrek aan beleggingsvertroue, wat op sy beurt weer lei tot personeelvermindering. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Sociology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2008.

This thesis is focused on the derivation of a new approach to business. Emphasis is put on organizations contributing to both economic success as well as social progress.  This dual financial and social value creation is referred to as social entrepreneurship. Increased attention and inclusiveness of the concept has led to confusion regarding the means of organizations acting within the recited phenomenon. Organizations are met with skepticism and are questioned in the matters of legitimacy. Differences of opinion centralize on whether companies invest these resources because it is demanded, because it strengthens the brand or simply because it is the responsibility of the corporation. The perception of legitimacy is dependent on the support the organization receives from its different constituencies. To explore social entrepreneurship, a case study was conducted. This case study was executed through a consumer perspective, seeing as legitimacy is upheld by the perception of the organizations immediate audience. The case company used, GodEl, operates using traditional business models with the purpose of maximizing profits. However, 100% of their earned dividend is donated to various charity organizations. This study is set out with the ambition to gain an understanding of a corporation operating within social entrepreneurship. The conclusions imply that the customers of GodEl legitimize their choice through diverse legitimizing dimensions. The findings indicate that pragmatic legitimacy is a stronger legitimizing dimension than moral legitimacy. These conclusions imply that larger emphasis is given to consumer self-interest, rather than the consequences and judgment of the organizations accomplishments. The ways in which customers legitimize their choices, may also be argued as the same factors affecting GodEls legitimacy regarding their operations.

In this master thesis is going to be considered how the CSR is implemented into company’s activities and strategy as well the benefits of CSR for companies, employees, clients and partners are analyzed. The center of attention is on the CSR integration. There are numerous studies emphasize on the antecedents and post internationalization behavior while there is not much study to indicate the actual mechanism of CSR integration into company’s strategy. To gather data for the research analysis were chosen sources as primary and secondary data. Primary data: the information that was gathered in the research are based on individually responds. The interviews were got from respondents by emails one on one. Secondary data: The information was collected from web sources about CSR situation in selected countries. In the end of this thesis there are given suggestions in order to increase efficiency of CSR implementation into corporate strategy. / Baigiamajame magistro darbe nagrinėjama kaip Socialinė Atsakomybė (CSR) yra diegiama į įmonės strategiją. Taip pat yra aptariama, kokius privalumus CSR suteikia įmonėms, jos darbuotojams, klientams bei partneriams. Dėmesio centre yra CSR diegimas į įmonės strategiją. Yra atlikta daug tyrimų, tačiau nėra apibrėžto aiškaus mechanizmo, kaip CSR integruoti į įmonės strategiją. Atliekant tyrimą buvo naudojama pirminiai bei antriniai duomenys. Pirminiai duomenys sudaro CSR specialistų iš skirtingų pasaulio valstybių atsakymai į klausimyną apie CSR diegimą į įmonės strategiją. Antriniai duomenys buvo surinkti interneto naršyklėje, apie pasirinktų 8 pasaulio valstybių pasiekimus CSR integracijos į verslą srityje.

Mining activities have impacted on the health and safety of mining communities for many decades. Despite the economic contributions of mining to its surrounding communities, there is also a huge amount of environmental and social harm to be associated with the industry. Much attention has recently fallen on reducing health and safety risks, but there is still a long way to go before working and living in the mining environment would be regarded as healthy and safe. The lack of proper accountability has been a significant factor in the damaging effects of corporations on society. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is essential for the mining industry to ensure that there is an adequate balance between economic development and the well-being of people and the environment. Mining companies have recently started implementing different health programmes around mines [e.g. NIHL (noise induced hearing loss), HIV/AIDS and TB - programmes]. It is, however, the long-term impacts (such as mental health impacts) of mine activities that will remain long after the company closes and there is little evidence that these long-term responsibilities are being addressed. This study examines the impact of mining on the mental health of mining communities (including the mine workers) as experienced by community members, mine employees, as well as other role players involved in the industry. By doing so, the aim of this study is to determine the need for the inclusion of mental health care in the CSR programmes of mining companies, in order to advance sustainable development of mining communities. The study was done by means of qualitative methods undertaken in the North-West and Limpopo Provinces of South Africa, where different stakeholders from the mining industry were interviewed. It has been found that "mental health care" is still a huge gap that needs and waits to be filled in terms of mining companies' CSR performance. / Thesis (M.A. (Sociology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Thesis (M.A. (Communication Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.