Global warming and environmental impact are topics that have received increased attention in recent years. Research suggests that companies should take more responsibility for this impact. Scholars have expressed contradicting opinions on whether these sustainability initiatives result in new risks and thereby lead to worse financial performance or will benefit the organization. This qualitative multiple case study uses an abductive approach to examine how risks associated with environmental sustainability initiatives are perceived to impact financial performance as well as how these risks can be managed in practice. Based on existing literature on environmental sustainability, risk management, and financial performance combined with interviews conducted with six representatives from three different companies in the Swedish manufacturing industry, a framework is developed. The framework presents a link from sustainability initiatives to risks, which can result in negative impacts on financial performance. The study further shows a positive relation between sustainability and financial performance, indicating that financial benefits can be gained from working with sustainability. Additionally, it is found that sustainability-related risks should be managed differently than business-related risks in organizations. The presented framework therefore indicates a necessity of establishing sustainability risk management strategies. The four main strategies identified were i) creating a shared mindset which allows for understanding of risks in the organization, ii) increasing communication and collaboration across departments, iii) actively working with risk identification to understand its behavior, and iv) establishing constant revision of risk management strategies.

Cities cover 3% of the world’s surface but they emit 72% of all globally produced greenhouse gas emissions. Cities are therefore an essential part when trying to overcome climate change. To address this crisis Climate-City Contracts [Klimatkontrakt] was adopted in Sweden 2020 by nine Swedish cities, four governmental agencies and Viable Cities. The goal is to form climate neutral cities. To achieve this the cities will start co-creation processes together with its citizens. The processes will aim to find new solutions to combat climate change. This bachelor thesis provides a unique perspective of how that can be achieved in Umeå, which is one of the cities that signed the contract. The research aim is to examine public officials, in Umeå municipality, views of co-creation within the framework of Klimatkontrakt Umeå 2030. Thus creating a greater understanding of how public officials within Umeå perceive the possibilities for citizens to become a co-creating actor. To achieve the research aim interviews were conducted with four public officials in Umeå municipality. The interviews showed that the public officials can see many positive effects as a result of future co-creation processes. Different target groups will also become the focal point when Umeå will co-create with its citizens. The process can also take many forms, such as different kinds of dialogues, which may lead to a reorganization which allows Umeå to better co-create with its citizens.

Background: It is important to work with environmental sustainability and to reach this goal since protection of the natural environment is necessary. Every day without more knowledge and action gives future generations worse prerequisites to live a sustainable life. This thesis attempts to address environmental sustainability from a local perspective. Through the Swedish municipality Lund’s Municipality’s climate goals ambition for 2030 and their climate policy “LundaEko”, it is explored how the local sport clubs can contribute to the municipality’s ambition. However limited research is conducted related to environmental sustainability and grass-root sport clubs. Grass-root sport clubs are important since they have a direct impact in children and youth’s upbringing. Through the local sport clubs, Lund’s Municipality have the opportunity to reach more citizens in order to affect them to contribute to the climate goals.  Aim: The overall purpose of this study is to analyse the prerequisites for municipalities to use grass- root sport clubs to contribute to environmental sustainability. The study uses Lund’s Municipality in Sweden and the local sport clubs within the municipality as the empirical example.  Methods: Seven representatives participated in this research. Two from Lund’s Municipality, one from the national sport federation’s regional department “RFSISU Skåne” and four from local sport clubs in Lund. The data was collected from semi-structured interviews and documents/policies. Thematic analysis is used to process, organise, and analyse the collected data. Triple bottom line and institutional theory was applied as a theoretical framework, in order to analyse the data.  Results: The research shows that all interviewed sport clubs endorse environmental sustainability. However, the sport clubs are unsure how to approach the topic, due to lack of knowledge, experience and resources. The sport clubs request support in order to initiate environmental sustainability practices from Lund’s Municipality and RFSISU Skåne.  Conclusion: Lund’s Municipality is responsible of informing the sport clubs about their own climate ambitions and the clubs’ opportunities to contribute. The sport clubs are able to contribute by identify and adopt easy applicable environmental values and utilise their status as an institution to disseminate these values to their members through institutional mechanisms.

The purpose of the study is to understand the satisfaction of young customers living in Sweden for a long time with the packaging of chips and the impact of packaging on their chip purchase and to discuss corporate social responsibility in connection with environmental sustainability. In this study, theoretical analysis, interviews, and focus groups are used as the research methods. Through the analysis of collected data and combined with the theory to carry out a comprehensive analysis. Through the analysis, it is found that the color, picture, and shape of packaging in the chips market in Sweden are the main factors affecting customers' purchase. It is also found that young customers still attach great importance to the sustainable development of the environment and think that the company should be responsible for this. The findings of this study can be considered to provide customers with real ideas for companies who want to understand the Swedish chip market and help them develop the Swedish market. Due to the lack of research on the packaging market in Sweden, the researchers hope that this study can be helpful to the relevant research.

Thesis (Ph. D. Commerce (Business Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The current work assessed the link between environmental sustainability commitment and financial performance of firms listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). Broadly, the researcher aimed to establish whether environmental sustainability commitment as measured by energy efficiency, water efficiency, waste management, carbon emission reduction, material efficiency, green products and services innovation, environmental compliance and stakeholder engagement do affect financial performance. Furthermore, the study tested the moderation effect of industry type on the link between environmental sustainability commitment and financial performance. The study was quantitative in nature with a case study research design. The longitudinal design was adopted where the researcher collected panel data from 2011-2018. The population of the study included all firms listed on the JSE Responsible Investment Index in South Africa. The sample constituted of 32 firms listed on the FTSE/JSE Responsible Investment Index in South Africa. The researcher employed panel regression analysis model to analyse the data. Specifically, the Feasible Generalised Least Squares regression model was utilised in this study. Financial performance was treated as the dependant variable and was measured using return on equity (ROE), return on assets (ROA), earnings per share (EPS), share price and Tobin’s q. The independent variables of the study included components of environmental sustainability; energy efficiency, water efficiency, waste management, carbon emission reduction, material efficiency, green products and services innovation, environmental compliance and stakeholder engagement. Control variables such as firm size and liquidity were used in the study. Mixed findings emerged from the statistical tests. The findings on the relationship between energy efficiency and financial performance suggested that energy efficiency has no significant effect on financial performance as measured by ROE, ROA and Tobin’s Q. Conversely, a significant and negative link was established when energy efficiency was tested against EPS and share price. A significant positive relationship was established between water efficiency and EPS as well as share price. The results further revealed that being water efficient may not significantly affect financial performance when ROE, ROA and Tobin’s Q are used. The results showed no significant relationship between waste management and all dependent variables. The findings indicated that carbon emission reduction was positively and significantly related to EPS and share price. Nevertheless, it was discovered that the nexus between carbon emission reduction and measures of financial performance such as ROE, ROA and Tobin’s Q was positive but insignificant. In terms of material efficiency and financial performance, the findings indicated that material efficiency had an insignificant effect on ROE, ROA, share price and Tobin’s Q. Nevertheless, a significant and negative relationship was established between material efficiency and EPS. Considering green products and services innovation and performance, the findings established a significant negative relationship between green products and services innovation and share price. However, the results further indicated that the link between green products and services innovation and ROE, ROA, EPS as well as Tobin’s Q was insiginificant. The findings exhibited that environmental compliance was negatively related to ROE and Tobin’s Q yet positively related to EPS and share price. An insignificant relationship was established between environmental compliance and ROA. Stakeholder engagement was found to be positively related to EPS. It was also found that the effect of environmental sustainability commitment on financial performance did not differ based on the industry type. The findings rather showed that firms within each industry had specific environmental sustainability commitment and financial performance combinations which were unique to that industry. It was also found that industry type significantly moderates the relationship between environmental sustainability commitment and financial performance. It was concluded that firms can enhance their financial performance from environmental investments which are unique to certain industries as determined by key stakeholders in that sector. Recommendations were made to different stakeholders such as the government, corporate managers and organisations which provide environmental reporting guidelines to play an active role in promoting environmental sustainability commitment among firms. Keywords: environmental sustainability commitment; financial performance; firms; sustainable development; Johannesburg Stock Exchange; South Africa

Waste is a global composite of organic and inorganic derivatives from human activities. Municipal solid waste consists primarily of plastics from households and e-wastes, creating opportunities for waste management businesses. The purpose of this study was to explore leadership strategies for reducing operational costs in waste management businesses in Liberia. In this multiple case study, 6 business leaders from 6 waste management businesses in Liberia were recruited as participants. The conceptual framework guiding the study was the transformational leadership theory. Each business leader responded to open-ended questions in a semistructured interview. Data were analyzed by iteratively searching recurrent codes to elicit themes. Themes that emerged included education and training for customers and staff, as well as efficiency and effectiveness for value creation from waste. Based on the findings of this study, waste management business leaders might contribute to social change by employing marginalized population segments in local communities. The marginalized segments in communities could be empowered to communicate waste management messages about recycling, supplementing their skills and messages using waste management technological innovations. The results from this study might provide insight into how waste management leaders might use innovative solutions to reuse, recycle, and re-engineer wastes. The results from this study might help waste management business leaders envision opportunities for improvement on waste-to-energy products and services in the lives of customers and employees.

Mining operations often cause environmental and social problems for communities. Efforts by major stakeholders in most developing countries to create and enforce an ethical framework for mining industry operations have been inconsistent. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study, which was based on stakeholder theory, was to explore stakeholders' perspectives on the implementation of environmental policies and mining operations in Zambia. Data collection involved semistructured interviews with a purposeful sample of 24 research participants from a copper mining company operating in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia, the government ministry for mining, energy, and water development, the environmental protection agency, an environmental nongovernmental organization, local media, and the residents of the mining town. Data analysis included compiling, examining, classifying, and searching the data for patterns. The findings indicate that unsustainable practices; enforcement and technological problems; and the lack of corporate social responsibility were the principal cause of environmental problems. The recommendations include increased community involvement, awareness, and government support; enforcement of environmental laws; adoption of corporate responsibility practices; and investment in new technology. Collaboration by stakeholder groups to adequately address environmental issues and enhance environmental sustainability is also imperative. The potential implications for positive social change include providing guidance for the environmental protection agency, mining organizational leaders, and the government to alleviate environmental problems associated with mining and improve the well-being of the people.

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This dissertation uses the logic embodied in Strategic Fit Theory, the Natural Resource-Based View of the Firm (NRBV), strategic human resource management, and other relevant literature streams to empirically demonstrate how the environmental orientation of a firm's strategy impacts their environmental performance and resultant financial performance through the firm's Information Technology hiring practices. Specifically, it was hypothesized that firms with a strong relationship between the environmental orientation of their strategy and their green computing hiring practices will achieve higher environmental performance, and, as a result, higher levels of financial performance than firms lacking such fit. The organization's environmental orientation was measured via content analysis of the annual report texts (ARTs). Environmental performance was measured using KLD's award-winning environmental performance metrics. I triangulated across efficiency, effectiveness, and market-based metrics to capture a more holistic measure of the firm's financial performance using data from Compustat/Research Insight. The firm's green computing hiring practices were measured utilizing a web content data mining application that pulled job ads for computing graduates and then extracted the environmentally-oriented skills identified in such ads using content analytic techniques. Various control variables were employed to eliminate possible alternative explanations of my research findings. A number of statistical and analytical techniques were used to assess the nature and strength of the relationships in my theoretical model as are articulated in the proposed hypotheses. The sample size of firms is fairly large, thus increasing the statistical power of the empirical tests. Previous empirical testing of the relationship between environmental strategy and financial performance is still in the developmental stages and has produced mixed results, partly because important intervening mechanisms, such as green computing hiring practices, has not received adequate attention in the empirical literature. The combination of using a large sample of real world firms, a powerful combination of qualitative and quantitative methodological techniques to tap into key trace evidence not available through other methodological techniques, and leveraging an award-winning environmental data set has enhanced the robustness of the empirical findings in addressing this important gap in the literature. The results of the analyses show that there is a strong relationship between an organization's environmental posturing and its environmental performance. Additionally, this effect is mediated by the organization's environmental hiring practices, indicating that implementing the organization's environmental strategy through its hiring practices is important in achieving improved environmental performance. The current research also shows that there is a strong and positive relationship between an organization's environmental performance and financial performance. Surprisingly, these relationships are not significantly impacted by the organization's industry affiliation, which broadens the generalizability of the results of this study.

A rapid change in the market context and a growing concern regarding the environment with initiatives such as Agenda 2030 and Paris Agreement is what organisations are facing today. Further, macro-factors including war, inflation and energy crisis contribute to additional concerns in the market. These conclude with a hard-to-navigate landscape for retail companies. Taking the current trend of increasing returns into consideration, this creates an expectation for organisations to manage the returns with sustainability in mind, both economic and environmental. Therefore, a specific Reverse Logistics system is crucial.To address the identified research gap the purpose of this study is to analyse how companies within the speciality retail sector can have a sustainable and effective Reverse Logistics system and if there are different opportunities in the Swedish market. To address the research question, the study is conducted as a qualitative study with an inductive approach and the interviews were held with relevant managers within the speciality retail sector, with expertise in Reverse Logistics and Sustainability.The data collected from semi-structured interviews were analysed by using thematic analysis and led us to our findings. This resulted in four main themes (1) Sustainability, (2) Reverse Logistics, (3) Motivators for Reverse Logistics and (4) Challenges with Reverse Logistic which were discussed both separately and in correlations with each other in order to arrive at the answer to our research question.The results showed that companies within the speciality retail sector have a Reverse Logistics system implemented but face challenges in how to manage it efficiently and be profitable. Their main challenges were identified as Economic and Resource Demanding, and how to remain environmentally sustainable. In contrast to the challenges, motivators for Reverse Logistics were identified. The major motivators found were Stakeholders, mostly referred to as customers, Economic opportunities and Environmental benefits, and how they can remain profitable. Further, we developed an adjusted version of the theoretical model for how Reverse Logistics could be managed from our empirical findings.Lastly, our findings indicate that the most sustainable option in terms of Economy and Environment is for the organisations to work with the prevention of returns, both with customer awareness and supporting in-store returns. Additionally, a finding shown from the research is that in order to have Economic sustainability, Environmental sustainability needs to be integrated as well as this affects the stakeholders.