<p> Research on carbon emission management is becoming a very important part of the green supply chain landscape as more businesses continue to make it part of their business strategy, amid pressures from customers, competitors and regulatory agencies. To contribute to the body of knowledge in this emerging research stream a series of lot size models that consider both economic and environmental performances are developed for the carbon emission conscious retailer, manufacturer and a combined model of the retailer and manufacturer. As a matter of expediency, the combined retailer-manufacturer model (Banerjee, 1986) is referred to as the system in this dissertation.</p><p> The carbon tax mechanism and carbon cap-and-trade mechanism are the most efficient market-based options used to lower carbon emission in practice. These mechanisms are integrated into the developed lot size models, the results of which could provide the carbon emission conscious retailer, manufacturer and the system with optimal lot size and cost strategies. The findings also shed more light for decision makers and policymakers on the impact of carbon tax and carbon trading regulatory policies on the business strategies of the firm. In addition, this dissertation contributes to the current sparse quantitative literature on carbon emission and green supply chain research.</p>

The research is a critical analysis of the operational aspects of doing environment business with China through cross-cultural networks. In particular the investigation involved establishing an intensively documented, longitudinal profile of a single network. This network comprised Australian Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Chinese players based in the People's Republic of China. This profile covers a period of two decades. The research adopted a broad multi-disciplinary and inductive approach, using action research, case study methods, and systems analysis techniques. An innovative approach used time values as a constant to analyse the relativity of player connections, activities and structural levels in the network. This approach drew its applied orientation from the environmental sciences, and its theoretical base from the social science disciplines of marketing and international business. The specific field of study was the structure and evolutionary dynamics of networks. The outcome of the research is a model Australian SMEs can use for doing environment business with China. This model sets environment business in the context of a wider trading network of Chinese, Australian, South East Asian, and Middle Eastern players. The cornerstone of this model is the corporate role of the academic sector in accessing the Chinese environmental market. The research shows in detail how Australian SMEs can, and do, use cross-cultural academic linkages for trade. Such linkages facilitate market research, negotiation, risk management, product development, and the establishment of distribution channels in Asian markets. The study also demonstrates the importance of using a number of parallel nets of Chinese players to facilitate trade and overcome interruptions or obstacles. The research has contributed to knowledge by establishing an Asia-oriented, empirically derived model that differs substantially from the mono-cultural models in current practice in the Australian environment industry. The intensive investigation of the network of SMEs and Chinese players has identified the entrepreneurial strengths of SMEs in the international marketplace. This finding contrasts with the prevailing view that SMEs must depend on larger players for export success. In addition, the research has established that this kind of network has a clan-like structure. This finding is central to the model. The research demonstrates that a clan-like structure is a flexible framework that is compatible with the independence and capacity of small firms to adapt to change and to make decisions. This characteristic of SMEs enables them to proceed without, and at times in spite of, the encumbrances of large and unwieldy corporate and institutional structures. This finding is directly contrary to the belief prevalent in the Australian environment industry that SMEs depend on larger players to enter international markets. The finding also challenges the established view that Chinese networks are relatively closed systems based on family ties. The research shows that Australian SMEs can become part of these systems either directly or through links, and have many common attributes with their Chinese counterparts. The research has made a key contribution to theory by using these findings to develop an organic network model that differs from the so-called contrived network. This empirically derived theoretical model represents the seven dimensions of cross-cultural collaboration. The four social dimensions are the personal, organisational, sectoral and regional levels of a person-centred network, composed of nets of individuals with extensive linkages to other individuals and to organisations. The three dynamic dimensions are the triadic, the temporal, and the trading levels of interaction between the players. This theoretical model also demonstrates the depth of cross-connection between the nets of individual, and the embeddedness of the network in other networks. The model emphasises the centrality of time as the key connector between the social dimensions of the network and the exchange processes that characterise clan-like interactions. The model also represents the layers of evolutionary development that characterise the exchange processes in the network. These layers include adaptive processes, short-term exchanges, and long-term exchanges, and exchanges that derive from particular arrangements of players and market openings at critical points in time. This model extends concepts that have emerged from the original International Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) Interaction Model, and gives empirical credence to recent philosophical, but untested, views on the relevance of time as a context for interaction.

Background:  Green Marketing faces an upward trend; global well-being becomes more and more important while at the same time the new age of Industry 5.0 is ahead. All those components contribute to increasing environmental business activities.      Purpose:   The purpose of the study is to elaborate under which considerations Green Marketing can be successfully implemented by businesses in respect of the changing environmental processes lead by Industry 5.0 and the associated movement towards environmental and global well-being.    Method:  This study is of qualitative nature and follows an inductive interpretivist approach. The literature review as secondary research data is complemented by primary data conducted through mixed methods of expert interviews and a focus group.   Conclusion:  Likewise, opportunities and challenges within environmental business appear. The developed framework illustrates the interconnection inter alia of green marketing and Industry 5.0 that contribute to a successful execution to reach global well-being. Summarizing a holistic approach towards global well-being is indispensable.

Problem – Companies are increasingly focusing on sustainability issues in response to internal and external pressure. Research on sustainable performance of focal companies is vast; however there is a lack of guidelines for managing sustainability in extended supply chains. Scholars claim a need for additional research on intra- and inter-organizational diffusion of best sustainable practices. Besides, the outcomes of sustainable sourcing practices are still uncertain. The gap between potential benefits of sustainable sourcing and actual performance is attributed to lack of capabilities, instruments, and efficient processes. Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore existing sustainable sourcing practices which are used by leading multinational companies. Based on the obtained knowledge we aim to develop a framework that will suite as a guideline for enforcing sustainable sourcing practices. Method – The research has been conducted through the method of grounded theory, enabling the researchers to constructively interpret data from documentary primary data and semi-structured interviews. This approach was utilized in order to explore what are the most common practices of managing sustainable sourcing applied by the companies awarded as Industry leaders by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Conclusion We found that a commonly accepted approach towards managing and enforcing sustainable sourcing is absent both in theoretical discourse and practice. However, the most frequently mentioned tools and approaches were defined. They include the adoption of suppliers’ code of conduct, establishment of dedicated sustainability departments, procurement personnel training, suppliers’ capability building, risk assessment and categorization of suppliers, IT platforms for information sharing, supplier self-assessment, audit, joint projects with suppliers, meetings and conferences, and suppliers’ scorecards. Finally, we developed a Sustainable Sourcing Enforcement framework which could serve as a guideline to enforce supplier’s commitment to act sustainably. The framework consists of five chronologically connected pillars: Objectives alignment, Commitment creation, Supplier selection, Ongoing development and Work with stakeholders.

Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-07-17T19:31:14Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Carina Zucchetti Lutz.pdf: 2957758 bytes, checksum: 1ae17fa57207af457f6e7b6abf0095a6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-17T19:31:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Carina Zucchetti Lutz.pdf: 2957758 bytes, checksum: 1ae17fa57207af457f6e7b6abf0095a6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-04-10 / FAPERGS - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul / FINEP - Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / TECNOSINOS – Parque Tecnológico São Leopoldo / Ventura Gestão Ambiental / A redução da disponibilidade dos recursos naturais e os impactos ambientais causados pelas atividades humanas trouxeram a necessidade de se fazer adequações nas mesmas. A sustentabilidade, por este motivo, necessita ser cada vez mais incorporada às atividades econômicas. A Ecologia Industrial e os Eco Parques, neste sentido, cumprem a tarefa de tornar as atividades econômicas mais sustentáveis através da aplicação de seus conceitos e ferramentas. Estes conceitos buscam fechar os ciclos produtivos o máximo possível, reduzir o consumo de materiais e energia e reduzir a geração de resíduos, efluentes e emissões. O Parque Tecnológico de São Leopoldo (TECNOSINOS) busca estabelecer diretrizes sobre a área de gestão ambiental de todas as atividades do parque, bem como das empresas que o compõe, criando e expondo todos os requisitos que deverão ser seguidos para implantar e manter o sistema e a política de gestão ambiental. O Eco Parque, um dos temas desse estudo e uma das ferramentas da Ecologia Industrial, pode auxiliar o TECNOSINOS a realizar estas melhorias ambientais e torná-lo mais sustentável. A construção de indicadores ambientais é necessária para avaliar o desempenho ambiental do parque após a implantação deste programa e quais os resultados que foram obtidos. Esta dissertação apresenta um estudo de caso no TECNOSINOS e tem como objetivo construir indicadores ambientais para avaliar o Programa Green Tech Park TECNOSINOS. A metodologia deste estudo compreende a aplicação do checklist do Programa Green Tech Park, e levantamento dos Níveis de Maturidade Ambiental das empresas em dois momentos (2013 e 2014) e avaliação dos ganhos ambientais obtidos durante o período. A seguir foi realizado um levantamento de aspectos e impactos ambientais e uma avaliação ambiental das empresas. Durante o ano de 2014 também foi realizada a aplicação de 10 indicadores ambientais em 15 empresas do TECNOSINOS e foi feita uma análise dos resultados obtidos. Foi identificado que 86% das empresas estão no Nível de Maturidade Ambiental I, 10% no Nível II e 4% no Nível III. Foram sugeridas melhorias para o TECNOSINOS em dois níveis: intrafirma e entrefirmas. Os indicadores ambientais aplicados nas 15 empresas mostraram que é necessário realizar várias ações de gestão ambiental nas empresas do parque para elevar os Níveis de Maturidade Ambiental. Os critérios de desempenho que necessitam ser aprimorados são Gestão, Investimentos, Ações Externas e Parcerias. Os indicadores ambientais utilizados identificaram ganhos importantes em pelo menos 3 empresas onde ações de gestão ambiental foram implementadas. Pode-se concluir que o TECNOSINOS está se consolidando com um Eco Parque do Tipo 3 (Entre firmas instaladas em Polos Industriais) em relação à organização das empresas e do tipo Sistema de Gestão Ambiental Integrado no que se refere ao tipo de trocas realizadas. / The reduced availability of natural resources and the environmental impacts caused by human activities have brought the need to make adjustments in them. Sustainability therefore needs to be increasingly incorporated into economic activities. The Industrial Ecology and Eco Parks, in this sense, fulfill the task of making the most sustainable economic activities by applying its concepts and tools. This concept search close their production cycles as much as possible, reduce the consumption of materials and energy and reduce waste generation and emissions. The Technological Park of São Leopoldo (TECNOSINOS) seeks to establish guidelines on the area of environmental management of all activities in the park, and the companies that comprise it, breeding and showing all the requirements that must be followed to deploy and maintain system and the environmental management policy. The Eco Park, one of the themes of this study and one of the Industrial Ecology tools can assist the TECNOSINOS to perform these environmental improvements and make it more sustainable. The construction of environmental indicators is required to assess the environmental performance of the park after the implementation of this program and what results were obtained. This dissertation presents a case study in TECNOSINOS and aims to build environmental indicators to assess the program Green Tech Park TECNOSINOS. The methodology of this study comprises applying the Green Tech Park Program’s checklist and survey of Environmental Maturity Levels of companies on two occasions (2013 and 2014) and assessment of the environmental gains made during the period. Next, it was conducted a survey of environmental aspects and impacts and an environmental assessment of the companies. During the year of 2014, it was also carried out the implementation of 10 environmental indicators in 15 companies in TECNOSINOS and an analysis of the results was made. It was identified that 86% of companies are in the Environmental Maturity Level I, 10% at Level II and 4% at Level III. Improvements were suggested for TECNOSINOS on two levels: firm level and inter-firm level. Environmental indicators applied in 15 selected companies showed that it is necessary to perform various actions of environmental management at the park's companies to raise the Environmental Maturity Levels. The performance criteria that need to be improved are Management, Investments, External Actions and Partnerships. The environmental indicators used identified important gains in at least 3 companies where environmental management actions have been implemented. It can be concluded that the TECNOSINOS is consolidating with an Eco Park type 3 regarding business organization and also, an Eco Park of Integrated Environmental Management System about the type of performed exchanges.