Problem: Har arbetet för hållbar utveckling inletts och i vilken grad främjas den i kommunikationen mellan lärare och student på Handelshögskolan vid Umeå Universitet? Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att övergripande avbilda hur implementeringen av hållbar utveckling i undervisningen på Handelshögskolan vid Umeå Universitet. För att avbilda studieobjektets verklighet så väl som möjligt kommer vi undersöka ett antal delsyften; om vad som kommunicerats, hur det kommunicerats och hur relevant kommunikationen uppfattas i undervisningen. Detta kommer undersökas genom att titta på lärares uppfattning för att jämföras med hur studenterna uppfattar implementeringen av vår problem formulering. Teori: Teorikapitlet har sin grund från vetenskapliga arbeten och är baserad på tre teorier. En teori handlar om hur man strukturerar arbete för hållbar utveckling i en universitets kontext. Vi har även valt två teorier om kommunikation som huvudsak behandlar hur man förmedlar ett engagemang för hållbar utveckling. Metod: Vi valde att använda oss av den kvantitativa metoden där två enkätundersökningar tillämpades, en för lärare och en för studenterna, för att på detta sätt kunna mäta faktisk implementering av hållbar utveckling i undervisningen. Undersökningarna genomfördes genom direkt besöksutskick då vi ansåg detta vara mest lämpligt eftersom övriga arbetsfokuseringar hos lärarna och studenter kunnat orsaka större bortfall. Detta med bakgrunden av vår urvalsram som var Handelshögskolans lärare och studenter. Resultat: Vi kan i studien se ett samband mellan att belysa hållbar utveckling i undervisningen och en ökad medvetenhet hos studenten relativt än hos dem som inte haft det integrerat i undervisningen. Arbetet för hållbar utveckling på institutionen har inletts men resultatet är långt ifrån tillfredsställande då hållbarhetens tre dimensioner ska vara integrerat på alla nivåer.

Do standardised environmental management systems (EMS) lead to improved environmental performance? This depends on to what extent these systems lead to changes in important flows of material and energy, which for manufacturing companies, in turn, mean that the product development process is important. Consequently, it appears vital to investigate the connection between EMS and ‘Design for the Environment’ (DFE), i.e. the connection between these management systems and concepts that deal with environmental issues in product development. This paper presents product-oriented environmental management systems (POEMS), including characteristics of existing models, experiences from projects where these models have been tested and experiences concerning the product connection in ‘normal’ EMS. It includes a discussion of important factors influencing to what extent DFE activities are integrated into EMS and/or the outcome of such integration. There are many motives for integrating the two concepts. Firstly, DFE thinking might enrich EMS by contributing with a life-cycle perspective. If EMS encompassed products' life cycles to a greater extent, they would be a better complement to the often facility-oriented legal requirements and authority control. Secondly, EMS might remove the pilot project character of DFE activities and lead to continuous improvement. Thirdly, integration could lead to successful co-operation, both internally and externally. However, existing studies show that there is a mixed picture concerning the extent ‘normal’ EMS currently encompass products.

This thesis is mainly directed towards readers with a basic background in Environmental or Quality Management Systems. More increasingly organisations and companies decide to work with Environmental Management Systems (EMS) and the ISO standard has ever been increasing in popularity. The advantages of the ISO standard are the flexibility it offers, the adaptability to a variety of organisations and processes. Most literature on EMS focuses on communication but very few address the issues regarding implementation and translation of the EMS into something functional for the core activities of an organisation. In this qualitative study the author focuses on studying the differences between organisational levels regarding working with and implementing EMS at their various levels. The theoretical frame for the study is that of new-institutionalism. Within this frame is gathered empirical data from interviews with representatives of eight larger companies or organisations, all with multiple organisational levels. Combined these interviews form a solid foundation for the study if intra- and interorganisational EMS-implementations. The conclusion of this research indicates the participating companies translated and implemented the EMS by standardising already existing routines and methods into complementing the EMS. A side-effect of this study which lies outside the actual aim of this thesis is that companies which have built up their EMS starting at ground-level have a better implementation and communication of such EMS. / Det här arbetet fokuserar på läsare med en bakgrund inom miljö- och kvalitetsledningssystem.Allt fler företag bestämmer sig att arbeta med miljöledningssystem (MLS) och detta har lett till att ISO standarden ökat i popularitet, främst på grund av standardens flexibilitet vilket ses i hur enkelt standarden är att anpassa till olika företag och processer. Majoriteten av MLS-litteratur har en fokus på kommunikation men väldigt få handböcker och författare tar upp frågor i samband med den praktiska implementering och översättning av MLS när det gäller anpassa MLS till något fungerande för organisationens kärnverksamhet. Den här kvalitativa studien fokuserar på att analysera de skillnader som finns mellan organisatoriska nivåer när det gäller deras arbete med och implementering av MLS. Studien utfördes inom den teoretiska ram av Nyinstitutionalismen och inom dessa gränser samlades empirin från åtta större företag med olika organisatoriska nivåer. Kombinationen av dessa intervjuer skapar basen för analysen av inter- och intraorganisatoriska MLS-implementeringar. Slutsatsen av den här studien visar att de organisationer som deltog översatte och implementerade deras MLS genom att anpassa pre-existerande rutinerna till att möta standardens krav. En sidoeffekt av den här studien som fanns utanför studiens ursprungliga ram är att organisationer som byggde sitt MLS från grundnivå och uppåt visade sig ha en bättre kommunikation och implementering av deras MLS.

In recent years several municipalities in Sweden and elsewhere have or are implementing environmental management systems (EMS) in parts of their organisation. The most common model to use for Swedish municipalities implementing an EMS is ISO 14001. Today EMS in municipalities is mainly focussing on the administrative aspect of environmental management- the internal environmental work in the municipalities. It is argued that ISO 14001 do not fit a political aspect of environmental management in municipalities but primarily fit and support the administrative perspective. ICLEI (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives) has developed the ecoBUDGET manual as a model for implementing an EMS that specially would fit a political organisation like a municipality. In this context it is interesting to investigate similarities and differences between ecoBUDGET and ISO 14001 as models for EMS. The ambition of the study is to contribute to an understanding of what possibilities and limitations these models can have when working with EMS in a municipality. The overall aim of this study is to analyse and compare the effects of the two different EMSs, ecoBUDGET and ISO 14001, on municipal environmental management. Drawing from earlier research on effects of New Public Management reforms in Swedish municipalities, this study focuses on tree strongly connected dimensions of effects on the municipal environmental management as a consequence of implementing and using an EMS. The dimensions of effects studied are organisational borders, organisational structures and roles. Each of the EMS is studied from a theoretical as well as practical point of view. This means that ISO 14001 and ecoBUDGET are compared to each other, partly from standards texts and handbooks, partly from how they are applied in practise intwo Swedish municipalities, Växjö and Kalmar. Concerning EMS in municipalities according to ISO 14001 and ecoBUDGET as models similarities as well as differences could be found. Both of the models are based on the Deming concept the PDCA-cycle (Plan, Do, Check, Act). There is however no requirements on reducing environmental negative impacts in absolute terms. ISO 14001 and ecoBUDGET however have different focus and also therefore have different effects on municipal environmental management concerning organisational borders, organisational structures and environmental municipal roles.

Submitted by Geyciane Santos (geyciane_thamires@hotmail.com) on 2015-10-27T15:48:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Neuzaí Marreiros Barbosa.pdf: 1447662 bytes, checksum: 064e397a2cc2f3901afbc7989b61e05f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2015-10-27T20:41:15Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Neuzaí Marreiros Barbosa.pdf: 1447662 bytes, checksum: 064e397a2cc2f3901afbc7989b61e05f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2015-10-27T20:43:22Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Neuzaí Marreiros Barbosa.pdf: 1447662 bytes, checksum: 064e397a2cc2f3901afbc7989b61e05f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2015-10-27T20:46:32Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Neuzaí Marreiros Barbosa.pdf: 1447662 bytes, checksum: 064e397a2cc2f3901afbc7989b61e05f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-10-27T20:46:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Neuzaí Marreiros Barbosa.pdf: 1447662 bytes, checksum: 064e397a2cc2f3901afbc7989b61e05f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-05-05 / Não Informada / The attendance of the needs of public administration requires an intensive use of natural resources. Thus, the State has the duty to hire goods and services that promote the environmental protection in order to ensure sustainable development, besides encouraging the rational use of natural resources and influence in the forms of production, through the adoption of criteria required in their hires. In this context, the present study sought to answer the following question: What stage of environmental sustainability in the Federal Justice of Amazonas from the perspective of an environmental management accounting system? Thus, the goal of the studied consisted of analyzing the environmental sustainability in the Federal Justice of Amazonas, through the application of Environmental Management Accounting System - SICOGEA. The methodology classifies itself as a single case study, descriptive, qualitative and quantitative approach. Its theoretical foundation of the research discussed topics such as: Role of the State in relation to the environment; Environmental Agenda in Public Administration - A3P; Environmental Accounting; Brazilian Standards and Technical Accounting - NBC T 15; Environmental Accounting in the Public Sector; Environmental Comptroller; Environmental Management, with emphasis on environmental management systems, including GAIA and the three versions of SICOGEA. And, to analyze environmental sustainability in the organ, we applied the "Research and Measurement " action, belonging to the first phase of the third stage, the SICOGEA - Generation 2. After analyzing the data, it was identified a level General Sustainability of 47,95% which is considered "regular". For this, it was proposed an Environmental Management Plan - 5W2H, which were inserted improvement proposals for the activities that have an performance "Poor" or "Regular", concerning to the subgroups: Hiring, Programs rational use, maintenance, servers and collaborators, Social Environmental Responsibility and Environmental Accounting and Auditing. SICOGEA adaptations were made, directing the application of this method to public agencies . Based on the results, it was concluded that the agency needs to improve the environmental management process, prioritizing the criterias considered deficit in order to achieve an environmentally appropriate standard of sustainability. / O atendimento das necessidades da Administração Pública pressupõe uma intensa utilização dos recursos naturais. Assim, o Estado tem o dever de contratar bens e serviços que promovam a proteção ambiental, a fim de assegurar o desenvolvimento sustentável, além de estimular o uso racional dos recursos naturais e influenciar nas formas de produção, através da adoção de critérios exigidos em suas contratações. Nesse contexto, o presente trabalho buscou responder a seguinte questão: Qual o estágio da sustentabilidade ambiental na Justiça Federal do Amazonas sob a perspectiva de um sistema contábil gerencial ambiental? Sendo assim, o objetivo do estudo consistiu em analisar a sustentabilidade ambiental na Justiça Federal do Amazonas, por meio da aplicação do Sistema Contábil Gerencial Ambiental – SICOGEA. A metodologia enquadra-se como um estudo de caso único, de natureza descritiva, com abordagem qualitativa e quantitativa. Sua fundamentação teórica da pesquisa discutiu temas como: Função do Estado em relação ao meio ambiente; Agenda Ambiental na Administração Pública – A3P; Contabilidade Ambiental; Normas Brasileiras de Contabilidade e Técnica - NBC T 15; Contabilidade Ambiental no Setor Público; Controladoria Ambiental; Gestão Ambiental, com ênfase nos Sistemas de Gestão Ambiental, incluindo o GAIA e as três versões do SICOGEA. E, para analisar a sustentabilidade ambiental no órgão, aplicou-se a ação “Investigação e Mensuração”, pertencente à primeira fase da terceira etapa, do SICOGEA – Geração 2. Após análise dos dados, identificou-se um Grau de Sustentabilidade Geral de 47,95%, considerado “Regular”. Para tanto, propôs-se um Plano de Gestão Ambiental – 5W2H, no qual foram inseridas propostas de melhorias para as atividades que obtiveram um desempenho “Fraco” ou “Regular”, relativas aos subgrupos: Contratação, Programas de uso racional, Manutenção, Servidores e Colaboradores, Responsabilidade Socioambiental e Contabilidade e Auditoria Ambiental. Foram feitas adaptações ao SICOGEA, direcionando a aplicação desse método para órgãos públicos. Com base nos resultados alcançados, concluiu-se que o órgão necessita aprimorar o processo de gestão ambiental, priorizando os critérios considerados deficitários, a fim de atingir um grau de sustentabilidade ambientalmente adequado.

In this study the aim was to investigate and nuance how the Volvo Construction Equipment (VCE) production Hub can evolve their environmental work, at Chinese wheel loader producer Shandong Lingong (SDLG), to reach Volvo standard. The study also aimed to investigate what international companies in China should take into consideration in their environmental work. The work was carried out by answering the following research questions; In which way or ways can the VCE Hub at SDLG evolve their environmental work to reach Volvo standard? What should international companies take into consideration in their environmental work when establishing on the Chinese market, and why? A lot of the information in this Thesis is based on empirical data, i.e. interviews. Three interviews with Swedish companies have been carried out. They are all highly valuing Environmental work but use different methods, their situations are unlike and they produce diverse products. Several interviews with people working with environmental issues in different ways have also been done, as well as with the SGS; a Chinese certification body. Three different companies with production in or around Shanghai were chosen; Volvo CE, SKF, and Sandvik. All three companies are originally Swedish but with production in China. Environmental work is highly prioritized in Sweden and the companies have global environmental policies and goals. The three companies were chosen because they are in different production areas but they are striving in the same direction with environmental issues in China. They are working differently and their situations are of various kinds. In 2006 Volvo CE invested in a Chinese wheel loader producer named Shandong Lingong. Volvo CE has a Hub, at the plant, which runs independently. SDLG are still not ISO 14001 certified and do not have an environmental management system (EMS) that is conformably with the Volvo demands. The most important to take into consideration when doing business in China is according to the study; top management support, to do training for the employees, mediate the importance of awareness, and to have knowledge about Chinese regulations. These are some of the issues International companies have to deal with when doing business in China. A well established EMS is a necessity for a good environmental work. To implement an EMS in the Hub as a pilot project is the best solution according to the information gathered in this thesis. SDLG could be a part-, they can evaluate-, and later it could be possible to implement the process in the whole SDLG. Due to this methodology they will learn how to work according to Volvo requirements and obtain benefits of an implementation. There are three different alternatives for the ISO 14001 certification of the Hub according to this work. For the Hub to be ISO 14001 certified together with another Volvo plant seems to be the best alternative thought it reduces the amount of work with legal authorities. VCE’s EMS will also not be compared with SDLG and it will be moneysaving. The policies and Environmental aspects (EA) though have to be rewritten to be suitable for both the factories.

The first part of this project focused on evaluating aspects of the environmental management practices of Texas chemical industries, particularly waste generation and management of the data related to these processes. The waste generation data included Texas notifications required to track wastes. The next phase consisted of characterizing industrial waste disposal methods, waste container management, and transportation including an overview of required documentation for each activity. This led to identification of issues encountered from inefficient recordkeeping, ineffective internal communication, or inadequate environmental management systems. The result of an ineffective hazardous waste data management program can be fines, damage to the environment, and even adverse impacts on worker health and safety. For example, for the situations outlined in this document, violations could have resulted in penalties totaling $550,000 per day. This led to an effort to evaluate and develop solutions needed to develop a robust management system. The goal was to provide an operating and hazardous waste management program which optimally resulted in “zero findings” by the state regulatory agency. This would be achieved through personal experiences of this environmental engineer while working at a chemical plant augmented by information obtained through observations of others at the facility and a review of published documentation. This document focuses on the redesign and automation of an ineffective, manual environmental management system by making modifications and enhancements with a focus on effective management of various waste media. The criteria used for determining system optimization includes regulatory compliance and noncompliance penalties, internal communication time, onsite storage accumulation time exceedances, recordkeeping efficiency, number of lost waste containers, and time needed to make waste classifications. Optimization is verified against other alternatives by comparing instances and severity of noncompliance with state and federal regulations. The result was a total environmental management system optimized in a way that ensured compliance and achieved the goal of eliminating violations. It also reduced cost, allowed automated data entry, supported rapid asset location and helped track performance.

Contemporary research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) highlights its disputed effect on firm profitability and the determinants of environmental disclosure. Largely missing from these accounts is a critical look at stakeholders — particularly agents in the public, market, and voluntary sectors — and how they influence corporate investment in environmental management systems (EMS). This study explores CSR trends in Taiwan’s private-sector steel industry, focusing on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with electric arc furnaces and contrasting them with the nation’s flagship industry conglomerate, China Steel. The research suggests that without a crisis of legitimacy or significant stakeholder pressure — particularly government pressure and pressure to retain ISO 14000 certification — SMEs see little incentive (and high costs) to build an effective EMS. Also, contextual factors in Taiwan pose both problems and opportunities for sustainable initiatives. Specifically, environmental laws are modern and strict, but administrative capacity to implement laws is not uniform island-wide. Also, activists and localized self-help groups pay less attention to SME steel firms and spend more effort over controversial industries like nuclear power, high-tech manufacturers and petrochemical companies. Still, government and cross-sector alliances sometimes take an active role in subsidizing EMS and promoting research and development. Using a mixed methods approach within the critical field of political ecology, the research concludes that economic concerns drive SME steel firm behavior, with changes in the scale of EMS development coming into play only in favorable cost-benefit scenarios and typically with substantial pressure emanating from the private and public sectors.

Bakgrund: För att underlätta organisationers ansvarstagande gällande miljöpåverkan har standarder införts med syfte att ge stöd i utformning av miljöledningssystem. Ett vida använt verktyg är ISO 14001 vilken framhåller ständiga förbättringar i förhållande till den enskilda organisationens satta miljömål. På grund av standardens generella utformning är det upp till den enskilda organisationen att implementera denna på ett sätt som bäst passar verksamheten. Forskning pekar på att ISO 14001 innehar en ledande roll då det kommer till tillverkande företags miljöengagemang. Dock påvisar forskare att standarden inte är tillräcklig när det kommer till kommersiella produkters miljöpåverkan, men att företag som varit ISO 14001-certifierade en längre tid ändå i stor utsträckning arbetar systematiskt med denna aspekt. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur miljöhänsyn utformas och implementeras i ISO 14001-certifierade företags produktutveckling då man utifrån tidigare forskning kan anta att detta innebär organisationsspecifika varianter. Metod: För att uppfylla studiens syfte har fallstudier i fyra svenska företag genomförts. Dessa företag har representerats av personer vilka besitter ansvar gällande miljöaspekter i produktutvecklingsprocessen. Vidare har studien baserats på sekundärkällor. Teori: Den teoretiska referensramen består av forskning kring miljöledningssystem, ISO 14001 och design med miljöhänsyn samt Røviks översättningsteori. Slutsats: Studien visar på att företag har utvecklade system kring tillämpning av miljöhänsyn i produktutveckling. Dessa stammar från rutiner härledda från de miljömål som formulerats enligt ISO 14001. Vidare engageras personal som arbetar i anslutning till produktutveckling genom utbildningar i miljöfrågor och det enskilda företagets miljöpåverkan. / Background: To facilitate environmental responsibility among organisations, standards with the purpose to provide support in the implementation of environmental management systems have been introduced. A widely used tool is the ISO 14001-standard which highlights continual improvements in relation to the environmental goals of the specific organisation. Due to the generic design of the standard it is up to the organisation to implement it in a way that is most appropriate. Research shows that ISO 14001 makes a difference when it comes to the engagement for the environment of producing companies. However, scholars stress that the standard is not sufficient regarding commercial products, but also highlights findings which suggest that companies that have been ISO 14001-certified during a longer period of time in a greater extent have conducted systems that manage these aspects. Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate how environmental responsibility is designed and implemented in the product development of ISO 14001-certified companies since one due to previous research can assume that this implies individual variances of the specific organization. Method: Case studies of four Swedish companies have been conducted in order to fulfill the aim of the study. These companies have been represented by individuals that possess positions concerning environmental aspects in the product development process. Additionally the study has been based on secondary sources. Theories: Research regarding environmental management systems, ISO 14001 and eco-design together with translation theory according to Røvik. Conclusion: The study shows that companies have developed systems regarding implementation of environmental aspects in their product development. These aspects derive from routines based on environmental goals formulated according to ISO 14001. Further, employees connected to the product development are educated in environmental aspects and the environmental impact of the individual company which accordingly affects the product development processes.

Un défi important pour la gestion participative est de gérer des ressources renouvelables et la biodiversité. Dans le cadre de l'aide la la décision pour la gestion participative des territoires protégés, nous proposons dans cette thèse un agent expert qui fournit des informations sur la viabilité des solutions envisagées pour aider les joueurs à prendre une décision. C'est une nouvelle application de la théorie de la viabilité qui propose des concepts et méthodes pour contrôler un système dynamique afin de le maintenir dans un ensemble de contraintes de viabilité. Tout d'abord, nous avons étudié en quoi la théorie de la viabilité est particulièrement adaptée la la problématique de la gestion durable. L'analyse de viabilité prend en compte à la fois les comportements asymptotiques et transitoires qui doivent tous deux être considérés dans le cadre de la gestion de systèmes environnementaux. C'est l'intérêt de cette étude qui motive l'introduction d'un agent "viabilité" dans le cadre d'aide à la gestion participative. Nous décrivons ensuite un algorithme d'approximation du noyau de viabilité qui se concentre sur la réduction du temps de calcul. Cet algorithme utilise une procédure de classification du type "plus proche voisin", qui satisfait les conditions nécessaires pour garantir la convergence asymptotique de l'approximation. Nous comparons les résultats obtenus pour des problèmes de viabilité pour lesquels les noyaux théoriques ont été calculés. La fidélité de cet algorithme est toujours supérieure à 90 %. Le temps de calcul, relativement rapide, est très intéressant dans l'objectif d'intégrer ces calculs de noyaux dans des outils d'aide à la décision. Nous développons également un support logiciel qui est facile à utiliser par les joueurs pour les aider à analyser le problème de viabilité. Les joueurs définissent leur problème de viabilité grâce à une influence interface graphique utilisateur, puis lancent les simulations. Le logiciel permet aussi de visualiser les noyaux de viabilité et d'observer les trajectoires en 2D et 3D. Enfin nous étudions un agent expert viabilité dans un jeu de SimParc pour observer ses influences. Nous présentons des résultats fournis par l'agent expert viabilité en utilisant un modèle abstrait qui est axé sur la biodiversité. Puis nous présentons une expérimentation avec et sans agent expert viabilité. / An important challenge for participatory management is to manage renewable resources and biodiversity. In the framework of the decision support for participatory management of protected areas, we propose in this thesis an expert agent who provides information on the viability of the proposed solutions to help players to make a decision. This is a new application of the viability theory that provides concepts and methods for controlling a dynamic system in order to maintain the system in a set of viability constraints. Firstly, we study how the viability theory is particularly adapted to the problem of sustainable management. Sustainability analysis takes into account both the asymptotical dynamics and transient behaviors that have both to be considered in the context of environmental management systems. This study motivates the introduction of agent "viability" in the context of support participatory management. Then, we describe an algorithm of approximation of the viability kernel, which focuses on the reduction of computing time. This algorithm uses the "nearest neighbors" as a classification method, which satisfies the conditions guaranteeing the asymptotic convergence of the approximation. We compare the results obtained in cases where the theoretic viability kernel could be calculated. The accuracy of this algorithm is always higher than 90 percent. The computing time is relatively short, which is very interesting in the aim of integrating these calculations of viability kernel in tools of decision support. We also develop a software that is easy to use by players to help analyze the problem of sustainability. Players define their sustainability problem through a graphical user interface and launch simulations. The software also allows users to visualize the viability kernels and to observe the trajectories in 2D and 3D. Finally we study a viability expert agent in a game SimParc to observe these influences. We present the results provided by the viability expert agent using an abstract model which focuses on biodiversity. Then we present an experiment with and without viability expert agent.