Children across the globe today are continuously being exposed to and affected by various kinds of real-world complexities and challenges; however, research on their knowledge and practices in terms of sustainability is limited, in particular with regards to how preschool- and home-related factors are associated with their learning for sustainability. Since 1998, different types of eco-certification have been awarded by the Swedish National Agency for Education and Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation to promote education for sustainability (EfS) in all areas of education and learning. Despite certificates having been granted in Sweden since 1998, no studies have been conducted at the national level to investigate whether eco-certification has any role to play in children’s learning for environmental and sustainability issues. This knowledge is important to develop pedagogical activities to engage young children meaningfully in learning for sustainability at preschool. This study was undertaken so as to address this research gap in a Swedish context. The overall aim of this study was to enhance the existing knowledge about preschool children’s learning for sustainability in Sweden. The objectives of this study have been to investigate and compare the knowledge and self-reported practices of sustainability among children attending eco-certified and non-eco-certified preschools, respectively, and to explore the extent to which preschool- and home-related factors are associated with children’s knowledge and practices of sustainability. Further, this study explored children’s perceived sources of such knowledge. The term ‘knowledge’ in this text refers to the descriptions of children’s ideas and thoughts. Similarly, eco-certified preschool refers to a school that work explicitly with EfS. The study was designed from a "child’s perspective": this means that it was designed by adults to understand children’s perceptions and actions. Bandura’s (1977) social learning theory and Bruner’s (1961) iconic (image-based) modes of representation were applied in various stages of the study. A conceptual framework was developed within the three-interlocking-circles model of sustainability that illustrates how environmental, social and economic dimensions are interconnected. The concept of sustainability was operationalized in four themes: economic equality, resource sharing, recycling and transport use. With the use of illustrations and semi-structured questions, final-year preschool children (n=53), aged five to six years, and the directors (n=7) at six eco-certified and six non-eco-certified preschools were interviewed, while guardians (n=89) and teachers (n=74) filled out questionnaires. Qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed using content analysis and Orthogonal Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA), respectively. The quality and complexity of children’s responses were assessed and classified using the SOLO Taxonomy (Biggs & Collis, 1982). The results showed that by the time the children completed preschool, many had acquired some knowledge about how to use money, about the sorting of different recyclable items at home and at preschool, and about the impact of different modes of transport on the environment and people’s lives. They also had ideas about the lives of other children in the world and what it can mean to share resources with other people. There was a positive relationship between children’s declarative (understanding) and functional (practice) knowledge of sustainability issues and the involvement of teachers and guardians in sustainability-related discussions and activities. No statistically significant differences between eco-certified and non-eco-certified preschools in terms of children’s declarative and functional knowledge were found. Parents were reported to be the main sources of children’s knowledge along with the children themselves, teachers and media. The findings offer support for integrating environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainability into the daily pedagogical activities of preschools and for giving children opportunities to participate in discussions and practical activities that concern their lives. Further studies are needed to investigate the extent to which different educational activities contribute to developing children’s understanding and behavior when it comes to a sustainable society. / Bakgrund och syfte Dagens barn växer upp i en tid med många konflikter, klimatförändringar, naturkatastrofer, sinande naturresurser, fattigdom och globala hälsohot. Barn är offer eller potentiella offer för dessa omständigheter och de kommer i framtiden att påverkas av dem både fysiskt och socialt. De förhållanden som nämns här kan kopplas samman med frågor om hållbar utveckling. I rapporten Vår gemensamma framtid (Brundtland & Hägerhäll, 1988) definieras hållbar utveckling som ’en utveckling som tillfredsställer dagens behov utan att äventyra kommande generationers möjligheter att tillfredsställa sina behov.’ Hållbar utveckling är ett komplext och omfattande begrepp som innefattar miljömässiga, sociala och ekonomiska dimensioner. Forskare betonar vikten av att integrera lärande för hållbarhet i förskolans verksamhet (Davis, 2015; Pramling Samuelsson, 2011; Siraj-Blatchford, 2009). Studier visar att familjen och förskolan spelar en viktig roll i yngre barns utveckling av beteende och attityder (Musser & Diamond, 1999; Sigel, Stinson, & Flaugher, 1991; Sylva et al., 2004). Trots detta är forskning om föräldrars och lärares påverkan på utvecklingen av barns förståelse av och praktiserande för hållbarhet mycket begränsad. Sådan forskning är viktig för att kunna utveckla lämpliga strategier för undervisning om hållbarhetsfrågor i förskolan och för att säkerställa en hög kvalitet i utbildningen av de yngsta. Enligt den svenska läroplanen för förskolan (Skolverket, 2011) skall alla förkolor sträva efter att varje barn utvecklar respekt för alla former av liv och att de utvecklar en vilja att visa omsorg om närmiljön. För att främja hållbarhet i svensk utbildning delar Skolverket ut utmärkelsen ”Skola för hållbar utveckling” till förskolor som arbetar systematiskt med lärande för hållbar utveckling (Skolverket, 2014). Förskolor kan också certifieras med "Grön Flagg” av Håll Sverige Rent, som är en del av ett program för miljöskolor inom Foundation for Environmental Education’s (FEE) (Håll Sverige Rent, 2016). Eftersom den här typen av certifierade förskolor uttryckligen arbetar med hållbar utveckling skulle man kunna förvänta sig att arbetet också påverkar barns kunskaper och beteenden vad gäller hållbarhet. Trots att certifikat har beviljats i Sverige sedan 1998 har inga studier genomförts för att undersöka om ekocertifiering spelar någon roll för barns lärande om miljö- och hållbarhetsfrågor. Av de få tidigare studier som undersöker denna fråga har ingen fokus på förskolan. Med tanke på att hållbar utveckling också lyfts fram i den svenska läroplanen för förskolan är frågan särskilt angelägen. Det övergripande syftet med denna studie har varit att öka kunskapen om förskolebarns lärande för hållbarhet i Sverige. Studien har undersökt förskolebarns egenrapporterade kunskaper och praktiska färdigheter vad gäller miljömässiga, sociala och ekonomiska aspekter av hållbar utveckling. Studien har också undersökt samband mellan förskole- och hemrelaterade faktorer och barns kunskaper och praktiska färdigheter vad gäller hållbarhet. Bland annat har relationen till ekocertifiering studerats samt vilka källor till den egna kunskapen barnen uppger. Denna studie definierar inte termen "kunskap"; snarare används termen för att beskriva barns egenrapporterade kunskap genom verbala svar och praktiska handlingar. Begreppet "kunskap" i denna text ska förstås som barnens egna beskrivningar av sina föreställningar och tankar. Egenrapporterade handlingar avser barns egna beskrivningar av vad de gör och hur de utför olika aktiviteter på förskolan, i hemmet eller när de är med vänner och ska hållas isär från observationer av barns agerande. I denna studie kategoriseras förskolor som har fått utmärkelsen Skola för hållbar utveckling eller har Grön flagg-certfikat som ekocertifierade förskolor. Metoder Studiens syn på hållbar utveckling utgår från miljömässiga, sociala och ekonomiska dimensioner. Dessa tre överlappande dimensioner har operationaliserats genom fyra teman: ekonomisk jämlikhet, dela med sig, återvinning och transportanvändning. Banduras (1977) sociala inlärningsteori och Bruners (1961) kognitiva utvecklingsteori, i synnerhet det bildbaserade sättet att förstå omvärlden, användes i olika steg i studien. Både kvalitativa och kvantitativa data samlades in under perioden februari till september 2015. Data samlades in från tolv olika förskolor varav sex var ekocertifierade. Förskolorna fanns i sex kommuner i två län i Sverige. Data om förskolebarnens kunskaper om och praktiska färdigheter vad gäller hållbar utveckling samlades in genom intervjuer och observationer av 53 barn som gick sitt sista år på förskola. Vidare besvarade 74 förskolepedagoger och 89 vårdnadshavare enkäter, och sju förskolechefer som var ansvariga för de inkluderade förskolorna intervjuades. Den regionala etikprövningsnämnden i Umeå hade inte några invändningar mot studiens upplägg som följde Vetenskapsrådets etiska riktlinjer. Data samlades in efter informerat samtycke från förskolechefer, deltagande pedagoger samt deltagande barn och deras föräldrar. Resultat och slutsatser Resultaten visar att många barn i förskolans sista år hade förvärvat viss kunskap om hur man använder pengar, om sortering av olika återvinningsartiklar hemma och i förskolan och om påverkan av olika transportsätt på miljön samt om människors hälsa och välfärd. De hade också viss uppfattning om hur livet ser ut för andra barn i världen och vad det kan innebära att dela med sig av resurser till andra människor. Det fanns ett positivt samband mellan barns deklarativa kunskaper (förståelse) och funktionella kunskaper (praktik) om hållbarhetsfrågor, samt lärarnas och vårdnadshavarnas deltagande i hållbarhetsrelaterade diskussioner och aktiviteter. Inga statistiskt signifikanta skillnader kunde påvisas mellan ekocertifierade och icke-ekocertifierade förskolor i form av barns deklarativa och funktionella kunskaper. Föräldrar rapporterades vara de viktigaste källorna till barnens kunskap tillsammans med lärare och TV. Flera barn uppgav också att deras kunskap kom från dem själva. Resultaten ger stöd för att integrera miljömässiga, sociala och ekonomiska dimensioner av hållbar utveckling i förskolans dagliga pedagogiska verksamhet. I studien framträdde betydelsen av att barn ges möjlighet att delta inte bara i diskussioner utan också i praktiska aktiviteter som berör deras liv för vilken kunskap de utvecklar om hållbarhetsfrågor. Ytterligare studier behövs för att undersöka i vilken utsträckning olika utbildningsaktiviteter bidrar till att utveckla barns förståelse och beteende när det gäller ett hållbart samhälle samt hur man kan engagera dem på ett meningsfullt sätt i deras lärande för hållbarhet.

Masters of Art / A child friendly city (CFC) is the embodiment of the rights of the child manifested in the policies, programs, and laws of a city. A critical aspect in the creation of a CFC is the consideration of the natural environment (NE). Premised upon a child participatory perspective, this study explored the manner in which adolescents perceive and attach meaning to the NE, as there is limited research concerning this. The primary aim of the study was to investigate children’s perceptions of the NE, and within this process to elucidate the meanings that children attach to environmental issues, and how these meanings contribute toward the creation of CFC’s. This study employed the broad epistemological position of social constructionism, and the theoretical framework of the Person-environment (P-E) fit theory. Methodologically, a qualitative research design was adopted, employing focus group interviews as the method of data collection. The study was conducted in an impoverished community on the Cape Flats in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Four focus group interviews were conducted with two groups of 8 children between the ages of 13 and 14 in grade 9. Thematic Analysis was utilised to analyse and interpret the findings. The findings indicate that the participants perceive the NE through the lens of safety as natural areas in the community are characterised by crime, violence, pollution, and a haven for gangsters. The participants’ worldviews appear to be permeated with this milieu of danger which is pervasive in their community. Although the participants express the need to engage in the NE, their mobility is greatly restricted due to their own, parental, or guardians fears of threat. There is evidently incongruence between the participants’ expectations for the NE, and the reality of the unsafe nature of the NE. The participants thus fall outside the prevailing categories of the social and cultural construction of childhood, as they undergo an immense burden of adversity and suffering which breaches what childhood is supposed to signify.Along with many children in South Africa, the participants are exposed to an escalating level of crime and community violence which has a negative impact upon their sense of wellbeing,their ability to negotiate their mobility and to freely explore NE’s, and engage in childled initiatives to counteract impending safety and security concerns within their communities.It was also found that the participants consider the natural world as crucial in the creation of a CFC. Ultimately, the participants revealed that their community is not child friendly, and thereby suggest the requirement for a child and environmentally friendly city. The participants therefore proposed that environmental education (EE) be incorporated into the school curriculum to instil a greater awareness of environmental issues among their peers.

Syftet med denna kvalitativa rapport är att undersöka konsumenters förståelse, trovärdighet och attityd gentemot modeföretags gröna marknadsföring på Instagram. Utifrån det har vi förhoppningar om att våra resultat skall kunna bidra med insikter och kunskap om hur modeföretag kan legitimera sig på Instagram för att öka sin tillförlitlighet från ett konsumentperspektiv. Rapportens empiriska material samlades in genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Respondenterna delades in i två kategorier: respondenter med textil kännedom samt respondenter utan textil kännedom. Indelningarna gjordes av anledning att erhålla åsikter och tankar från två olika perspektiv. Sammanlagt utfördes 16 intervjuer som gav oss nödvändig data för vidare analys. Datan analyserades utifrån en analysmodell som utgick från vårt teoretiska ramverk. De aktuella modeföretagen i rapporten var slow fashion företaget FilippaK och fast fashion företaget Gina Tricot. Resultaten från rapporten påvisar att respondenternas trovärdighet samt attityd gentemot modeföretag stärks om den gröna marknadsföringen är tydlig och lättförståelig. Håller den gröna marknadsföringen en allmän grundnivå indikerar det på att fler individer förstår innebörden och inte endast de med bakgrundskunskap inom textil- och modeindustrin. Modeföretag bör således ta i beaktning hur det gröna språket i marknadsföringen kan bli mer tydligt och lättförståeligt för att öka trovärdigheten samt attityden från konsumenter. / The purpose of this qualitative report is to examine consumers' understanding, credibility and attitude towards fashion companies green marketing on Instagram. Based on this, we hope that our results will contribute with insights and knowledge about how fashion companies can legitimize themselves on Instagram to increase their reliability from a consumer perspective. The empirical material of the report was collected through semi-structured interviews. The respondents were divided into two categories: respondents with textile knowledge and respondents without textile knowledge. The divisions were made in order to obtain opinions and thoughts from two different perspectives. A total of 16 interviews were conducted which gave us the necessary data for further analysis. The data were analyzed from an analysis model based on our theoretical framework. The current fashion companies in the report were the slow fashion company Filippa K and the fast fashion company Gina Tricot. The results from the report show that the respondents credibility and attitude towards the companies is strengthened if the green marketing is clear and easy to understand. If green marketing maintains a general basic level, it indicates that more individuals understand the meaning and not only those with background knowledge in the textile and fashion industry. Fashion companies should therefore take into account how the green language in marketing can become clearer and easier to understand in order to increase the credibility and attitude of consumers.

Multi-Layered Predictors of ESE Policy Adoption: A growing number of K-12 public school districts in the United States have begun to embrace the whole-school approach to environmental and sustainability education through the implementation of simultaneous efforts to green their facilities and provide related educational programming. This article explores the breadth of this critical approach in the 200 largest school districts in the country. In examining policy predictors at the district, municipal, and state levels, the study combines National Center for Education Statistics data and information from a systematic web scan of school district and municipal websites. Using logistic regression, the analysis reveals four main findings. First, school districts under mayoral control are more likely to have a policy. Second, the study underscores the interconnectedness of these policies with the sustainability efforts of the municipalities they are located in. Third, school districts located in large cities are more likely to have a policy. Fourth, support from state educational agencies plays a role in advancing a policy. The Case of New York City Public Schools: Within an educational system increasingly focused on test-based accountability, how can a local education authority adopt a holistic environmental and sustainability education (ESE) policy? What local and global factors and actors shape and inform the creation of such a policy? In answering these questions, this article examines the formulation of ESE policy in the New York City Department of Education. Based on an analysis of archival documents and 20 expert interviews, the study draws on the Advocacy Coalition Framework and extends its application by adding global and social movement perspectives. In doing so this study finds that external events enabled the initial enactment of the policy in 2009, while the practice and local pilots of ESE programs substantially informed the reformulation of the policy in 2012. Taking the Expected Path vs. Forging Their Own: ESE Policies at DPS and PWCS: How do similar environmental and sustainability education policies unfold in fundamentally distinct locations? This article compares and contrasts environmental and sustainability education policies in two school districts: Denver Public Schools and Prince William County Public Schools. Although the districts are similar in size and education governance (elected school board), the locale of the school district, public opinion, local sustainability efforts, and the support at the state level for environmental and sustainability education are quite different. Grounded in an extended Advocacy Coalition Framework, the study contextualizes the different global, state and local factors and explores the agency of actors that shape policy change over time. The research finds that the policy at Denver Public Schools is following an expected path influenced by external factors such as the city’s sustainability plan, public opinion, and state support in the form of an Environmental Literacy Plan. In contrast, gubernatorial influence, and joint action of the sustainability team, parents and students forged a pathway to an unexpected policy at Prince William County Public Schools. The study strengthens empirical research of subnational environmental and sustainability policies and shows how different pathways are possible.

La presente investigación tiene como principal objetivo el de realizar un análisis de la aplicación de los criterios de sostenibilidad ambiental y su relación con la satisfacción de los clientes de servicios hoteleros, por consiguiente, este estudio integrará estas dos variables para que se pueda contar con un estudio completo del tema que integre el conocimiento existente. El método utilizado fue el de revisión de literatura con enfoque integrador, se realizó una búsqueda y análisis de literatura académica tanto el idioma inglés como español, como artículos científicos, libros y tesis, con la finalidad de tener diferentes argumentos y puntos de vista sobre las variables de estudio. Además, todas las fuentes incluidas son preferentemente de los últimos cinco años entre el 2015 al 2021.En los últimos años, dentro del sector hotelero cada vez es más importante generar diferenciación frente a la competencia, por lo que la sostenibilidad se ha convertido en un punto clave para tener una mejor reputación, no sólo en términos sociales sino también económicos y ambientales. Se puede establecer que la satisfacción por parte de los clientes de servicios hoteleros, se ve impactada de manera positiva por la aplicación de criterios de sostenibilidad y, además, cada día más hoteles los están implementado; sin embargo, aún existe una brecha entre la teoría y la práctica. / The main objective of this research is to carry out an analysis of the application of environmental sustainability criteria and its relationship with the satisfaction of hotel service customers, therefore, this study will combine these two variables so that it can be exposed to a complete study of the subject that integrates existing knowledge.The method used was the literature review with an integrative approach, the search and analysis of academic literature was carried out in both the English and Spanish languages, as well as scientific articles, books and theses, in order to have different arguments and points of view on the study of these variables. In addition, all sources included are preferably from the last five years between 2015 to 2021. In recent years, within the hotel sector it is increasingly important to create a differentiation from the competition, so sustainability has become a key point to have a better reputation, not only in social terms but also in economic and environmental terms. It can be established that the satisfaction of hotel service clients is positively impacted by the application of sustainability criteria and also, more and more hotels are implementing them; however, there is still a gap between theory and practice. / Trabajo de investigación

The planet’s biodiversity is in a worrying state. Palm oil production significantly contributes to biodiversity loss in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia. Unfortunately, the different forms of public and private regulation in place have had limited success in regulating the sector and protecting the environment. Three of the biggest palm oil traders – Cargill, Musim Mas, and Wilmar International – were chosen as subjects of an embedded case study to answer whether their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts have the potential to drive transformation in the palm oil sector towards more environmental sustainability.  This thesis contributes to the debate around the role of business actors in Global Governance and their ability to tackle social and environmental problems caused by their business models with CSR. The thesis engages deductively with capitalism-critical theories on CSR. Carol Bacchi’s “What’s the Problem Represented to be?” (WPR) approach will guide a discourse analysis of the 2019 sustainability reports of the three companies regarding their efforts to improve sustainability in the palm oil sector. A comparison with research articles and NGO reports reaches the conclusion that the measures taken by Cargill, Musim Mas, and Wilmar are not enough to improve sustainability sufficiently.

El cacao es uno de los productos agrícolas más importantes a nivel mundial y el Perú es uno de los principales países originarios del cultivo, posee el 60% de las variedades de cacao del mundo, según Sierra Exportadora (2021). En los últimos años, el país se ha mantenido en el puesto ocho de las exportaciones mundiales de cacao y su principal mercado ha sido la Unión Europea, según Sunat (2021) La presente investigación tiene como objetivo analizar si existe una relación entre la certificación UTZ y el desempeño exportador de las empresas peruanas del sector cacao en el periodo 2018 – 2020. Para ello, se ha considerado como dimensiones de la variable “Certificación UTZ” a las (i) Mejores prácticas agrícolas, (ii) condiciones de trabajo y (iii) cuidado del medio ambiente y en la segunda variable “Desempeño Exportador”, se optó por incluir a la (i) Intensidad de exportaciones, (ii) crecimiento de las ventas de exportación y (iii) volumen de ventas de exportación. En la investigación se empleó un enfoque mixto, con un tipo de diseño descriptivo-correlacional. Se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas a 11 expertos y se elaboró una encuesta validada por 3 expertos del sector y resuelta por 27 agentes de interés que representan el 74% de la población de la investigación, estas se procesaron en el programa SPSS bajo el análisis correlacional de Rho Spearman. Con ello, se validó que la certificación UTZ si se relaciona con el desempeño exportador de las empresas cacaoteras en el periodo 2018-2020. / Cocoa is one of the most important agricultural products worldwide and Peru is one of the main countries of origin of the crop, possessing 60% of the world's cocoa varieties, according to Sierra Exportadora (2021). In recent years, the country has remained in eighth place in world cocoa exports and its main market has been the European Union, according to Sunat (2021). The present research aims to analyze whether there is a relationship between UTZ certification and the export performance of Peruvian companies in the cocoa sector in the period 2018 - 2020. For this purpose, the dimensions of the variable "UTZ Certification" have been considered as (i) Best agricultural practices, (ii) working conditions and (iii) care for the environment and in the second variable "Export Performance", it was chosen to include (i) Export Intensity, (ii) export sales growth and (iii) export sales volume. The research used a mixed approach, with a descriptive-correlational design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 experts and a survey was prepared and validated by 3 industry experts and answered by 27 agents of interest representing 74% of the research population; these were processed in the SPSS program under the Rho Spearman correlational analysis. With this, it was validated that UTZ certification does relate to the export performance of cocoa companies in the period 2018-2020. / Tesis

La industria de envases de cartón ha ganado protagonismo durante los últimos años, pues el mercado opta por envases ecofriendly y el cartón es considerado como una alternativa. Esta industria se viene fortaleciendo mediante certificaciones que acrediten que se mantiene un proceso responsable en la obtención de materia, por lo cual, una alternativa ha sido la certificación Forest Stewardship Council bajo el estándar de cadena de custodia que no solo acredita que es respetuoso; sino que brinda beneficios en el ámbito económico, ambiental y social en la cadena de suministro. En función a ello, el objetivo de la presente investigación es conocer la percepción de los beneficios de la certificación Forest Stewardship Council en la cadena de suministros de las empresas peruanas de envases de cartón, durante el periodo de 2017-2020. Por ello, se realizó una investigación con enfoque cualitativo con teoría fundamentada. Por lo cual, se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas a diez profesionales que se desarrollan dentro del sector de envases de cartón, pertenecientes a empresas e instituciones más importantes en el Perú, dentro de su rubro comercial. Como resultado de la investigación se validó que a raíz de la implementación del certificado Forest Stewardship Council bajo el estándar de cadena de custodia se perciben beneficios positivos en el lado ambiental, social y económico como contribución a la cadena de suministros de empresas peruanas de envase de cartón, durante el periodo 2017-2020, como un mejor posicionamiento de la empresa, percepción de confianza, fortalecimiento de la imagen empresarial en el ámbito social y ambiental. Sin embargo, se obtuvo como hallazgos la dificultad de certificación y rol del Estado que impide que el sector de envase de cartón siga desarrollándose, teniendo un impacto en los ingresos del sector. Con referencia a ello, se realizarán las recomendaciones pertinentes a los actores involucrados; así también a los futuros investigadores. / The paperboard packaging industry has gained prominence in recent years, as the market opts for eco-friendly packaging and paperboard is considered an alternative. This industry has been strengthened through certifications that certify that a responsible process is maintained in the procurement of material, for which an alternative has been the Forest Stewardship Council certification under the chain of custody standard that not only certifies that it is respectful, but also provides benefits in the economic, environmental, and social areas in the supply chain. Based on this, the objective of this research is to know the perception of the benefits of Forest Stewardship Council certification in the supply chain of Peruvian carton packaging companies, during the period of 2017 -2020. Therefore, a research with a qualitative approach with grounded theory was conducted. Therefore, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten professionals who work in the cardboard packaging sector, belonging to the most important companies and institutions in Peru, within their business field. / Tesis

Growing number of SME restaurant and unsustainable food consumption creates a paradoxicaltension in the society from “Environmental sustainability” perspective. This paradoxicaltension requires every organizations to reduce their ecological footprint through minimizingits environmental effects. In Sweden, KRAV, a non-profit organization that sets organicagriculture standards, oversees certification for a variety of industry members, includingrestaurants. Previous research has focused on only CSR issues and only large multinationalfood chains rather than SMEs. While SME restaurants are less powerful on their own but theircollective impact on the environment and society is tremendous. Guided by qualitative data inthe form of semi-structured interviews were collected from SME sushi restaurant owners inUmea, Sweden. Firstly author has identified the motives of owners toward “environmentalsustainability” such as packaging, waste management, procurement, and environmentalcertification. Environmental certification has further classified into two motives one is basedon morality and another one is based on profitability & morality. Secondly, author furtherdiscussed the environmental certification that is based on both morality & profitability into twodimension such as “profitability” & “Legitimacy”. Thirdly, author represent the role of greenmarketing to achieve these two dimensions along with its benefits and challenges. Benefits andchallenges were discussed based on both “environmental certification (KRAV) and “Greenmarketing” perspective. Benefits such as “New customer segment”, “Brand loyalty”,“Competitive advantage” and “higher profitability” in the long run have been identified.Moreover, “Lack of awareness”, “attitude- behavior gap”, “inadequate use of technology”,“costly”, “SME restaurant type”, “unavailability”, “strict rules and restriction” and“insufficient financial investment” have been found as a major barriers or challenges to achieveKRAV certificate (environmental certification) and overall “Environmental sustainability”.With the help of a comprehensive literature review, the motivations and challenges of theseparticipants were identified and explored using a conceptual framework based on“Environmental sustainability” and “Green marketing”.

Thesis (M.COM. (Accounting)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / This study examines the effect of board characteristics on environmental and social sustainability performance. Companies‟ sustainability performance is affected by many factors such as board composition of companies, lack of knowledge, policies and resources of companies, competition from other companies and market trends. The King IV Code of Corporate Governance recommends that the governing body should comprise a balance of diversity being race and gender and independence. Moreover, the Code states that the board of directors of companies should have a balance of both independent members and non-independent members who should act in the best interest of the companies. The study used a quantitative approach, and secondary data from Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), Socially Responsible Index (SRI) listed banking and retail companies for 11 years from 2007-2017. The study tests the relationship between board characteristics (the number of females on board of directors); firm size (market capitalisation); board independence; and environmental (energy usage) and social (skills development expenditure) sustainability of JSE SRI listed firms. Results show that there is a negative and insignificant relationship between females on board and energy usage. A positive and a significant relationship between energy usage and board independence a positive and an insignificant relationship between firm size (market capitalisation) and energy usage. There is also a positive but an insignificant relationship between skills development expenditure and female board members and a positive and significant relationship between skills development expenditure and board independence and a positive and an insignificant relationship between skills development and firm size (market capitalisation). The study suggests that for companies improve their sustainable business practices; they should consider increasing the number of v | P a ge females on their board since they have a positive influence on sustainability performance. / Risk and Vulnerability Science Centre of the University of Limpopo