Currently the entire South African industry of Environmental Control Officers (ECOs) is unregulated, yet ECOs have the important task of checking and verifying compliance to environmental regulatory and performance requirements. According to international best practice principles for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the process should be made credible through independent checks and verification (IAIA, 1999:3). According to the Environmental Impact Assessment Management Strategy Subtheme 5, quality assurance can only be attained when practitioners fulfil competence and ethical practice criteria. In this document the South African Department of Environmental Affairs (SADEA) also noted that there is currently no home for ECOs, yet this is where effective monitoring and enforcement could significantly improve environmental outcomes. The central objective of this dissertation was to investigate the need for regulation of the South African ECO industry. Data obtained from the questionnaires indicated that 100% of respondents were in agreement that there is a need for regulation of the South African ECO industry. One of the key motivational factors identified by respondents was quality assurance, which is important, as the environmental legislative regime changes constantly. Various other factors were identified other than quality assurance and were labelled “drivers”. These include establishment of minimum standards in respect of qualifications and/or experience (core competencies), establishment of a professional code of conduct and ethics that enhances accountability and professionalism, skills improvement through continual professional development (CPD), enhancement of credibility, independence of practitioners, enhancement of skills for capacity building, protection of clients against substandard work and overall lack of professionalism, and finally creation of a source of information support and interaction. It was important to determine what drives the regulation of an industry, in order to establish whether the South African ECO industry has similar drivers justifying regulation. The establishment of qualification and competency requirements was an important objective of this research, as a set of these requirements is an essential toolkit for operating ECOs and key stakeholders of the industry. Various registration and competence requirements for ECOs were identified from the literature review and responses to the questionnaires and interviews. With this research the author also intended to establish which current accreditation bodies could be considered for registration of ECOs and regulation of the South African ECO industry. The dissertation concludes by emphasising the importance of regulating the South African ECO industry, as this will ensure that compliance monitoring takes place effectively. / M Environmental Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Currently the entire South African industry of Environmental Control Officers (ECOs) is unregulated, yet ECOs have the important task of checking and verifying compliance to environmental regulatory and performance requirements. According to international best practice principles for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the process should be made credible through independent checks and verification (IAIA, 1999:3). According to the Environmental Impact Assessment Management Strategy Subtheme 5, quality assurance can only be attained when practitioners fulfil competence and ethical practice criteria. In this document the South African Department of Environmental Affairs (SADEA) also noted that there is currently no home for ECOs, yet this is where effective monitoring and enforcement could significantly improve environmental outcomes. The central objective of this dissertation was to investigate the need for regulation of the South African ECO industry. Data obtained from the questionnaires indicated that 100% of respondents were in agreement that there is a need for regulation of the South African ECO industry. One of the key motivational factors identified by respondents was quality assurance, which is important, as the environmental legislative regime changes constantly. Various other factors were identified other than quality assurance and were labelled “drivers”. These include establishment of minimum standards in respect of qualifications and/or experience (core competencies), establishment of a professional code of conduct and ethics that enhances accountability and professionalism, skills improvement through continual professional development (CPD), enhancement of credibility, independence of practitioners, enhancement of skills for capacity building, protection of clients against substandard work and overall lack of professionalism, and finally creation of a source of information support and interaction. It was important to determine what drives the regulation of an industry, in order to establish whether the South African ECO industry has similar drivers justifying regulation. The establishment of qualification and competency requirements was an important objective of this research, as a set of these requirements is an essential toolkit for operating ECOs and key stakeholders of the industry. Various registration and competence requirements for ECOs were identified from the literature review and responses to the questionnaires and interviews. With this research the author also intended to establish which current accreditation bodies could be considered for registration of ECOs and regulation of the South African ECO industry. The dissertation concludes by emphasising the importance of regulating the South African ECO industry, as this will ensure that compliance monitoring takes place effectively. / M Environmental Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The thesis aims to qualitatively understand the way in which motivational drivers facilitating sustainability initiatives (within firms engaged in energy intensive industries in Australia and Sweden) interact to influence an organisation’s committed sustainability initiatives. A cross case study between firms operating in Australia and firms operating in Sweden has been conducted to support the isolation and identification of relevant motivational drivers and their impact upon sustainable initiatives.  The following list of motivational drivers facilitating organisational committed energy sustainability initiatives in Australia and Sweden have been identified as being particularly relevant in context of this study; these motivational drivers are encompassed by the aggregate themes of public interest, self-interest, public commitment and self-commitment.  Boundaries associated with each aggregate theme were also identified which frame a safe operating space within which firms can continue to function and evolve: Profit driven motivation Competitiveness driven motivation Supply chain security driven motivation Stakeholder driven motivation  Reputation driven motivation Governance driven motivation A conceptual framework of committed sustainability has subsequently been developed to present the interrelation of the aggregate themes (and associated motivational drivers) based upon the findings from the literature review and interviews. Finding an appropriate trade-off balance between the self-interest serving motivators of profit, competition, stakeholder pressure and supply chain security, and the public interest serving motivators of governance and stakeholder pressure is effective in positively influencing an organisation’s committed sustainability initiatives in the short and medium term. Failing to act in the interests of the public risks a firm crossing a boundary typified by a lack of social license to continue to operate; failing to act in the firm’s own interests risks a firm crossing a boundary typified by a lack of profitability.  As the public, stakeholders and customers’ expectations from firms continue to increase in the longer term, an appropriate balance between the public commitment motivators of reputation and stakeholder and the primary self-commitment motivator of reputation is needed to continue to effectively influence an organisation’s committed sustainability initiatives. Failing to make public commitments risks a firm crossing a boundary typified by a lack of creditability; failing to balance public commitments with complimentary self-commitments risks a firm crossing a boundary typified by a lack of target ownership. The conceptual framework of committed sustainability is further intended to provide a practical basis against which the current and potential contributions by firms, organisations and other entities toward sustainable development can be analysed and interpretated, and potential trade-offs or dilemmas identified. Game theory as well as simplified push and pull effects are fundamental perspectives adopted within this framework to illustrate the dynamics affecting economic, societal and environmental dilemmas. The framework is intended to allow for more effective development and implementation of sustainability initiatives