With issues such as energy crises, climate change and environmental degradation becoming evermore prevalent on national and international levels, industrialized societies are beginning to take heed of the impact they are having on the natural environment and we are beginning to see movements towards socially and environmentally responsible decision-making. With the impact that buildings have on the environment, it is important to understand what barriers are preventing or slowing investment in socially and environmentally responsible property. The present study was conducted to determine whether LEED certification has a significant impact on the market value of office buildings in Toronto, Ontario – value determined by the average net asking rent for each building. For some 68 subject and control buildings, we matched information on the net asking rent for 16 LEED certified (subject) buildings to 52 otherwise comparable properties (control buildings). Using ordinary least squares (OLS) analysis, we looked to find what relationship exists between net asking rent and the LEED label. Controlling for other variables historically shown to have an impact on property value, we expected the results of this study to determine whether there is a business case for LEED certification in the downtown Toronto office market. The results of the study have shown that LEED certification has had no impact on the market value of the sample of office buildings in Toronto. This is a surprising result, given the growth in the number of LEED buildings in Canada, but interviews with three senior executives in the industry have helped to provide insight into this trend. It seems that with time LEED will likely have an impact in this market, but it hasn‘t arrived yet.

The primary objective of this study was to develop an ecotourism model for South African National Parks. South African National Parks' current ecotourism/tourism management strategies were analysed and it was found that no clear guidelines regarding the development and management of ecotourism in South Africa National Parks exists. As South African National Parks (SANParks) is one of the largest conservation and ecotourism providers in South Africa, and because ecotourism tends to occur in sensitive ecological and human communities, the need for an ecotourism model for South African National Parks is crucial. The absence of such a model will prevent the effective and sustainable management, monitoring and control of ecotourism in South African National Parks. A literature study was conducted into sustainable–, responsible– and ecotourism as well as current national and international policies concerning ecotourism in national parks or nature–based tourism. Sustainable tourism requires that tourism development should be of such a nature that a balance is kept between the economy, socio–cultural environment and the physical environment. This is referred to as the triple bottom line. The goal of sustainable tourism is to maximise the positive impacts and minimise the negative impacts on the just mentioned triple bottom line aspects. Responsible tourism has the same goals as sustainable tourism, but stresses the importance of all stakeholders taking responsibility of ensuring a sustainable tourism industry. It should therefore be seen as a pathway to achieve sustainable tourism, rather than as an end in itself. Ecotourism forms part of the sustainable/responsible tourism paradigm. From the literature, four main pillars were identified on which ecotourism is based, namely: conservation and enhancement of natural and cultural attractions; environmental education; sustainable management practices and the provision of an enlightening tourist experience. The literature review also indicated some principles supportive of the pillars that are important if ecotourism is to take place, namely: natural and cultural environment; local community upliftment; long–term planning; ethical behaviour of all stakeholders; environmentally–friendly practices and tourist satisfaction. Quantitative research was conducted. An explorative research approach was followed by the means of a self–administered questionnaire with the aim of determining the perceptions, of both the demand side (visitors to South Africa National Parks) and from the supply side (managers of South African National Parks) on the subject of ecotourism. Fifty–six (56) constructs pertaining to aspects of ecotourism were measured on a five–point Likert scale. The constructs were based on a literature review regarding responsible– and ecotourism. Sources that were used to a large extent to develop the questionnaire include the works of Frey and George (2010), Saayman (2009), Fennell (2008), Spencely (2008), Björk (2007), Diamantis (2004),DEAT (2003) The questionnaire for the visitor survey was launched on the website of South Africa National Parks during March 2011 and ran for one month. During this time, 993 respondents completed the questionnaire. The same questionnaire was sent via electronic mail to the managers of SANParks, namely regional and general managers, hospitality services managers and managing executives. A total of 25 questionnaires were completed. The results of the empirical research were processed by the North–West University's Statistical Consultation Services (Potchefstroom Campus). The data was analysed by means of the SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) software programme. Statistical methods that were used include: descriptive statistics; exploratory factor analysis; factor correlation matrix and a t–test. The results of the descriptive statistics revealed that the following ecotourism aspects were rated as most important by visitors: everyone (staff and visitors) has a responsibility to maintain a litter–free environment; animals should not be fed; everyone (staff and visitors) has a responsibility to save water and electricity. The managers, however, rated the following as the most important ecotourism aspects: to ensure managers, staff and contract employees understand and adhere to all aspects of the South African National Parks' policy to prevent negative impacts on the environment and local communities; do not feed the animals; and to comply with all relevant national, provincial and local legislation, regulations, licences and permits as may be required. Six factors were identified from the exploratory factor analysis: Factor 1: Product development; Factor 2: Local community involvement; Factor 3: Environmentally friendly practices; Factor 4: Ethics; Factor 5: Food and activities; Factor 6: Policies. The factors recorded serve as important guidelines for the development and management of ecotourism products in South African National Parks. For instance, the factor with the highest mean value was “ethics”. Visitor respondents felt very strongly that rules and regulations should be adhered to by visitors and that severe penalties should be implemented in the case of non–compliance. This was also the definite view of staff members. The research made the following contributions to the discipline of tourism and specifically ecotourism: * This research presents the first ecotourism model for South African National Parks which can assist park management in creating ecotourism products that provide a sustainable ecotourism experience and secure the future of ecotourism in national parks. * It was the first time that the perception of ecotourism was determined from both a demand and supply side in South Africa National Parks, which assisted in identifying the key factors for ecotourism products from. * The results of this research paved the way for SANParks in the development of an ecotourism policy for South African National Parks. * The results further made a contribution to the future development of a national ecotourism policy for South Africa (which currently does not exist). Such a policy can then be applied to provincial parks, private game reserves and game farms in South Africa. * The research contributed to the development of a sustainable ecotourism rating criteria for South African National Parks to allow them to grow closer to an ideal managed system that is in line with sustainable / responsible management aspects. * The results were presented at the First International Conference on Tourism and Management Studies in the Algarve, Portugal on the 27th October 2011. * A contribution was also made to the literature on ecotourism in terms of clarification of what is expected by the users (tourists) of ecotourism products and what SANParks' managers view as important aspects of ecotourism and how ecotourism should be developed and managed. * Finally, this study contributed to the research concerning national parks in terms of ecotourism development and management. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Title: Food companies' work with CSR and its impact on consumer purchases of organic products Level: Final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration Author: Maria Nilsson and Mikaela Jaredal Supervisor: Agneta Sundström Date: June 2015 Aim: The study aims to understand and describe how food chains affect consumer choice to buy organic food and how it affects their buying behaviour. Method: Firstly a qualitative study was conducted. It consisted of six semi-structured interviews with store managers and employees on Willys and Coop in Sala and in Nyköping. Secondly a quantitative study was performed in the form of a questionnaire with 80 consumers in Willys and Coop stores located in Sala and Nyköping. Result & Conclusions: We have seen that price is important when consumers decide whether to buy organic food or not. This has been noticed by the food chains who work actively with being able to offer organic food at lower prices. Other factors that affect the consumers choice to buy organic products are offers, displaying and advertising. We have seen that consumers of the food chain that has worked a long time with sustainability are more willing to pay a higher price of organic food than consumers of the food chain with shorter tradition of working with these issues. Suggestions for future research: Future research could focus on the attitude towards and awareness of organic food of different age groups. It would also be interesting to continue our research but in a larger geographical area and/or include more food chains. Contribution of the thesis: The contribution of the study is that we show which CSR activities that actually influence consumers of buying organic products.

The tourism industry is at a pivotal point in time, where the potential and threats associated with the industry have gained global attention. While the field provides numerous development opportunities by being one of the largest global industries, the tourism industry’s contribution to universal threats such as global warming and climate change has been acknowledged. As a response, the industry and academia have experienced a shift towards discourses of sustainable tourism, or more recently responsible tourism, where stakeholders aim to embark on a path of holistic sustainability. The global significance of tourism’s potential to foster sustainable development has further been recognized by the assignment of 2017 as the International year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. At the core of the sustainable tourism debate lies the notion of responsibility, particularly the notion of various stakeholders’ responsibility for sustainability within tourism. Within this paradigm, consumers play a central role, as consumers can guide industry action with their travel related choices. Yet, there is a notable discrepancy between consumer attitudes about sustainability and their travel related behaviour and the disparity begs the question of how consumers perceive their own responsibility for sustainability in a tourism context. This study set out to explore the emerging discourse of responsibility for sustainability within tourism by examining how the notion has been addressed, constructed and framed within academia and the industry, with a particular interest in the framing of consumer responsibility for sustainability. Seven themes with additional subthemes of notions about responsibility for sustainability were identified through a literature review consisting of 132 peer-reviewed journal articles and two book chapters. Furthermore, an interpretive content analysis of the recently launched UNWTO Responsible Traveller campaign was carried out. The findings suggest that responsibility for sustainability within tourism has emerged as its own, distinct discourse characterized by an ambiguous and complex nature where the notion of responsibility is influenced by the surrounding context, prevailing social norms and individual identity. While responsibility for sustainability is recognized as the responsibility of all tourism stakeholders, the results suggest that consumers in particular abrogate themselves from a responsibility for sustainability in a tourism context and consequently, the industry is seen to lie in a state of lock-in. The findings indicate that there is a need to re-establish how and by whom responsibility for sustainability is constructed and framed within tourism, while notions of sustainable lifestyles and global citizenship should be fostered together with new social norms that challenge the prevailing status quo.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-11T14:41:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JanaliaAF_DISSERT (1).pdf: 2242234 bytes, checksum: 1433280bec40754b7bd88ff2b97e941c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-28 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The interaction between man and pets has grown substantially bringing very benefits to the health population, however in this coexistence is not free of injuries when this relationship does not occur in a responsible manner. Among the complications caused by the lack of proper management of these animals are severe diseases that can be transmitted to humans, addition to aggressions, traffic accidents, pollution from dejections, noise pollution and other perturbations. This work aims to control the feline and canine populations by the surgical method, relating to the responsible pet ownership, bringing improvements in environmental and well being conditions in the community in the neighborhood Paupina, Fortaleza-CE. Being realized a questionnaire with neighborhood residents, both those created as those not created pets. Doing raising of existing zoonoses, discomfort and disorders caused by animals, performing guidelines on responsible pet ownership, and making registration of breeders of dogs and cats, for performing the surgical sterilization. After six months of the completed the castrations, the same questionnaire was reapplied to make comparison of data before and after castration. In the first phase of the survey questionnaire was conducted with 410 residents, and created 199 of these dogs and/or cats, in a total of 366 animals. 69 % of dogs and 95 % of cats have never had service veterinarian, but despite the low attendance 88 % of dogs were vaccinated with some kind of vaccine that cats only 48 %. It was reported by 91.7 % of respondents, the presence of animals that roam freely in the streets, and 62 % said that the animals had owners, but free access to the street. The existence of faeces and trash from stray animals account for more than 60 % of the responses and the most common zoonosis in the community was the larva migrans, representing 62 % of people who have had some kind of zoonosis .Being reported by most troublesome residents and disorders by vocalizations and conglomerates dogs in estrus period of females. Factor compounded by the low rate of castrations , only 2 % of dogs and 9 % of cats were neutered , however there was wide acceptance of surgery , castration was performed in 208 animals , representing 91 % of the owners who wished to neuter their animals . After this procedure in comparing the data, it can be observed reduction in the dropout rate, vocalization, worning, trampling and the number of stray animals on the streets . We can conclude that in the neighborhood Paupina with basic animal care is not taken, there is no adequate vaccination, worming and veterinary medical care. Not responsible ownership, which brings diseases society being held. And preventive measures to control the population of animals, the surgical method, reduce injuries and discomfort to the environment and society . Resulting in a more harmonious environment between men and animals, and to be preserved must raise awareness of the risks and required with pet care / O convívio entre os homens e os animais de estimação, tem crescido substancialmente trazendo grandes benefícios a saúde da população, num entanto esta convivência não esta livre de agravos, quando esta relação não ocorre de forma responsável. Entre os agravos provocados pela falta de um manejo adequado desses animais estão sérias doenças que podem ser transmitidas ao homem, além de agressões, acidentes de trânsito, poluição por dejetos, poluição sonora e outras perturbações. Tendo este trabalho como objetivo controlar a população canina e felina, pelo método cirúrgico, relacionando com a posse responsável, trazendo melhorias das condições ambientais e de bem estar da comunidade no bairro da Paupina, Fortaleza-CE. Realizado aplicação de questionário com os moradores do bairro, tanto os que criavam como os que não criavam animais. Fazendo levantamento das zoonoses existentes, e dos incômodos e transtornos provocados pelos animais, realizadoorientações sobre guarda responsável, e realização de cadastro como os criadores de cães e gatos, para a realização da esterilização cirúrgica. Após seis meses da realização das castrações, foi reaplicado o mesmo questionário para realizar comparação dos dados antes e após as castrações. Na primeira fase da pesquisa foi realizado questionário com 410 moradores, e destes 199 criavam cães e/ou gatos, perfazendo um total de 366 animais. 69% dos cães e 95% dos gatos nunca tiveram atendimento Médico Veterinário, mas apesar da baixa assistência 88% dos cães foram vacinados com algum tipo de vacina já os gatos apenas 48%. Foi relatado por 91,7% dos entrevistados a presença de animais que andam livremente pelas ruas, e 62 % disseram que os animais tinham donos, mas acesso livre a rua. A existência de fezes e lixo proveniente dos animais nas ruas somam mais de 60% das respostas dos entrevistados, e a zoonose mais freqüente na comunidade foi a larva migrans, representando 62% das pessoas que já tiveram algum tipo de zoonose. Sendo relatado pela maioria dos moradores incômodos e transtornos pelas vocalizações e aglomerados de cães no período de estro das fêmeas. Fator agravado pelo baixo índice de castrações, apenas 2% dos cães e 9% dos gatos eram castrados, no entanto houve grande aceitação da cirurgia, sendo realizada castração em 208 animais, representando 91 % dos proprietários que pretendiam castrar seus animais. Após esse procedimento na comparação dos dados, pode-se observar redução do índice de abandono, vocalização, cadelas em estro, atropelamento e o número de animais soltos nas ruas. Podemos concluir que no bairro da Paupina não é realizado os cuidados básicos com os animais, não havendo um esquema adequado de vacinação, vermifugação e assistência médica veterinária. Não sendo realizada a posse responsável, o que traz agravos a sociedade. E que medidas preventivas para o controle populacional de animais, pelo método cirúrgico, reduzem agravos e incômodos ao meio ambiente e a sociedade. Resultando em um ambiente mais harmonioso entre homens e animais, e para que seja preservado deve-se conscientizar a população dos riscos e cuidados necessários com os animais de companhia

This study addresses the green bond market, a young and upcoming market that has received increasing attention in recent years. Academic literature in the field is limited, therefore theaim of this study is to identify investors’ main barriers and motives behind green bondinvestments. In order to examine Swedish fund companies’ requirements to invest in greenbonds, questionnaire responses were linked to interviews. The overall result shows the importance of financial incentives in investment decisions. In terms of market barriers, the low return of green bonds was the main reason that investments were restrained. It has been stated that green bonds are issued at a premium due to an additional reporting related administrative cost for the issuers. Another defined limit was the concern for issuers not fulfilling their 'green' obligation. The main motive behind green bond investments was to invest in a sustainable environment followed by the possibility to gain a combined financial and environmental return. In addition to the financial attributes, investors find a utility function in the green bonds that account for the premium price that these investors seem to accept. Furthermore, social norms are shown to influence the investment decision to a lesser extent.

This paper addresses the question of how Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) can be implemented in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs). It builds on existing knowledge about RRI in business as well as on insights into motivations, drivers and barriers from the related fields of eco-innovation and sustainability innovation. Expert interviews with CEOs of SMEs in the Austrian medical device sector are analyzed to develop insights into the companies' research and innovation activities and potential drivers and barriers for RRI. The findings support the assumption that SMEs are largely unaware of the RRI concept. At the same time, however, it is possible to identify current practices that already operationalize aspects of RRI. It is argued that SMEs could build upon existing practices to further develop ways of being responsible and that implementation of RRI should be in line with specific organizational and contextual factors.

This diploma thesis deals with certification program UTZ Certified representing a certain alternative to the fair trade system. The UTZ belongs to the biggest programs supporting sustainability primarily for coffee, cocoa and tea worldwide. The thesis is divided into two main parts, theoretical and practical. The theoretical component is focused on UTZ certification characteristics, determining essential terms, identifying commodities and conditions for its growing within the UTZ Certified. The attention is paid also to trading under fair trade conditions and regarding standards under Fairtrade and WFTO. The practical component deals with levels and product composition of the current offer of UTZ products on the market in chosen area. Furthermore, the focus is on the realization of consumer research aimed at knowledge and interest in UTZ products and fair trade from the consumers' stance. The outcomes obtained from the research done in the retail chain network show that the UTZ offer of products on the market really exists. The results also demonstrate that it is the matter of foreign retail chains whose UTZ offer is often created by products of own private brands. The widest offer of UTZ products was noted in retail chain Lidl, Albert and Kaufland. The product offer is clearly dominated by sweets and chocolate containing the certified UTZ cocoa. The consumer research was done via online questionnaire. Results demonstrate that less than half of Czech consumers are interested in certified products made under responsible production of fair trade and UTZ. The accountable part of consumers has troubles identifying these products on the market while shopping. The most favourite fair trade product is coffee. In case of UTZ, the most favourite product is cocoa. The main drivers for consumers' decision for buying these products is the guarantee of ecological and social consideration, trust in better quality and taste.

Nas últimas décadas, os fatores que influenciam o consumo responsável têm sido estudado na área de marketing, visando minimizar o desperdício e os impactos ambientais. Estes estudos demonstram que o consumo responsável pode ser promovido através de influências dos valores e do contexto, sendo os valores pessoais são amplamente aceitos como determinantes no comportamento de consumo. Contudo, o impacto dos valores no comportamento pode ser afetado por fatores que reforçam ou enfraquecem a relação valores-comportamento. O modelo de Motivação Baseada na Identidade prevê que a identidade pode alterar a influência dos valores no comportamento. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo analisar as relações entre valores pessoais, identidade evocada e comportamento. Partindo de uma abordagem experimental, o presente trabalho explora a influência da identidade na relação valores-comportamento, usando como contexto o consumo responsável. Os resultados mostram que quando uma identidade pessoal é ativada, os valores transcendentes (vs. não-transcendentes) resultam em um maior consumo responsável. No entanto, quando a identidade social é ativada os valores transcendentes e não-transcendentes levam a níveis semelhantes de consumo responsável. Estes resultados estendem pesquisas anteriores, utilizando a motivação baseada na identidade como condição limite para a relação valores-comportamento. Nesse sentido, foi evidenciado que dependendo da identidade evocada as pessoas podem se engajar no consumo responsável mesmo em uma direção oposta do que seria previsto pelos seus valores. Como exemplo, os consumidores com valores não-transcendentes (geralmente não ligados ao meio ambiente) apresentam consumo responsável na identidade social. Como conseqüência teórica, uma nova abordagem de pesquisa em valores é proposta, a cadeia valores-identidade-comportamento. / In recent decades, the factors that influence the responsible consumption have been studied in marketing in order to minimize waste and environmental impacts. Studies show that responsible consumption can be promoted through values and context. In addition, personal values are widely accepted as determinants in consumer behavior. However, the impact of values on behavior can be affected by strengthen or weaken factors for the values-behavior relationship. The Identity Based- Motivation provides that the identities can result evoked different levels of tendency to action. This research aims to propose and test a model relating personal values, evoked identity and behavior. From an experimental approach, this research explores the influence of identity evoked in relation values-behavior, using as context the responsible consumption. The results show that when a personal identity is primed, transcendent (vs. non-transcendent) values result in more green consumption. However, when primed with a social identity, transcendent and non-transcendent values lead to similar green consumption levels. These findings extend past research by showing identity-based motivation as a boundary condition for the value-behavior relationship. In particular, we show that people can engage in an opposite direction from what would be predicted by their values, in function of the elicited identity. As a theoretical consequence, a new research approach is suggested in values theory, the values -identity-behavior chain. From this new approach, we obtained evidence that interaction between values and identity can make non-transcendent values lead to responsible consumption.

A presente dissertação de mestrado serve para refletir acerca das questões concernentes à crise financeira mundial, as modificações legislativas acerca da regulação do crédito ao consumidor e o os novos deveres das instituições financeiras diante de tal cenário. Considerando a necessidade urgente de uma regulação mundial, seja nacional ou em blocos econômicos, acerca do fenômeno do superendividamento, valemo-nos de exemplos de outros países para buscar uma conexão possível, considerando a cultura da sociedade de consumo, leis vigentes e necessidades específicas, entre os deveres dos consumidores e, principalmente, das instituições financeiras. Se o consumidor brasileiro paga atualmente as maiores taxas de juros no mundo, com a justificativa do mercado que tal prática é reflexo de sua inadimplência, deve-se atentar para a razão de tal inadimplência. A inadimplência do consumidor, muitas vezes o levando ao superendividamento, é um reflexo tanto da cultura do imediatismo, fomentada pela publicidade, quanto da ausência de limites e informações adequadas à este consumidor quando da concessão do crédito, o levando a subestimar os riscos da operação. O consumidor não tendo conhecimento necessário para gerir sua vida financeira, ao receber ofertas de crédito com informações deficientes, incompletas, obscuras e até mesmo com ilusões que rodeiam apenas seus benefícios e não seus riscos, é um forte candidato ao superendividamento. Muito embora existam muitas ações, tanto no Brasil quanto no mundo, para tratamento do superendividamento, buscando a ressocialização do consumidor na sociedade, devemos preocupar-nos igualmente com a prevenção deste superendividado, que deve ser realizada com a tomada da responsabilidade [neste sentido como um dever, uma postura a ser adotada pela instituição financeira previamente] no sentido de qualificar seus prepostos a igualmente terem condições de informar, clara e adequadamente, o consumidor dos riscos e benefícios do crédito. Para tanto, analisaremos alguns pressupostos que permeiam nossas hipóteses, passando no primeiro capítulo pelos benefícios e riscos do crédito e, no segundo capítulo, abordando os contratos por adesão, os princípios que norteiam tais pactos, especialmente a boa-fé, chegando ao dever geral de informação, o qual abrigaria o dever de informação formal como esclarecimento, o aconselhamento e advertência, passando igualmente pela necessidade de um prazo de reflexão ao consumidor como condutor de tais deveres. / The present dissertation serves to reflect on the issues that concerned the global financial crisis, the legislative changes regarding the regulation of consumer credit and the new duties of financial institutions faced with this scenario. Considering the urgent need of global regulation, whether national or in economic blocks, around the phenomenon of over-indebtedness, we may use examples from other countries to seek a possible connection, considering the culture of the consumer society, laws and specific needs between the consumers duties and especially, the financial institutions. If the Brazilian consumer currently pays the highest interest rates in the world, with the market justification that such practice is a reflection of its own default, we should look for the reason of such default. The consumer default, often leading him to over-indebtedness, is both a reflection from the culture of immediacy, fostered by advertising, and the absence of limits and suitableinformation for the consumer when granting credit, leading to underestimate the risks of this operation .When consumers do not have the knowledge to manage their financial lives, andreceives credit offers with disabilitiesinformation, incomplete, unclear and even illusions that surround only its benefits and not its risks, became a strong candidate for over- indebtedness. Although there are many actions, both in Brazil and around the world for over-indebtedness treatment, seeking the consumer rehabilitation in the consumer society, we must also concern ourselves about the over-indebtedness prevention, which should be performed with taking responsibility [in this sense as a duty, an attitude to be adopted by the financial institution previously] in order to qualify their agents and also having the conditions to inform clearly and properly, the risks and benefits of consumer credit. To do so, we are going to analyze some assumptions that permeate our chances, passing in the first chapter of the benefits and risks of credit and, in the second chapter, addressing the adhesion contracts, the principles guiding such pacts, especially the good faith, even to the general information duty , which would protect the duty as formal clarification of information, advice and warning, by also passing for theconsumer period for reflection as a driver of such duties.