Background: As more individuals continuously become more conscious of the external influences of their decisions, integrating social and ethical criteria and perceived non-monetary value in their investment decisions, the interest in socially responsible investments (SRI) has escalated in the past decade. Reflecting this shift, the Swedish Pension Agency continuously increases the requirements and sustainability demands for the funds available in the premium pension selection. To investigate the underlying variables affecting the decision to invest socially responsibly, the authors of this thesis studied Swedish pension beneficiaries’ demographics, attitudes and beliefs.  Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine the socio-demographic and psychological determinants of pension beneficiaries' and the influence of these variables on the willingness to pay for socially responsible investments. The study will additionally explore the tendency to underestimate exponential growth in one’s pension savings.  Method: The study is conducted by collecting primary data in the form of quantitative research through an online questionnaire. Based on previous research, six hypotheses are developed. This in order to investigate the relationship between willingness to pay for socially responsible investments and several socio-demographic and psychographic variables. Additionally, to examine Swedish pension beneficiaries’ tendency to underestimate exponential growth. The data collected is analysed through a multiple linear regression model and other descriptive statistics to examine if the hypotheses are rejected or not.  Conclusion: The majority of the subjects in the study are willing to pay for SRI. Gender significantly impacts the willingness to pay for SRI, as men demonstrate a lower willingness to pay than women. Furthermore, altruistic values, concern for one’s pension savings, concern for ESG-related issues (environmental, social and governance) and perceived consumer effectiveness proves to have a significant impact on the willingness to pay for SRI. Further, the sample demonstrated a definite tendency to underestimate exponential growth.

Responsible investing is a growing concept as sustainability is becoming a much more apparent problem. Thus, the EU implemented a new regulation in 2021, the SFDR 2019/2088, to decrease information asymmetry between institutional investors and end investors regarding sustainable risks associated with funds’ investments. This thesis aims to study whether Swedish mutual funds are greenwashing in terms of funds that are classified as Article 9 funds and invest in firms with low ESG scores. I find that greenwashing occurs among some Swedish mutual funds classified as Article 9 funds, urging further actions to be taken by scholars, practitioners, and regulators given the complexity of the studied research field.

The current tourist behavioural trends and the increasing number of visitor nights can no longer be the main focus of the international tourism industry, as they harm the physical and social environment. However, in the current profit-driven economic and political systems, reducing the intensity of travelling seems unrealistic; besides, many people's livelihoods are dependent on the industry. Nevertheless, we should always strive for the utmost to mitigate harmful consequences. Travellers' behavioural patterns pose a major barrier to reforming the industry, calling for long-term connections and engagement with the physical and social environment as a possible solution. Therefore, we investigate the potential of transforming the hedonistic tourist attitude into one that values meaningful connections. Our research explores the emotional dimensions of DNA journeys and the effects of the travellers’ shifting identities on their behaviour. The semi-structured interviews helped unfold the emotions of participants emerging during their journeys. The findings indicate that the travellers' newly awakened emotions led to new attitudes of openness, acceptance and curiosity. We concluded that the emotions faced by DNA travellers as part of their identity construction could translate into the adoption of behavioural norms that bring new perspectives on responsible travelling by enabling a deeper connection to the destination. Genealogical mapping-based journeys embrace the appreciation of commonalities and differences as travellers enter a country with open hearts and minds. / A jelenlegi turisztikai viselkedési tendenciák és a növekvő vendégéjszakák száma nem lehet többé a nemzetközi idegenforgalmi ipar középpontjában, mivel ezek károsítják a fizikai és társadalmi környezetet. A jelenlegi haszonközpontú gazdasági és politikai rendszerekben azonban az utazás intenzitásának csökkentése irreálisnak tűnik, ráadásul sok ember megélhetése függ ettől az iparágtól. Ennek ellenére mindig a lehető legtöbbet kell tennünk a káros következmények mérséklése érdekében. Az utazók viselkedésmintái komoly akadályt jelentenek az iparág reformjának, és a szakemberek hosszú távú kapcsolatokat, valamint a fizikai és társadalmi környezettel való elkötelezettséget sürgetik. Ezért megvizsgáljuk a hedonista turista attitűd átalakításának lehetőségét egy olyanná, amely értékeli a jelentőségteljes kapcsolatokat. Kutatásunk a DNS-utazások érzelmi dimenzióit és az utazók változó identitásának a viselkedésükre gyakorolt hatását vizsgálja. A félig strukturált interjúk segítettek feltárni a résztvevők utazás során felbukkanó érzelmeit. Az eredmények azt mutatják, hogy a résztvevők újonnan ébredt érzelmei a nyitottságot, az elfogadást és a kíváncsiságot ösztönözték. Arra a következtetésre jutottunk, hogy a DNS-utazók által az identitásépítés részeként megtapasztalt érzelmek olyan viselkedési normák felvételéhez vezethetnek, amelyek új távlatokat kínálnak a felelős utazással kapcsolatban, a célállomással való mélyebb kapcsolódáson keresztül. A genealógiai feltérképezésen alapuló utazások a hasonlóságok és a különbségek megbecsülését segítik, mivel az utazók nyitott szívvel és elmével lépnek be a célországba.

Manufacturers and suppliers in the tech industry, trading and utilizing minerals, are often unable to conduct substantial supply chain due diligence, due to reasons such as lack of competence, the scattered spread of information and fluid nature of their supply chains. Declaring whether a product has been responsibly sourced, or whether it contains conflict minerals or not, is almost impossible. This study is an exploration of the potential role of blockchain in mineral supply chain management, as a supplementary tool for carrying out due diligence. Well-performed supply chain due diligence should demand continuous status records of various measures of social sustainability, identifying impacts on human well-being. So, how may a blockchain solution for traceability in a mineral supply chain contribute towards ensuring responsible sourcing? Blockchain provides traceability of transactions through its immutable chain structure, and knowing an asset’s origin is vital in order to carry out supply chain due diligence. While the blockchain network has the potential to provide information on the digitally registered flow of an asset, the validity of the information of the physical and social qualities of the asset remains dependent on the actor adding it to the blockchain, leading to an inherent problem regarding the interface between the digital and the physical world, in application of blockchain in supply chains. Through a background study and interviews with researchers and professionals, this study proposes a set of requirements to take into account while addressing responsible sourcing via a blockchain solution. The study finds that a blockchain alone cannot ensure responsible sourcing, and further provides insight into the challenges and opportunities present in the industry and discusses the suitability of potential solutions. / Tillverkare och leverantörer inom techindustrin, som handlar med och drar nytta utav mineraler, är ofta oförmögna att genomföra djupgående företagsgranskningar i sina logistikkedjor, på grund av exempelvis kompetensbrist, vida utspridd information och kedjornas flytande natur. Att säkerställa ifall en produkt har utvunnits på ett hållbart sätt eller huruvida den innehåller konfliktmineraler är i det närmaste omöjligt. Denna studie utforskar blockkedjeteknikens potentiella roll i leverantörskedjor för mineraler, som ett kompletterande verktyg för att genomföra företagsgranskningar. Välgenomförda granskningar bör inkludera fortlöpande statusprotokoll för olika åtgärder gällande social hållbarhet, som identifierar utvinningens påverkan på mänskligt välmående. Så, hur kan en blockkedjelösning för spårbarhet i en leverantörskedja för mineraler bidra till att säkerställa hållbar utvinning? En blockkedja möjliggör spårbarhet av transaktioner genom sin oföränderliga kedjestruktur; samtidigt är kännedom om ursprunget hos en resurs avgörande för att genomföra företagsgranskningar i logistikkedjor. Ett blockkedjenätverk har potential att tillhandahålla information gällande det digitalt registrerade flödet hos en resurs, men informationens validitet gällande dess fysiska och sociala kvaliteter är fortsatt beroende av aktören som registrerar resursen på blockkedjan, vilket leder till ett ofrånkomligt problem gällande gränssnittet mellan den digitala och fysiska världen vid applicering av blockkedjor i leverantörskedjor. Utifrån en litteraturgenomgång och intervjuer med forskare och professionella, så föreslås i denna studie en kravlista att ta hänsyn till ifall blockkedjelösningar ska användas för att understödja hållbar utvinning. Studien visar att en blockkedja på egen hand ej kan säkerställa hållbar utvinning och ger vidare insikt i utmaningar och möjligheter inom industrin, samt diskuterar lämpligheten för potentiella blockkedjelösningar i dessa sammanhang.

The aim of this study is to investigate the inclusion of low-proficiency students in grades 4-6 in EFL classrooms in Sweden. The low-proficiency students are identified as new arrivals who are still in the process of mastering the Swedish language and Swedish speakers who have a negative attitude and low motivation towards the learning of English language. The methods used to collect data were interviews and classroom observations of four certified English teachers in grades 4-6. The findings of this study showed that the teachers supported the inclusion of low-proficiency students through differentiated methods and scaffolding. The results revealed that a lack of common language is an obstacle in the inclusion of new arrivals in the EFL classrooms.

Background: In today's society, there is more pressure to be sustainable and not least in the financial world. Several agreements, such as the Paris Agreement, have been created to steer countries towards more sustainability. When it comes to the economy, several SRI strategies have been developed to serve the same purpose. However, the problem that emerges is that investors who invest sustainably and use these strategies can lose returns and thus depart from their main goal of maximizing profits.   Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how SRI strategies are used by investors when constructing their portfolios in terms of profit maximization. The paper will thus conclude if the underlying motivation behind the choice of strategy is affected by maximizing profit.   Method and implementation: By conducting a qualitative study and interviewing several fund managers at the largest banks and fund companies in Sweden, the authors aim to answer the research question. The answers provided by the respondents are presented and analyzed in the empirical section and linked to the study's theory.   Conclusion: In this study, there is clearly shown that by investing, according to SRI, a professional investor is still able to profit maximize. The authors, therefore, see that the new way of being rational as an investor is to include SRI strategies. The relationship with being both sustainable and profit-maximizing can be seen as a significant motivating factor. The same can be said about reduced ESG risk and creating legitimacy towards customers. Furthermore, a combination of strategies can be seen as a way to create an optimal portfolio by the investors. This further proves that sustainable investing is the most rational way of investing and a way to achieve an investors main goal to profit maximize.

This paper examines what effects announcements of green bond issuances have on publicly traded firms’ stock prices in Europe. Signalling theory is used in line with suggestions from previous research to investigate potential abnormal returns. Using a dataset of 432 green bond issuances from 165 unique publicly traded firms on European stock exchanges, we conduct an event study around the announcement day [0,1] estimating abnormal returns using the market model. To further investigate determinants of abnormal returns we conduct a multiple linear regression analysis. We document no statistic or economic significant effect in our full sample. Only first-time issuances of green bonds have a significant abnormal return of 0,74% in the period after announcement but show no significant results on the announcement date. Green bonds being a credible signal of environmental commitment thus has inconclusive support in our study and equity investors seem largely indifferent to firm’s green bond announcements.

In Sweden, electricity is purchased on a so-called day-ahead spot market (Nordpool). The electricity is based on a predicted hourly need for the upcoming day [4, 5]. Production and consumption of electricity need to be balanced since it is hard to store electricity [25]. Today, electricity companies struggle to uphold this balance using currently available tools. A potential solution would be to support bidders by visualizing time-series. Then they could identify time-series lacking data crucial to the prediction phase and resolve them. In this thesis, a prototype was implemented consisting of different views/use-cases, aimed at simplifying the bidding process for balance responsible parties (BRPs). The prototype consisted of structured time-series and presents predicted data in a way that makes the decision making easier when placing bids. Results from a study using the prototype with BRPs and professionals showed that the use-cases/views are useful in terms of 1) getting a better structure, 2) identifying incomplete time series, 3) better quality assurance of the time-series and 4) lowering the time-consumption. Additionally, the bidders suggested that the addition of references, in terms of other prediction methods than the one that was used could improve their decision making. / I Sverige köps el på en så kallad day-ahead marknad (Nordpool). Elen är baserad på ett förutsagt timbehov för den kommande dagen [4, 5]. Produktion och konsumtion av el måste balanseras, eftersom det är svårt att lagra el [25]. Idag har elföretag problem med att upprätthålla denna balans med hjälp av nuvarande verktyg. En potentiell lösning skulle vara att stödja budgivare genom att visualisera tidsserier. Då kunde de identifiera tidsserier som saknar data som är avgörande för prediktionsfasen och förse dem med korrekt data. I denna avhandling implementerades en prototyp bestående av olika vyer/användningsfall, som syftar till att förenkla budprocessen för balansansvariga parter (BRP). Prototypen bestod av strukturerade tidsserier och presenterar predikterat data på ett sätt som gör beslutet enklare när de placerar bud. Resultat från en studie med prototypen tillsammans med BRP och yrkesverksamma visade att vyerna/användningsfallen är användbara när det gäller 1) att få en bättre struktur, 2) identifiera ofullständiga tidsserier, 3) bättre kvalitetssäkring av tidsserier och 4) minska tidsförbrukningen. Dessutom föreslog budgivarna att en tillsats av referenser när det kommer till andra prediktioners metoder än den som användas kan förbättra deras beslutsfattande.

Sustainability is more relevant than ever and has forced the pension industry to acknowledge new types of responsibilities during the last decades. Sustainable pension is based on the investing strategy, social responsible investment (SRI), which implies that pension funds should not solely focus on a good return of their investment, but also care for the social and economical welfare. Research has been conducted on the area of SRI and pension during the last decades but a gap has been identified as to how this research was eventually communicated to the customers. This thesis addresses this in two parts for the target group business customers. Firstly, to meet future demands in the pension industry, a better knowledge is needed of how the business customers understand what sustainable pension really is. This thesis aims to address this by answering the question “What are business customers’ understandings of sustainability and pensions?” Secondly, customers increasingly ask what impact their money is having on sustainability. In answer to this demand, a prototype with a concretization of sustainable pension savings was developed and evaluated, following a Human-Centered Design process throughout the thesis project. Interviews were conducted with pension experts and business customers. Results showed that business customers do not make a connection between sustainability and pension, that sustainability is diffuse and hard to understand in the financial setting, and that pension is too far from the operative business and perhaps the employees’ own responsibility. When explained, the belief was that sustainable pension is something positive. But preconceived notions about it being expensive and non-lucrative are factors that discourages. The final evaluation of the prototype was done with a user test that featured three of the four business customers from the interviews. Results pointed to that the business customers think that sustainable pensions became more understandable, that sustainable pension became more concrete, that it was interesting, fresh and that it broke new ground. The user test also revealed that rebound effects is a potential risk with sustainable pension, as participants expressed that they feel better and compensated with their own CO2 emission after they learned about the positive effects of a sustainable pension. / Hållbarhet är mer relevant än någonsin och har tvingat pensionsbranschen att erkänna nya typer av ansvar under de senaste decennierna. Hållbar pension är baserat på investeringsstrategin, ”social responsible investment” (SRI), som medför att pensionsfonder inte enbart ska fokusera på god avkastning, utan även ta hänsyn till social och ekonomisk välfärd. Forskning har utförts på området SRI ihop med pension under de senaste decennierna och ett kunskapsglapp har blivit identifierat kring hur denna forskning sedermera har kommunicerats vidare till kunderna. Den här avhandlingen adresserar det här i två delar för målgruppen företagskunder. För det första, för att möta framtida krav i pensionsbranschen, behövs det en bättre kunskap för hur företagskunders förståelse för hållbar pension är. Den här avhandlingens mål är att ta sig an detta genom att besvara frågan: ”Vad är företagskunders förståelse för hållbarhet och pension?”. För det andra, kunder frågar allt mer frekvent vilken skillnad deras pengar gör för hållbarhet. För att svara på detta har en prototyp med konkretiseringar av hållbar pension utvecklats och utvärderats. Prototypen följde en Human-Centered Design process genom hela projektet. Intervjuer utfördes med pensionsexperter och företagskunder. Resultat visade att företagskunder inte kopplar hållbarhet till pension, att hållbarhet är diffust och svårt att förstå i en finansiell kontext, och att pension är alldeles för långt från den operativa verksamheten och möjligtvis den anställdes eget ansvar. När det förklarades, upplevdes hållbar pension som någonting positivt. Men förutfattade meningar att det skulle vara dyrt och icke lukrativt är faktorer som avskräcker. Den slutgiltiga utvärderingen av prototypen gjordes med ett användartest med representanter från tre av de fyra företagen från intervjuerna. Resultaten pekade på att företagskunder tyckte att hållbar pension blev mer lättförståeligt, att hållbar pension blev mer konkret, att det var intressant, fräscht och att det bröt ny mark. Användartestet avslöjade också att ”rebound effects” är en potentiell risk med hållbar pension, då deltagarna uttryckte att det kändes bättre och att de blev kompenserade för deras egna CO2 utsläpp efter att de fick veta de positiva effekterna av hållbar pension.

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