Despite the growing consensus on the importance of an extended responsibility for business, both the conceptual and practical understanding of “corporate responsibility” has remained limited. Corporate responsibility is still often understood as an add-on to business-as-usual or as a strategy to enhance business performance. In fact, in recent years, the concept of corporate responsibility has become associated with corporate deceit instead of corporate contributions to society, and tends to engender cynicism rather than a sense of hope. In this study I sought to explore a more hopeful and more “radical” conceptualisation of corporate responsibility. By looking at an international sample of “exemplary” values-driven businesses, this study provides insight into corporate responsibility not primarily as a means towards commercial ends but as an expression of a desire to “do good” and create social and/or environmental value. This study paints a picture of the rich, responsible reality of values-driven businesses. It describes their generous, human-centred approach to employees and the internal environment. It explores their deep sense of interdependence with the wider community in which they find themselves, and their extensive engagement with a wide variety of external parties, many of which are not “naturally” connected to business. It creates an understanding of the iterative, emerging and evolutionary nature of the CSR implementation process and the inherent impermanence of CSR “solutions”. While this study gives a comprehensive insight into various, generous and progressive practices, it shows that the essence of a “responsible existence” is not the implementation of certain practices alone, but relates to the willingness and ability to continuously question the established ways and practices of business in light of the higher business aspirations, which, for many, leads to a fundamentally different way of organising, managing and governing the business. At the same time, this study does not provide a glorified account of some kind of “utopian” responsible existence. Instead, it shows the “messy” reality of trying to implement social and environmental values, while faced with multiple demands and when embedded within a social and business context that does not necessarily hold the same values. The thesis describes the various conflicts and compromises related to the implementation of multiple, conflicting commitments and demands, and the different ways in which the sample businesses approach such situations. While the sample businesses are quite capable of gracefully navigating these conflicts in creative and pragmatic ways, the research also indicates that significant compromises are seemingly inevitable, and can, almost imperceptibly, move a company away from its envisaged values and commitments. Finally, this study argues that the currently dominant approach to corporate responsibility in organisational studies, which reflects a rationalised and economic perspective on CSR and business, will be insufficient to describe the rich reality found within these businesses, as it will edit out some of its most essential elements. I conclude this dissertation by proposing an alternative, human existential lens through which corporate responsibility in values-driven businesses can be understood. Through a review of the research findings in relation to three existential themes, I show that a human existential perspective is better suited to explore both the beauty and the struggle of values-driven businesses.

Rapportens syfte är dels att belysa om frisörbranschens miljöpåverkan genom kemikalieutsläpp, att undersöka hur kommunens tillsynsrutiner ser ut på frisörsalonger runt om i Sverige. Samt undersöka hur dessa rutiner skulle kunna förbättras för att minska farliga utsläpp och utifrån ett miljöperspektiv skapa mer hållbara arbetssätt. Det slutgiltiga syftet för rapporten är att den ska fungera som ett informationsunderlag till kommunernas tillsynsmän och även till de myndigheter och organisationer som de samarbetar med. Genom kemikalieutsläpp och otillräcklig avfallshantering har frisörbranschen stor påverkan både i inre och yttre miljöer (K. Boll 2011). En rapport från Stockholm Vatten som utfördes 2012 visar även att rester av aromatiska fenoler och aminer finns kvar i överskottsfärgen i håret efter hårfärgning och spolas därmed ut det kommunala avloppssystemet vid efterföljande hårtvättar när kunden gått från salongen. Om färgämnena inte bryts ned i reningsverket kan de störa reningsprocesserna eller försämra kvaliteten på det utgående avloppsvattnet och slam. Flertalet ämnen som vanligtvis hittas i hårprodukter är förutom hälsoskadligt också giftiga för våra vattenlevande organismer och kan orsaka skadliga långtidseffekter i vattenmiljön (S. E. Tjus 2014 ). Idag är inte frisörverksamheter anmälningspliktiga men de har skyldighet att utföra egenkontroll enligt miljöbalken (1998:901). Läkemedelsverket och kommunerna är operativa tillsynsmyndigheter för kosmetiska produkter och ska enligt miljötillsynsförordningen 2011:13 utföra tillsyn över frisörverksamheter. Trots att det finns relativt lite forskning på miljöskadliga ämnen kopplat till just i hygienprodukter så kan dessa ämnen i många fall hittas genom artiklar där det fokuseras på till exempel industriell verksamhet (Europaparlamentet 2007) (Läkemedelsverket 2003). Kathon är ett exempel på detta då det förutom i hårprodukter också används i färg, lim, skärvätskor, spackel och fogmassor. Ämnet kan vara allergiframkallande och är miljöskadliga (E. Vene 2015) (T. Svensson 2016). Inför denna rapport har jag valt att utföra en nulägesanalys över hur Sveriges kommuners tillsynsrutiner ser ut för frisörbranschen, detta skapades genom att kommunerna svarade på tre öppna frågor. För att få ytterligare underlag valde jag ut några kommuner som fick svara på en mer ingående enkät. Ännu ett perspektiv på frågorna har skapats genom att en enkät till frisörer skickats ut. Sammanställningarna av dessa intervjuer indikerar en tydlig informationsbrist både hos kommunen och frisörerna, de båda parterna skulle behöva en konkret plan för att utföra en mer effektiv tillsyn och därmed skapa en möjlighet för att arbeta mot att minska de miljöskadliga aktiviteterna. / The report's purpose is to shed light on the hairdressing industry's environmental impact by chemical emissions, to investigate how the routines for municipal supervisors look like in the hair salons around Sweden. And investigate if these routines could be improved to reduce the harmful emissions and from an environmental perspective create a more sustainable approach. The final aim of the report is that it should operate as an information base for municipal inspectors and also to the authorities and organizations they work with. Through chemical emissions and inadequate waste disposal hairdressing business has a great influence both on internal and external environments (K. Boll 2011). A report that Stockholm Water conducted in 2012 also shows that residues of aromatic phenols and amines remain in your hair after hair wash and are flushed out through the municipal sewage system. If the dyes are not broken down in the water treatment plant, they can interfere with treatment processes or reduce the quality of the outgoing wastewater and sludge. Most substances commonly found in hair products are in addition to harmful too toxic for our aquatic organisms and may cause long-term adverse effects in the aquatic environment (S. E. Tjus 2014). Today the hairdressing business is not notifiable but they are obligated to perform a self-monitoring system under the Environmental Code (SFS 1998:901). Medical Product Agency and municipalities are operational regulating authorities for cosmetic products and should, according to environmental inspection regulation (2011:13) supervise the hairdressing businesses. Although there is relatively little research on environmentally harmful substances linked to hygiene products, the same substances can often be found through articles which focus on industrial activities (European Parliament 2007). Kathon is an example of this as it except in hair products are also used in paints, adhesives, cutting fluids, putty and sealants. The substance is most likely both allergenic and environmentally harmful (E. Vene 2015) (T. Svensson 2016). Prior to this report, I chose to conduct an analysis of the current situation of how the Swedish municipalities' practices the supervising on the saloons. To obtain additional documentation I chose some municipalities that had to answer a more detailed questionnaire. Another perspective on these issues has been provided by a survey that was sent out to hairdressers in Sweden. The compilation of these interviews indicates a clear lack of information among the municipality and the hairdressers, the two parties would need a concrete plan to perform a more effective supervision, thereby creating an opportunity to work towards the reduction of environmentally harmful activities. / <p>2016-06-29</p>