The aim of this study is to explain the concept of energy and heating of buildings in Sweden and how it is affected by the energy politics. It further aims to compare some of the common heating systems in aspects of environment, economy and user friendliness and finally to find the most suitable alternative for the hotel and conference facility Hotel Höga Kusten. The world’s dependent of energy is growing but our sources of energy all leads to some kind of negative environmental impact. Heating of buildings and water is a big part of Sweden’s energy consumption and therefore it is important to make the buildings energy efficient and choose effective heating systems. Energy efficiencies can be done through changing behaviors of the users but also by new technology, equipment, components and so forth. Each building has its own unique conditions and depending on how the owner values the different aspects of a heating system it’s complicated to state the best option. Today, Hotel Höga Kusten uses electricity for heating, which is expensive and not so environmental friendly. Therefore, alternative options are evaluated. The conclusion from this study is that the most environmental friendly heating for the hotel is through biofuel combined with solar panels. Heat pumps are user-friendly and easier to install but there still will be a dependence of electricity left. All other kind of options than the current electrical heating requires installation of a waterborne distribution system which will constitute to a big part of the economic investment.

Corporate colonial behaviour of fashion companies has left the Rana Plaza in ruins and paved the garment industry with catastrophic deaths, casualties, and hypocrisies. As a consequence, the industry is being scrutinized, especially the cheap brands. This paper is an examination of the sustainability of clothes in relation to price and an exploration of the differences between price segments. Quantitative data in the form of price and country of manufacture of 173 t-shirts from different brands were collected and analysed by using the Sustainable Society Index. The results indicate that the social sustainability level of the country of manufacture accounts for roughly 20% of the differences in t-shirt prices. Clothes made in more socially sustainable countries indeed tend to have higher prices. However, the difference in social sustainability is not significant between the high-priced and the luxury segments. Environmental and economic sustainability have little influence on clothing prices. The limitations and implications of assessing product sustainability through the lens of the country of manufacture are addressed.

Climate change is happening, presenting threats and opportunities for society as a whole and business in particular. The transition to a low carbon economy as a result of climate change offers opportunities for business; it also represents an opportunity to create a more sustainable society. This paper considers how a business response to the climate change challenge can be used as a leverage to move towards sustainability. The focus is on adaptation strategies adopted to address the threats and opportunities presented by climate change. The tool for strategically planning for adaptation, developed herein, seeks to ensure that measures taken by business to adapt to climate change are also contributions towards a sustainable future.

Orientador: Lourenço Magnoni Júnior / Resumo: No mundo globalizado, as tecnologias complexas e flexíveis advindas do contexto técnico-científico e informacional da terceira revolução industrial estão cada vez mais inseridas nos diversos afazeres do cotidiano da sociedade. Portanto, essa pesquisa propôs ações educativas inovadoras, articulando o uso da tecnologia como meio no processo de ensino e aprendizagem da Geografia na Educação Básica. Nesse sentido, a pesquisa teve por objetivo central: planejar, desenvolver e avaliar o processo de aprendizagem dos conteúdos geográficos escolares relacionados à questão ambiental por meio de simuladores computacionais, contribuindo para o desenvolvimento da consciência socioambiental entre os alunos e a formação de uma sociedade sustentável. Utilizou-se a metodologia da pesquisa-ação estruturada em quatro etapas: o momento investigativo, a tematização, a programação-ação e a avaliação. Na primeira etapa foram realizados os seguintes levantamentos: das fragilidades no ensino de Geografia, propostos nos documentos oficiais da rede pública do estado de São Paulo; dos simuladores computacionais voltados para a educação ambiental; e do perfil dos alunos envolvidos na pesquisa. Na segunda etapa, houve o planejamento das aulas com a articulação do uso da tecnologia; na terceira etapa, implementou-se a prática planejada com os alunos e; por fim, avaliou-se o processo. Obteve-se como resultado uma comunidade escolar mais engajada com a educação ambiental capacitada para contribuir com a cons... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: In the globalized world, the complex and flexible technologies arising from the technical-scientific and informational context of the third industrial revolution are increasingly inserted in several daily activities of society. Therefore, this research proposed innovative educational actions, articulating the use of technology as a means in the teaching and learning process of Geography in Basic Education. In this sense, the research had as its main objective: to plan, develop and evaluate the learning process of school geographic contents related to the environmental issue, through the use of computer simulators, contributing to the development of socio-environmental awareness among the students and the formation of a sustainable society. The methodology of action-research was structured in four stages: the investigative moment, the theme, the action programming and the evaluation. In the first stage, the following surveys were conducted: the weaknesses in the teaching of geography proposed in the official documents of the public network of the state of São Paulo, computer simulators focused on environmental education and the profile of the students involved in the research. In the second stage, there was the planning of the classes with the articulation of the use of technology, in the third stage, the planned practice with the students was implemented and finally, the process was evaluated. The result was a school community more engaged with environmental education able to... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Sustainable development has for a long time been a much spoken topic worldwide and so in Sweden. Sustainable development is about creating a social economic and cultural development and to ensure human well-being in balance with the earth´s ecological system. Nowadays sustainable consumption is also a much spoken topic. Sustainable consumption is about how humans consume, what humans consume and in what way. This means that we carefully need to choose what products to buy and use them as long as they are still alive. Because of human’s unsustainable way of using the resources from earth, we now need to stop using the linear economy and start using the circular economy. This will lower the environmental effect. This study aimed to investigate how AB Småland, a company in Malmö, can get customers to hand in furniture to the store for reusing. The company wants to expand their business by collecting second-hand furniture from costumers. In turn, they will sell these furniture at the company’s own auctions. The students' work was to help AB Småland to see what is required of them to get this process working, to get a flow with recycled furniture. The study included an investigation of the Miljönär-Vänlig labels’ options to facilitate consumers to make better choices for a more sustainable consumption in the future. To do research on how consumers think and act was relevant to understand why these behaviors occur in order to understand the value of marketing sustainability. The study also included previous research in the area. The study’s two issues: [1] How can AB Småland get customers to hand in furniture to the store for recycling? [2] Can a label like Miljönär-Vänlig help consumers to understand the concept for stores that work with sustainability? To answer the first issue of the study the students gathered data through interviews with companies that work with the durability to take note of how they solved it. To be able to answer the second issue of the study the students carried out a web survey in which the purpose was to gather information about consumers' attitudes to sustainability and their consequences of consuming. In order to underpin both issues, literatures were used and were carefully chosen to answer the purpose of the study. The report presents the results for the study’s two issues that both have all three data collection methods proving them. The result from the study’s’ first issue shows that AB Småland should focus a lot on the preparatory work and strategies that will be required to get their new part of the business to be profitable. They have got help with some parts through the proposal of a business model, SWOT analysis, competitive analysis, how to design the "Re-Mill tab" on the website, which the students produced. The result from the study’s’ second issue shows that Miljönär-Vänlig is a label that is not suitable for AB Småland in the current situation because it is for those operations where the main part of the business is about "fix, borrow and reuse" in order to minimize waste. It can be a good tool for stores, which work with environmental issues, in order to help the consumer make better choices. But AB Småland can create an own label that shows customers how the company works with sustainable products. To get AB Smålands new part of the business profitable, they should consider that it requires thorough preparation. Time is of essence and other resources are needed and the work should not be rushed. Before they start this process, AB Småland should establish and clearly review policies and their business model so everyone in the company can be initiated. The students have come to the conclusion that AB Småland has to work with their marketing in order to reach consumers and help them understand the company’s values and concepts. / Hållbar utveckling har varit ett omtalat ämne, internationellt men så även i Sverige, under en längre tid. Hållbar utveckling handlar om att skapa en fungerande samhällelig ekonomisk och kulturell utveckling samt att säkerställa mänskligt välbefinnande- i balans med jordens ekologiska system. Nu är även hållbar konsumtion ett mycket omtalat ämne. Med detta menas hur och vad vi konsumerar men också på vilket sätt, vilket innebär att vi måste välja rätt vara, som ska användas på rätt sätt under tillräckligt lång tid. Vi behöver övergå från de linjära materialflöden vi har idag, där produkter tillverkas för att användas och sedan kasseras, till cirkulära flöden där vi förlänger produkter livscykel och på så sätt minskar miljöpåverkan eftersom vi använder jordens resurser på ett sätt som inte är hållbart. Den här undersökningen syftade till att undersöka hur AB Småland (hädan efter kallat ABS), ett företag med butik i Malmö, kan få kunder att lämna in möbler till butiken för återbruk. Företaget vill utöka sin verksamhet genom att ta in begagnade möbler från kunder, som de i sin tur ska sälja vidare på företagens auktionstillfällen. Det var här studenternas arbete blev relevant, att hjälpa ABS att se vad som krävs av dem för att få ett bra flöde med återvunna möbler. Att undersöka möjligheterna för hur en märkning som Miljönär-Vänlig påverkar konsumenters inställning till mer hållbara konsumtionsval, blev intressant för att se hur ett företag som ABS bör marknadsföra sig. Här blev det relevant att undersöka hur konsumenter tänker och agerar. Vad vet konsumenter om hållbarhet idag? Studiens två frågeställningar är: [1] Hur kan ABS få kunder att lämna in möbler till butiken för återbruk? [2] Kan en märkning som Miljönär-Vänlig hjälpa konsumenter att förstå konceptet hos butiker som arbetar med hållbarhet? För att besvara studiens första frågeställning samlade studenterna in data genom intervjuer, med företag som arbetar med återbruk, för att ta del av hur de arbetar med detta. Vidare genomfördes en webbenkätsundersökning där syftet var att samla information kring konsumenters inställning till hållbar konsumtion för att besvara frågeställning två. För att stärka båda frågeställningarna, användes även litteratur som var noga utvald för att besvara studiens syfte. I rapporten presenteras resultat under studiens två frågeställningar som båda har samtliga tre datainsamlingsmetoder, webbenkätundersökning, intervjuer och litteraturstudier som styrker dem. Resultat till frågeställning ett visar att ABS bör arbeta mycket med förarbete, så som SWOTanalys, konkurrensanalys, marknadsföring och strategier för att få deras nya del i verksamheten att bli lönsam. De har som hjälp fått ta del av förslag till en affärsmodell, där SWOT-analys och konkurrensanalys tagits fram som underlag till detta. Studenterna har även utformat ”Återbruks-fliken” som är tänkt att finnas på företagets hemsida. Detta för att visa på ett förslag hur ABS kan marknadsföra sitt arbete. Resultatet under frågeställning två visar att Miljönär-Vänlig är en märkning som inte lämpar sig för ABS i dagsläget då märkningen är till för de verksamheter där huvuddelen handlar om ”laga, fixa, låna och återanvända”. Dock kan märkningen vara ett bra verktyg för butiker i handeln som arbetar med miljöfrågor i syfte att hjälpa konsumenter. ABS bör beakta att det krävs gedigna förberedelser för att få arbetet med återbruk lönsamt. De bör även ta hänsyn till att arbetet kommer kräva olika resurser och tiden är inte att underskatta. De borde tydligt gå igenom strategier och de delar som studenterna arbetet fram för att sedan utveckla detta med sin kompletterade kunskap. Studenterna har även kommit fram till att ABS bör arbeta mycket med sin marknadsföring till konsument för att de ska få upp ögonen för företaget och förstå deras nya koncept. I nuläget blir det inte aktuellt för ABS att märka sig med Miljönär-Vänlig men de kan däremot skapa en egen ”märkning” som visar hur företaget arbetar med hållbarhetsfrågan.

Introdução: A sociedade atual tem sofrido com o agravamento dos problemas ambientais e da crise ecológica. Enfrentar essas questões impõe à Educação um grande desafio. A educação ambiental escolar pode proporcionar o empowerment dos educandos, por meio da reflexão, da tomada de consciência e da formação de valores compatíveis com a construção de uma sociedade sustentável. Objetivos: Verificar se a educação ambiental é praticada nas escolas investigadas, suas estratégias, os atores envolvidos e as dificuldades enfrentadas; conhecer a opinião e o envolvimento de educadores, pais e alunos com a democracia participativa e o protagonismo dos estudantes; identificar os impactos do trabalho pedagógico na saúde ambiental e na qualidade de vida de suas comunidades educativas. Métodos: Pesquisa qualitativa do tipo pesquisa-ação. Instrumentos de investigação: grupo focal com professores, entrevistas com alunos e pais e questionários com as equipes técnicas de dez escolas públicas municipais de São Paulo. Resultados: A Educação Ambiental, a democracia participativa e o empowerment dos alunos ainda é uma realidade distante na maioria das escolas. As estratégias carecem de planejamento, são pontuais e individualizadas. Os educadores necessitam de formação e condições de trabalho adequadas. A forte cultura hierárquica e a acomodação dos educadores dificultam a democracia participativa nas escolas, mas há exemplos bem sucedidos de protagonismo dos alunos e participação da comunidade. Há divergências sobre a saúde ambiental da escola, a influência governamental e o papel de cada membro da comunidade educativa sobre o sucesso ou fracasso dos projetos pedagógicos. Conclusões: Prevalecem os currículos, práticas e concepções típicas de uma educação conservadora na maioria das escolas, apesar do consenso geral sobre a necessidade de formar alunos cidadãos críticos, participativos, éticos e felizes para uma sociedade melhor e sustentável / Introduction: Nowadays the ecological crisis and the environmental problems around the world have been an important preoccupation. To the education it means a great challenge. So, the environmental education in school could provide the empowerment of the students by making them conscious about the values and acts necessary to get a sustainable society. Objectives: To verify if the environmental education had been practiced in the schools; the strategies adopted, the actors, and difficulties of them; to know the opinions and the involvement of teachers, students and parents with participative democracy and protagonist acts of the students; to identify the effects of the education projects in the environmental health and quality of life of the schools. Method: Thats a qualitative method with three investigation instruments: focal groups (teachers), interviews (students and parents) and questionnaires (technical groups members) of ten public schools of São Paulo City. Results: A few number of the school developed environmental education, democratic participation and empowerment of their students. Most of them explained that they developed their work by the use of punctual and disconnected actions. In general, teachers showed that they need to be better prepared to this task. Also their work conditions need to be improved. The strong power structure of the schools is a great problem to install the democratic participation of their members. There were different opinions about health environmental conditions of the schools, the educations projects and the governments or members of the schools papers over them. Conclusions: Traditional curriculums and practices based on old conceptions of education were presented by the most of schools, although they had the aim to make conscious, ethics, participative and happy citizens for a healthy and sustainable society

Introdução: A sociedade atual tem sofrido com o agravamento dos problemas ambientais e da crise ecológica. Enfrentar essas questões impõe à Educação um grande desafio. A educação ambiental escolar pode proporcionar o empowerment dos educandos, por meio da reflexão, da tomada de consciência e da formação de valores compatíveis com a construção de uma sociedade sustentável. Objetivos: Verificar se a educação ambiental é praticada nas escolas investigadas, suas estratégias, os atores envolvidos e as dificuldades enfrentadas; conhecer a opinião e o envolvimento de educadores, pais e alunos com a democracia participativa e o protagonismo dos estudantes; identificar os impactos do trabalho pedagógico na saúde ambiental e na qualidade de vida de suas comunidades educativas. Métodos: Pesquisa qualitativa do tipo pesquisa-ação. Instrumentos de investigação: grupo focal com professores, entrevistas com alunos e pais e questionários com as equipes técnicas de dez escolas públicas municipais de São Paulo. Resultados: A Educação Ambiental, a democracia participativa e o empowerment dos alunos ainda é uma realidade distante na maioria das escolas. As estratégias carecem de planejamento, são pontuais e individualizadas. Os educadores necessitam de formação e condições de trabalho adequadas. A forte cultura hierárquica e a acomodação dos educadores dificultam a democracia participativa nas escolas, mas há exemplos bem sucedidos de protagonismo dos alunos e participação da comunidade. Há divergências sobre a saúde ambiental da escola, a influência governamental e o papel de cada membro da comunidade educativa sobre o sucesso ou fracasso dos projetos pedagógicos. Conclusões: Prevalecem os currículos, práticas e concepções típicas de uma educação conservadora na maioria das escolas, apesar do consenso geral sobre a necessidade de formar alunos cidadãos críticos, participativos, éticos e felizes para uma sociedade melhor e sustentável / Introduction: Nowadays the ecological crisis and the environmental problems around the world have been an important preoccupation. To the education it means a great challenge. So, the environmental education in school could provide the empowerment of the students by making them conscious about the values and acts necessary to get a sustainable society. Objectives: To verify if the environmental education had been practiced in the schools; the strategies adopted, the actors, and difficulties of them; to know the opinions and the involvement of teachers, students and parents with participative democracy and protagonist acts of the students; to identify the effects of the education projects in the environmental health and quality of life of the schools. Method: Thats a qualitative method with three investigation instruments: focal groups (teachers), interviews (students and parents) and questionnaires (technical groups members) of ten public schools of São Paulo City. Results: A few number of the school developed environmental education, democratic participation and empowerment of their students. Most of them explained that they developed their work by the use of punctual and disconnected actions. In general, teachers showed that they need to be better prepared to this task. Also their work conditions need to be improved. The strong power structure of the schools is a great problem to install the democratic participation of their members. There were different opinions about health environmental conditions of the schools, the educations projects and the governments or members of the schools papers over them. Conclusions: Traditional curriculums and practices based on old conceptions of education were presented by the most of schools, although they had the aim to make conscious, ethics, participative and happy citizens for a healthy and sustainable society

As the name suggests and according to the developers’ intention, Social Networking Sites (SNS) are designed as tools for users to make friends and express themselves. However, the usage of SNS apparently goes beyond these aspects with more plurality and possibilities unforeseen by their conceivers. Much evidence shows that communicating about the environment and nature on social networking sites is a prominent phenomenon. However, few researchers have shed light on the individual use of SNS for environmental communication. Individuals in both China and Sweden generate, seek, disseminate and discuss environmental news and information on SNS. This exploratory study employs qualitative methods to examine this practice and compares the differences and similarities between Chinese and Swedish individuals in terms of environmental communication. Focusing on motivation and engagement, the study explains and describes why and how individuals in these two countries are engaged in environmental communication. The study also examines the social and political implications of this phenomenon by discussing the relationship among new technology, communication and social changes.

The understanding of the role of the contracting authority in public procurement is important to understand the underused potential of public procurement to contribute to the sustainable development of society. In particular, the concept of public-private cooperation was suggested to increase this potential, but not enough is known about how the interaction has to take place in order to address the behavioural factors that cause the barriers to sustainable public procurement. The results of this research showed that the leading role of the contracting authority could facilitate sustainable procurement by increasing engagement, interaction and collaboration. A strategic planning approach to support the public-private cooperation in the procurement process is needed. Based on the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, a support for the contracting authority was designed to guide the strategic planning of the procurement process. The suggested design of Support for Strategic Sustainable Procurement was evaluated and found likely to support the contracting authority in strategically leading the public procurement process to leverage the potential of public procurement on the transition towards a sustainable society.

Examensarbetet har genomförts som en Minor Field Study (MFS), i Kina med fokus på hållbar fysisk planering. Begreppet hållbar utveckling är omfattande varför arbetet har begränsats att belysa fyra viktiga områden med stark koppling till fysisk planering; Energi, Transport, Vatten och Avfall. Examensarbetet har delats upp i två delar; Teori och Fältstudie - Shidao. Utvecklingen i Kina går snabbt och städer växer med en rasande fart i en process som många gånger dominerats av kortsiktigt ekonomiskt fokus. Under senare år har fysisk planering med fokus på hållbar utveckling uppmärksammats. Hållbarhetsbegreppet har bland annat sin utgångspunkt i det ekologiska kretsloppet. Industrialiseringen har inneburit kraftigt ökad energiförbrukning i Kina och kol används i stor utsträckning vilket är en av orsakerna till ökade föroreningar i landet. 16 av världens 20 mest förorenade städer ligger i Kina och lösningen på problemet är bl.a. förnyelsebara energikällor och att hushålla med energin. Den kraftigt ökande efterfrågan på bilar och ökade trafikmängderna orsakar allvarliga problem med föroreningar i storstäder runt om i Kina. Välfungerande kollektivtrafik lyfts fram som ett viktigt element i ett hållbart samhälle samtidigt som gång- och cykeltrafik ska uppmuntras och prioriteras i den fysiska planeringen. Hantering av vatten och avfall får också stora konsekvenser i den snabba utveckling som Kina står i. Efterfrågan på vatten ökar samtidigt som det uppstår stora problem med förorenat vatten. Dagvattenhanteringen är ett viktigt område där fysisk planering kan spela en avgörande roll. Vad gäller avfallshanteringen måste mängden avfall minskas samtidigt som allt mer av avfallet återanvänds eller återvinns. Följande referensområden har studerats med syfte att lyfta fram stadsutvecklingsprojekt med fokus på hållbarhet: Bo01/Västra hamnen i Malmö, Viikki i Helsingfors och Luodian Town i Shanghai. Cheklista som utgångspunkt för fältstudien i Shidao, Kina: Energi NYTTJA FÖRNYELSEBARA ENERGIKÄLLOR EFFEKTIV DISTRIBUTIONSTEKNOLOGI ENERGI-EFFEKTIVT BYGGANDE UPPMUNTRA TEKNOLOGI/SYSTEM FÖR ÅTERANVÄNDNING INFORMATION OCH MEDBORGARDELTAGANDE Transport PRIORITERA KOLLEKTIVTRAFIK UPPMUNTRA MILJÖVÄNLIG FORDONSTEKNIK MINSKA BILANVÄNDNING UPPMUNTRA GÅNG- OCH CYKELTRAFIK Vatten SÄKRA PRODUKTION OCH DISTRIBUTION RENA DAGVATTNET FÖRHINDRA ÖVERSVÄMNING BIDRA TILL MÅNGFALD OCH ESTETISKA VÄRDEN Avfall MINSKA, ÅTERANVÄND, ÅTERVINN FÖRBÄTTRADE, SANITÄRA DEPONIER INFORMATION OCH MEDBORGARDELTAGANDE Området, ett nedlagt industriområde, står inför en omvandling till bostäder, kontor och handel och under den tidiga planeringen har hållbarhetsaspekterna fått mycket lite fokus. Fältstudien omfattar en inventering av området men också en analys av de tidigare planerna som redovisats för den nya bebyggelsen. Analysen av tidigare planförslag har sin utgångspunkt i den nämnda checklistan och följs av förslag på ändringar av det befintliga planförslaget. Två områden, en offentlig miljö och en privat miljö har detaljstuderats. Befintligt planförslag arbetades om i två detaljerade planförslag för att rymma de åtgärder som lyfts fram i analysen. Stadsplaneringen i Kina står inför avgörande beslut vad gäller miljön. Planering på lång sikt kommer att krävas och många viktiga aspekter att ta hänsyn till inom hållbar planering ryms i den cheklista som presenteras i examensarbetet. / Josef Erixon, tel: 070-3329196, Tina Bosnjak, tel: 070-6078064