Sustainability and sustainable production methods are becoming more important in the manufacturing industry all around the world. Within this trend, United Nations’ formulated 2030 Sustainable Development Goals are used as a target and guideline for developing a roadmap in manufacturing companies’ schedules. For this purpose, there are some existing methods used in practice such as Triple Bottom Line (TBL) management, which is based on the environmental, economic, and social aspects of sustainability. The purpose of this study is aiming to provide insights into the role of the TBL management approach in supporting companies to achieve the UN 2030 sustainability goals. As well as contributing to the ongoing discussions on the importance of sustainable practices in achieving the significance of the study. The findings of this study, gathered through a combination of qualitative primary and secondary data collection, show that there are some similarities and differences between the sustainability practices depending on the SDGs. Approaches of the companies vary with factors such as legislations, culture, and other formal and informal institutions of the country. It is found that most of the Dutch companies act more proactive regarding the SDGs whereas Turkish organisations are more reactive to change. It can be seen that Turkish organisations are very much still primarily focused on the economical perspective of TBL. Dutch organisations tend to prioritise the social and the environmental aspects more than their Turkish counterparts. It can also be identified that Turkish organisations tend to be incredibly focused on legislations, whereas Dutch organisations are more often moving towards their own visions and how they want to position themselves in the market. Even though there is a significant difference between the Dutch and Turkish organisations, it can be identified that the economical aspect plays a major role in both cases. Yet the way they work towards this differs strongly.

Background: CSR has become an integral part of most businesses during the years, however, it has not necessarily happened by choice for every company. Stakeholders have become aware of the negative impact ofcorporations’ operations and actions on the planet and on society, consequently, they started to pressure companies to be more responsible when conducting business. However, facing financial shortages might interfere with the accomplishment of these practices and corresponding activities. Furthermore, as differently sized and differently located companies might practice CSR in a different way, size and geographical location might also have an influence on these CSR practices and activities. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explore the influence of size and geography on CSR practices and activities adopted by SMEs and large corporations in Sweden and in Hungary when facing shortage in their financial resources. Method: In order to achieve the purpose, a qualitative research method has been used. Multiple case studies were conducted with two Hungarian SMEs, a Hungarian large enterprise, a Swedish SME and a Swedish large firm. The empirical data was collected with the help of semi-structured interviews as well as data from corporate websites, annual reports, sustainability reports and social media. Conclusion: The results of this thesis show that the approach each company takes to practicing CSR seems to influence all of their activities. The size of the company appears to influence fewer practices, while geography comes across as having the least influence among these factors.

Thinking sustainably is becoming increasingly important among companies. Today, there are demands from both stakeholders and the law to conduct sustainable operations. Companies have a social and ethical responsibility to achieve competitive advantage and a good corporate reputation. This is one reason why more and more companies today establish sustainability reports for their operations. It can be questioned whether the sustainability report is sufficient or if it is deficient. This study describes and explains the content of the sustainability report by analyzing the adequacy of the report and how it may develop in the near future. The essay is based on interviews with eleven respondents who are divided into four professional groups, accountants, companies, investors and academics. These professional groups have contributed an external and internal perspective to the sustainability report, which has provided a deeper understanding of the subject. The essay is based on a qualitative method with a deductive approach. There, the data material has been analyzed with the help of the theory section in order to be able to answer the essay's purpose and questions. The conclusion of the study is that the sustainability report is deficient, which is due to a lack of framework and regulation. The new regulation and framework of the future is well needed, but there is a clear doubt about the implementation.

This thesis explores the environmental and social responsibilities being increasingly shouldered by cement manufacturing sector and outlines a new approach for these companies to accept their responsibilities and to utilise professional approaches to address the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainable business. Managing these three dimensions in business translates corporate responsibility into an integrated responsibility for doing business profitably, ethically and in sustainable manner. This three-pronged approach is sometimes called the Triple Bottom Line. It helps companies to fulfil their more holistic Corporate Social Responsibility. A critical review of the literature led the thesis author to develop the theoretical framework for environmental and social reporting to proceed on TBL/CSR journey within the cement industry. Data were collected from TBL/CSR reports from cement companies on key environmental and social performances. Based upon those data, a questionnaire was developed to obtain more information from the leading worldwide cement companies. The combined results of the responses to the questionnaire and the quantitative data derived from the TBL/CSR reports were used to establish best practice benchmarks to serve as performance targets for the author's case study company, Oman Cement Company (OCC). The contribution to knowledge of this research is the summarisation and prioritisation of the cement industry's implementation of TBL/CSR management systems, which integrate the elements of TBL/CSR into their strategic plans and daily operational procedures. Guidelines were derived from the Global Reporting Initiative, the United Nations Global Compact and the new ISO 26000 standard, which promotes a new way of working towards innovation, value creation and incremental actions for transforming businesses to become more responsible. The contributions to practice of this research are the practical and procedural insights, gained by quantitative analysis of environmental and social indicators, into how cement companies are making improvements in their processes and products in response to climate change, economic, governmental regulations and social pressures for improvement. Based upon the findings, recommendations and timetables were developed and are being implemented within the OCC as it progresses on its TBL/CSR journey.

This research aims to fill an important gap in focusing on why individuals are able to take part in and/or support activities that have effects on economic, environmental, and social dimensions that are not consistent with their sense of right and wrong. The research focuses on the relationship between supply chain management and moral disengagement, and how this relation affects social responsibility. After observing individuals avoiding responsibility for misconduct an explanatory concept, moral decoupling, was proposed. Moral decoupling considers moral responsibility a flow in the supply chain. Moral decoupling occurs when the flow is restricted. If moral decoupling occurs at an identifiable point it is called a moral decoupling point. The concept was developed by identifying and linking specific supply chain activities and structures with moral disengagement, a theory that explains the deactivation of self regulation. Moral decoupling was able to suggest how to reduce moral disengagement and improve social responsibility. To validate the suggestions a literature review on social responsibility was conducted and identified sixteen elements of social responsibility in supply chain management. The suggestions based on moral disengagement were compared with elements of social responsibility and a large overlap was found. Lastly, suggestions on how to reduce moral disengagement and map moral responsibility in a supply network are proposed, links between elements of social responsibility are presented, and moral coupling is added as a complementary term to moral decoupling. A model explaining the relationship between ethical guidelines, moral responsibility, moral decoupling, and social responsibility is proposed. In relation to current theoretical knowledge the thesis has contributed to the field of socially responsible supply chain management with an application of a new theoretical lens that gives one explanation as to why identifed elements of social responsibility are important. The understanding of social responsibility has reached an increased explanatory depth following the identification of moral disengagement as a generative mechanism, subject to conditions in supply chain management. The research has also applied moral disengagement in a context not identified in earlier research, and shows some of the complexity of applying it to a real-world global context. The elements of social responsibility and moral (de)coupling help practitioners identify what they should focus on to increase social responsibility and also offer an explanation for `why?'. The findings can be used to construct supply chains that are less prone to misconduct and to identify where in the chain it is important to be aware of immoral behavior. The value and originality of this research is centered on the application of a new theoretical lens for socially responsible supply chain management. It is the only identified research in the area which identifies mechanisms on a generative level that explains human behavior and conditions to which those mechanisms are subject. This is also in itself a novel application of moral disengagement in a new research context. / <p>Doctoral thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Textile Management at the University of Borås to be publicly defended on Wednesday, December 10, 2014, at 1:00 p.m.,in room M404, University of Bor as, Allégatan 1, Borås</p>

Supply chains are increasingly incorporating sustainable elements as mean to meet intensified TBL awareness in the market and to promote competitiveness. Suppliers play a key role in enhancing Triple Bottom Line (TBL) outcomes in supply chain since they are responsible for raw materials that will be incorporated in the final product. Supplier Development (SD) can improve suppliers\' TBL capabilities, improving TBL outcomes throughout the supply chain. This research aims to explore Triple Bottom Line Supplier Development (TBL SD) for an improved TBL performance at supply chain level. To address the research general purpose a systematic literature review was conducted, followed by a basic literature review, in order to identify TBL SD practices, enablers and barriers. The systematic literature analysis was performed with support of QDA Miner software. A survey was performed involving Brazilian buying organizations to investigate the impact of TBL Supplier Development on the organizations\' performance at the operational, environmental and social dimensions. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS SEM) through Smart PLS 3 software. The results obtained point that practices adopted by organizations are in accordance to what literature suggests, highlighting the role of training and resources sharing as important practices adopted. The most impactful enablers to enable TBL SD are supplier evaluation, resources availability, and TBL culture at organizational level. Surprisingly, barriers appeared to be only slightly negatively correlated to TBL SD Adoption. It can be concluded that TBL SD adoption leads to improvements in all TBL legs (Operational, Environmental, and Social) although the impact on environmental performance is stronger. In turn, it was found that enhanced environmental performance can lead to improvements in both social and operational performance. Another interesting finding is that organizations in the Brazilian context are adopting TBL SD for internal reasons, and not due to pressures coming from the local market and community. / As cadeias de suprimentos estão incorporando cada vez mais elementos sustentáveis como meio de atender à crescente conscientização do mercado e promover competitividade. Fornecedores desempenham um papel fundamental no aprimoramento dos resultados sustentáveis na cadeia de fornecimento, uma vez que são responsáveis pelas matérias-primas que serão incorporadas no produto final. Nesse contexto, o desenvolvimento de fornecedores pode melhorar as capabilidades sustentáveis dos fornecedores, entregando melhores resultados a toda a cadeia de suprimentos. Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo explorar o Desenvolvimento de Fornecedores Sustentáveis para um melhor desempenho sustentável no nível da cadeia de suprimentos. Para atingir o objetivo geral da pesquisa, foi realizada uma revisão sistemática de literatura, seguida de uma revisão básica da literatura, a fim de identificar as práticas de desenvolvimento sustentáveis, fatores influenciadores e barreiras. A análise da revisão sistemática da literatura foi realizada com o apoio do software QDA Miner. Uma survey envolvendo organizações brasileiras foi realizada para investigar o impacto da adoção do Desenvolvimento de Fornecedores Sustentáveis no desempenho das organizações pesquisadas, tanto nos aspectos operacionais, ambientais e sociais. Os dados foram analisados usando a Modelagem de Equações Estruturais por Mínimos Quadrados Parciais através do software Smart PLS 3. Os resultados obtidos apontam que as práticas adotadas pelas organizações estão de acordo com o que sugere a literatura, destacando o papel do treinamento e compartilhamento de recursos como práticas importantes adotadas. Os fatores influenciadores mais impactantes para a adoção do Desenvolvimento de Fornecedores Sustentáveis são avaliação de fornecedores, a disponibilidade de recursos e a cultura sustentável no nível organizacional. Surpreendentemente, as barreiras parecem estar ligeiramente correlacionadas de forma negativa com adoção do Desenvolvimento de Fornecedores Sustentáveis. Pode-se concluir que a adoção do Desenvolvimento de Fornecedores Sustentáveis leva a melhorias em todas as dimensões da Sustentabilidade (Operacional, Ambiental e Social), embora o impacto no desempenho ambiental seja mais forte. Por sua vez, o desempenho ambiental pode levar a melhorias no desempenho social e operacional. Outra constatação interessante é que as organizações no contexto brasileiro estão adotando o Desenvolvimento de Fornecedores Sustentáveis por motivos internos, e não devido a pressões vindas do mercado e da comunidade local.

Purpose To determine sustainable Resource Based View drivers (RBV) (i.e. resources, capabilities) and motivation for the successful (i.e. positive Financial (FP) / Social Performance (SP)) implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the strategies of top performing companies in regards to CSR. In addition to find out how these drivers are being nourished, developed and utilized in order to contribute to the sustainable development in companies. Design/ Methodology/ Approach Interviews are held with CSR-managers from top performing companies based on their engagement and performance in CSR. In addition, their Corporate Responsibility (CR) reports are observed in order to apply triangulation on the company’s engagement in CSR. Furthermore shall reports by third party organizations be observed to get multiple perspectives on the concept of CSR and Sustainability? Lastly an exclusive guest lecture at Linnaeus University is attended which provided insight on corporate partnership in regards to CSR from the point of view of a charitable organization. Findings The most important non-financial drivers of CSR and Sustainability are; knowledge flow, capabilities and competence. Knowledge can be acquired through active engagement with all the company’s stakeholders, especially by collaborating with universities and for example charitable organizations. Companies have invested in the training of top level management in their understanding of the importance of CSR and Sustainability. This is because the top level management is seen as the driving and deciding force within the company to engage in CSR and Sustainability. Some companies have invested research in the understanding of their stakeholders’ perceptions on Sustainability issues which they deem as most important. Delimitations/ Limitations This research investigates the non-financial drivers (i.e. sources and antecedents) of CSR and Suitability in order to invest in and develop the drivers with the purpose of further developing Sustainability. This research is primarily focussed on Swedish companies as they seem to be further advanced in this subject due to for example legislation and the fact that Sweden is one of the most prosperous countries in the world. The purpose of this research is not to generalize the findings, but to provide insight so other companies could learn and develop themselves further in their pursuit for Sustainability.  Implications In order to develop Sustainability further companies need to create tighter collaborations with especially universities as the managers and business leaders for the future, but also other employees, are the students of today. Especially business students complain about the way their subject is being taught as it fails to thoroughly address current and future business problems. Furthermore the concept of Sustainability should be taught not only at universities but at high schools as well, because the society as a whole needs to collaborate to deal with the mega forces that await us in the not too distant future.  Originality/ Value CSR finds itself in a cross-section in academic literature between different affecting disciplines. By combining the different disciplines the authors want to contribute to sustainable development and competitive advantage in CSR-strategies by examining top performing companies who are (perceived to be) well advanced in this subject. Previous research has primarily focussed on proving the relationship between implementing CSR and positive Financial Performance (FP) as the driver of CSR. Much less have other antecedents to CSR been investigated with purpose of further improving sustainable development.

Klimatkrisen är en svår utmaning som alla på planeten tillsammans måste försöka att lösa. En av de branscher som idag har en stor negativ påverkan på klimatet är restaurangbranschen där verksamheterna främst arbetar med livsmedel, vilket har påvisats bidra till en stor mängd växthusgasutsläpp. Restaurangbranschens verksamheter behöver därmed ställa om till att bli mer hållbara när det kommer till såväl ekonomisk som social och ekologisk hållbarhet. Det finns en efterfrågan från restauranger som vill ha hjälp med att ställa om sina verksamheter till att bli mer hållbara, då de har svårt att veta vart och hur de påbörjar detta arbete. En genomlysning av aktuell forskning har visat på att det finns ett behov av att ta fram konkreta verktyg som underlättar hållbarhetsarbetet för verksamheter.Denna studie har därför haft som avsikt att besvara problemformuleringen:Vilka verktyg är praktiskt tillämpbara för att uppnå en hållbar restaurangverksamhet?Vi författare till denna studie valde att genomföra en explorativ studie då detta ansågs ge bättre möjligheter till att skapa en djupare förståelse inom vårt valda problemområde. För att ta reda på vilka verktyg som kan anses vara lämpliga för restaurangverksamheter har teorier, kopplat till förutsättningar och hinder, presenterats för att skapa en förståelse för vad som kan påverka valet av lämpliga hållbarhetshanteringsverktyg. De verktyg som har valts ut till denna studie är: hållbarhetsredovisningar, livscykelanalys, kvalitetsledningssystem, nätverk, utbildning samt grön nudging.Semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomfördes där respondenternas svar tyder på att det finns förutsättningar inom restaurangbranschen för att arbeta med hållbarhet. Intervjuerna visade även på att det finns hinder för detta, främst i form av tid, pengar och snäv kunskap om hållbarhet. Som komplement till intervjuerna framtogs en enkät för att undersöka respondenternas attityd till de utvalda verktygen. Det som anses vara det bäst lämpade verktyget för restauranger att implementera är utbildning, då kunskap är grundläggande för ett framgångsrikt hållbarhetsarbete. Även verktygen nätverk och grön nudging har visat sig vara väl lämpade för restaurangverksamheter.Studien har även bidragit med framtagandet av en modell, vars syfte är att bidra med struktur till studien, som visar de olika steg som restauranger bör genomgå innan implementering av ett verktyg på den operativa nivån av verksamheten. Vidare visas även vilka förutsättningar som är väsentliga och vilka hinder som kan uppstå, för att kunna arbeta med hållbarhet i verksamheten. De verktyg som anses vara mest praktiskt tillämpbara för restauranger är också de verktyg som har bäst förutsättningar och minst hinder för att kunna implementeras i verksamheternas dagliga drift.

Background: Cross-sector social partnership (CSSP) is a joint effort that utilizes resources from different sectors to solve social issues, such as poverty, pandemics and environmental degradation. According to the United Nations, the environmental tipping point of global warming is soon reached, and to avoid this irreversible situation, the collaboration between state and non-state actors is a requirement. With extended resources gained from different sectors, the outcome of the CSSP is greater than if the actors were handling issues by themselves. Problem: There is a growing trend of CSSPs that strive to mitigate climate change, and the Climate Council of Jönköping is a practical example of this phenomenon. Multinational corporations (MNCs) have a large environmental impact and therefore they have a special responsibility to contribute to communities’ efforts to tackle climate change. Furthermore, within CSSP literature, additional research of corporations’ roles in CSSPs has been suggested. Purpose: Considering the increased focus on partnership practices, along with research gaps and complex CSSP elements, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate how MNCs contribute to the CSSP, the Climate Council of Jönköping. Method: Descriptive research was used to describe how MNCs contribute to a CSSP. With an abductive approach, deeper knowledge about the Climate Council of Jönköping as a phenomenon was gained. Empirical data was collected through a qualitative study, consisting of observational research and in-depth interviews, which was analyzed by making use of template analysis. The MNCs of the Climate Council of Jönköping are Castellum, GARO, Husqvarna Group, IKEA, and Skanska. Conclusion: The major conclusion of this study is that the MNCs perceive that their task within the Climate Council of Jönköping is to be a role model and to exchange ideas and knowledge regarding sustainability with other actors. Within CSSP literature, trust among actors, clearly-defined roles, and bridging each other’s weaknesses, are central concepts. The findings about the MNCs deviate from this, as all these factors are not identified. This suggests that the Climate Council of Jönköping and the MNCs do not contribute to public value and mitigating climate change as much as they possibly could.

Sustainability is one of the main drivers today for change in the world, many organisations are trying to be sustainable in their own way. One of the ways to do this is to integrate sustainability, or the triple bottom line (TBL), in their decision-making. This study concerns developing decision criteria for an NPO operating within the recycling- and waste management sector, to be applied in a project portfolio selection framework. Thus, the purpose of the study is to support decision-making that will promote sustainability by developing decision criteria. Consequently, the main research question for the study is: which criteria assure project selection aligned with TBL? The decision criteria were developed by following the five-step approach for developing criteria by Tillman and Cassone (2012). The research is designed as a qualitative single case study and the research questions are answered by conducting semi-structured interviews. The study has shown that by combining TBL and the five-step approach, criteria were able to be developed promoting all three dimensions of TBL. However, combining TBL and the five-step approach did imply some changes and adjustments to the original five-step approach. Hence, the discussion provides an outline of a suggested framework that integrates the TBL approachinto the development of decision criteria and metrics. / Hållbarhet är en av de viktigaste drivkrafterna för förändring i världen idag och olika organisationer försöker vara hållbara på sitt eget vis. En strategi att göra detta är att integrera hållbarhet, eller triplebottom line (TBL), i sitt beslutsfattande. Denna studie handlar om att utveckla beslutskriterier för tillämpning i ett ramverk för projektportföljstyrning för en icke vinstdrivande organisation som arbetar inom sektorn för återvinning och avfallshantering. Syftet med studien är således att stödja beslutsfattande som främjar hållbarhet genom att utveckla beslutskriterier. Följaktligen är den huvudsakliga forskningsfrågan för studien: vilka kriterier säkerställer att val av projekt är i linje med TBL? Beslutskriterierna utvecklades genom att följa tillvägagångssättet för en femstegsmetod för att utveckla kriterier av Tillman och Cassone (2012). Studien är utformad som en kvalitativ fallstudie och forskningsfrågorna besvaras genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Studien har visat att genom att kombinera TBL och femstegsmetoden utvecklades kriterier som främjar alla tre dimensioner av TBL. Att kombinera TBL och femstegsmetoden innebar dock vissa förändringar och justeringar av den ursprungliga femstegsmetoden. Diskussionen presenterar därför ett förslag på ett ramverk som integrerar TBL i utvecklingen av beslutskriterier och mätetal.