This diploma thesis deals with the topic of social business in the South Bohemian and Pilsen Region, its development and possibilities for further development. The aim of the thesis is to evaluate the state of social business in both regions and to recommend possible steps that would lead to a greater development of social business in the Czech Republic. The theoretical part deals with the history of the social economy and its subjects. Attention is also devoted to social entrepreneurship, its development and the principles that social enterprises must follow. Further, there is described the development of social entrepreneurship in the Czech Republic, legislation and support possibilities for social enterprises. In this section, there are also examples of countries where social enterprises is working successfully. These are Great Britain, Italy and Poland. The practical part deals with the evaluation of the questionnaire survey, which took place among managers of social enterprises in both regions. Questions in the questionnaire were very broad. There were questions about the size of the enterprises , the cooperation, the problems that enterprises face or the benefits of doing business for the company. Based on the results of this survey, research questions were answered. Further, recommendations are described in this part, which could help to further develop social entrepreneurship in the Czech Republic. This is rather a nationwide recommendation. In this case, the empirical investigation is rather supplementary.

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No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - José Saraiva.pdf: 22991420 bytes, checksum: e836f2abfe79e26c39e991417f888d60 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-12-04 / Não informada / Data of institutions linked to the government, indicate that Brazil loses about R$ 8 billion per year to fail to recycle their solid waste, in this context, this work goes on to add with the willing objectives, by creating a business model for managing an industry of Contract Manufacturer for TFT-LCD Displays and exploring Services Remanufacturing and repair of LCD-TFT displays. All these products are intended for intermediate goods industry and services with the prospect of Adding Value to Sustainable productive chain, supply chain, providing Income and Employment generation to groups and associations on separate collection of consumer electronics, revitalizing , in a strategic way the trade balance of semiconductors components, today unfavorable, in the Brazilian and Latin American market. The methodology used aims to provide a holistic approach of the product chain, with the aim of having a better understanding of all gains, risks, advantages and disadvantages, with the purpose of showing the viability and sustainability of the proposed business model. Was examined initially, legal, environmental, social and economic aspects of electronic waste; then is presented a business plan for a company Spin-off, which proposes to build a remanufacture and repair industry, from products collected at the end of the life cycle. Glass with the deposition of the active matrix - TFT (ITO), is an essential raw material for business, will be availed from LCD Displays collected. Operations and strategies of the Spin-off Company are discussed starting from a sustainable value model, where the sustainable value generation is the efficiency of business processes, automation, acquisition of machinery and equipment, the production process design, in good management practices, knowledge management and technological innovation through the construction and improvement of new machines inherent Remanufacturing and Repair process, thus ensuring a high level of reuse of this raw material/waste, providing reintegration as intermediate good in the product life cycle, bringing financial benefits for cooperatives, professionalization of the cooperative members, maximizing the number of product collected with low loss of raw materials / process waste salvageable besides development actions related to the social aspects of sustainable development in the context of the Triple Bottom Line. / Dados de instituições ligadas ao governo, indicam que o Brasil perde cerca de R$ 8 bilhões por ano ao deixar de reciclar seus resíduos sólidos(IPEA), neste contexto, este trabalho passa a ganhar força de acordo com os objetivos dispostos, que são respectivamente, o de criar um modelo de negócios que opere uma empresa no formato Contract Manufacturer em Dispositivos de telas de LCD de matriz ativa e a exploração de Serviços de Remanufatura e Reparo de Displays de LCD-TFT. Todos esses produtos, destinam-se a indústria de bens intermediários e assistências técnicas, com a perspectiva de Agregar Valor Sustentável a cadeia produtiva, cadeia de suprimentos, proporcionando a Geração de Emprego e Renda aos grupos e associações de coleta seletiva de produtos eletroeletrônicos, revitalizando, de forma estratégica, a balança comercial de componentes semicondutores, hoje desfavorável, no mercado brasileiro e latino americano. A metodologia empregada, busca proporcionar uma visão holística da cadeia do produto, com o propósito de haver um melhor entendimento de todos os ganhos, riscos, vantagens e desvantagens, mostrando a viabilidade e a sustentabilidade do modelo de negócios proposto. Examinam-se inicialmente, os aspectos legais, ambientais, econômicos e sociais dos resíduos eletroeletrônicos; depois, apresenta-se um plano de negócios de uma empresa Spin-off, que se propõe a construir uma indústria de remanufatura e reparo, a partir de produtos coletados em final do ciclo de vida. O estado da arte, toma como base o Vidro com deposição da matriz ativa – TFT, que é o insumo essencial para o negócio, aproveitado a partir das telas de LCD coletadas. As operações e estratégias da empresa Spin-off, são discutidas à luz de um modelo de valor sustentável, trazendo ganhos financeiros para as cooperativas, profissionalização dos cooperados, maximização da quantidade de produtos coletados, proporcionando baixa perda de insumos/resíduos aproveitáveis ao processo, além de desenvolver ações ligadas aos aspectos sociais do desenvolvimento sustentável, no contexto do Triple Bottom Line.

The aim of this bachelor thesis is to investige how Swedish companies in the pulp- and paper industry are affected by the CO2 tax and how their perceived effects differs from the actual effects. The work includes interviews with employer representatives from six different companies. The respondents have been chosen based on their position in the company. Furthermore a pilot study was conducted with two interviews leading the study to the right direction. One of them was a tax expert at Skatteverket and the other one was an Energy Director at Skogsindustrierna. The questions asked were for example: “How do you work with sustainability issues”, “are your business affected by any special environmental taxes” and “what do you think about existing environmental regulations”. One of the conclusions turned out to be, that all of the companies are well informed about the sustainability issues. Most of the companies are also working with these issues on a high strategic level. Only one company thought that the Swedish taxation law affected their competitiveness. Another conclusion is that there is almost no complaints about different taxes and especially not the CO2 tax. One company complained however about the tax on NOx. Most of the investments have already been implemented or the technology is not sufficiently developed. / År 1995 trädde lagen om skatt på energi i kraft och kom då att samla alla fem tidigare lagar kring energi och koldioxid under ett och samma paraply. Sett ur en internationell synvinkel har Sverige en väldigt hög koldioxidskatt och vissa intresseorganisationer menar att den höga koldioxidskatten drabbar småföretag. Andra framstående miljövetare menar att Sverige är ett föregångsland och en förebild då vi lyckats kombinera en ekonomisk tillväxt samtidigt som vi haft minskade utsläpp. Enligt en studie är det fem huvudsakliga industrier som drabbats hårdast av koldioxidskatten, däribland skogsindustrin, vilket bidragit till att den utgjort det empiriska bidraget till denna rapport. I och med att åsikterna kring skatternas reella påverkan på klimatet i förhållande till skattens storlek går isär, så är det intressant att studera hur företagen i verkligheten agerar på de skatter som införs, dvs om deras agerande stämmer överens med deras åsikter och ståndpunkter. Det svenska näringslivet har varit en viktig aktör i arbetet med att minska miljöpåverkan från samhällets olika institutioner. Att arbeta med hållbarhet innebär att minska miljöpåverkan både ur ett miljömässigt och socialt perspektiv och samtidigt kunna visa på lönsamhet. De organisationer som fokuserar p h llbarhet har ett högre börsvärde och bättre ekonomisk avkastning. Existerande regleringar och miljöskatter är dock ifrågasatta av många företag och de säger sig uppleva dessa som inkonsistenta, ineffektiva och oklara. Klimatrelaterade styrmedel påverkar industrin till investeringar och nya styrmedel uppfattas ofta som hot gällande industrins konkurrenskraft men inte alltid då de också öppnar upp för innovativa ideér. Denna rapport syftar till att studera svenska företag inom sågverks-, massa- och pappersindustrin, och hur de berörs av olika energiskatter. En förstudie genomfördes med en person på Skatteverket och en person inom skogsindustrins branschorganisation - Skogsindustrierna. I studien gjordes ett urval bestående av totalt sex företag. Vidare användes en abduktiv kvalitativ ansats i studien. Resultaten visar att företagen mestadels är överens om frågor kopplade till miljö. Den övervägande åsikten är att företagen är positivt inställda till de olika skatterna med undantag från ett företag som tycker de är för höga. Alla företag var väl informerade om de olika regleringarna och arbetet med dessa frågor bedrivs på strategisk nivå. Alla deltagande företag hade också ett aktivt hållbarhetsarbete där de flesta ligger i framkant och har väl utarbetade strategier för hur de ska vara så miljövänliga som möjligt. De miljöaspekter som företagen måste ta hänsyn till varierar men rent generellt är transporter genomgående en betydande miljöaspekt för samtliga företag. Andra betydande miljöaspekter är CO2, NOx och el. Företagen har insett att ett proaktivt miljöarbete i många fall är bra för ekonomin men att det också ökar de positiva uppfattningarna om företaget vilken i sin tur påverkar förutsättningarna för fler affärer. De flesta av företagen har således kommit väldigt långt i sitt hållbarhetsarbete och många av de investeringar som idag är möjliga att göra är redan gjorda eller så är tekniken inte tillräckligt utvecklad.

Food waste has implications for the people, the planet, and profits. It presents a global problem which normally requires a local solution. Around 6% of the global food loss occurs in Latin America. However, the region lacks a clear strategy to address the issue, which is also true at the national level for countries such as Guatemala. Furthermore, the perception of different actors in the country towards food waste and its management remains unknown. The aim of this research is to explore on the attitudes towards food waste that might exist in the country by focusing on the restaurant sector with the objective of producing a holistic understanding of the issue. Concentration on the restaurant sector provides additional information of the matter, on a sector that shows limited research on it. To fulfill this objective, a case study was conducted, one that involved the participation of three actors directly related to restaurants as either managers or owners and an actor involved in the Municipality of Guatemala City. The research utilized semi-structured interviews and a review of the literature available on the subject as means of data gathering. The analysis was supported using the Triple Bottom Line Framework, a Positional Analysis ideology, the Sustainable Development Goals and the EU Waste Framework Directive. The results showed varied perceptions from the actors on the categorization of food waste, although impacts on an economic, environmental, and social dimension derived from food waste were acknowledged by all of them; being the latter the most prominent. For the actors, the generation of food waste was significant at the customer level, but was also influenced by the type of service provided by the restaurants. Additionally, the approaches selected by them to either directly or indirectly manage food waste covered a vast range of actions. Finally, the actors understood as key for addressing the food waste issue, the raising of awareness on the subject.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the barriers for and their impact cooperation and coopetition for sustainable distribution of Municipality goods in three selected cities. Design/Methodology/Approach: This thesis is based on a qualitative approach using a multiple case study as data collection strategy. The population building up three cases consists of ten Swedish mid-sized cities with an urban consolidation center. Of these are the three cities Växjö, Kalmar and Borlänge sampled and both the municipality and two locally active freight forwarders (one RFP-winner and one non-RFP-winner) per city are interviewed. These interviews aimed at identifying barriers to cooperation between municipalities and freight forwarders and barriers to coopetition between private freight forwarders for a sustainable distribution of municipality goods. The secondary data is based upon three literature streams: Sustainability, Distribution in Urban Environments and, Cooperation and Coopetition. Findings: The results indicate that the main barriers to cooperation from a freight forwarder perspective are incorrect or missing data in the RFP, price for municipality goods distribution and prohibition of goods consolidation. The main barrier to cooperation, fossil fuel free trucks, is a potential future barrier. The main barriers to coopetition are higher costs, lack of trust and price. These barriers have mainly an impact on the economical sustainability but can, and in some cases, will have effects on the other TBL-aspects. Research Limitations/Implications: The findings of this thesis provide the municipality with knowledge about barriers from the perspective of the freight forwarders which can aid construction of future RFPs. It also provides both municipality and freight forwarders with knowledge of the potential future barriers which could affect ongoing cooperation. Lastly it provides involved actors with knowledge of barriers hindering a coopetition approach in distribution, enabling the next step of solving the barriers. The value of this thesis is the knowledge of the implications as well as the combination of the three chosen literature streams which have not been researched in this context previously

The aim of this thesis is to propose a socially responsible activities, which could a smaller company, like Liho Blanice, deals with and implement them in practice. The theoretical part focuses on the introduction of the concept of CSR, its basic features and principles, as well as the methodology of Standard Responsible Company, and some concepts related to CSR. The next part deals with the application of CSR practices, from initial planning to its measurement. CSR strategies of three global producers of alcohol are compared. The practical part introduces the current activities of the company, the results of research to costumers, and based on them are then designed individual activities within CSR.

This thesis is about Circular Economy and sustainability through a retailer’s perspective. There has also been a focus on researching and trying to find out if the size of the retailer matters in a sustainability perspective and to achieve a Circular Economy. The research that has been made is done with a deductive approach and a qualitative method. Interviews have been held over a timeframe of a week in May 2020. Because of the pandemic, Covid-19, all of the interviews were held over telephone or email to ensure safety for all respondents, including the safety for the authors. The theory chapter has been conducted through peer-reviewed articles and literature. This chapter has then been divided into smaller parts chapters, as Circular Economy, Sustainability and Supply chain, and Triple bottom line. After the theory chapter the method in how the research have been done and why specific methods have been preferred over others. Following chapter is the empirical findings bundled together with analysis, each interview comes first separately and divided in the same way as the theory and are then compared in an analysis. The conclusion is that retailers need to continue working to become more sustainable. A way for retailers to present their work towards Circular Economy and sustainability is to be transparent and will reach consumers’ which can lead to higher reliability. There is a difference between larger and smaller retailers, it is in how the larger retailers have worked more towards incorporate Circular Economy model and sustainability in comparison to the smaller retailers.

Abstract Background: The oil industry is experiencing tremendous challenges due to the shifts in global markets and decreasing profits from oil. These challenges have steered companies to select more profitable investments and disregarding different matters of sustainability. However, the oil companies aim to be seen as more sustainable, since the demands of the public and governments increased toward sustainability. Thus, improving sustainability capabilities in the oil industry has become more critical than ever. In this study, the triple bottom line framework is used, which covers the social, environmental, and economical dimensions of sustainability. This study focuses on reactive and proactive practices that can overcome the barriers to achieving sustainability. Furthermore, the focus is on the oil industry’s pursuit of sustainability is facilitated by connecting reactive and proactive practices to improve the sustainability capabilities of a company. Purpose: The purpose of this study is first to identify the barriers to achieving sustainability in the oil industry and understand how companies can overcome these barriers by conducting reactive and proactive practices. Furthermore, the purpose is to understand how reactive and proactive practices can improve companies' capabilities for sustainability performance. Method: This study follows the inductive approach, as the aim was to discover new insights and assumptions from the studied phenomenon. Furthermore, the study is conducted as exploratory and qualitative, in order to provide a rich understanding of the barriers of sustainability within the oil industry, and how reactive and proactive practices can facilitate the capabilities for improving sustainability in companies. For the data collection method, semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts working within a single company that operates in the oil industry. The collected empirical data was analyzed with grounded analysis. Conclusion: With the empirical findings and existing literature, the internal and external barriers to achieving sustainability are identified. Furthermore, the connection with identified barriers and reactive and proactive practices is introduced, as well as how the practices facilitate overcoming these barriers. Also, the study connects reactive and proactive practices that improve sustainability capabilities in companies. The study suggests that practitioners focus on developing a solid foundation of reactive practices, on which to build strategies with proactive practices. Primarily the focus on the oil industry should be in the creation of environmental capabilities, as this potential is disregarded with the current set of practices. Improving triple bottom line dimensions is identified as a win-win process, which argues for the potential of improvement in environmental sustainability would assist in matching the economic and social demands of the oil industry.

The increased interest and awareness of sustainability from an consumer perspective has also implicated increased interest among furniture and interior retailers. Sustainability does not only imply environmentally friendly products and have become a discussed topic in multiple contexts. Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) have been implemented in several businesses to align with what society demands, which includes sustainability in multiple aspects. The increased interest for this matter has also implied communicating CSR practices as an answer to consumers and stakeholders demands. CSR and communication has a strong connection in theory but excludes detailed CSR communication strategies.  Therefore, in this thesis, the aim is to gain a deeper understanding for CSR communication strategies from a consumer perspective in the form of a content analysis of the Swedish furniture and interior retailers. The purpose is to benefit both a theoretical and managerial perspective with contribution of CSR communication strategies main foundation.  The research that has been conducted is a content analysis of 8 companies' content conveyed in their communication. The content analysis includes sustainability reports, CSR related documents and annual reports that have been analyzed from the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework. To fortify the research, a deductive approach with previous research has been conducted to analyze the findings.  The conclusion of the research results in a clear pattern of content conveyed by furniture and interior retailers. Presentation of goals and practices, including only positive CSR material and a focus on the environmental aspect are distinct. The large and less complex retailers convey their CSR practices more than smaller and more complex retailers. Conclusion can also be drawn that the economical aspect is often underlying in the conveyed content and the three aspects of TBL are often merged together.

In the wake of the increased digitalisation of the Swedish society, people who experience difficulties to utilise digital services turn to the public library for assistance. As a result, questions concerning how and to what extent the public library is supposed to support people in need of digital services is raised amongst the public library staff. The purpose of this thesis is thus to examine public library managers understanding of what role the institution should uphold in the midst of the depicted development, and how they enact in order to implement the defined role within the organisations they manage. The findings are based on qualitative interviews with seven public library managers from different municipalities i Västra Götalandsregionen. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using qualitative content analysis methodology, and the results were interpreted by means of Shaffer’s (2018) criterias for social sustainability within public library organisations. The findings display that the public library managers perceive a direct link between the Swedish library act and the role as information supplier and tutor of people in need of digital support. In order to utilise this understanding, the public library managers undertake various actions including securing good communications with staff, users and local politicians, facilitation of adequate training for staff members etc. while trying to establish above­named role, chiefly amongst the employees. Measured against Shaffer’s criterias and against literature on the viewpoints of librarians, users and politicians, these actions may have positive as well as negative effect on the public library’s social sustainability.