The focus of this thesis was to develop a simplified framework for future sustainability reports. The traditional approach to corporate reporting is limited in its ability to meet expectations of stakeholders for what drives value creation in a business. Sustainability performance reports are aimed at providing stakeholders information regarding a company’s non-financial performance and to provide stakeholders some information regarding the future performance that can be expected. The idea behind sustainability and the triple bottom line is that a company’s ultimate success can and should be measured not just by the financial bottom line, but also by its social, environmental and economic success. Sustainability reporting, also known as triple bottom line reporting incorporates the economic, social and environmental performance of a company, but there is no universally accepted definition of the subject. Sustainability is a contested subject and defined differently by different groups to suit their purposes. This places the phenomenon in a situation where its future is threatened. / D.B.L.

This paper explores the extent to which corporations currently increase the voluntary disclosures in triple bottom line (TBL) reports. Although research already has provided substantial contributions as to why and how firms apply TBL reporting, there remains limited understanding of the motivations for and against making voluntary disclosures. Drawing from literature in environmental management and accounting as well as international auditing, this work focuses on guidance, boundarysetting and external assurance for TBL reports. An inductive case study approach is applied to investigate the credibility of TBL reporting by contrasting the competing predictions from legitimacy theory and voluntary disclosure theory on voluntary disclosures. A set of firm and industry specific factors are identified that are expected to determine a firm’s level and extent of reporting. The sample comprises nine US and EU red biotechnology corporations which aligned their TBL reporting to the GRI reporting standards in at least part of their TBL reports that were published between 2000 and 2009. An initial attempt is made to systematically investigate the credibility of TBL reporting to develop the model of voluntary disclosures. The empirical findings of this case study suggest that current guidance, boundary-setting and assurance for TBL reports are not sufficient to increase the credibility, comparability and reliability of reporting. Voluntary disclosure theory can serve to provide economic motivations, while legitimacy theory is helpful to provide a legitimating motivation. The findings support the notion that the economics-based factors better explain the secrecy strategy of providing mainly soft disclosures. The increase of disclosure levels maybe is considered sufficient to respond to public pressure. This work concludes by suggesting some directions of research in the areas of boundary-setting and assurance that have academic and practical implications.

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.

The need for donor funding has increased significantly over the last decade. Without donor funding millions of people wouldn’t be alive today. Thanks either to research finding a cure, successful treatment, funds donated for food, aid toward building infrastructure, or giving people the opportunity to further their education. Donor funding thus facilitates a better future. A literature review was conducted to give background on the health sector and how these funds were distributed, ethical clearance, different types of reporting, the role project managers pays in a project and the sustainability of projects. Expenses in different countries were evaluated by gathering data from the internet, while two international funded projects are also used to state how funders divide their line items into different categories. The empirical study used a qualitative research approach by collecting and analysing data obtained from the MDG 2010 report and other freely available data on the web. The main findings from this thesis are: *The Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) influence donor funding as it gives donors a guide towards funding needs. Donors are also influenced by their own preferences or what poses a burden to them individually. *The different types of reporting required for funding received, delay a project and the bureaucratic structures thereof are a hindrance. *Ethical clearance plays a fundamental role in the outcome of a project, as without ethical clearance a project cannot commence. *The objectives of a project play a critical role when applying for funding. This can change the focus of a project. *Expenses differ from country to country and funders need to take this into account when giving funding to recipient countries. *Project Managers and community involvement plays a critical role in ensuring sustainability of projects. THE SUSTAINABILITY OF DONOR FUNDED PROJECTS IN THE HEALTH SECTOR *The MDG’s are not on track and aid are focus on singular goals instead of multiple goals, to ensure an overall improved result. There is a major gap between needed funds and given funds. A single injection of funds will not be the solution to our health problem; different sectors need to collaborate together as we are facing a multi-dimensional problem. Trade and reform must also form part of this aid, ensuring a sustainable progression in the life’s of people. Donor funded projects may have a sustainable future, when taking in account the abovementioned findings. With the world trend in reporting changing rapidly, cost and management accountants as well as financial accountants and project managers have to equip them to adhere to the new way of reporting, namely integrated and sustainability reporting. South Africa is way behind and needs to catch up fast if they want to stay competitive in the “global donor funding market”. The limitations in this study were that not all expenses were evaluated and only 15 countries were looked at. An indebt look was taken into Africa with the empirical review, while Asia is also combating poor health issues. Some African countries like Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe did not have sufficient data to compare with other countries. From the research conducted, the following topics were identified that require further research: *Why are most projects in Third World countries not sustainable? *What plans are put into action to ensure that the MDG goals are reached? *Investigate what works for First World countries health systems and consider how that can be applied to Third World countries to ensure that they also get the best health care available. *Do donors take into account the different costs of countries when allocating funding to that specific country? *Establishing models to evaluate the sustainability of pilot projects and normal projects. *Establishing a model on how to distribute donor funds across different needs and not only one specific need. / MCom (Management Accountancy), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

During the search for a thesis topic, the researchers established contact with a civil servant at Växjö Municipality in Sweden who introduced them to the prospective project of the Reuse Village as part of the city’s waste management plan to enhance circular economy. Hence, the researchers’ purpose for this thesis is to explore the determined values and stakeholders’ involvement linked to the engagement of entrepreneurs towards a circular economy. Moreover, a thorough explanation of the literature review is conducted including the environmental, economic and social sustainability, in addition to the entrepreneurial and stakeholders’ involvement and the different sustainable oriented entrepreneurs and the values that could possibly influence the entrepreneurs. The researchers used mixed research methods that comprise of qualitative interviews, secondary research, and case studies based on documentary secondary data to give a deeper explanation of the stakeholders and entrepreneurial involvement and show their position in the field of circular economy especially in the Reuse Village project. The main findings of the thesis elaborate more on the importance of circular economy that governments and local municipalities are pushing for. The outcome presents the directions that stakeholders lean towards, regarding the Reuse Village, and shows how the relationship between the stakeholders plays a major role in the progress of the notion of circular economy.

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.

In light of a stronger recognition of the need for sustainable business practices as “business as usual” no longer presents itself as a viable option, this study aims to cast light on the current work of Swedish SMEs with integrative sustainability. Within the academic field of sustainability in business, the latest years have seen the emergence of multiple frameworks that promote a holistic sustainability approach to conducting business. The single firm becomes a connecting member of an extensive stakeholder network and by operating in an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable manner, the business seeks to create value for a variety of stakeholder groups, rather than focusing on monetary objectives set by shareholders. These new integrative frameworks shift the understanding of a firm from a profit-maximiser to that of a value-creator that acts sustainably to cater to the needs of all its stakeholders. However, as the models have only recently featured across academia, their real-life applicability and viability are contested, and in some ways, remains under-researched, particularly in the context of SMEs. With Sweden as a leading example in sustainability implementation, this study attempts to provide insight into how SMEs work with the elements of these frameworks and which opportunities and challenges they encounter during implementation. Through conducting detailed, qualitative and personal semi-structured interviews with the CEOs of six sustainability-minded Swedish SMEs of different industrial backgrounds, this research gauges the current organisational efforts being made in terms of sustainability and relates them to the integrative value-creating frameworks to identify congruences, divergences and room for improvement in line with latest theories. The main conclusions drawn as part of this process include the continued, at least partial, unfamiliarity of businesses with the frameworks, despite a large degree of compatibility of current practical efforts and existing academic theory. Value creation is moving closer to being included in the core of the business model, yet while absolute profit maximisation receives less attention, hesitation towards implementing sustainability more integratively is driven by concerns of losing grounds for profitability. The establishment of clusters and strong relationships leading to mutual synergies is found as a potential way to provide firms with the structural support to shift fully towards value-creation as envisioned by the investigated frameworks.

In this study, sustainability strategy implementation processes are discussed together with internal communication processes in SMEs. Large enterprises are not the only contributor to unsustainable development, but so are SMEs. Additionally, SMEs have a significant negative impact on sustainability as they make up the major part of the world economy. In fact, only in Sweden SMEs make up 99.9% (based on the number of employees) of all businesses. Yet, SMEs have not received much attention in society nor in literature of sustainability and sustainable developmentand are lagging behind in sustainable development. Due to pressure from external stakeholders Sustainability is essential for future business growth as well asto stay competitive in today's marketplace. EU and Swedish legislation together with the next generation of sustainable-conscious consumers, have increased pressure on organisations to take responsibility for their actions. Still, SMEs seem to take a reactive approach. For successful sustainable development, sustainability strategies must be aligned with business strategies. However, SMEs face challenges when implementing sustainability strategies. To ease the implementation process, company-specific tools are needed forSMEs. Internal communication is acknowledgedto be essential for sustainability strategy implementation which is most successful when performed in a contextual specific and conceptual abstract practice. Internal communication further contributes to reducing tension in an organisation when implementing a change which is required during implementation processes.This study has been conducted through a single case study operating in the housing construction industry,based in Sweden. We have usedan exploratory and a qualitative approach where both semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted to receive insights from top management and lower-level employees. Our research shows that sustainability strategies, business strategies and communicationstrategies must be balanced to create a shared sustainability vision through short-and long-termgoals to reduce the complexity of sustainable development. Therefore, the role of internal communication in the sustainability strategy implementation processis essential to transformintangible sustainability strategies into tangible features to engage employees and reduce tension within the organisation.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T16:04:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao versao final.pdf: 1766490 bytes, checksum: 3f05d7bafa35307ee343b73770f367f8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-07 / This thesis aims to analyze the current condition of competitiveness and sustainability of soybean farmers in the West and Southwest of Paraná. The research methodology was descriptive and documentary nature, divided into an analysis of soy-related documents in Brazil, Parana and the United States, and implementation of the MAP model - Matrix of Public Policy. In the second part, was interviewed a sample represented by 42 farmers involved in soybean production and marketing processes. With a sample intentional, sectional with data collected with visits to farms. A questionnaire whose answers were analyzed by averaging Harmonic frequencies as data collection instrument was used. The results in terms of competitiveness, the MAP analysis, pointed out that soy is competitive and has room for expansion of productivity in the state, and the current profitability was achieved thanks to the bonus, represented by the difference of the internal and external exchange rate. Although it has been shown that soybean farmers have a reduction in profitability arising logistics costs and the impact represented by taxes indirectly in production. What about the interview, the social dimension showed the best results, being the most relevant to soybean producer. But as the weaknesses, the information provided shows a low level of compliance with some aspects of labor law and the non-use of protective equipment when using machinery and implements. Also a portion of the soybean farmers believe that soy did not maintain profitability over the years, despite the increase in productivity of crops in the past decade / A presente dissertação procurou analisar a condição atual de competitividade e sustentabilidade dos sojicultores do Oeste e Sudoeste do Paraná. A metodologia de pesquisa foi de natureza descritiva e documental, dividida em uma análise dos documentos relacionados à soja no Brasil, no Paraná e nos Estados Unidos, e aplicação do modelo MAP Matriz de Políticas Públicas. Na segunda parte, foi entrevistada uma amostra representada por 42 agricultores envolvidos nos processos de produção e comercialização da soja. Com uma amostra do tipo intencional, seccional com os dados coletados com visitas às propriedades rurais. Como instrumento de coleta de dados foi utilizado um questionário fechado, cujas respostas foram analisadas através da média Harmônica das frequências. Os resultados quanto à competitividade, análise do MAP, apontou que a soja é competitiva e possui espaço para expansão da produtividade no Estado, e a lucratividade atual foi conseguida graças ao bônus, representado pela diferença da taxa cambial interna e externa. Ainda foi demonstrado que os sojicultores têm uma redução em sua lucratividade advinda dos custos logísticos e ao impacto representado pelos tributos incidentes de forma indireta na produção. E com relação à entrevista, a dimensão social foi a que apresentou melhor resultado, sendo a mais relevante ao sojicultor. Porém, quanto aos pontos fracos, as informações fornecidas demonstram um baixo nível de cumprimento de alguns aspectos da legislação trabalhista e a não utilização de equipamentos de proteção quando uso de máquinas e implementos. Também uma parcela dos sojicultores acredita que a soja não manteve a lucratividade ao longo dos anos, apesar do aumento da produtividade das safras nos últimos dez anos