Showing papers on "Corporate sustainability published in 2000"

Measuring Corporate Sustainability

Abstract: Although sustainable development has been interpreted primarily as a national (or global) goal, there is increasing discussion of the 'sustainable city', the 'sustainable sector' and the 'sustainable business'. In this paper, the notion of corporate sustainability is explored and developed. We argue that one of the keys to understanding corporate sustainability is full cost accounting, that is, valuing pollution in corporate green accounts. Defining and measuring corporate sustainability is more than just an academic concern. Corporate entities are increasingly under pressure to demonstrate how they contribute to the national sustainability goals outlined by government. Hence, this paper seeks to provide practical advice on how businesses might adapt and improve current environmental accounting and reporting practice.

Environmental Management Systems – Paper tiger or powerful tool

Abstract: The main aim of this thesis is to develop and test industry-specific, applied work procedures and tools for environmental and emerging sustainability work in the graphic arts industry. This includes methods to quantify, follow-up, evaluate, manage, improve and communicate the environmental performance of activities in the graphic arts supply chain and printed products. In order to achieve the aims of the thesis, a selection of work areas were chosen as the basis for developing the industry-specific work procedures and tools. The selected work areas are the following: environmental management (being a part of sustainability management), environmental and sustainability strategies, environmental indicators and design for environment (DfE). The research presented in this thesis was based on survey research methods, case studies and multi-company studies. Within the framework of these methods, quantitative and qualitative techniques for data gathering were used. The companies included in the studies were selected according to their willingness, interest and motivation to participate and develop their environmental or sustainability work. The most significant results of the research presented in this thesis regarding the selected work areas are the following: • An evaluation of early certified environmental management systems (EMSs) in Sweden identified four areas as priorities in making the EMSs more efficient. Two of them, viz. improvement in the follow-up of environmental work, and the linking of EMSs to product design, were developed for the graphic arts industry. The remaining two areas were clarifying the identification process and assessment of environmental aspects, and streamlining and co-ordinating different management systems. • An established and successfully tested working method for formulating and realising corporate sustainability strategies in the graphic arts industry. • Industry-specific environmental indicator models for the graphic arts industry with defined methods for standardised inventorying and calculations. These models have been tested, used and approved of by the industry itself. • Collected and compiled data for the developed environmental indicator models. Data have been collected from quite a large number of companies (10-20 companies for each of the printing techniques covered, i.e. coldset offset, heatset offset and gravure) over a period of several years. • The use of the industry-specific environmental indicator models was developed and illustrated. • A described and recommended work procedure for DfE in graphic arts companies including industry-specific tools for applying DfE to printed products, in the form of a manual and a checklist. The checklist was designed so that it can serve as a simple tool for the environmental assessment of printed products. The tools were tested by graphic arts companies.

Backcasting for sustainable strategies in the energy sector: A case study in FORTUM Power and Heat

Abstract: This thesis addresses the corporate sustainability process and different tools to assist the process of generating corporate strategies towards sustainability in the energy sector. The focus of the research was in backcasting approaches. The main outcome of the work is a framework for corporate sustainability for the energy sector. The framework is constructed around a three step strategic planning tool for sustainable strategies, based on different applications of backcasting and forecasting techniques. Out of three different backcasting approaches examined in this work, the Natural Step framework was used in workshops to demonstrate the method. The other focus area of the work was the current position of the case study company (Fortum Power and Heat) in relation to sustainable development. The main conclusion of the thesis is that the backcasting approach has the potential to be a proactive way to incorporate sustainable development in to the strategic planning process. The results of the workshop implied that the method could possibly assist in service and product development, infrastructure planning, and in identifying future research needs. The method has some limitations, as it offers no direct solutions to the problems that the energy sector is facing today and the results of backcasting are dependent on how the future situation is define (Less)

Environmental indicators in the graphic arts industry

Abstract: The main aim of this thesis is to develop and test industry-specific, applied work procedures and tools for environmental and emerging sustainability work in the graphic arts industry. This includes methods to quantify, follow-up, evaluate, manage, improve and communicate the environmental performance of activities in the graphic arts supply chain and printed products. In order to achieve the aims of the thesis, a selection of work areas were chosen as the basis for developing the industry-specific work procedures and tools. The selected work areas are the following: environmental management (being a part of sustainability management), environmental and sustainability strategies, environmental indicators and design for environment (DfE). The research presented in this thesis was based on survey research methods, case studies and multi-company studies. Within the framework of these methods, quantitative and qualitative techniques for data gathering were used. The companies included in the studies were selected according to their willingness, interest and motivation to participate and develop their environmental or sustainability work. The most significant results of the research presented in this thesis regarding the selected work areas are the following: • An evaluation of early certified environmental management systems (EMSs) in Sweden identified four areas as priorities in making the EMSs more efficient. Two of them, viz. improvement in the follow-up of environmental work, and the linking of EMSs to product design, were developed for the graphic arts industry. The remaining two areas were clarifying the identification process and assessment of environmental aspects, and streamlining and co-ordinating different management systems. • An established and successfully tested working method for formulating and realising corporate sustainability strategies in the graphic arts industry. • Industry-specific environmental indicator models for the graphic arts industry with defined methods for standardised inventorying and calculations. These models have been tested, used and approved of by the industry itself. • Collected and compiled data for the developed environmental indicator models. Data have been collected from quite a large number of companies (10-20 companies for each of the printing techniques covered, i.e. coldset offset, heatset offset and gravure) over a period of several years. • The use of the industry-specific environmental indicator models was developed and illustrated. • A described and recommended work procedure for DfE in graphic arts companies including industry-specific tools for applying DfE to printed products, in the form of a manual and a checklist. The checklist was designed so that it can serve as a simple tool for the environmental assessment of printed products. The tools were tested by graphic arts companies.