Scientists have warned decision-makers about the severe consequences of the global environmental crisis since the 1970s. Yet ecological degradation continues and little has been done to address climate change. We investigated early-career conservation researchers' (ECR) perspectives on, and prioritization of, actions furthering sustainability. We conducted a survey (n = 67) and an interactive workshop (n = 35) for ECR attendees of the 5th European Congress of Conservation Biology (2018). Building on these data and discussions, we identified ongoing and forthcoming advances in conservation science. These include increased transdisciplinarity, science communication, advocacy in conservation, and adoption of a transformation-oriented social–ecological systems approach to research. The respondents and participants had diverse perspectives on how to achieve sustainability. Reformist actions were emphasized as paving the way for more radical changes in the economic system and societal values linked to the environment and inequality. Our findings suggest that achieving sustainability requires a strategy that (1) incorporates the multiplicity of people's views, (2) places a greater value on nature, and (3) encourages systemic transformation across political, social, educational, and economic realms on multiple levels. We introduce a framework for ECRs to inspire their research and practice within conservation science to achieve real change in protecting biological diversity. ; peerReviewed
In the context of globalization and increased international market competition, various Finnish companies and organizations driven by different forces devote considerable efforts to assessing, preventing, and reducing the negative environmental impacts of their actions. Nevertheless, the construction industry still contributes significantly to the total amount of fossil carbon dioxide emission of the country. Moreover, the building construction process has a notable effect not only on air, but water, land and noise pollution. Many researchers acknowledge the positive effect of embedding sustainability principles into a company's business strategy and operations on sustainable business performance. In the scope of this thesis, the link between green supply chain management and sustainable firm performance is investigated through different lenses from the theoretical and empirical perspectives and with consideration of the triple bottom line approach, which dynamically integrates the economic, ecological and social sustainability dimensions. This research addresses the critical problem of understanding the negative environmental impacts of the actions undertaken on each stage of the construction project and discovering the possible ways to prevent or overcome such issues identified. The evidence was collected from a cross-country sample of Finnish construction companies using the mixed quantitative and qualitative research methods. The empirical results support the NRBV concept of a firm's competitive advantage and demonstrate that organizations that consider the environmental impacts of their activities have better economic, social and environmental performance. The research findings of this thesis contribute to the development of the valuable reference for supporting the governmental decisions on establishing initiatives to incent embedding green supply chain practices in Finnish construction supply chains.
This report provides a thorough analysis concerning the situation in Tirupur, India, where the local government has imposed strict requirements on zero liquid discharge of wastewater in textile production. The report analyzes how Tirupur can turn the Zero Liquid Discharge requirements into a competitive advantage by creating a green textile cluster based on the European Eco-label Flower and ISO 14001. The report also includes an analysis of the demand situation for environmentally certified textile in the Nordic countries and how this demand can be affected positively.
Increasing demand for goods and services is growing with the evident rise in population globally. To cater to the needs for the planet, manufacturing methods that are part of industry should be more sustainable, while giving major importance to the environmental performance of the products. The concern of diminishing resources and raw materials is driving scientists, researchers, governments, and industry stakeholders to adopt new technologies that can outperform traditional methods of manufacturing. Additive manufacturing is one such manufacturing method that is on the cusp of being largely integrated into the industries of today. It is a technique that benefits the three pillars of sustainably, namely the environment, economy, and society. It plays a crucial role in reducing waste by efficient resource consumption and reduced manufacturing waste, reduction of emissions during the life cycle of a product, promoting on-demand and localized manufacturing, and offers a high level of design freedom which can help manufacture complex parts. The renewable energy industry has challenges such as system reliability, energy security, environmental impacts, and reliability of the systems. However, with growing technology, these issues can be addressed, specifically by integrating additive manufacturing into the industry. Wind energy is one of the most promising types of renewable energy and it is growing globally in terms of capacity installed per year, and overall capacity available. AM is increasingly being used in the wind energy industry, but it is still yet to be made fully commercial and functional. The main benefits are repairs and remanufacturing, improved supply chain, and reduced environmental issues. Life cycle assessment is a powerful tool to study the environmental impacts for the life cycle of a product. It helps to identify the various impacts caused to the environment by addressing specific indicators such as global warming potential, depletion of resources, water consumption, etc. Life cycle analysis can ...
This report constitutes part of the larger project Eco-design and Future Product Policy – Further research on Energyrelated Products. The objective was to investigate how nine policy instruments affect the development and environmental performance of household washing machines. The following policy instruments are investigated: 1. The Eco-design Directive2. The EU energy label Directive3. The WEEE Directive4. The RoHS Directive5. The REACH Regulation6. The EU Ecolabel Regulation7. The Nordic Swan8. Green Public Procurements (GPP)9. Voluntary Environmental Agreements (VA)
The interest for the Arctic region has been intense in recent years, as demonstrated by intensified political debate on Arctic issues and increased national activity and multilateral cooperation in the region. In this period the European Union has also paid increased attention to the Arctic region, expressed through the Commission's Arctic Communication (November 2008) and the Council's Conclusions (December 2009). The Arctic now appears as a recognized feature in EU policies and activities. This paper by Ms. Adele Airoldi, commissioned by the Nordic Council of Ministers, describes and analyses the principal elements of the EU approach to Arctic issues as it has developed from July 2008 to July 2010, updating the report "The European Union and the Arctic - policies and actions" from 2008 . It reviews EU documents and pronouncements on Arctic issues, explores the development in the main EU policy sectors which impact the Arctic region and positions the EU in the wider Arctic political context through examining EU multilateral cooperation and bilateral relations. It also aims at giving an input to the ongoing co-operation of the Nordic Council of Ministers with the EU on Arctic questions.
Inclusive innovation is a new type of social innovation that aims to find solutions that can offer the capability to the poor communities. Throughout this thesis, the author investigated the process and barriers to fostering inclusive innovation in the Iranian context. As inclusive innovation is a new phenomenon, this thesis chooses a qualitative case study method from Iranian NGOs to do in-depth research and answer how the process and barriers of inclusive innovation are. This thesis started its journey by understanding the secondary data (Literature review) and developing a conceptual model. Later, the conceptual model helped the author to identify several questions that were asked during seven interviews from experts who mostly have management positions in the chosen NGOs. Moreover, the analysis was made by linking the primary and secondary data resulting in answering the two research questions of this thesis. This study identified how the process of inclusive innovation is in Iran from the NGO perspective. The finding of this study shows, NGOs can generate inclusiveness through, exclusive supportive packages to the poor communities and patients or educational programs and workshops to the needy communities. Moreover, these educational programs offered them the opportunity to improve their life skills as well as increasing their income (this is also known as localization and social empowerment). Lastly, several internal and external barriers to innovation were identified for these NGOs in Iran. These barriers were related to lack of sufficient skilled personnel for the NGOs, lack of voluntary works, lack of financial stability, lack of governmental support, and the lack of connectivity to the international community.
Fossil-fuel subsidies matter: for sustainable development, for government budgets, for the poor, for women, and for the environment. Subsidies amounted to $544 billion (2012) and are largest in MENA and Southeast Asia. Reforming and redirecting subsidies will be an important piece of the jigsaw if we are to solve the climate change puzzle. Savings enable governments to manage deficits, could be redirected at building energy networks, or targeted at social spending. This paper finds opportunities for Nordic countries to increase cooperation around reform and makes specific recommendations. The paper is part of the Nordic Prime Ministers' overall green growth initiative - read also more in the web magazine Green Growth the Nordic Way at www.nordicway.org
Highlights • Analyzing novel service innovations calls for combining systemic and micro-level analysis • We analyze the agency of sustainable shared urban mobility operators and local policymakers in the case of Finland • We stress the role of local policymakers in providing examples, enabling coordination and harnessing innovative actors • Local-level collaborating is crucial for the sustainability of mobility innovations ; Service-based alternatives to private vehicles and public transport are increasing. These innovations are hoped to boost the transition to sustainable mobility, addressing challenges such as congestion, air quality and the large share of CO2 resulting from traffic. To achieve this transition, there is an urgent need for collaboration between private companies and public authorities, especially locally. We claim that insufficient attention is paid to the agencies of the practical actors, such as car sharing operators, which is the key to understanding what this collaboration requires. Orchestrating the collaboration successfully is also a prerequisite for the sustainability of the services. We use interview data from car sharing operators and public authorities in Finnish cities to analyze the local-level implementation of shared mobility services. Our results show how the local public authorities play a crucial role in allowing the services to flourish but also ensure the services' environmental and social sustainability.
The master's thesis provides an assessment of the role, significance of management in the rehabilitation of SHPP (Small hydroelectric power plants). The guarantee of appropriate management in conformance with regional and particular conditions can ensure greater efficiencies with less time to return on initial invested funds. The paper, consisting of four parts, is intended to emphasize the relevance of effective management for long-term sustainability of SHPP from side of local community, investors, social congregations and municipal government. First is literature research on hydropower sustainability. Next analysis of current condition of hydroelectric power plants is presented. A briefly presentation of the numerical statistics of energetic infrastructure such as SHP of Nordic countries and policy regulating them in the current economic context are reviewed. An effort has been made to develop a recommendation for feasibility study of rehabilitation project of the Askola small hydropower plant in Finland, including best decision for the planning step by step rehabilitation, respecting all the requirements and using modern technologies suitable for energy management. To justify the validity of the SHPP rehabilitation project, the feasibility study of small hydropower plant was determined based on parameters of rehabilitation project of "Askola" SHPP located in Finland. Some of the obtained results of developed feasibility study may be used reasonably for managerial and investment decision-making process at the planning stage for a specific area for development of such projects as rehabilitation of small hydropower plants. The article closes with certain findings and references.
This thesis studied what kind of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices organizations implement to ensure the sustainability of their supply chain. The thesis focuses on practices related to the upstream supply chain and the SSCM practices are categorized into monitoring and supplier collaboration. The supporting research questions study the drivers and challenges of SSCM. A qualitative study was conducted to answer the research objectives. The study was done for a case company, and it utilized a benchmarking method to study four additional companies. Seven semi-structured interviews were held to collect the empirical data. Based on the study, the legislation sets the minimum requirements for corporate sustainability activities. Companies are pressured by different stakeholders, such as (corporate) customers, local communities, and media. Sustainability values can be also included in companies' strategy and the results indicate, that some companies recognize that sustainability can lead to a competitive advantage. Based on the empirical results, Finnish companies mainly use monitoring practices in SSCM that focuses on the supplier base. Code of Conduct is recognized to be the most important tool to communicate sustainability expectations to suppliers. Companies can also require different certificates from their suppliers. Companies do a risk assessment to identify the suppliers that need more monitoring. Other monitoring methods, auditing, or sustainability surveys are also utilized. The benefits of supplier collaboration are discussed in the theoretical background, but it was noticed, that most interviewed companies do not emphasize collaborative practices. Sustainability issues are discussed in meetings or during auditing, but not many companies provide support to the suppliers or rewards the suppliers for improvement. Companies also come across different internal and external challenges as they aim to be sustainable. Monitoring and collaboration require resources. Supply chains are often complex, and thus it is difficult to have efficient monitoring and comprehensive traceability on all tiers. Companies also recognize that suppliers need to have the capabilities to be sustainable. The leverage in the buyer-supplier relationship also impacts, if the buyer can demand sustainability from its suppliers. ; Tässä työssä tutkittiin, millaisia vastuullisen toimitusketjun käytäntöjä yritykset käyttävät yrittäessään varmistaa toimitusketjunsa vastuullisuuden. Tämä työ keskittyy käytäntöihin, jotka liittyvät ylävirran toimitusketjun vastuullisuuden johtamiseen. Käytännöt on jaettu monitorointiin sekä yhteistyöhön toimittajien kanssa. Muut tutkimuskysymykset käsittelevät toimitusketjun vastuullisuuden motiiveja sekä haasteita. Tutkimuskysymyksiin vastattiin käyttämällä laadullista menetelmää. Tämä tutkimus laadittiin toimeksiantajayritykselle, ja neljää muuta yritystä tutkittiin vertailuanalyysia hyödyntäen. Datan keräämiseksi toteutettiin seitsemän puolistrukturoitua haastattelua. Tutkimuksen perusteella, lainsäädäntö asettaa minimivaatimukset yritysten vastuullisuudelle. Yritykset kokevat myös painetta erilaisten sidosryhmien suunnasta, kuten (yritys)asiakkailta, paikallisilta yhteisöiltä, ja medialta. Vastuullisuus voi sisältyä myös arvona yrityksen strategiaan ja tulokset indikoivat, että osa yrityksistä ymmärtää, että vastuullisuus voi johtaa kilpailuetuun. Empiiristen tulosten perusteella, suomalaiset yritykset käyttävät toimittajakentän vastuullisuuden johtamiseen pääasiassa monitorointia. Eettinen ohjeisto on tärkein väline kommunikoida vastuullisuuteen liittyviä odotuksia toimittajille. Toimittajilta voidaan myös vaatia erilaisia sertifikaatteja. Yritykset tekevät riskiarviointia tunnistaakseen lisähuomiota vaativat toimittajat. Monitorointiin käytetään myös auditointia ja vastuullisuuskyselyitä. Toimittajayhteistyön hyötyjä käsiteltiin laajasti kirjallisuuskatsauksessa, mutta tutkimuksessa tunnistettiin, etteivät monet yritykset hyödynnä yhteistyötä. Vastuullisuudesta keskustellaan tapaamisissa tai auditoinnin osana, mutta moni yritys ei tarjoa toimittajille tukea tai palkitse toimittajia kehityksestä. Yritykset kohtaavat organisaation sisäisiä ja ulkoisia haasteita yrittäessään toimia vastuullisesti. Monitorointi ja yhteistyö vaativat resursseja. Toimitusketjut ovat usein kompleksisia, mikä vaikeuttaa kaikkien tasojen toimittajien monitorointia ja jäljitettävyyttä. Myös toimittajilla täytyy olla kykeneväisyyttä toimia vastuullisesti. Lisäksi, ostajan vaikutusvallalla on merkitystä, jotta yritys voi vaatia toimittajiltaan panostusta vastuullisuuteen.
The Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/EC has had the potential to become one of the most influential policy instruments in the fields of integrated product policy (IPP) and ustainable Consumption and Production. This report deals with the relevance of other environmental aspects in addition to the use phase energy consumption of products and is based on the product-specific EuP tudies of lots 15 to 18 (Solid fuel small combustion installations, Laundry Dryers, Vacuum Cleaners and Complex settop boxes). The project was initiated by the "Products and Environment group" (PMgroup) and later guided and supervised by the "Sustainable Consumption and Production group" (HKP group) of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
Highlights • Finnish dairy farmers' perceptions of issues with carbon neutrality were examined. • Concerns include farming profitability, farmer blaming, and use of peatlands. • Public policy guidance is needed for carbon-neutral, sustainable agriculture. ; Environmental and political debate concerning the role of agriculture in sustainability has long been on the agenda. However, owing to climate change, an analysis of the transition to a low-carbon society must also be considered from the perspective of justice. Dairy farming, in particular, faces pressure in this context, when contemplating changing consumer behaviors and reduction in the carbon footprint of dairy products. Accordingly, many dairy farmers are struggling with the profitability and high production costs of farming. This study examines the experiences and perceptions of dairy farmers in Finland. The theoretical background is predicated upon the "just transition" literature. Additionally, recent literature regarding farmers' attitudes and agency, related to climate and environmental change, is utilized. A collaborative, empirical study of the Finnish dairy co-op Valio Ltd.'s carbon-neutral milk chain program was conducted. The authors interviewed 18 dairy farmers and examined their motivations and barriers to carbon-neutral practices. Their experiences and perceptions of justice, in the context of a carbon-neutral milk chain, were studied. This study elucidates how to shift to carbon-neutral agriculture in such a way that dairy farmers perceive this systemic change as justified and acceptable. The results indicate that from the farmers' perspective, three key justice issues need consideration: 1) profitability of farming, 2) blaming of farmers, and 3) use of agricultural peatlands.
Industrial policy has re-emerged as an area of policy discussion in recent years, but the characteristics and role of industrial policy vary across national contexts. Particularly, the role of industrial policy in the ongoing energy transitions of different countries has received little attention. We introduce an analytical framework to explore the relationship between industrial policy and different energy policy trajectories and apply this framework in an empirical analysis of the perceptions of key stakeholders in the energy sector in Germany, the United Kingdom and Denmark. We identify four key elements of industrial policy – industrial visions, industrial policy instruments, industrial policy governance, and employment concerns – and based on these analyse perceptions of how industrial policy has facilitated changes in the energy system of the three countries. We find significant differences in industrial policy styles for low-carbon transitions, reflecting broader differences in political institutions and cultures. Our analysis shows how sustainability transitions relate to industrial policy, and which elements can act as enablers and barriers to low-carbon transitions.
