Ethics, tourists and the environmental practices of the North American cruise ship industry: a comparison study of the ethical standards of Alaskan and Caribbean cruise ship tourists

Please consult the paper edition of this thesis to read. It is available on the 5th Floor of the Library at Call Number: Z 9999 R43 S54 2005

Corporate social responsibility practices at brazilian firms

Corporate Social Responsibility practices have been on the rise in recent years in firms all over the world. Brazil, as one of the most important countries emerging on the international scene, is no exception to this, with more and more firms taking up these practices. The present study focuses on analyzing the corporate social responsibility practices that Brazilian companies engage into. The sample used is comprised of 500 firms grouped by geographical area; the theoretical framework is based on stakeholder and institutional theories; and the technique used for the analysis is the biplot, more specifically the HJ Biplot and cluster analysis. From the results obtained it is possible to infer that the CSR variables corresponding to environmental practices are more closely linked to companies located in the northern areas of Brazil. Social and community practices are related to companies primarily in the southern and northeastern regions of the country.

Developing and implementing an environmental performance index for the Portuguese military

Business Strategy and the Environment nº 15, p. 71–86

The state of environmental performance evaluation in the public sector: the case of the Portuguese defence sector

Journal of Cleaner Production, nº 17, p. 36-52

The effects of institutional distance and headquarters’ financial performance on the generation of environmental standards in multinational companies

This article combines institutional and resources’ arguments to show that the institutional distance between the home and the host country, and the headquarters’ financial performance have a relevant impact on the environmental standardization decision in multinational companies. Using a sample of 135 multinational companies in three different industries with headquarters and subsidiaries based in the USA, Canada, Mexico, France, and Spain, we find that a high environmental institutional distance between headquarters’ and subsidiaries’ countries deters the standardization of environmental practices. On the other hand, high-profit headquarters are willing to standardize their environmental practices, rather than taking advantage of countries with lax environmental protection to undertake more pollution-intensive activities. Finally, we show that headquarters’ financial performance also imposes a moderating effect on the relationship between environmental institutional distance between countries and environmental standardization within the multinational company.

An interdisciplinary modelling approach asessing the cost-effectiveness of agri-environmental measures on reducing nutrient concentration to WFD thresholds under climate change: the case of the Louros catchment

The application of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in the European Union (EU) targets certain threshold levels for the concentration of various nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorous being the most important. In the EU, agri-environmental measures constitute a significant component of Pillar 2—Rural Development Policies in both financial and regulatory terms. Environmental measures also are linked to Pillar 1 payments through cross-compliance and the greening proposals. This paper drawing from work carried out in the REFRESH FP7 project aims to show how an INtegrated CAtchment model of plant/soil system dynamics and instream biogeochemical and hydrological dynamics can be used to assess the cost-effectiveness of agri-environmental measures in relation to nutrient concentration targets set by the WFD, especially in the presence of important habitats. We present the procedures (methodological steps, challenges and problems) for assessing the cost-effectiveness of agri-environmental measures at the baseline situation, and climate and land use change scenarios. Furthermore, we present results of an application of this methodology to the Louros watershed in Greece and discuss the likely uses and future extensions of the modelling approach. Finally, we attempt to reveal the importance of this methodology for designing and incorporating alternative environmental practices in Pillar 1 and 2 measures.

Environmental management in ethanol and sugarcane plants in Brazil

There has been much discussion on the importance of Brazilian ethanol in promoting a more sustainable society. However, there is a lack of analysis of whether sugarcane plants/factories that produce this ethanol are environmentally suitable. Thus, the objective of this study was to analyse stages of environmental management at four Brazilian ethanol-producing plants, examining the management practices adopted and the factors behind this adoption. The results indicate that (1) only one of the four plants is in the environmentally proactive stage; (2) all plants are adopting operational and organisational environmental management practices; (3) all plants have problems in communicating environmental management practices; and (4) the plant with the most advanced environmental management makes intense use of communication practices and is strongly oriented towards a more environmentally aware international market. This paper is an attempt to explain the complex relationship between the evolution of environmental management, environmental practices and motivation using a framework. The implications for society, plant directors and scholars are described, as well as the study's limitations.

Environmental management in ethanol and sugarcane plants in Brazil

There has been much discussion on the importance of Brazilian ethanol in promoting a more sustainable society. However, there is a lack of analysis of whether sugarcane plants/factories that produce this ethanol are environmentally suitable. Thus, the objective of this study was to analyse stages of environmental management at four Brazilian ethanol-producing plants, examining the management practices adopted and the factors behind this adoption. The results indicate that (1) only one of the four plants is in the environmentally proactive stage; (2) all plants are adopting operational and organisational environmental management practices; (3) all plants have problems in communicating environmental management practices; and (4) the plant with the most advanced environmental management makes intense use of communication practices and is strongly oriented towards a more environmentally aware international market. This paper is an attempt to explain the complex relationship between the evolution of environmental management, environmental practices and motivation using a framework. The implications for society, plant directors and scholars are described, as well as the study's limitations.

Improving environmental performance in the tourism accommodation sector

While environmental legislation in Australia regulates tourism development, it is less effective in operational areas because of the dependency of tourism on environmental resources that are not managed by operators, and the small but incremental nature of operational impacts. The absence of functional environmental standards for tourism means that little guidance exists: a problem compounded by variability in the diversity of operation types and receiving environments, as well as the accessibility of information by a non-technical audience. While legislation and economic considerations may provide impetus to adopt environmental practices, it is proposed that an environmental philosophy is necessary for tourism businesses to seek out and maintain alternative sustainable modes of operation. Review of the environmental audit process used by a Queensland resort suggests commitment to continual improvement in environmental performance is attributable to individual and corporate ethics. While the case is an ecotourism operation, the literature indicates that these factors have relevance to tourism generally. Although client satisfaction and return on investment objectives are constraints, environmental auditing can provide impetus for practical expression of environmental objectives. Facilitation of ethically-motivated voluntary action may be more effective in achieving tourism's environmental objectives than codifying standards in static legislation.

The contribution of modularity to green operations practices

This paper discusses the possible contributions from modularity and industrial condominiums towards enhancing environmental performance in the automotive industry. The research described in this study is underpinned by a review of journal articles and books on the topics of: modularity of production systems; green operations practices, and the automotive industry and sustainability. The methodology is based on theoretical analysis of the contribution of the modular production system characteristics used in the automotive industry for Green Operations Practices (GOP). The following GOPs were considered: green buildings, eco-design, green supply chains, greener manufacturing, and reverse logistics. The results are theoretical in nature; however, due to the small number of studies that investigate the relationship between modularity and sustainability, this work is relevant to increase knowledge in academic circles and among practitioners in order to understand the possible environmental benefits from modular production systems. For instance, based upon our analysis, we could deduce that the existing modular production systems in the automotive industry may contribute in different ways to the implementation of GOPs. In all types of modularity, product simplification through the use of modules can enhance environmental performance and facilitate further activities such as maintenance and repair contributing to a longer life of cars on the road. Moreover, modules will make automobiles easier to disassembly, so increasing the chances of reuse of valuable components and a better final disposal of scrap. Regarding the potential benefits of each type of modularity, it is expected that modular consortia will have a better integration of environmental practices with suppliers and seize on high efficiency during manufacturing and logistics compared with conventional production systems.

How green is green? A framework for environmental performance assessment in operations

This paper presents a framework based upon a relationship between environmental benefits and the investments and costs needed to implement and run company operations. As the results of environmental management become more evident it is proposed that the benefits rather than the environmental impacts are measured in the analysis of environmental performance. Four categories, or stages, are defined in this paper: “creative-green”, “expensive-green”, “inefficient-green or beginner”, and finally, the “complacent” stage. The paper describes the characteristics of each category and provides examples of indicators that could be used to measure environmental benefits. Qualitative and quantitative methods are necessary to classify companies according to the framework. It is believed that this paper can assist companies and public organisations to assess operations and projects considering their level of sustainability. The proposed framework can impact FDI and environmental policies in the public arena, and foster innovation on environmental practices within the private sector.

Control of MNC environmental performance and the challenges of subsidiary network dimensions

The trend of green consumerism and increased standardization of environmental regulations has driven multinational corporations (MNCs) to seek standardization of environmental practices or at least seek to be associated with such behavior. In fact, many firms are seeking to free ride on this global green movement, without having the actual ecological footprint to substantiate their environmental claims. While scholars have articulated the benefits from such optimization of uniform global green operations, the challenges for MNCs to control and implement such operations are understudied. For firms to translate environmental commitment to actual performance, the obstacles are substantial, particularly for the MNC. This is attributed to headquarters' (HQ) control challenges (1) in managing core elements of the corporate environmental management (CEM) process and specifically matching verbal commitment and policy with ecological performance and by (2) the fact that the MNC operates in multiple markets and the HQ is required to implement policy across complex subsidiary networks consisting of diverse and distant units. Drawing from the literature on HQ challenges of MNC management and control, this study examines (1) how core components of the CEM process impact optimization of global environmental performance (GEP) and then uses network theory to examine how (2) a subsidiary network's dimensions can present challenges to the implementation of green management policies. It presents a framework for CEM which includes (1) MNCs' Verbal environmental commitment, (2) green policy Management which guides standards for operations, (3) actual environmental Performance reflected in a firm's ecological footprint and (4) corporate environmental Reputation (VMPR). Then it explains how an MNC's key subsidiary network dimensions (density, diversity, and dispersion) create challenges that hinder the relationship between green policy management and actual environmental performance. It combines content analysis, multiple regression, and post-hoc hierarchal cluster analysis to study US manufacturing MNCs. The findings support a positive significant effect of verbal environmental commitment and green policy management on actual global environmental performance and environmental reputation, as well as a direct impact of verbal environmental commitment on green policy management. Unexpectedly, network dimensions were not found to moderate the relationship between green management policy and GEP.

Responsabilidade ambiental: análise das divulgações ambientais das empresas do PSI-20 comparativamente com empresas não cotadas

Orientador: Mestre, António Pinto Marques

Diagnóstico ambiental dos estabelecimentos de ensino orientado para a implementação de um sistema de gestão ambiental

As instituições de ensino procuram ser impulsionadoras de boas práticas ambientais demonstrando com isso o seu compromisso com o meio ambiente e com as gerações futuras. Os Sistemas de Gestão Ambiental (SGA), nomeadamente as exigências da ISO 14001:2004 podem ser uma oportunidade para as instituições gerirem correctamente todos os seus recursos, assim como eliminarem os riscos e custos desnecessários, ao mesmo tempo que reforçam os seus valores quanto à protecção do meio ambiente, prevenção da poluição, cumprimento legal e as necessidades socioeconómicas. Pretendeu-se com este estudo determinar quais os factores que condicionam a abordagem de uma política ambiental nos estabelecimentos de ensino, relacionando-as com as diferentes características das escolas com as suas abordagens ambientais, assim como determinar quais os factores que influenciam a postura ambiental das escolas. Os resultados foram recolhidos através de um inquérito por questionário, direccionado para os estabelecimentos de ensino pré-escolar, 1º, 2º, 3º ciclos e secundário da Área Metropolitana do Porto. Através da análise das respostas de 405 escolas, conclui-se que aqueles com melhores desempenhos ambientais e melhores condições para implementar um SGA são os estabelecimentos de ensino com a tipologia EB2,3/ES, públicos, pertencentes aos concelhos de Gondomar, Mais e Sto Tirso, localizados nas zonas urbanas e com edifícios escolares recentes em excelentes ou bons estados de conservação. De um modo geral todos os estabelecimentos de ensino demonstram um desempenho ambiental considerado bom e acima do considerado satisfatório para a implementação de um SGA.