Environment, Enterprise and Development

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This is the collection for the University of Waterloo's School of Environment, Enterprise and Development.

Research outputs are organized by type (eg. Master Thesis, Article, Conference Paper).

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Transforming the Greek Island of samothraki into a UNESCO biosphere reserve: An experience in transdisciplinarity
(Oekom Verlag, 2011) Fischer-Kowalski, Marina; Xenidis, Lazaros; Singh, Simron J.; Pallua, Irene
This research explored the feasibility of transforming the island of Samothraki. Greece, into a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The goal was to assess whether this would help to foster a sustainable socio-economic development and to preserve the unique natural and cultural heritage of the island. In recent years the number of seasonal residents and tourists on the island has been growing substantially, and so, too, have the demands upon facili ties and infrastructures. The number of livestock, primarily goats and sheep, has increased exponentially, enhanced by the agricultu ral policies of the EU. Overgrazing, in combination with the steepness of terrain, has led to severe soil erosion, even within the existing Natura 2000 conserva tion area. Such conditions made it apparent that a new develop ment model was needed, and an initiative was started to create a biosphere reserve. In a transdisciplinary process, the scientists gradually transferred ownership of this vision to local stakeholders. A biophysical and socio-economic assess ment showed that a biosphere reserve would be appropriate and be welcomed by the majority of stakeholders. The community council recently endorsed an application to UNESCO.
India's biophysical economy, 1961-2008. Sustainability in a national and global context
(Elsevier, 2012-04-01) Singh, Simron J.; Krausmann, Fridolin; Gingrich, Simone; Haberl, Helmut; Erb, Karl-Heinz; Lanz, Peter; Martinez-Alier, Joan; Temper, Leah
India's economic growth in the last decade has raised several concerns in terms of its present and future resource demands for materials and energy. While per capita resource consumption is still extremely modest but on the rise, its sheer population qualifies India as a fast growing giant with material and energy throughput that is growing rapidly If such national and local trends continue, the challenges for regional, national as well as global sustainability are immense in terms of future resource availability, social conflicts, pressure on land and ecosystems and atmospheric emissions. Using the concepts of social metabolism and material flow analysis, this paper presents an original study quantifying resource use trajectories for India from 1961 up to 2008. We argue for India's need to grow in order to be able to provide a reasonable material standard of living for its vast population. To this end, the challenge is in avoiding the precarious path so far followed by industrialised countries in Europe and Asia, but to opt for a regime shift towards sustainability in terms of resource use by building on a host of promising examples and taking opportunities of existing niches to make India a trendsetter.
Efficiency of Management System Certification: Evidence from the Chinese Manufacturing Industry
(University of Waterloo, 2014-07-24) Wang, Xiaoling; Lin, Haiying
Implementation and certification of management systems represented by ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and OHSAS 18001 have been major activities of organizations motivated by both internal incentives and external pressures. Nevertheless, studies on the effectiveness of such certifications in fostering corporate sustainable development have revealed mixed and ambiguous findings. In addition, most research in this field remains focused on specific performance indicators while ignoring other criteria, especially the factors pertaining to the Triple-bottom Line concept. Lack of a unified evaluation framework also leads to divergent views on the true benefits of certification. Grounded in the dynamic capability theory and the corporate sustainable development concept, this study provides insights into the efficiency evaluation of certified management systems in a Chinese context, by developing a heterogeneous inputs-outputs analytical framework. Comprehensive comparisons among firms with various certification statuses are conducted to observe the effects of certified management systems in facilitating corporate sustainable development. This study further sheds light on the assimilation, integration, synergetic, and cumulative effects of certification by taking temporal and spatial factors into account. With the help of a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)-based nonparametric approach and Tobit estimation technique, the hypotheses are tested using longitudinal data of 73 Chinese-listed firms from the manufacturing industry between 2009 and 2012. The findings reveal that the firms increasingly certified their management systems and preferred to obtain multiple management system standards during these four years. Certifications, especially the integrated ones, served as effective approaches to facilitate the firms to become efficient by exerting assimilation and integration effects. Additionally, the synergetic and cumulative effects of certification in improving corporate sustainable efficiency both appeared in the sample. The findings imply that firms in China that need to grow in a green way can identify multiple certified management system standards as effective approaches to achieve corporate sustainable development.
New Revenue and Cost-Savings through Operationalizing Sustainable Community Plans within Small Municipalities in Ontario
(University of Waterloo, 2015-05-28) DeBoer, Reuben; Clarke, Amelia Caroline
This thesis explores the cost-saving potential of market-based instruments (MBIs) and other cost-savings mechanisms for small Ontario municipalities looking to operationalize their sustainable community plans. Market-based instruments are policy tools that encourage behavioral change through financial incentives or disincentives such as water pricing, anti-idling by-laws and user-pay garbage disposal (Clarke & MacDonald, 2012). Small Municipalities refer to all areas with municipal responsibilities, such as local administrations, with an urban core population of 10,000 to 100,000 inhabitants. Small municipalities are using sustainable community plans (SCPs) as a way to determine necessary areas of change. While 265 communities across Ontario are reaping the benefits of their sustainable community plans, small municipalities have been slow in operationalizing their plans due to limited financial capabilities. As a potential response to these limited financial capabilities, three research questions were developed: RQ1: Which market-based instruments or other cost-saving initiatives are related to sustainable community plan operationalization, and are generating cost-savings (and/or new revenue) in small municipalities? RQ2: What is the business case for operationalizing SCPs in small municipalities? RQ3: What are the sustainable community budgeting implications and local government policy implications of this study? Including, what new contributions does this study provide for literature? A multi-case study analysis using key informant interviews was used to research the use of market- based instruments and other cost-saving initiatives as a means of operationalizing small municipalities SCPs within five case communities: Halton Hills, Huron County, Frontenac County, King Township and Huntsville. The research was conducted in partnership with Lura Consulting; Lura is a sustainable consulting agency that specializes in formulating sustainable community plans. Face-to-face interviews with key sustainability personnel were conducted to record the usage of cost-saving or new revenue initiatives. The results of the study describe 22 of the 45 most common market-based instruments and other cost-saving initiatives that are being utilized within the case communities as a means of operationalizing SCPs. Of the total most commonly used cost-saving initiatives, 67 of the 105 initiatives have been directly or indirectly implemented within the case communities. These results further validate the inclusion of market-based instruments as a means of revenue generating or cost-savings.
Carbon Footprinting Dietary Choices in Ontario: A life cycle approach to assessing sustainable, healthy & socially acceptable diets
(University of Waterloo, 2015-08-17) Veeramani, Anastasia; Dias, Goretty Maria
Recent studies have established the link between food consumption and its broad impact on the environment. However, environmental implications of dietary choices have not been previously studied in Canada. Given geographic variations of eating habits and environmental impacts, this study aims to explore current dietary patterns and their environmental implications in Ontario. This exploratory study assesses the environmental impact of seven dietary patterns and investigates the role of nutrition and dietary guidelines in evaluating sustainability of diets. Food baskets representing each dietary pattern were formed based on data obtained from dietary recall survey. Using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), greenhouse gas emissions were estimated for farm operations, processing, distribution and household processes associated with current food consumption. Canada’s dietary guidelines were used to assess the nutritional quality of current diets and propose nutritionally optimal dietary changes. Results showed that Ontario population overconsumes protein. Popular dietary patterns including foods rich in animal protein exhibit the highest impact. This interdisciplinary approach helps combine nutritional and environmental research which can facilitate the formulation of environmentally friendly, healthy and socially acceptable diets. The study outlines key limitations in diet-related LCA, provides recommendations for improvement and serves as a primer for further diet-related research in Canada.
Evaluating the Governance of Sustainability Reporting: Assessing Mandatory and Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Policies and Practices Around the World
(University of Waterloo, 2015-09-15) Menzies, Melissa; Craik, Neil, 1965-
Sustainability reporting (SR) is the practice of communicating environmental, social, and economic information and initiatives of a company (largely non-financial) to their stakeholders. This practice has been inspired by a variety of factors, including the recent threat of climate change, the financial crisis, and evolving governance models. There are many different policies being used around the world to implement SR. Some of these policies are voluntary, allowing the company to choose whether they report and what content to include. Others are more mandatory and government-regulated with specific requirements and various compliance mechanisms. Minimal research has been done on the governance of SR and the extent to which reports are achieving their policy goals. Through the creation of a sustainability scorecard, and a policy analysis of case countries, this study assesses if mandatory or voluntary standards are more effective for sustainability disclosures. Reports governed by mandatory legislation and reports under a voluntary standard are evaluated according to sustainability reporting criteria developed from semi-structured interview and literature themes. The countries studied are illuminated through a mapping analysis of SR policies, where the most mandatory-driven policy countries and the most voluntary-driven policy countries are used for the final assessment of effectiveness. This study provides structure to the complex policy mix, not only on the degree to which a policy is legally binding and mandatory, but also to its relative effectiveness to the developed criteria. The results of this study suggest that although the implementation method of mandatory or voluntary may not significantly impact reporting effectiveness at this time, mandatory countries score higher on most qualities on the sustainability reporting scorecard.
A case study assessment of the energy consumption of LEED certified academic buildings in Ontario: Is LEED certification necessarily better?
(University of Waterloo, 2015-09-21) Vanry, Janine; Lewis, Geoffrey, (associate professor)
With “commercial and institutional buildings account[ing] for 12% of Canada’s secondary energy use and 11% of [the] national greenhouse gas emissions” (National Resources Canada, 2014), the energy consumption of Canada’s non-residential buildings plays a large role in both climate change and overall energy usage. Making these buildings more energy efficient provides opportunity to reduce both Canadian energy use and the overall effects of climate change from building construction and operation. The LEED New Construction v1 rating system stresses the importance of a building’s energy efficiency by designating 25% of its points towards energy reduction opportunities providing clear indication of the CaGBC’s belief in the potential for LEED certified buildings to reduce overall energy consumption in new buildings. As LEED certified buildings have been constructed for over a decade in Canada, there are opportunities to assess how these buildings are performing from an energy perspective in comparison to provincial averages. This study looks at LEED certified academic buildings in Ontario and evaluates their energy intensity in comparison to provincial survey averages, broad public sector data made available by the Green Energy Act, campus-wide energy intensities, and additionally assesses their actual energy performance in comparison to the modelled energy results submitted for final LEED certification. The results of this research show that the studied LEED certified academic buildings on average perform better than both their provincial average and campus-wide energy intensities. The energy modelled results provided for LEED certification on each building under-predicts the energy intensity of the building anywhere from 2 – 44%. Additionally, the results of this research demonstrate the need for better energy surveys and energy benchmarking practices across Ontario. The study aims to aid academic decision-makers in setting reasonable benchmarks for energy intensity targets and to provide recommendations for national benchmarking authorities, the CaGBC and USGBC, as well as energy modelling professionals.
Linking Property Rights with Environmental Changes: The case of Nurerri and Jubho Lagoons, PakistanLinking Property Rights with Environmental Changes: The case of Nurerri and Jubho Lagoons, Pakistan
(University of Waterloo, 2015-09-22) Sultana, Sajida; Nayak, Prateep K.; Armitage, Derek R. (Derek Russel), 1967-
Coastal lagoons play a vital role in supporting human well-being and the conservation of unique biological resources. They are crucial for the protection of the coastline from extreme events like floods, and for providing diverse livelihood opportunities to people. However, coastal lagoons face a range of threats from multiple drivers at local, regional and global scales, and those drivers are both anthropogenic and climatic in nature. In this thesis, I use a commons approach to examine changes in property rights regime in the Nurerri and Jubho lagoons of Pakistan to better understand their linkages with processes of environmental change. Both Nurerri and Jubho Lagoons are designated Ramsar sites inthe Indus delta of Pakistan, which is the world’s fifth largest delta system. The entire region, which includes a number of other important wetlands, has undergone serious degradation over the past three decades. This research considers the history of changes in the property rights regime in relation to the processes of environmental change. My main focus is to understand the extent to which environmental changes (i.e. reduced fresh water flow, recurrent floods, industrial pollution, and sea inundation) and changes in property rights (i.e. state property, communal property, partially open access, individual / private control) influence each other in times of uncertainty and how these changes affect the local communities. I also focus on the key drivers that influence these changes. I use a qualitative approach that offers a direction to my research and participatory methods for data collection. Findings indicate that there is a two-way feedback between environmental changes in the two lagoons and the system of property rights that shifted from a commons arrangement (mid 1970s) to being privately owned and then to a contractor system (1980s onward) before coming back to a commons arrangement in 2008. However, loss in the key physical and environmental features of the lagoons raises fundamental questions about sustaining / re-establishing commons even though policies are in place. I conclude with suggestions on sustaining lagoon commons for the future through crafting innovative governance arrangements that combine dynamic processes of change both in the physical and social spheres.
Social-ecological system change and adaptation: A case of Chilika lagoon small-scale fishery, India
(University of Waterloo, 2015-09-23) Selvaraj, Ashok; Nayak, Prateep K.; Armitage, Derek R. (Derek Russel), 1967-
Coastal lagoons are highly productive ecosystems and many fisher communities depend on the ecosystem services for their livelihoods. Unfortunately, due to anthropogenic stressors these lagoons are undergoing severe environmental changes that are impacting local fisher communities. To cope and adapt to with the changes in lagoon social-ecological systems, fisher communities are using their local knowledge. Using Chilika lagoon on the east coast of India near the Bay of Bengal as a case, I examined a range of drivers that have caused changes in the social-ecological system of the lagoon and the various adaptation options fishers consider when faced with extreme environmental and social changes. In particular, I analyse the role of local fishers’ knowledge in crafting various adaptation strategies. Semi-structured and focus-group interviews were used to collect data in the field over a three month period. Analysis of qualitative data showed that the major drivers of changes in the lagoon are: a) opening of new sea mouth; b) change in fishing techniques; and c) increase in shrimp aquaculture. Results showed that there are no long term adaptation strategies in the fisher community, and the adaptation strategies themselves act as drivers of change in the social-ecological system. Communication gaps and conflict between the fisher communities is further limiting adaptation in the fisher community.
Implementing Sustainable Community Plans through Market-based Instruments
(University of Waterloo, 2015-10-09) Zhou, Ying; Clarke, Amelia Caroline
Sustainable community development has gained momentum in recent years in order to address complex environmental, social and economic problems at the local level. Municipalities and communities are also becoming interested in the implementation of sustainable community plans. These plans are sometimes called integrated community sustainability plans (ICSPs), local agenda 21s, or may be part of a municipal official/master plan. They generally include environmental goals on: transportation, water, waste, air quality & energy, climate change, food security, ecological diversity and/or land use. Although there are over 1000 of these plans in Canada and over 10,000 worldwide, it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the gap between formulating and implementing such plans. The focus of this research is on the potential use of Market-Based Instruments (MBIs) for implementing sustainable community plans. Many researchers have investigated the importance of price signals and market-based mechanisms for sustainability. These studies have highlighted the need for Market-Based Instruments as a means for sustainability. Literature discusses the importance of a sustainable community plan for sustainable development and the benefits of Market-Based Instruments for communities. From this review, existing Market-Based Instruments were synthesized and a preliminary set of Market-Based Instruments was developed, for the creation of a Sustainability Alignment Methodology (SAM) tool. SAM tool that was developed for this research, is one which considers Market-Based Instruments under municipal jurisdiction. It might help to achieve the environmental goals in a sustainable community plan. The framework of the developed SAM was deductively tested with publicly available information from two mid-size Ontario communities - the city of Kingston and the Region of Waterloo. Further inductive findings were collected through focus groups with key municipal staff. These two communities were chosen from across Ontario based on a set of criteria. The focus groups gained information on the list of market-based instruments, the categorization of the market-based instruments and the set of scoring criteria. The preliminary version of the SAM tool found acceptance during the focus groups, with some recommendations for revision – such as the exclusion of the scoring criteria. Based on these findings, the preliminary draft of the SAM tool was revised to be more user-friendly. The revised version contains over 50 Market-Based Instruments across eight different environmental topics and identifies the municipal departments associated with these MBIs. This study makes an important contribution to sustainable community development by equipping municipal governments with a better understanding of market-based instruments and providing a useful tool for helping implement their sustainable community plans. It also contributes theoretically to our understanding of MBIs that are applicable at the local level.
Comparing and Evaluating the Social Impact Assessment Reporting of Conventional and Social Banks
(University of Waterloo, 2015-10-13) Folger-Laronde, Zachary; Weber, Olaf, professor
The purpose of this mixed-method thesis was to assess the relationships between banking organizational characteristics and the quality of social impact assessments reported by conventional and social banks. Employing a multi-theoretical framework of legitimacy theory and stakeholder theory, the following characteristics were investigated in their relation to the quality of social impact assessments: bank type, bank size, net profit, and home country. Following a content analysis approach, the quality of assessments reported by banks, concerning their internal operations, philanthropic activities, and financing activities, were evaluated using an instrument based on the Impact Value Chain. Overall, the study found significant heterogeneity in the quality of disclosure among the three activity areas of the banks, with the assessment of internal operations being the highest quality reported. Also it appears that conventional banks face more pressures and demands to assess their impacts compared to social banks. Furthermore, for conventional banks, the variables of size and net profit showed to be determinants for social impact assessment quality. Conversely, the assessment behaviour of social banks were found to have no associations with the banking characteristics investigated. Overall, the findings of the assessment behaviour of conventional banks are generally in agreement with legitimacy theory and stakeholder theory, however these extant disclosure theories struggle at predicting the disclosure behaviour of social banks, likely because of their relatively small size. Moreover, the challenges inherent to measuring the indirect social impacts of philanthropic and financial activities appear to remain significant, further signalling for future research.
Accounting for Risks: Identifying Water Risks in the Food and Beverage Industry Using an Ecosystem Services Benchmarking Framework
(University of Waterloo, 2015-10-28) Saunders-Hogberg, Grace; Weber, Olaf, professor
Global population growth and economic development has placed unprecedented demand for freshwater resources. However the supply of freshwater is becoming increasingly uncertain, due to the variability of the hydrological cycle, climate change and ecosystem degradation. This thesis questions the effectiveness of current sustainability frameworks in screening for material water risks. A new framework was developed based on an ecosystem perspective of water resources. The advantage of this approach is that it focuses on the valuation of water through the context of risk and encourages broader ecosystem perspective to managing those risks throughout the value chain and within a river basin. The study applied a mixed method approach to examine the interaction between Corporate Water Risk Management with general sustainability performance (using KLD Social Ratings) and with Corporate Financial Performance. A sample of sixty-one food and beverage firms was compiled from a universal database that combined data from the Compustat database and KLD (2012) Historical Summary. Their corporate disclosures were appraised using the Corporate Water Risk Management framework. Regression analysis showed significant and positive relationships with accounting performance measures but non-significant association with market measures. Firm size was shown to have a strong influence on the accounting performance correlations. For the market measures, it was determined that there are many factors influencing market values and thus more sophisticated models are required to isolate the relationship between CSP activities and market performance.
Assessing the Environment Domain of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing: Potentials for Leveraging Policy
(University of Waterloo, 2015-10-29) Graham, Allison; Singh, Simron Jit, 1969-
This thesis is aimed at understanding the environment domain of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) and how it can further contribute to communicative strategies that promote strategic sustainable development. Several ways of conceptualizing, describing and measuring the relationship between human wellbeing and the environment have been attempted in the past through a number of wellbeing indices, but none of these have been entirely successful at capturing the intricacies and potential implications inherent in the relationship. This study attempts to cast light on how the environment domain of the CIW can benefit from having a guiding framework to better communicate the pressures placed on the environment and show links to other aspects of societal behaviour and wellbeing. The goal is to contribute to a better conceptualization of sustainable progress and a tool for policy integration. An in-depth literature review was conducted to report on how human wellbeing and the environment have been measured. The empirical basis of the thesis is expert interviews. Six of the interviewees have been involved in the development and application of well-known wellbeing indices. The study also interviewed two regional level planners in Waterloo with deep interest in environmental sustainability. This thesis proposes the Drivers-Pressures-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) as a guiding framework for the environment domain of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) with resource use indicators from Material Flow Analysis (MFA). Food and Transportation are then proposed to improve the scope of the domain and the index. From a planning perspective, they represent key political, economic and environmental issues. They are both important to Canadian livelihoods and present direct connections between wellbeing and the environment. By presenting food and transportation indicators using the DPSIR framework and MFA as a tool they become understandable and communicate a strong message about how these systems are affecting the Canadian environment. Other potentially emergent concepts were also presented in this thesis. Further research into many of these concepts, both developing and established, are suggested to further the applicability of the CIW for Canadian policy leverage. This study has the potential to build a universal understanding of what these terms mean and how wellbeing indices can be used to develop a better understanding of the important link between elements of the environment and human wellbeing.
The Relation Between Corporate Water Risk, Water Accounting and Financial Performance of Metal Mining Firms
(University of Waterloo, 2016-01-18) Raj, Arun
Water is increasingly being recognized as a scarce resource. Water intensive industries such as mining are progressively realizing the need and importance to judiciously and efficiently manage their water requirements. Water scarcity is a noticeable factor influencing corporate growth and performance. Although water sustainability initiatives are known to have an overall positive impact on corporate performance, there is little information on its impact on corporate financial performance. This study focuses on business risk associated with water in metal mining industry and its impact on corporate water and financial performance. In this study a sample of 20 metal mining corporations corresponding to 244 active mines, that are a member of International Council of Metals and Mining (ICMM) were used to analyze 1) the relation between water risk and corporate water performance and 2)the relation between water performance (non-financial) and financial performance of companies? The results indicate a positive correlation between water risk and corporate water performance. Furthermore, the results did not indicate a strong correlation between water performance and financial performance of companies
An Assessment of Sustainable Banking Regulations in Emerging Economies
(University of Waterloo, 2016-01-19) Oyegunle, Adeboye
The drive for sustainable finance practice is growing globally. This development is being driven by the growing global interest in Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) which has compelled banks to take Environmental and Social (E&S) considerations seriously in their business decisions and relationships with clients. Though this started as voluntary corporate efforts, particularly among leading players in the global financial sector, it soon became popular in leading economies, evolving into collaborations and frameworks that have helped set new standards, codes and legislations. However, this success was not replicated in developing and emerging markets due to several mitigating factors. Interestingly, in the last few years, African, Asian and Latin American financial institutions are beginning to show increasing interest in developing and embedding E&S considerations and governance into their internal system and lending processes. One remarkable deviation here is the involvement of regulators in the design and implementation of ESG standards that drive this process. This is contrary to the voluntary practices that are common among leading economies. This research is focused on assessing the development of this evolving ESG practices, by undertaking an analysis of existing regulations in emerging economies and the role of regulators in the integration of E&S considerations in the banking sector. It also takes a look at the key drivers of the practice, the state of implementation, its strengths and weaknesses, future and if this can be applied to leading global financial systems.
Equator Principles and Climate Change Issues: Examining the EPs’ Climate Change Policies and Analyzing the Likely Effectiveness of these Policies
(University of Waterloo, 2016-04-07) Aboutorabifard, Haniehalsadat
Climate change is a global environmental issue that adversely affects economic activities; on the other hand, economic activities, in particular infrastructure project financing, are one of the main drivers of current increases in atmospheric greenhouses gas (GHG) concentrations. Accordingly, based on the principles of shareholder, stakeholder, and institutional theories, a number of financial institutions, called the Equator Principles Financial Institutions (EPFIs), voluntarily developed the Equator Principles (EPs) as “a risk management framework for determining, assessing and managing environmental and social risk in projects” (EPs-website). In 2013, EPs were updated (EPIII) to include project-related climate change issues in project assessment. Doing so enables the EPFIs to reduce credit risks, enhance reputation, and gain legitimacy. However, despite the development of EPIII, its climate change policies are left vague, and different opinions have evolved around their likely effectiveness in helping the EPFIs to manage their climate risks and change their behavior towards climate change management. Apart from existing criticisms that the EPs fail to enforce the EPFIs’ commitment to voluntary standards, this study examines the likely effectiveness of the EPs’ mandates from a climate change perspective. This study follows two main methodological approaches: 1) primary document and policy analysis and 2) comparative legal and synthetic analysis to analyze the EPs’ climate change policies and identifying potential challenges to address climate change issues through Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). This research analyzes the existing guidelines on climate change management and elaborates underlying principles and motivators for climate change policies to develop a set of generalized criteria for the effective incorporation of climate change issues into EIA. In light of these criteria, I then examine how EPIII include climate change in the EIA for projects proposed for bank financing. This study will analyze whether the EPs are having a positive impact on managing climate change issues and reveal to which extent the EPs confirms the principles of underlying theories and fulfills the primary motivators.
An Assessment of Voluntary Codes of Conduct in the Financial Sector – A case study of the GABV, UNEP-FI and UNPRI
(University of Waterloo, 2016-04-07) Adeniyi, Ifedayo
As a result of the key roles financial institutions play in the world today, they are pivotal in addressing arguably the biggest challenge the world faces today – sustainable development. Several pioneering financial institutions, some with the collaboration of non-governmental organisations, have developed key initiatives to act as roadmap towards ensuring intra and intergenerational equity. These initiatives are referred to as codes of conduct, and take on the name voluntary, because organizations are not mandated to adopt them. Nonetheless, these self-regulatory codes inadvertently act as soft laws to which adopters must abide by. This research describes the more prevalent codes in the financial sector – the Equator Principles, Global Alliance on Banking Values, United Nations Environmental Programme Finance Incentive, United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment – with the latter three used as a case study to determine if significant differences exist between signatories and non-signatories. Via quantitative techniques, results indicate that there is indeed a noteworthy difference between both groups of banks, suggesting that signatories address sustainability concerns in their reports more often than their non-signatory counterparts. The research concludes by noting that even though more reporting does not necessarily translate to enhanced performance, it is a step in the right direction, and exudes the qualities of the codes that may have been responsible for this development.
Banking on Financial Sector Sustainability Regulations
(University of Waterloo, 2016-04-12) Oni, Olawuwo
Based on their influence as going concerns and financial intermediaries that are essential to the growth of economies, some banks, through the oversight role of their Central Banks and other regulatory bodies are seen to be adopting sustainability regulations and are beginning to address respective principles of each regulation for better performance as it relates to sustainable development. These financial sector sustainability regulations encompass issues pertaining to both banks’ operations and business activities, addressing the need for banks to engender sustainable strategies, products and services as well as practices in order to drive solutions to diverse sustainability issues which include but are not limited to climate change, environmental pollution, eco-efficiency, poverty and human rights. Financial sector regulatory authorities in China, Nigeria and Bangladesh led the way in the establishment of mandatory guidelines in 2012 although guidelines have existed since 2007 and 2011 for China and Bangladesh respectively. However, oblivious of the effect of these regulations on the performance of banks in these countries in addressing the principles of their country-specific regulation, this research, on one hand, examines the impact of the Chinese Green Credit Guidelines (GCG), Nigerian Sustainability Banking Principles (NSBP) and the Bangladeshi Environmental Risk Management (ERM) Guidelines on banks within the territory of respective regulatory establishment by carrying out empirical analysis of their annual, sustainability and corporate social responsibility reports. On the other hand, consideration is given to banks in countries similar to the aforementioned to analyze their performance in addressing the regulatory principles of their mandated peers.
Evaluation of Sustainability Reporting in the Canadian Electricity Sector
(University of Waterloo, 2016-05-18) Chukwuelue, Jane
Sustainability reports are essential platforms through which organizations communicate their corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitments to stakeholders and demonstrate accountability. Organizations often commit significant resources annually to the production of sustainability reports; however, several debates arise as to the utility and quality of information in these reports. In this light, this study presents an evaluation of sustainability reporting in the Canadian Electricity Sector using the Industry’s sustainability leaders (member companies of the Canadian Electricity Association) as a case study. The research adopted a mixed method approach, which consisted of two studies. The first study utilized content analysis to evaluate sustainability reports and further determine the extent to which 15 identified sustainability issues relevant to the electricity industry were addressed in the reports. The second study utilized the themes derived from the first study to construct an online survey to gain understanding of how companies perceive their report and further determine how the 15 sustainability issues ranked in order of relevance to the company’s operation. The objective of this comparison was to determine if the most relevant issues to the companies (as identified by the survey) were indeed the most reported issues (as shown in the sustainability/annual reports). Results obtained revealed that the sustainability communication of the Canadian electricity association had significantly greater focus on the social aspect of sustainability than the environment and economic aspects. Furthermore, the result identified a disconnect between the most relevant issues to the companies and the most reported issues.
Substance Flow Analysis of Tantalum: Tracking the Conflict-Free Path
(University of Waterloo, 2016-07-13) Achebe, Jessica
Tantalum is a critical material used in specialized industrial manufacturing processes and end-use applications ranging from aerospace to high performance electronics. In Central Africa severe human rights violations are associated with illicit mining and conflicts in regions where tantalum is extracted. Considerable efforts from industry, government and non-profit organizations have gone into conflict-free sourcing programs using mechanisms such as due diligence and chain-of-custody. However, a paucity of quantitative information exists on the global sources and amounts of metal, and this impedes decisions towards potential solutions. The purpose of this research was to quantify global flows of tantalum production and characterize patterns of conflict-free production. This study employed substance flow analysis (SFA) to characterize tantalum mass flows for 48 processing facilities located in 12 countries. A novel facility-level bottom-up method to SFA was employed on smelting and metal refining activities to aggregate information on global flows of metal. Results estimate the mass flows of global tantalum production and present an ostensible pattern of tantalum production. Global tantalum production in 2014 was estimated at 2800 tonnes, with a global average recycled content of about 35%, and 46 conflict-free tantalum processing facilities accounted for processing over 95% of global tantalum mineral concentrates. The emergence of conflict-free tantalum mineral sourcing from 2010 to 2014 is quantified. This research advances the SFA approach for metal flows accounting with greater facility-level detail and geographic information. The descriptive view of tantalum flows informs discussions on conflict-free programs and supports metal certification of sustainable supply chains of metals.

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