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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The Great Migration, Urban Spatial Structure, and Their Economic and Environmental Impacts in the U.S.
(University of Waterloo, 2025-02-05) Shen, Zixing; Moreno-Cruz, Juan
This thesis investigates the transformative impact of the Great Migration on urban spatial structure in the United States and its subsequent economic and environmental consequences. The Great Migration (1910-1970), marked by significant African American migration from the South to Northern and Western cities, reshaped the demographic and spatial landscape of receiving cities. Yet, the long-term spatial dynamics and their implications remain underexplored, a gap this study aims to address. Using a novel dataset constructed through the City Clustering Algorithm (CCA), this research redefines historical urban boundaries, creating “synthetic cities” (Syncities) that more accurately reflect urban development from 1900 to 1970. The analysis reveals how demographic shifts influenced the size and shape of cities, with implications for their economic performance and environmental quality. By employing instrumental variable regression and mediation analysis, this thesis identifies the causal pathways through which these spatial transformations affected income levels and air quality, both immediately following the migration and decades later. The findings highlight both economic growth and environmental challenges linked to urban expansion. Cities with larger and more dispersed urban forms benefited economically in the short term but faced greater environmental degradation over time. These results underscore the importance of urban spatial structure in shaping sustainable development trajectories. By bridging historical demographic changes with contemporary urban outcomes, this study offers valuable insights for urban planning and policy, demonstrating how historical conditions continue to shape modern challenges. This work also provides a methodological foundation for future research on the interplay between migration, urban form, and sustainability. This thesis is organized into seven chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the research goals and questions, explaining the importance of the study. Chapter 2 describes how the new urban spatial dataset was created and provides an overview of the key data. Chapter 3 looks at how urban areas in the U.S. changed between 1900 and 1970, providing background for the main analyses. Chapter 4 studies how the Great Migration affected the size and shape of cities, while Chapter 5 examines the economic and environmental effects of these changes. Chapter 6 explains how changes in urban areas connected the Great Migration to economic and environmental outcomes. Finally, Chapter 7 brings the findings together, discusses what they mean for policy, highlights limitations, and suggests ideas for future research. These chapters work together to show how the Great Migration reshaped American cities and what that means for sustainability today.
Examining Applications of Earth System Law in Canada's Species at Risk Act
(University of Waterloo, 2025-01-22) Rygus, Matthew; Craik, Neil
The worsening biodiversity crisis poses urgent questions regarding the capabilities of our legal systems to address ecological issues in the face of increasing human pressures and rapid environmental change. Earth System Law (ESL) is a novel approach to legal regulation that embeds the principles of inclusivity, complexity and interdependency according to an Earth-system perspective into legal systems. Such an approach better accounts for the larger spatial and temporal scales of Earth systems while utilizing a less anthropocentric orientation. To date, ESL research has generally been limited to conceptual analysis, however this study explores the empirical application of ESL by developing an assessment tool that incorporates ESL characteristics. The tool is then used to critically assess Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA). Drawing on the ESL literature, the study develops detailed criteria which are used to conduct a directed content analysis of a selection (n=sixteen) of SARA documents, consisting of five recovery strategies, five multi-species action plans, five management plans and the SARA legislation itself. The specific ways and extents that SARA, via its instruments, aligns and misaligns with ESL are outlined. Results from the content analysis indicate that SARA exhibits only select ESL characteristics, particularly the meaningful inclusion of present-day beings, the recognition of unknowns in a complex world and the consideration of adaptation and precaution as productive responses to complexity. SARA is misaligned with ESL by working against many of its characteristics, such as the meaningful inclusion of both future humans and geographic areas, complete acceptance of Earth-system complexity, full commitment to adaptation and the acknowledgement of Earth-system interdependencies, outlining an anthropocentric orientation. Overall, the study offers contributions regarding the conceptual development and real-world application of ESL, the shortfalls of SARA and measures to improve outcomes for biodiversity through legal systems.
Governing for Energy Transition in Rentier States
(University of Waterloo, 2025-01-14) Ohadi, Alireza; Craik, Neil; Murray (Co-supervisor), Dan
Climate change has led to increasingly strong pressures for all states to decarbonize their energy systems and economies. Energy system decarbonization faces socio-institutional barriers to phase out of hydrocarbons, which are highly integrated into global energy and economic systems. To address these barriers, the energy governance literature provides insights into the factors that influence socio-technical transitions, including the transition from hydrocarbon to low-carbon energy. Yet, when it comes to country scales, many of these studies focus on the transition pathways from the perspective of the energy importer and developed countries, leaving perspectives of the hydrocarbon rich developing states relatively unexplored. Unlike the importer countries, hydrocarbon rich countries have local access to fossil fuels, which they subsidize for domestic use, and export for fiscal revenues. These conditions make energy transition a uniquely challenging and path-dependent process for the hydrocarbon exporting countries. This thesis identifies the salient factors for energy transition to a low-carbon energy system and economy for the hydrocarbon rich-nations that rely heavily on fiscal incomes from fossil fuel exports – referred to as “rentier states” (Mahdavy, 1970). The identification of factors consists of universal, rentier, and country-levels, using a multi-level perspective (MLP) framework. The universal and rentier aspects aim at identifying the factors that increase pressure for (i.e. landscape factors) and resist against (i.e. regime factors) decarbonization of the energy systems and economies, respectively, at global and rentier state levels. The country-level aspect of the research is a case study on Iran – which is a rentier state. The Iranian case study allows to analyze interactions between the identified landscape and regime factors, in the real world-context of a rentier state. The case study identifies the influences of those factors on the path for decarbonizing the energy system and economy in Iran. To fulfil these objectives, the research analyzes the literature and relevant global, regional and national documents in the realms of energy governance, climate, technologies, and political economy. The research uses interviews with former Iranian officials in senior governmental positions to compensate for the scarcity of Iran-related documents and literature relating to energy transition, and to reduce the gap between the academic and real-world standpoints in the research. The thesis’ findings on MLP dynamics among the influential factors on Iran’s path for decarbonization identify the centralized governance of the energy system as a leverage regime factor that impedes rentier states’ efforts in decarbonizing their economy. Moreover, the thesis concludes that while energy mix and economic diversifications are both necessary approaches for phasing out of hydrocarbon resources and revenues, these strategies may be difficult to be pursued in parallel in the rentier states. In addition, the thesis finds that phasing out of fiscal crude revenues at the upstream of the energy sector [through economic diversification] could obstruct the path for phasing of fossil fuels in the downstream [under energy mix diversification].
Explaining Water Conservation Behaviour with the Big Five Personality Traits
(University of Waterloo, 2025-01-02) Bland, Autumn; Drescher, Michael
Climate change has led to increased levels of water scarcity around the globe and heightens the attention paid to the importance of water conservation. Water conservation behaviour, just like other behaviours, is likely to be affected by personality psychology, specifically the Big Five personality traits. However, the current scholarly understanding of how peoples’ intentions toward water conservation are affected by their personality traits is limited. The current research helps close this knowledge gap by clarifying how people vary in their intentions toward water conservation and how differences in their personality traits are related to the observed variation in their water conservation behaviour intentions. In pursuit of this goal, the current study examined the relationship between the Big Five personality traits (i.e., openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism) and water conservation intent and, used the Theory of Planned Behaviour as an analytical framework. Data were collected with an online survey of students at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The results suggest significant relationships between various Big Five personality traits and several of the Theory of Planned Behaviour constructs. These relationships were tested for demographic effects (i.e., program of study and gender) on their strength or direction. However, the results indicate that most of the relationships were not affected by demographic variables, suggesting that the identified relationships are universal based on the survey population and investigated demographic variables. The results from this study further our understanding of the factors that affect water conservation behaviour.
Diffusion Of Technology in Vulnerable Communities: An Analysis of the Role of Technology in Making Small-Scale Fisheries Viable
(University of Waterloo, 2024-12-18) Yousaf, Muhammad Tahir bin; Nayak, Prateep
This thesis investigates the diffusion of technology in small-scale fisheries (SSFs), focusing on how technological innovations can enhance their sustainability and viability, particularly within marginalized communities. SSFs play a vital role in global food security and livelihoods, yet they face significant challenges such as limited market access, environmental degradation, and overfishing. The research explores the diffusion of key technologies, including GPS monitoring devices, smartphone applications, and real-time monitoring systems, which hold the potential to improve resource management, operational efficiency, and market connectivity in SSFs. The study is framed within theoretical models like Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations Theory, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), and Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT), offering a comprehensive analysis of how these technologies spread within vulnerable SSF communities. Case studies from Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Philippines, Timor-Leste and Africa illustrate both the successful diffusion of technologies and the challenges encountered, such as financial barriers, lack of technical capacity, cultural resistance, and inadequate institutional support. The thesis highlights that the successful diffusion of technology depends not only on the innovations themselves but also on factors like community participation, tailored training programs, access to financial resources, and supportive governance frameworks. The study concludes that while technological diffusion can transform SSFs operations by improving sustainability and resilience, overcoming socio-economic and infrastructural challenges is crucial. This research provides a nuanced understanding of technology diffusion in SSFs and offers practical insights for policymakers and stakeholders seeking to promote sustainable fisheries through technological innovation.
Transitioning from Vulnerability to Viability: Small-Scale Fisheries in Marine Protected Areas of Sri Lanka
(University of Waterloo, 2024-12-12) Niyagama Gamage, Nilushika Madhubhashini; Nayak, Prateep Kumar
Small-scale fisheries (SSF) play a vital role in poverty reduction and food security in developing countries, providing livelihoods for millions while supplying essential nutrition to billions and contributing to local and national economies. However, small-scale and traditional fishing and coastal communities face increasing challenges due to the establishment of conservation measures, such as marine protected areas (MPAs), which directly affect their livelihoods, food security, culture, and survival. Highly protected MPAs, which ban extractive and destructive maritime activities, are effective in protecting and restoring marine biodiversity. MPA governance, however, often results in nearby coastal communities losing their rights and access to resources. While setting science-based limits on fish catch is an effective management practice, fisheries' biological, socioeconomic, cultural, and governance contexts need to be concerned for the most appropriate conservation interventions. This research aims to examine the effects of the governance of marine protected areas that exacerbate the vulnerability of small-scale fisheries. The study’s objectives are, 1) to characterize MPAs, SSF, and their interactions, 2) to examine the key drivers that exacerbate the vulnerability of SSF in MPAs, 3) to examine the key drivers that facilitate the viability of SSF in MPAs, and 4) to examine the key attributes of an appropriate MPA governance arrangement that is effective to facilitate the transition of SSF from vulnerability to viability. The study is focused on the Bar Reef Marine Sanctuary (BRMS), the largest MPA in Sri Lanka. The study was conducted in four purposefully selected study sites, Kudawa, Kandakuliya, Kalpitiya, and Uchchimunei. Following a qualitative case study approach, the study collected data through semi-structured interviews (n=51), two focus group interviews (n=2), observations, and literature review. The key research findings identified Kalpitiya SSF as a low-tech, labor-intensive occupation inherited from previous generations, mainly focusing on the domestic market. Further, the BRMS in Kalpitiya is significant in terms of biodiversity, ecosystem, and economic benefits. However, it has encountered challenges from past natural disasters and unsustainable fishing practices. These two social and natural systems are highly interconnected and complex regarding ecosystem dynamics and human interventions. Moreover, the major domains affecting the vulnerability of Kalpitiya SSF are governance and management, while the ecological and environmental domain have more viable impacts. However, the economic and development domain has both vulnerable and viable effects on SSF. The key recommendations for future governance implications to facilitate the transition from SSF vulnerability to viability include incorporating SES characteristics in policy developments, enhancing community involvement in governance, and the improvements in governance institutions.
Attributing Corporate Carbon Mitigation Outcomes to Substantive Decarbonization Actions through Change Analysis
(University of Waterloo, 2024-11-12) Lin, Meijie; Wilson, Jeffrey
Abstract As corporations increasingly disclose their environmental performance and claim to decarbonize their operations, it becomes challenging to distinguish substantive decarbonization actions from symbolic gestures that obscure business-as-usual operations. Despite numerous studies highlighting the prevalence of symbolic corporate carbon management, a clear method for measuring and comparing substantive corporate decarbonization action is still not well established. This study develops an outcome attribution framework using decomposition and decoupling analysis to measure substantive decarbonization actions that effectively reduce emissions. Using secondary panel data from a sample of firms listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange from 2018 to 2023, this study aims to: 1) analyze how changes in emissions can be broken down into changes in carbon intensity, energy intensity, and revenue; 2) evaluate the extent of effective corporate carbon mitigation outcomes that can be attributed to substantive corporate decarbonization actions; and 3) examine the correlation between substantive actions and emission reductions. The findings reveal a generally low level of substantive actions, aligning with previous research that suggests corporate climate actions are often more symbolic than substantive. More notably, the weak correlation between substantive actions and emission reductions underscores the limitation of using mitigation outcomes as a proxy for the effectiveness or substantiveness of corporate climate actions. This result emphasizes the influence of unintended external driving factors that may obscure symbolic actions and enable business-as-usual operations to persist under seemingly positive mitigation outcomes. The outcome attribution framework developed in this study offers a novel approach for researchers and decision-makers to measure and compare substantive decarbonization actions at scale, which enhances the decision-usefulness of the commonly disclosed metrics, provides clarity on the effectiveness of corporate decarbonization initiatives, and ultimately guides resources towards meaningful climate actions and advances best practices.
Neolocalism Strategies in Ontario Craft Brewing
(University of Waterloo, 2024-10-24) Bridges, Callum; Geobey, Sean
While we may live in a globalized society, it is human nature to crave local connection. The theory of Neolocalism helps us understand how businesses try to harness this, and can be defined as “a conscious effort by businesses to foster a sense of place based on attributes of their community” (Holtkamp et al., 2016, p. 66). In particular, there is a direct association between the theory of Neolocalism and businesses that sell food or beverage products as a way of creating a local identity for themselves. Craft or “Microbreweries” have emerged as the most common example of local businesses that embody Neolocalism as a way of building a successful business model through attributes and interactions with their local community. The purpose of this research is to understand what the most common approaches to Neolocalism are amongst Craft Breweries in Ontario. This research contributes to neolocal literature as it expands upon previous methods of understanding neolocal approaches carried out by businesses. Therefore, it will continue to advance the measurement framework that has been utilized to evaluate the business practices affiliated with the concept of Neolocalism. It also identifies trends in businesses approaches to Neolocalism that were previously overlooked or undervalued as the ability to collect information on certain variables and indicators had been limited. By doing this, it will determine more ways for businesses to embed themselves in their community, as it will allow them to evaluate their decision making process and identify further opportunities to create a stronger sense of place in their community. An explanatory mixed-methods approach was used for this study to gain a comprehensive understanding of Neolocalism within the Ontario Craft Brewery industry. Utilizing measurement framework for the business practices will provide clear trends and empirical measurement of neolocal approaches, while the inclusion of actual members from each brewery will ensure results are coming from their perspective and strategic thought process. The inclusion of brewery workers as participants instead of the use of customers or websites for data collection demonstrates the importance of gathering information from stakeholders who are privy to all aspects of the business. Given their knowledge and ability to comment on all indicators of Neolocalism is far greater, it aligned with the methodology for creating a comprehensive study on this theory. As well, the opportunity for qualitative discussion allows anyone who wishes to provide further context regarding their situation and decision making. Future studies should consider reducing the number of variables used in their assessment tool. This will create a more concise measurement of business practices and maintain one way of measuring variables to create a standardized measurement across all indicators.
Wetland Offsetting: A Policy tool for Sustainable Wetland Management in the Grand River Watershed?
(University of Waterloo, 2024-10-24) Movoria, Ejiro; Swatuk, Larry; Thistlewaithe, Jason
Wetlands, once considered wastelands, are crucial ecosystems that sustain biodiversity, regulate water resources, and provide essential services. Functioning as the "kidneys of the biosphere," they purify contaminants and maintain water quality. However, land conversion for industrial, residential, and farmland development has been identified as a major threat to wetland sustainability in Ontario. Other threats that have been identified include invasive species, natural water level alterations, pollution, and climate change. The wetlands of Ontario are further threatened by several policy changes that have been implemented by the Ontario Government in support of ‘Bill 23’, which is the government's plan to build 1.5 million homes in the next 10 years. Wetland offsetting is being positioned as the solution to wetland loss in the province and four conservation authorities have developed detailed offsetting policies. This thesis evaluates wetland offsetting policy as a viable tool for promoting sustainable wetland management and conservation in the Grand River Watershed. It theorizes that as part of a collaborative governance framework, wetland offsetting can function as a government-regulated mechanism that unites all stakeholders or enables a satisfactory compromise in favour of sustainability. The research data was gathered through an examination of academic and non-academic literature, alongside semi-structured interviews with key representatives from Ontario conservation authorities implementing wetland offsetting policies, the Grand River Conservation Authority, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Alberta Land Institute, Fiera Biological Consulting, Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, the City of Guelph, and the County of Brant. The study reveals that the shift in responsibilities from conservation authorities to municipalities, coupled with weakened regulatory frameworks, has created significant challenges for effective wetland management. While ecological offsetting offers a potential solution for mitigating wetland loss, its effectiveness is limited by current monitoring practices, land unavailability, resource constraints and the uneven implementation of policies across different regions. The study concludes that there is a need for a more integrated and collaborative approach to wetland conservation, one that involves all relevant stakeholders, including Indigenous communities, municipalities, and conservation authorities, prioritizing direct protection and restoration of wetlands, with offsetting used as a complementary tool rather than a primary strategy. Recommendations include developing and implementing more robust monitoring frameworks that go beyond visual inspections and presence/absence data but include detailed functional assessments that can provide a clearer picture of the ecological success of wetland offsetting projects.
Cross-Sector Partnerships as an Implementation Strategy in Achieving Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions
(University of Waterloo, 2024-10-17) Isabu, Ebosetale; Clarke, Amelia
Following the emphasis on the need for cross-sector partnerships (CSPs) during the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, CSP approaches have gained recognition internationally and have been integrated into development agendas such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). CSPs enable expertise mobilization, adoption of technology, and leveraging of funding to support the achievement of the SDGs. Local partners engaging in CSPs can make significant progress toward achieving their local sustainability goals while contributing to the global SDGs. In recent years, empirical studies have identified CSPs as a strategy for achieving deep decarbonization, including at the local level. Furthermore, existing literature highlights a positive correlation between partnership structural features and sustainability progress (i.e., plan outcomes), particularly regarding climate action. However, the potential relationship between the size and design of local CSPs working on achieving net-zero climate plans remains understudied. Additionally, the documentation of best practices of partnerships allows for replication within similar contexts. Thus, this research identifies the similarities and differences in the structural features of small and large CSPs that contribute to mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The research uses a qualitative cross-case comparison approach, involving two cases: one small CSP in the City of Markham (3 partners) and one large CSP in the City of Montreal (over 100 partners). The cases are focused on climate mitigation, involve the city, were in the implementation or completion phase, and were selected based on detailed selection criteria following recommendations from the Municipal Net-Zero Action-Research Partnership (NZAP). Data were collected from archival documents and interviews with partners and dedicated staff of the partnerships to get broader insights into the nuances of the partnerships. Analysis was done using a deductive analytical framework on partnership structures and outcomes, and an inductive analysis on partner and partnership’s perspectives about the implications of their structure on outcomes. The results show that to achieve community-wide action, a large CSP is needed, but to achieve a focused project, a small CSP is ideal. The design of the partnership’s decision-making, coordination, communication, multi-level integration, monitoring & reporting, financing, and partner engagement are all critical structural features to consider in ensuring the partnership can achieve its climate goals, regardless of size, but the size will influence the design. The findings of this research are significant for organizations focused on local climate mitigation, including private, public, and civil society organizations. The thesis contributes to future cities' research area by conducting an empirical investigation to advance the literature on the role of cross-sector partnerships in advancing the implementation of climate action plans in municipalities. The findings will also be useful to academic researchers focusing on net-zero climate action, climate change, sustainable economy, CSPs, and local climate action plans.
Integrating Sustainability and Nutrition through Dietary Pattern Optimization: A Life Cycle Assessment of Canada’s Food Guide
(University of Waterloo, 2024-10-17) Guo, Xuyang; Dias, Goretty
An ideal diet should meet nutritional needs, promote health, while have less of an environmental impact. Recent studies have highlighted the significance of environmental impacts of food consumption in the context of climate change. However, research examining the environmental impacts of dietary choices in Canada is limited. The 2019 Canada’s Food Guide (CFG), despite being the official and most authoritative food guide in Canada, does not evaluate its environmental impacts. Furthermore, existing studies on sustainable diets often rely on hypothetical dietary patterns (DPs), lacking real-world data on Canadians' dietary intake. This study aims to address these gaps by (1) evaluating the environmental impacts and nutritional aspects of dietary patterns (DPs) based on the 2019 CFG for Ontarian adults from linear optimization, (2) comparing the nutrition quality and environmental impacts of these optimized diets with those of Ontario average consumption from the 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey – Nutrition (CCHSN) and National Nutritious Food Basket (NNFB), and (3) exploring the trade-offs between nutrition and multiple environmental impacts. The Nutrient Rich Foods Index 9.3 (NRF 9.3) was applied to assess nutrition quality, and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was used to evaluate global warming potential (GWP), eutrophication (EU), and water footprint (WF) from farm to fork. Results showed that optimized diets significantly reduce meat and dairy intake while increasing plant-based proteins. Optimized diets achieved a 36.1% to 51.1% reduction in GWP (3.2-4.1 kg CO2 eq) and a 34.3% to 54.2% reduction in EU compared to the Ontario average consumption, while maintaining a high nutritional quality. However, the study also identified trade-offs, such as an increased WF due to the higher inclusion of water-intensive foods like nuts. This research contributes to the development of dietary guidelines that align with both human health and planetary boundaries, providing valuable insights for future updates to the CFG and informing policy decisions aimed at fostering healthier and more sustainable food systems. However, the study is limited by the data availability and the focus on specific environmental impact categories. Future studies should explore a broader range of food items as well as environmental indicators, expand to other regions in Canada, and consider the cultural and economic factors that influence food choices. Overall, this research contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the environmental impacts of food consumption in Canada and supports efforts to promote sustainable food systems.
The Feasibility of Applying Pescatourism to the Small-scale Fisheries in Japan
(University of Waterloo, 2024-09-13) Song, Yinghao; Nayak, Prateep
Small-scale fisheries (SSFs) often receive insufficient attention and are undervalued by governments and the public worldwide, including coastal areas in Japan. The small-scale fisheries communities in Japan face various problems such as ageing population, low income, and environmental degradation. In light of this, Pescatourism, a popular type of fishing tourism in Europe, has the potential to alleviate the vulnerabilities and adhere to the current sustainable regulations in Japan. Japan is also expanding its Umigyo industry, which enables fishers to engage in economic activities utilizing all regional marine-related resources. This initiative encourages SSF communities to develop their tourism industry as an element of Umigyo, providing tourists with an immersive experience of fishers’ lives in these communities, similar to Pescatourism. Thus, this study aims to explore the extent of the existence of SSF communities in Japan and the potential role of Pescatourism in addressing their vulnerability and creating governance arrangements for viability. Case studies, including literature reviews, observations, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussion (FGD) were conducted in five ports in Shizuoka Prefecture and Miyagi Prefecture in Japan. There are gradually increasing SSF tourism markets supported by legislation, owing to the recognised economic, ecological, and social benefits from stakeholder cooperations in Japan. This study can help reflect Japan's efforts and attempts at achieving viability in SSF tourism and its adaptation to Pescatourism, with governance concerns.
Three Tales in Journeys Towards Wisdom: Decolonial Impetuses in Social Innovation
(University of Waterloo, 2024-08-29) Ahmed, Maryam Mohiuddin; Geobey, Sean
Most Social Innovations (and related fields and practices such as Social Entrepreneurship, Social Finance and Systemic Design) address symptoms instead of the root causes of the most wicked problems (Rittel & Webber, 1973) we face as humanity. Global North paradigms (in particular, epistemologies) often focus on the gathering of data, organising it into information, and synthesising it into knowledge that can be consumed, and thus commodified. In contrast, Indigenous and Traditional frameworks almost always go a step further, and sometimes in altogether other directions, towards the attainment of ‘Wisdom’ as their ultimate goal. Resultantly, the most progressive Global North pedagogies and praxis focus on bridging the knowing-doing gap (Pfeffer & Sutton, 2000) centering ideas such as learning cycles (Kolb, 1984) and organizations (Senge, 1990), rarely paying heed to what Indigenous and Traditional frameworks present at their very core: embodiment; being and (when extended to the metaphysical) entanglement; inter-becoming (Bhogal, 2012; Wight, 2013). An altogether knowing otherwise rooted in wisdom… A (re)focus on these Global South frameworks may provide the field of Social Innovation with the decolonial impetus required to move us towards a paradigm of relationality (Goodchild, 2021) and regeneration (Senge, 2008; Wahl, 2008, 2016) that can potentially aid our species in avoiding (& continuing to create) the catastrophic climate (and related) calamities (UN IPCC, 2018) confronting us on the horizon. Sensing into the provisional elements of wisdom frameworks from the Global South, this dissertation shares three tales of journeys towards decoloniality in social innovation. Spanning two sites between North America and South Asia, chapters 3-5 share examples of “upside-down” approaches to social innovation and its allied fields (social finance, systemic design, learning and evaluation, and systems change). Using these tales, this dissertation recognizes our desire as researchers and practitioners of social innovation to enact shifts in systems and ignite transformations towards regenerative futures in these times of polycrises/polycollapse. In this process, these stories emphasize the need for a different sensing: more embodied ways of knowing, more pluralistic ways of doing, and increasingly relational ways of being. It is perhaps in these explorations that we may be able to tap into the wisdom of our inter-becoming.
Danger Ahead! How Canadians Respond to Information About the Risks of Eating Meat
(University of Waterloo, 2024-08-28) Pottage, Rebecca; Lynes, Jennifer
Previous research has demonstrated that animal-based diets are harmful to planetary and human health, accounting for a significant portion of global greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the risk of non-communicable diseases. In contrast, vegan and vegetarian diets have much lower environmental impacts and are associated with reduced risk of many illnesses, offering compelling opportunities to mitigate global warming and lower nutrition-related deaths worldwide. However, effectively communicating the risks of meat-based diets has proven difficult, as previous research has found that when engaging with meat-related risk communication, individuals exhibit selective exposure, the tendency to prefer attitude-confirming over attitude-challenging information. Literature has suggested that this selective exposure bias may be mitigated by information utility, the degree to which material can benefit future decision-making. Therefore, this research examines the relationship between dietary preferences and selective exposure for Canadian omnivore participants using information utility as a moderator. Additionally, this research identifies the level of knowledge consumers have about the environmental impact of meat production and how this level of knowledge may influence and be influenced by the selective exposure bias. The study recruited a sample of 361 Canadian participants who completed an online baseline survey, an experiment, and a post-experiment survey. The baseline survey results revealed that the majority of participants had a poor understanding of the relationship between meat and the environment. The experiment results demonstrated that although most participants engaged in the selective exposure bias, information utility influenced engagement with meat-related risk information for a small number of participants. The post-experiment survey results found that health risk messages framed using information utility influenced dietary decisions and decreased positive attitudes toward meat consumption. Overall, the findings have implications for persons interested in strategies for communicating sustainable diets, including practitioners, not-for-profit organizations, policymakers, the media, and academics.
Life Cycle Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste Management in the Region of Waterloo, Canada
(University of Waterloo, 2024-08-13) Chehab, L'Emira Lynn; Habib, Komal
Waste generation is an unavoidable consequence of human activities. Recent studies have highlighted Canada as the second-largest waste generator per capita, with the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, exemplifying a dynamic urban region characterized by rapid economic and population growth. This project performs a consequential LCA of three different municipal solid waste management (MSWM) scenarios in the Region of Waterloo. Scenario 1 models a business-as-usual MSWM system where: organic waste is composted, recyclables are recycled, and residuals are disposed off in a landfill where electricity is generated because of landfill gas production and collection. Scenario 2 considers an incinerator for residual waste treatment, and an anaerobic digestion for organic waste, while the recycling process remains the same as in Scenario 1. Scenario 3 models the province's Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) recovery targets for recyclables, maintaining the same treatment pathways for organic waste and residuals as in Scenario 1. The functional unit (FU) is set to the management of 1 ton of residential MSW in the Region of Waterloo in 2021. Data is collected from the Region’s database, LCA software and databases such as EASETECH and Ecoinvent 3.9.1, publicly available reports on waste composition in 2021, and literature. The waste-specific LCA software EASETECH is used; IPCC 2021 is selected for the Global Warming Potential (GWP100), and Traci 2.1 is selected for the following environmental impact categories: particulate matter formation (PM2.5), photochemical ozone formation, and eutrophication. Sensitivity analysis is conducted to further explore the influence of changes in assumptions made to assess the scenarios. Results indicate that Scenario 2 contributes to the least favorable results considering the GWP100, PM2.5, and eutrophication. Scenario 3 achieves the most significant offsets in GWP and photochemical ozone formation impact categories, with savings of 134% and 95%, respectively, in comparison to Scenario 1. When the GWP20 is selected instead of the GWP100, Scenario 1 becomes the least favorable scenario for MSWM, whereby the result increases from -35 kg CO2 eq per FU with a GWP100 to 119 kg CO2 eq per FU with a GWP20. Policymakers can prioritize the GWP20 results due to the immediate impacts of gases with shorter lifetimes, such as methane. The need for more rigorous research with better data quality is highlighted for further understanding of sustainability implications of MSWM in a Canadian context.
Analysis of the Impact of Fragmented Coordination During Natural Disaster Responses on Access to Drinking Water Following Cyclone Idai - Beira Case Study
(University of Waterloo, 2024-07-19) Judyn, Jerzy; Frayne, Bruce; McCordic, Cameron
Globally, disasters affect every domain of human activity and cause devastating losses across the human, economic and environmental domains. While they are extremely difficult to predict and prevent, the global society is, in principle, more than capable of mitigating many of the most severe consequences. Worryingly, while the prevailing efforts often fall short future disaster impacts are likely to become even less effective because of several compounding factors. Among the various novel perspectives that emerged to resolve the shortcomings of current disaster risk management efforts, a promising insight is offered by the lens of institutional vulnerability. This research provides a strong rationale for the recognition of institutional vulnerability as an insightful tool in addressing the most common areas of criticism around the existing DRM approaches. These finding are based on a case study analysis that centers around the 2019 Cyclone Idai and its impact on the City of Beira. The research reveals that institutional vulnerability is both a factor in the progression of vulnerability, but also a key mitigating variable in the development of the disaster. By expanding the analysis of the progression of vulnerability to include institutional vulnerability, it is possible to create a more comprehensive account of how a disaster unfolds and recognize the key role that institutional vulnerability has in amplifying or mitigating the disasters.
Improving the Provision of Mental Health Care in Small-Scale Fisheries to Boost Livelihood Outcomes: A Case Study of Chilika Lagoon in India
(University of Waterloo, 2024-07-17) Priya, Astha; Nayak, Prateep
Small-scale fisheries (SSF) support over 90 percent of the 120 million people engaged in capture fisheries globally. Due to their strong reliance on their surroundings, SSFs are in volatile positions. The ever-changing nature leads to social, economic, and environmental vulnerabilities, such as loss of biodiversity, institutional changes and loss of income or poverty. These put millions of individuals at risk for negative impacts, which include not only physical health but also severe mental health consequences. Hence, there is a need to better understand mental health as a significant vulnerability in SSF and in turn, find solutions for improvement to the provision of care. Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life and contribute to their community. It has intrinsic and instrumental value and is integral to our well-being. Although most people are resilient, people who are exposed to adverse circumstances – including poverty, violence, disability, and inequality – are at higher risk of developing a mental health condition. Poor mental health leads to detrimental outcomes for fisher’s already vulnerable livelihoods, and if untreated can lead to death. Currently, there is a lack of aid available in these communities for adequate mental health care. The purpose of this research is to discover and provide recommendations for better-supporting individuals suffering from mental illnesses in SSF. A qualitative research methods approach will be used to investigate this aspect. The administered household questionnaire will be used to gain insight into how mental health is understood by fishers, how it is influenced, the negative effects on fishers’ livelihood, barriers present in improving their mental health and the overall needs of small-scale fishers - in the study area of Chilika Lagoon, India. This design will aid in unravelling the cultural context and experiences of the people. The implications of this research will be to discover solutions for providing better mental health care, and ultimately create a set of guiding recommendations for best practices in mental health care within SSF. The goal is to increase viable, sustainable local governance response in policy and society. Reducing poor mental health outcomes will transition small-scale fisheries from vulnerability to viability. The importance of this research is seen through its originality as there is limited literature for bridging mental health care and viability in the SSF context. Future studies should focus on ongoing efforts to understand the complex existence of mental health in small-scale fisheries, and the multidimensional response that is needed to address it. Consulting small-scale fishers to recognize their specific needs should continue to be prioritized in future solutions.
Identifying the Institutional, Stakeholder, and Behavioral-Level Drivers and Barriers for Scaling the Green Bond Market
(University of Waterloo, 2024-07-09) Saravade, Vasundhara; Weber, Olaf; Thistlethwaite, Jason
The green bond market is one of the most public faces of sustainable finance around the world. Not only has it had an inter-, multi-, and transdisciplinary level of impact on how financial markets operate and addressing climate-related opportunities and challenges, but it has also instilled a sense of hope among stakeholders when it comes to climate action. However, with a growth of this market at an exponential rate, the reality of how stakeholders are adapting and rising to various challenges related to market development and scale are still under examined within the current academic literature. Using a multi-theoretical lens of institutional, stakeholder and behavioural theories, this dissertation addresses these literature gaps by evaluating the linkages between the “how”, “what” and “why” of green bond market growth. To do so, it employs a mix of methodological approaches and research designs. This dissertation undertakes a quasi-event-study approach and uses a difference-in-difference (DID) design to understand the direct impact of various green bond policies on the growth of this market – namely the “how” of market scale-up. To pinpoint “what” various market factors for scale-up are, this dissertation uses a concurrent mixed-methodological research design by triangulating various stakeholder or legitimacy-linked drivers and barriers of this market, using an expert-based survey as well as semi-structured interviews. To identify the motivations behind “why” this market is so highly in demand, this dissertation uses a discrete choice experimental survey among retail investors. By employing paired samples t-tests of differences and multivariate analysis of variance, this stage focuses on the influence of green bond framing effects as well as the mediating effects of behavioral norms and personal traits on investor preferences for green bonds. The results find that green bond markets are a complex ecosystem where a confluence of stakeholder engagement and policy approaches are required to effectively target current and future market growth. Furthermore, these approaches should be context specific in nature and tailored to the type of institution or country-level dynamics that already exist. Our results are also novel in its finding of the behavioral level biases and drivers in green bond investment decision-making and hence create a new theoretical framework by which we need to examine this market as well as other sustainable finance products. The main contribution of this work comes in the form of identifying the institutional, stakeholder, and behavioral-level drivers and barriers for scaling green bonds. More specifically, the growth of this market depends on the use of context-specific institutional coercive pressures and top-down policy approaches, fostering bottom-up market growth through stakeholder salience and legitimacy as well tapping into the individual level behavioral biases and heuristics in decision-making. The dissertation directly contributes to the fast-emerging body of academic literature on this market as well as provides a new institutional-, stakeholder- and behavioral-based theoretical framework by which to assess the impact of green bonds on a global scale.
Impact of Incorporating Corporate Sustainability into the Credit Risk Assessment of Nigerian Banks
(University of Waterloo, 2024-06-19) Makinde, Abolade Olayinka; Weber, Olaf; Carè, Rosella
Nigeria, a developing country with the largest economy in Africa, has a significant sustainable development (SDG) funding gap, and the banking sector has been identified as a collaborator in closing this gap through asset allocation to sustainable business. Banks’ primary concern in their asset allocation is credit risk reduction. However, there have been no studies in Nigeria to ascertain if allocating loans to more sustainable businesses can improve their credit risk prediction. To address this gap, this quantitative thesis sought to assess the cause-effect relationship between sustainability performance and credit risk. Employing the Good Management Theory, the impact of integrating sustainability performance with conventional criteria of Nigerian corporate borrowing clients on borrowers’ default risk and banks’ credit risk prediction was evaluated. Using a cross-sectional survey design, the study found that integrating sustainability assessment increases the prognostic validity of credit risk prediction by 3.7%, and improved sustainability performance was associated with reduced borrowers’ default risk. The study found that the social sustainability subfactor had the most significant impact on credit risk prediction, while the borrowing client’s firm sector was found to increase the prediction accuracy. Overall, the study findings agree with the Good Management Theory. The study contributes significantly to the academic literature on the impact of sustainability performance on credit risk in Africa, identified the most significant sustainability indicators, the effect of the firm’s corporate lifecycle, and designed a new survey instrument suitable to measure sustainability performance in Africa.
An Examination of the Social, Legal and Political Factors that Impact the Permitting Process for Wind Energy Transmission Line Projects in Canada
(University of Waterloo, 2024-06-04) Dykstra, Erin; Feltmate, Blair
In order to mitigate the effects of climate change, energy systems are undergoing a rapid transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. Renewable energy is a core component of decarbonization and climate mitigation strategies, and wind energy is one of the fastest growing and most affordable sources of renewable power. However, locations in Canada with the best onshore wind energy resources are often remote and unserved or underserved by the current electrical grid. In order to support expanded deployment of wind energy in these locations, transmission lines must be constructed or expanded. While researchers have identified a lack of sufficient transmission infrastructure as one of the most significant barriers to increasing wind energy generation capacity, no study has thoroughly examined the factors that impact the permitting process of wind energy transmission line projects in Canada. This thesis aims to fill this research gap by examining the social, legal, and political factors that impact wind energy transmission line projects in Canada. This research was composed of (1) a content analysis of transmission line permitting documents from a selection of Canadian provinces and the federal government, and (2) an online survey of professionals active in the transmission line permitting process, including energy producers, energy regulators, permitting authorities, private firms, and public policy professionals. The results of the content analysis—which revealed that permitting documents do not include information about the factors impacting permitting decisions—and low participation rate in the survey indicate a lack of transparency in the permitting process, a finding which is in accordance with institutional theory and prior research demonstrating the difficulty of studying closed government processes. Statistical and descriptive analyses of the survey data revealed a complicated relationship between permitting processes, public policy, lobbying, and public opinion. These results align with public values theory, social license to operate theory, and prior research demonstrating the importance of public consultation and community acceptance for infrastructure projects, especially projects such as above-ground transmission lines and wind turbines that have a significant aesthetic impact on the surrounding community.

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