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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Attributing Corporate Carbon Mitigation Outcomes to Substantive Decarbonization Actions through Change Analysis
(University of Waterloo, 2024-11-12) Lin, Meijie
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.
Wetland Offsetting: A Policy tool for Sustainable Wetland Management in the Grand River Watershed?
(University of Waterloo, 2024-10-24) Movoria, Ejiro
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Assessing Differences in Household Food Insecurity Vulnerabilities Post-Cyclone Idai in Beira, Mozambique
(University of Waterloo, 2024-05-30) Sunu, Naomi Elikem
Food insecurity is a complex sustainability challenge that is being worsened by frequent extreme weather disasters, especially within low-to-middle-income-countries (LMICs). Mitigating post-disaster food insecurity requires data for targeted interventions. Yet, there is limited research on household-characteristics connections with post-disaster food insecurity in LMICs. This study therefore focused on the aftermath of the 2019 Cyclone Idai disaster in Beira, Mozambique, and examined the differences in household food insecurity vulnerabilities using household and personal food environment characteristics, and adaptations to the disaster. Social-ecological systems (SES) theoretical and disaster management lenses informed the collection of data across household (microsystem), community (mesosystem) and humanitarian institutions (macrosystem) levels, as well as the assessment of household food insecurity vulnerabilities. A mixed-methods sequential explanatory study design was employed. The quantitative study entailed a household survey that collected data from 975 households. However, descriptive, univariate and bivariate statistical analyses were conducted on n=709, which had a complete set of data for the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) measurement of food insecurity, and the household, personal food environment and adaptation to disaster variables. The follow-up qualitative study entailed the use of interview guides to conduct audio-recorded focus-group discussions with households and community leaders, and key-informant interviews with selected personnel from humanitarian institutions addressing food insecurity. The qualitative data was transcribed verbatim, and thematic content analysis was applied. Both quantitative and qualitative results were triangulated to present the findings. There were statistically significant increases in household food insecurity one month after the cyclone compared to the month before levels (p<0.05), with the median HFIAS score increasing from 14 to 18 post-Cyclone Idai. The presence of multiple vulnerability characteristics such as large household sizes, severe underlying food insecurity and low-income within a household, influenced more severe food insecurity post-Cyclone Idai. Also, the displaced households of the study were isolated from food markets and had pre-existing food accessibility challenges within their personal food environment, which was compounded by the loss of houses post-cyclone. Most adaptations were made during Cyclone Idai response and not preparedness. Adaptations to the disaster that enabled food access included the use of household savings, and food-sourcing facilitated by bridging and linking social capital at the mesosystem and macrosystem levels. Regardless, the facilitation of food-sourcing adaptations was constrained by macrosystem level challenges in targeting vulnerable households for food aid distribution. Additionally, non-reciprocal bonding social capital interactions created food access constraints for households that gave to others. The findings support the mitigation of recurrent, severe post-disaster household food insecurity episodes in Beira, Mozambique. This requires the integration of interventions for household food insecurity, disaster risk reduction and equitable food systems, all underpinned by well-coordinated stakeholder collaborations across all SES levels.
Assessing Adaptations to Global Transformational Events in Canadian Corporate Social Responsibility Practices
(University of Waterloo, 2024-05-17) Billedeau, David Benjamin
This dissertation investigates the following question: do global transformational events result in transient or transformational changes in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices? The novel concept of global transformational events is defined as pivotal incidents—both endogenous and exogenous—with profound global repercussions, creating catalysts that inherently drive shifts in corporate operations and global market dynamics. Adapting the PICOT framework from clinical health research, this dissertation assesses the impact of global transformational events on CSR. PICOT stands for Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, and Time, and it provides a structured format for formulating research questions in evidence-based practice. This approach helps to compare changes in corporations' CSR initiatives before and after global transformational events. The data used within this work is gleaned from a diverse range of sources including interviews with industry representatives, annual reports, and public records. The dissertation spans eight chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the research theme, while Chapter 2 reviews the theoretical foundation of CSR decision-making in both stable and volatile operating environments. The heart of the dissertation, Chapters 3 through 6, is rooted in empirical case studies. Chapters 3 and 4 assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on CSR initiatives within Canada, with a cross-sector overview in the former and a specific focus on the automotive manufacturing sector in the latter chapter. Chapter 5 evaluates the influence of the Paris Agreement on decarbonization commitments in Canada's automotive manufacturing sector. Chapter 6 examines the role of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in guiding community investment decisions by leading Canadian private sector companies. The emerging domain of sustainability management and its potential to augment CSR practices is the focus of Chapter 7. Chapter 8 then synthesizes the findings, highlighting contributions to knowledge, theory, and practice, as well as outlining future research directions. In sum, this dissertation examines the degree to which CSR initiatives of large firms operating in Canada are influenced by global transformational events, while underscoring prevailing corporate tendencies to gravitate towards a "business as usual" mindset. This inclination persists even when external operating circumstances have undergone dramatic shifts, suggesting a resistance to adapt to new paradigms. This pattern underscores a gap between the potential for—and the realization of—sustained CSR changes in response to global transformational events, encouraging further scrutiny of corporate behaviour to ensure meaningful alignment of corporate operations with environmental and societal wellbeing.
Student Perceptions of Green FinTech Adoption
(University of Waterloo, 2024-05-14) Zhetpisbayeva, Ainur
Technology has become a key instrument for addressing climate change concerns in the modern era. Specifically, it gave rise to Green FinTech, which can significantly mitigate adverse environmental effects by incentivising people to engage in pro-environmental behaviour and green finance. Green FinTech is a novel, unexplored green technology phenomenon with a nascent adoption rate. To address this gap, this study investigates whether the proposed research model – which extends the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and incorporates perceived risk and perceived trust – can offer a more comprehensive understanding of the adoption of Green FinTech for the students at the University of Waterloo. This study has investigated the influence of TAM constructs, namely perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, on users' attitudes towards Green FinTech. Additionally, it has explored the effects of TPB constructs, including attitude, social norms, and perceived behavioural control, on the intention to adopt Green FinTech. The research used a quantitative approach: data collection by questionnaire. Based on the research model, eight hypotheses were developed and tested using structural equation modelling techniques (SEM- PLS). The research results indicate that attitude, social norms, and perceived behavioural control significantly affect the intention to use Green FinTech applications. Notably, the perceived usefulness emerges as the primary driver shaping attitudes toward Green FinTech usage. Although perceived ease of use and perceived trust also contribute positively to attitude formation, their impacts are comparatively smaller. Surprisingly, perceived risks do not significantly influence the attitude toward Green FinTech adoption. Moreover, the study reveals that perceived trust is a significant mediator between perceived risk and attitude towards using Green FinTech applications. To enhance adoption rates, Green FinTech service providers should prioritise the usefulness of their services in environmental protection, address consumer needs, and ensure data protection to foster trust. Remarkably, the research model elucidates 68% of the variance in attitude and 54% in the intention to use Green FinTech, offering a comprehensive understanding of individual adoption determinants, thus contributing significantly to the literature on Green FinTech adoption.
Analyzing Corporate Governance Mechanisms for Sustainability in Firms: From Concepts to Practices
(University of Waterloo, 2024-04-24) Bajwa, Muhammad Moaz Tariq
Corporate sustainability is becoming more prevalent, leading to the intertwining of governance mechanisms at the organizational level, which is ultimately responsible for sustainability and the financial performance of firms. The urgency of corporate governance challenges requires firms to define sustainability measures and strategies. In the current literature, there is a continuous reference to the progression of corporate governance and corporate sustainability. To achieve sustainability targets and ensure higher financial performance, a firm must seek more precision in its governance mechanisms. However, the literature on corporate governance and how it affects firms' sustainability performance is lacking, specifically in exploring how effective corporate governance mechanisms can assist firms in improving their financial performance. The governance-sustainability nexus can be advanced by conducting strategic research that examines a wider range of theories and analytical models. The study is a step toward understanding how effective governance mechanisms can lead to sustainable and financially successful organizations. Furthermore, the study guides firms in their decision-making, resource allocation, and global sustainability efforts. In this dissertation, the first study systematically documents how different corporate governance mechanisms affect the link between sustainability and the financial performance of firms. The study has used cluster analysis to identify three focus areas: board-level governance, operational-level governance, and assurance-level governance. The findings have policy implications for firms seeking to integrate sustainability into their operations, in addition to consolidating the existing knowledge and frameworks in which governance and sustainability research intersect. The results provide a comprehensive overview of emerging governance strategies related to firm performance. Despite this, more deductive evidence was required in the literature covered in the next two studies. The second study empirically evaluates the influence of board and operational governance on the relationship between sustainability and the financial performance of firms. The study utilized the structural equation modelling method to examine the sample of 224 large and actively traded Canadian firms listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The results revealed partial mediation effects of board governance and operational governance, both singly and jointly, and full mediation in the relationship between sustainability and financial performance of firms. The results were evaluated based on factors affecting firms' sustainability and financial performance, including firm type, age, and other industry-specific characteristics. The study provides valuable insights for firms to link governance structures with sustainability for better financial performance outcomes and include an integrated sustainability focus in their competitive strategies. The third study empirically tests the impact of workforce practices on firms' environmental and social performance. The relationship between workforce practices and the sustainability performance of firms is being examined by examining the mediating effect of firms' financial performance. The study examines the moderating effect of firm age on workforce practices and the sustainability performance of firms. A linear regression analysis was employed to analyze the sample of 224 large and actively traded Canadian firms in the study. The findings significantly impact the direct and indirect impacts of workforce practices on firms' environmental and social performance. The findings suggest that firms choose the right mix of practices to tailor workforce management and achieve better sustainability performance in their environmental and social initiatives. The research presented in this dissertation has contributed to knowledge and scholarly literature about how a firm's sustainability performance is influenced through the adoption of various governance mechanisms. The research provides a basis for adopting a normative and functional approach to tackle contextual challenges while seeking sustainability at a firm level. The study departs from a narrower approach of firms’ financial performance when it comes to sustainability initiatives driven through governance mechanisms. The study provides instruments which could help firms to partially integrate sustainability into their business strategies.
Problematizing eurocentric sustainability within the context of business management and exploring the pluriversality of sustainability
(University of Waterloo, 2024-04-18) Patara, Saveena
Business is held responsible for much of the world’s unsustainability and despite over 50 years of sustainable development and corporate social responsibility (CSR) discourse and practice, the state of sustainability continues to deteriorate. This is because businesses within a capitalistic system tend to approach sustainability the same way they do business, bastioned by ideals of profit maximization and the commodification of nature. Additionally, sustainability discourse and practice are largely based on Western values, judgment, and epistemology, which determines the construction, framing, and understanding of sustainability problems and responses. This study refers to this as eurocentric sustainability whereby the mindset that created the problem, is the same mindset used to solve it. As such, there is an imperative to understand and pursue sustainability in pluralistic ways, which includes not only the perspectives of people who have traditionally been excluded from the discourse (plurality) but also approaches to knowledge and meaning beyond the limited parameters of Western epistemology and hermeneutics (pluriversality). Thus, the central aims of this dissertation are to problematize eurocentric sustainability and explore the pluriversality of sustainability through three separate but interconnected studies. The first study is a systematic literature review of eurocentrism and Just Sustainabilities (JS) within business management and the implications for sustainability and corporate social responsibility, by understanding what characterizations of eurocentrism and Just Sustainabilities are presented in business management literature. The findings suggest four key features of eurocentrism - the superiority of Western people, countries, ideas, knowledge, and values, which are expressed through the domination and oppression of people and nature, universalism, particularly of knowledge and culture, and modernity. These characteristics are also reflected in the broader eurocentrism scholarship and serve as the lens for this dissertation. JS is one approach for conducting plurality research that centers on sustainability injustices, largely created by the consequences of eurocentrism. The study illuminates the importance of problematizing eurocentrism within the sustainability discourse which continues to promote the superiority and universality of Western knowledge and epistemology that serves to exacerbate sustainability issues and maintain inequities. Next through an empirical inquiry using semi-structured interviews, the second study examines how the climate and sustainability discourses are perceived by owner-managers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and what influence spirituality has on these understandings. Eight discourses emerged, each illuminating a distinct way of thinking and speaking about climate and sustainability. The four discourses of interdependency, social, longevity, and responsibility present a collectivist framing. Whereas the four discourses of superiority, power, paradoxical, and pessimism speak to perceptions of and reactions to eurocentric sustainability, which may be the cause of inaction by some participants. However, this inaction should not be mistaken as a lack of motivation, knowledge, or resources as it is more likely to do with not wanting to engage in eurocentric sustainability given the maladaptive outcomes it produces and/or their high costs. Further, many spoke of sustainability through ideas of totality, interdependency, equilibrium, and harmony; and that nature is intertwined with spirituality, which is also conveyed through themes of interdependency and equilibrium, revealing common threads between sustainability and spirituality. A key contribution of the second study is that it empirically demonstrates sustainability means different things to different people and also suggests that sustainability leaders and experts avoid viewing themselves as the only knowledge holders. The third study examines what motivates, supports, and limits participants in pursuing climate and environmental action using thematic analysis of the same dataset. The findings demonstrate that most respondents show deep concern for sustainability issues and see their role as minimizing environmental harm; often grounded by a culture of ‘no waste’. Outwardly, the biggest enablers and barriers are related to financial considerations. However, a deeper examination reveals that the inauthenticity of sustainability and CSR practices also creates cynicism and distrust, shaping attitudes and engagement in environmental action. This is a noteworthy finding as extant studies show the engagement of SMEs in environmental action is largely influenced by owner-managers’ values. This dissertation makes several scholarly, empirical, and practical contributions to sustainability management scholarship, including novel associations as a result of integrating data points from euroentrism, business management, SME, spirituality, and collectivism-individualism scholarship to create or strengthen relationships among these discourses through a problem-focused approach. As pluriversality studies are relatively nascent in most academic domains, this research also serves to trailblaze a path for empirical pluriversality studies examining sustainability in business management.
Water Secure and Climate Resilient Ontario: Developing a Transdisciplinary Water Risk Management Framework and Decision Support Tool to Guide Multi-Sector Sustainable Water Management Policies and Strategies
(University of Waterloo, 2024-04-03) Sandhu, Guneet
Sustainable management of water resources, which provide critical social, economic, cultural, and ecological functions, is essential for sustainable development, yet risks to water security are growing. The province of Ontario is an interesting case for investigating water risks, risk perception, and water risk management. Nestled between the Great Lakes, a “myth of water abundance” exists amidst a myriad of local water challenges, including the lack of safe drinking water in Indigenous communities, dwindling flows, groundwater overextraction, deteriorating water quality, regulatory complexity, and water-user conflicts. While academic interest in water risk assessment and sustainable water management is growing, the literature reveals limited interdisciplinary investigation of local water risks and how these risks are perceived, evaluated, and managed by influential non-state actors like the corporate and financial sector. Addressing these gaps, this dissertation focused on its phenomenon of interest of water security risks in Ontario. It executed a three-stage interconnected objective and examined water risk assessment, perception, evaluation, and management using a novel normative-analytical theoretical framework. The first stage assessed interdisciplinary biophysical and social water risks at the sub-watershed scale in Ontario using secondary data analysis. It found high and moderate risk in at least 50% of studied sub-watersheds for all water risks, challenging the myth of water abundance. The second stage examined water risk perception and evaluation in the corporate and financial sector, using explanatory mixed methods (survey followed by interviews). It confirmed that risk-centric, individual-centric (cognitive, affective, socio-cultural demographic, trust-based), and spatial factors generate risk perception and impact water risk evaluation. Thus, revealing the nuanced model of expert risk perception. The third stage investigated water risk management strategies using a survey and interviews of corporate and financial practitioners. Moreover, using transdisciplinary approaches, it developed a contextually-attuned water risk decision support tool to guide multi-sector sustainable water management policies and strategies in Ontario. The results emphasize a combination of regulatory, voluntary, and multi-stakeholder participatory approaches, tailored based on the sector, location, and context, and risk severity, is necessary. Moreover, the criteria of flexibility, efficiency, strategic incentives, economic, and regulatory signals are essential. This dissertation contributes to the knowledge in the fields of sustainability management, socio-hydrology, risk analysis, and water resources management. It is the first-of-a-kind comprehensive scholarship to address the wicked sustainability issue of water security using social-ecological perspectives and Risk Theory, a new theoretical arena, intersecting multiple disciplinary paradigms to empirically validate the normative-analytical theoretical framework for water. The interdisciplinary water risk assessment revealed a higher total water risk, highlighting the importance of including contextual variables. Revealing the impact of risk perception on water risk evaluation and management in the corporate and financial sector, the dissertation challenges the rational risk perception model of experts and practitioners, hence making a novel empirical contribution to risk analysis. Finally, the dissertation demonstrates the use of interdisciplinary data, transdisciplinary methods, and normative-analytical theoretical frameworks to investigate nuanced systems-based constructs like water risks, water risk perception, and develop decision support tools. Thus, advocating for widespread inclusion of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches in sustainability management research.
SEGMENTATION INFORMS THE GAMIFICATION OF SUSTAINABLE FOOD CONSUMPTION
(University of Waterloo, 2024-01-18) Modol, Sebastien
Food systems activities produce around 30% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and are responsible for numerous environmental issues which could ultimately harm our ability to grow food reliably. One way to reduce the food system’s impacts is to transition to a more sustainable diet composed of low impact foods. The objective of this study is to identify consumers demonstrating an intention to consume sustainably produced foods, and to identify their characteristics to inform the design of targeted gamified interventions that would promote sustainable food purchasing. A survey incorporating variables from the theory of planned behaviour (e.g. attitude), socio-demographic information (e.g. age), gamification profiling variables (e.g. player typology), as well as preferred mobile applications, was developed in this study and distributed via a market survey company. Statistical analysis in the form of hierarchical clustering was used to segment and identify target markets, while contingency analysis assessed the most effective means of promoting sustainable diets. A total of four hundred and ninety surveys were distributed and three hundred and seventy-six of them were validated because they agreed to participate, were not detected as potential AI powered responses, and their responses from the theory of planned behaviour were completed. Linear regression was used to assess the significance of all variables on the intent to consume a sustainable diet. Cluster analysis identified 3 potential target segments, and contingency analysis was used to detect their unique features. Two consumer segments were identified as having high potential as a target market. Individuals in this market intended to consume a sustainable diet but lacked follow through. Strong evidence towards the effectiveness of gamification of interventions was not observed due to low and medium frequency in gaming behaviours for the two target segments. Interventions distributed through mobile applications would be most effective if they were delivered through social media and included game design elements associated with Philanthropist and Free Spirit user types. The survey was confined to Ontario, therefore it may not be generalizable to other regions. Nevertheless, this study is unique in its assessment of the profiles of consumers with high intention to purchase sustainably sourced foods through a combination of the theory of planned behaviour, socio-demographic factors, gamification player types and game behaviours, as well as preferred mobile application usage.

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