Search results for "STAI"

The impact of corporate social responsibility initiative on sustainable livelihood capitals of cocoa farmers in Ghana : a case study of cocoa livelih…

2015

The Cocoa Livelihood Programme (CLP), an initiative of corporate organizations in collaboration with the World Cocoa Foundation (WFC) in line with their corporate social responsibility (CSR), was introduced in Ghana by Solidaridad West Africa in the year 2009. This CSR initiative is to promote sustainable livelihoods of cocoa farmers. Qualitative research method of approach was used to examine the impact of the CLP on the livelihoods of participating cocoa farmers in the Ahafo Ano South District using the five capitals of the Sustainable Livelihood (SL) Framework. Two research questions were answered using thematic coding and analysis. The findings show that the cocoa livelihood programme (…

Bold ambition, blunted agency? : Examining top management perspectives on a circular economy transition in Finland

2022

The circular economy is proposed as a company-driven means to further sustainability transitions. Top managers have a critical role in fostering the circular economy as they are responsible for shaping and implementing a company's sustainability strategy and performance. In this paper, we adopt a microfoundations perspective to enhance our understanding of the influence of top managers as agents of the sustainability transition to the circular economy. In a qualitative research study, we interviewed 34 top managers of Finnish companies that are actively pursuing the circular economy. The main implication of our study is in exploring the role of top managers, as they engage in actively struc…

Ecosocial work and services for unemployed people: the challenge to integrate environmental and social sustainability

2021

Sustainability in the context of labour market and unemployment policies is usually understood as mere cost-efficiency. The environmental and social dimensions of sustainability are missing. This article discusses the meaning of sustainability in this field of policy and practice in a medium-size city in Finland. It focuses on services for unemployed people and the role of social work. The paper aims to contribute to the knowledge base on sustainable welfare in a Nordic context and on ecosocial work in Finland. It is structured by two main questions. 1) How is ‘sustainability’ perceived and interpreted in the context of services for unemployed people? 2) What potential for eco-social polici…

Toward sustainable environmental quality: Priority research questions for Europe

2018

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals have been established to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. Delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals will require a healthy and productive environment. An understanding of the impacts of chemicals which can negatively impact environmental health is therefore essential to the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, current research on and regulation of chemicals in the environment tend to take a simplistic view and do not account for the complexity of the real world, which inhibits the way we manage chemicals. There is therefore an urgent need for a step change in the way we study and communic…

How environmental NGO’s are addressed in sustainability reporting?

2013

This study demonstrates how three Finnish companies in different business fields construct their relationships with environmental NGOs in their sustainability reports concerning during the studied timeframe, years 2007-2011. The study identifies five different types of relationships constructed in the reports between ENGOs and the corporation: monetary based, management system based, collaborative, dialogue based and conflicting relationships. The study shows that the descriptions of relationships are very neutral, and both the intensive environmental management alliances and conflicting relationships are mainly missing in the reports. peerReviewed

Materiality assessment in sustainability reporting : case study of the airline industry

2017

Materiality has been heavily emphasized in different sustainability reporting guidelines to increase the quality of the sustainability reports and report issues that are most aligned with the company’s most significant economic, environmental and social issues. In this thesis materiality analysis in sustainability reporting is analyzed. Firstly, in the theoretical part, the concept of sustainability reporting and materiality is explained along with the provision of materiality in different reporting guidelines. In this research section, fifteen different airlines’ sustainability reports are analyzed to find out how the materiality analysis is carried out in the airlines. The study is focuse…

On effective biodiversity conservation, sustainability of bioeconomy, and honesty of the Finnish forest policy

2017

Multi-functionality and sustainability in the European Union’s forests

2017

Applying transdisciplinary sustainability transitions research in international social work doctoral training

2022

In the last 15 years, transdisciplinary research of sustainability transitions has become an increasingly powerful approach. We discuss it as a perspective for social work discipline, and as a theoretical-conceptual frame of a new international doctoral training and research programme in social work taking place in seven European countries. In our qualitative study, we investigate how the participating social work doctoral students reflect upon transdisciplinarity and understand the interconnectivity between environmental, ecological, and social sustainability transitions—which is widely recognised as a highly complex challenge of sustainability. The data used included the students’ learnin…

Building trust in the sharing economy: Current approaches and future considerations

2021

The sharing economy could be an answer to the challenge of sustainability; it can facilitate the sharing and reuse of resources, create new ways of earning money, and enhance social connections. For example, by reducing the use of natural resources without having to acquire or own everything, the sharing economy can positively affect sustainability. At the core of this type of economy lies trust among users and between users and the platform—the system cannot reach its full potential without trust. In fact, businesses or organizations in the sharing economy can even fail due to trust issues, although more information is needed to make better use of the existing platforms. The aim of this sy…