Sustainability in Retailing – Environmental Effects of Transport Processes, Shopping Trips and Related Consumer Behaviour

This thesis is concerned with sustainability in retailing. It begins with a literature review that provides deeper insights into relevant developments in retail research and practice with a focus on sustainability developments. Highlighting the importance of the topics CO2 and CSR, particular attention is paid to the environmental pollution caused by shopping processes in brick-and-mortar and online retail. To gain a more profound knowledge of the relevant processes and their influences, the analysis factors in the environmental effects of the transport processes of retailers, parcel services and consumers during shopping trips. It is shown that, in general, online retail causes fewer CO2 emissions, but that its advantageousness can change with respect to certain aspects such as returns, distance to stores and the transport mode used. Another important result is that the CO2 emissions are mainly caused by customer journeys to the stores, making this an important starting point to mitigate the environmental pollution caused by shopping processes in brick-and-mortar retail. Therefore, the focus also lies on consumer shopping behaviour and its environmental effects. After structuring the relevant influences on travel behaviour for shopping trips and their environmental effects, the shortcomings of quantitative approaches for analysing behavioural aspects are discussed. Considering these, a qualitative approach using narrative interviews is applied to gain a deeper understanding of the relevant drivers behind consumer travel behaviour with respect to shopping trips. In doing so, differences in behaviour regarding various life cycles are highlighted. Furthermore, different shopping types are distinguished and consumer expectations regarding the environmental commitment of retailers and policy makers evaluated. Based on the results, implications for retailers and policy makers are deduced to highlight how they can support consumers by behaving in more environmentally-friendly manner

Factors influencing green sourcing in food retailing - Case study: Finnish food retailers

This study takes a look at factors that have influence on Green Sourcing in food retailing. More importantly, it focuses on factors with the positive impacts that direct retailers’ strategy in Sourcing and other Supply chain processes forward Green management. Influencing factors are studied based on three main levels: internal level (company level), industry level and national level. The theoretical part of the study not only presents theories on Green Sourcing and factors influencing Green Sourcing, but also takes a look on drivers for Green action in Sourcing and benefits of Green sourcing. Based on theory, a framework is developed which presents the impact of typical factors on three levels of management on Green Sourcing process. Theories of Supply chain management and Procurement process are presented in order to identify the different dimensions of the study. The study is qualitative in its nature and case study is used as the main source of data. Based on the discussion a framework, the case study of two food retailers in Finland – Kesko group and S group is analyzed. The theoretical frameworks of real factors with real impact form the basis of the empirical part of the study. Interviews are conducted to get their answers to see the differences in responses. With comparative research, the findings of this study show that major factors having influence on the Green Sourcing implementation include internal factors, industry factors and national factors. Most of them have positive impact and just a few of them have negative impact. The Green Sourcing is mainly driven by potential cost savings, green consumers or regulatory requirements in place. The rest factors which have indirect impact address to a much less degree on both negative and positive impact, although they often represent a more profound environmental threat and consequent challenge of addressing them. This study also demonstrates that most Finnish food retailers have started to systematically work with sustainability issues. However, the study is involved with two large food retailers who have a significant market share, there are still many more medium and small-size retailers that further researches on them are required.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

An assessment of the sustainability of E-fulfilment models for the delivery of fast moving consumer goods to the home

Online retail sales are growing rapidly and have captured a significant proportion of the retail market in many countries. Although companies are under mounting pressure to reduce their environmental impact, the environmental effect of the different online distribution strategies remains unclear. Most previous studies of this subject have only included partial effects and consequences. To enable a more holistic understanding, this study proposes a more inclusive framework of environmental assessment based on life cycle analysis. This was applied to fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). Previous studies have shown that the last mile delivery contributes significantly to the environmental impact of online retailing, mainly because of the nature of the home delivery operations, including narrow time windows and short order lead times. If consumers were to buy products online on a subscription basis and give the supplier more control over the replenishment process there might be less need for fast deliveries, creating opportunities to improve the efficiency of home deliveries and reduce their environmental impact. The study classified different forms of subscription arrangement, assessed their relative attractiveness to consumers and examined their likely impact on the supply chain. Consumer views on subscriptions were surveyed by means of focus group discussions and interviews. To assess the likely supply chain impacts of subscriptions, the literature on vendor-managed inventory was consulted. A Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) model was built to quantify and compare the environmental impact of various e-fulfilment models for FMCG products in the United Kingdom. This study reveals that the method of execution have a large influence on the environmental impact. In store-based retailing, the energy consumption within the supermarket is a significant contributor to the total greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, some forms of home delivery, involving for example the use of parcel networks with no pre-agreed time-slots and relatively high rates of delivery failure and customer collection, are also carbon-intensive. This contribution of consumer trips to the total footprint is much smaller in case of van-based deliveries where pre-agreed time-windows are used. Regardless of the business model, the total carbon footprint per item depends heavily on the number of items per delivery. Consequently, companies or consumers looking to decrease the environmental impact of online shopping should maximise the number of items per delivery. The study concludes with an assessment of the strengths, weaknesses and possible environmental improvements of each of the efulfilment methods, taking account of the possible role of subscriptions

Transition UGent: a bottom-up initiative towards a more sustainable university

The vibrant think-tank ‘Transition UGent’ engaged over 250 academics, students and people from the university management in suggesting objectives and actions for the Sustainability Policy of Ghent University (Belgium). Founded in 2012, this bottom-up initiative succeeded to place sustainability high on the policy agenda of our university. Through discussions within 9 working groups and using the transition management method, Transition UGent developed system analyses, sustainability visions and transition paths on 9 fields of Ghent University: mobility, energy, food, waste, nature and green, water, art, education and research. At the moment, many visions and ideas find their way into concrete actions and policies. In our presentation we focused on the broad participative process, on the most remarkable structural results (e.g. a formal and ambitious Sustainability Vision and a student-led Sustainability Office) and on recent actions and experiments (e.g. a sustainability assessment on food supply in student restaurants, artistic COP21 activities, ambitious mobility plans, food leftovers projects, an education network on sustainability controversies, a transdisciplinary platform on Sustainable Cities). We concluded with some recommendations and reflections on this transition approach, on the important role of ‘policy entrepreneurs’ and student involvement, on lock-ins and bottlenecks, and on convincing skeptical leaders

Envirofy your Shop: Development of a Real-time Tool to Support Eco-friendly Food Purchases Online

A third of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are attributable to the food sector, however dietary change could reduce this by 49%. Many people intend to make eco-friendly food choices, but fail to do so at the point-of-purchase. Educating consumers on the environmental impact of their choices during their shop may be a powerful approach to tackling climate change. This paper presents the theory- and evidence-based development of Envirofy: the first eco-friendly e-commerce grocery tool for real shoppers. We share how we used the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) and multidisciplinary evidence to maximise the likely effectiveness of Envirofy. We conclude with a discussion of how the HCI community can help to develop and evaluate real-time tools to close intention-behaviour gaps and ultimately reduce GHG emissions

Sustainability in the Age of Platforms. CEPS Special Report. June 2019

Over the past few decades, new digital platforms such as China’s Alibaba, Japan’s Rakuten and the U.S.’s eBay have grown from startups into multinational giants. With a few clicks of the keyboard, these online marketplaces bring together a seller and a buyer from anywhere in the globe. This study examines the transformative impact of online marketplaces on economic, social and environmental sustainability. It finds great opportunities. Platforms promote growth, break down barriers of distance and leap over rigid class structures, bringing marginalized outsiders into the mainstream. The study also identifies dangers stemming from the growth of e-commerce, from the reduction of labor protection to an explosion of shipping waste. What are the responsibilities of platforms? How can they promote sustainability? Policymakers are asking these questions, but struggling to find the correct balance between the opportunities against the dangers. Until now, these questions have received little attention from scholars. This study fills a much-needed void by providing some initial answers and recommendations for improvement

1.5-Degree Lifestyles: Towards A Fair Consumption Space for All

This report uses a science-based approach to link concrete changes in lifestyles to measurable impacts on climate change in order to achieve the 1.5-degree aspirational target of the Paris Agreement on climate change. The report also fills the knowledge gap arising from most prevailing climate scenarios that underplay the potential contributions of lifestyle changes to climate change mitigation and focus on developing new technologies as well as on changes in production.A summary for policy makers and individual sections of the report can be dowloaded here: https://hotorcool.org/1-5-degree-lifestyles-report/A recording of the report launch is available here:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLncecPWTUt9l_I0hQzg3BpGkkTz-h2uh

Дослідження управління багатонаціональною корпорацією, на прикладі компаніїb "Кока-Кола"

The main purpose of this research paper is to investigate system of management of multinational corporations and to give recommendations as for system of management at Coca-Cola Company. The main tasks of master research paper are the following: - To ascertain whether the multinational corporation are social responsible. - To ascertain whether the MNC in Nigeria have any contribution to the economic advancement of the nation. - To ascertain whether they contribute to the technological development of the countries. - To determine the environmental factors that influences the operations of the Multinationals Corporation Coca-Cola Company. - To give recommendations as for improvement of activity os Coca-Cola Company and industry of beverages.Master’s research paper critically evaluates the challenges Coca-Cola Company experiences while managing its operations in geographical and culturally diverse contexts. An overview of Coca-Cola Company and brief analysis of the global contemporary landscape is initially examined. A critical evaluation is conducted of the Global competitive, Political-Legal, Economic, Socio-cultural and Ethical challenges experienced by Coca-Cola Company. Ways to improve Coca-Cola's operations in the African markets were proposed.Introduction. 1. The theoretical framework and study of Multinational Corporation 1.1 Meanings and definition of Multinational Corporation 1.2 The managerial functions in international business 1.3 Important finding in managing Multinational Corporation 2. Research and analysis of Coca-Cola Company 2.1 Introduction to Coca-Cola Company 2.2 SWOT-analysis of the industrial and economic activity of Coca-Cola Company 2.3 Analysis of the system of management at Coca-Cola Company 3. Recommendations in management for Coca-Cola Company that operates in different geographical and cultural contexts 3.1 Recommendations as for the corporate social responsibly at Coca-Cola company 3.2 Recommendations as for using stevia in producing beverages at Coca-Cola Company 3.3 Recommendations as for strategic issues that Coca-Cola Company is facing today 4. Special part 4.1 Current trends in the field of Coca-Cola Company 4.2 Activities of multinational corporations in the development of Nigeria 5. Rationale for recommendations 5.1 Statement for recommendations at Coca-Cola Company 5.2 Recommendations as for using stevia in producing beverages at Coca-Cola Company 6. Occupational health and safety in emergencies 6.1 Safety and health for Coca-Cola Company 6.2 Protection against specific risks in safety and health 7. Environmental issues 7.1 Environmental impact of products in Coca-Cola Company 7.2 Coca-Cola sustainability plan Conclusions References Appendice