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Die vorliegende Bachelorarbeit gibt einen Überblick darüber, wie Unternehmen ihre Treibhausgasemissionen managen können. Dazu wird die Deutsche Post AG als Beispiel herangezogen. Im ersten Teil werden relevante theoretische Grundlagen behandelt. Es wird gezeigt, dass der Transport eine der Hauptquellen ist, die am meisten Emissionen produzieren. Um dem entgegenzuwirken, will die Logistikbranche grüne und umweltfreundlichere Lösungen anbieten. Für eine erfolgreiche Darstellung und Messung der Treibhausgase greifen Unternehmen auf das Controlling Instrument, das Carbon Accounting genannt wird, zurück. Mit Hilfe des Carbon Accountings ist es möglich ein regelmäßiges Reporting über den Verbrauch von Energie und Kraftstoffen zu erstellen. Im zweiten Teil, werden die Emissionswerte der Deutschen Post dargestellt. Es wird zudem gezeigt, dass ein konzernweites Effizienzmanagement mit Hilfe des Carbon Accounting angewendet wird und dass das Unternehmen somit in 10 Jahren ihre CO2-Effizienz erfolgreich um 30% verbessern konnte.
A growing population, climate change, animal welfare and health concerns are issues with increasing relevance. They draw attention to new technologies that focus on more sustainable and healthier solutions. This thesis analyses the market of meat substitutes with the aim of getting a deeper understanding of the market drivers, what contributes to consumer acceptance and a successful market positioning. The focus lies on the factors that make meat substitutes successful alternatives in Germany.
The research includes previous literature, expert interviews and a marketing mix analysis. The secondary literature is used to introduce the topic, to analyse the market drivers and to gain insights into consumer food choice behaviour, whereas the expert interviews focus on market assessment and effective company positioning. The marketing-mix analysis is conducted on the basis of purchased meat substitute products which are compared to regular meat products. The researcher included a place analysis that takes the entire German market into account, as well as a promotional analysis that highlights effective marketing strategies.
Based on the findings of the thesis, it can be concluded that animal welfare, sustainability and health trends are major drivers of meat substitutes. The market is expanding and has great future potential. However, large scale consumer acceptance is highly dependent on the preferred sensory properties such as authentic taste and texture, as well as a product variety that meets German consumer preferences. All in all, the promotion of meat replacement products should focus on a combination of benefits that include both functional and emotional aspects.
Key factors sustainability and digitalization – an analysis of countries performance and actions
(2022)
Climate change is an extremely relevant topic nowadays in everyday life, politics and even economy. Therefore, it is important to understand the dimension of this topic and be conscious about how it is affecting everyone’s life. Many people’s base of living is fading through for example crop failure or natural disasters. Next, businesses must also adapt since many governments have implemented emission caps which force organizations to restructure business processes to meet those goals. Adapting to new circumstances or ways of working is crucial to fight back menacing environmental changes and without coherent enforcement, the goal of combating global warming and tackling climate change can’t be achieved.
But how can these challenges be fought against in a meaningful way and matter in a long-term perspective? There were already some attempts made like setting a maximum for global warming worldwide. On the other hand, there is no country which can meet those in the required period of time. Next to battle the problem of global warming every country in the world has to take part and work together, or else the goals can’t be fulfilled, which can occur to be difficult and hard to execute in reality. If there is no coherency in enforcement the aim of fighting the global warming and climate change can’t be attained.
The essential query I want to obtain with this thesis is what the possibilities for countries through sustainability and digitalization to live and operate in a more renewable way are. Part of this work will be assessing Sweden’s progress and development in this field since they are pioneers in both key areas. Afterwards there will be a comparison to Morocco and Singapore which at first glance differ completely from each other to work out differences and common ground.
In the end contrasting key factors like climate and geography, politics or economy etc. will give insights about opportunities and unused potential in making the world more sustainable with the help of digitalization.
The technique of acquiring the data is mainly focused on news articles, tech, and business publications as well as governmental proclamation and reporting of environmental portals. The reasoning for this is that the topic is very up to date and the source of information needs to be as recent as possible.
The intention of the project is to generate understanding and awareness about how sustainability and digitalization can be drivers and work together in a complex sphere like environmental change.
This research study will analyze the flourish and outcomes of the sharing economy nowadays. The sharing economy has raised controversy in our society, rising significant importance on ecological and economic matters, thus it is imperative to evaluate its total effects. It is intended to discover the issues of the sharing economy model and its impacts towards sustainability and economic development. Who is being benefited by the sharing economy? A broad and deep analysis and breakdown of the structure involved by the sharing economy was made in order to clarify the overall positive and negative effects of such a model. Upon the examination of the influences and drivers of the sharing economy concerning the economy, society and ecology, awareness and insights of sustainable and economic enhancements are built. A distinctive perspective of the sharing economy is obtained based on evaluations of the relevant evidence collected.
Sustainability is a megatrend and has been a topic of great interest for decades. Even though, industrialization came forth with genius and profitable businesses it almost never took into consideration the value of natural capital and sustainability. According to a 2017 report by the UN, there are more than 51 trillion microplastic particles in the sea, more than 500 times the number of stars in the Milky Way. With the depletion of natural resources, increasing consumer education and the need for a better future the world has been prompted to take solid steps to control the menace that could be climate change and unsustainability. This paper makes an effort to understand the effect that sustainable marketing practices have on the profitability of an organization. The case studies of the three famous athleisure brands provides an insight into how sustainability can help companies drive towards a profitable and a circular future.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations focus on key issues for the transformation of our world towards sustainability. We argue for stronger integration of the SDGs into requirements and software engineering and for the creation of methods and tools that support the analysis of potential effects of software systems on sustainability in general and on SDGs in particular. To demonstrate one way of undertaking this integration, we report on how the Sustainability Awareness Framework (SusAF -- a tool developed by the authors of this paper) can be mapped to the SDGs, allowing the identification of potential effects of software systems on sustainability and on the SDGs. This mapping exercise demonstrates that it is possible for requirements engineers working on a specific system to consider that system's impact with respect to SDGs.
Software engineering, as a central practice of digitalization, needs to become accountable for sustainability. In light of the ecological crises and the tremendous impact of digital systems on reshaping economic and social arrangements - often with negative side-effects - we need a sustainability transformation of the digital transformation. However, this is a complex and long-term task. In this article we combine an analysis of accountability arrangements in software engineering and a model of sustainability transformations to trace how certain dynamics are starting to make software engineering accountable for sustainability in the technological, cultural, economic and governance domains. The article discusses existing approaches for sustainable software engineering and software engineering for sustainability, traces emerging discourses that connect digitalization and sustainability, highlights new digital business models that may support sustainability and shows governance efforts to highlight “green and digital” policy problems. Yet, we argue that these are so far niche dynamics and that a sustainability transformation requires a collective and long-lasting effort to engender systemic changes. The goal should be to create varied accountability arrangements for sustainability in software engineering which is embedded in complex ways in society and economy.
This thesis addresses the relationship between sustainability action and firm competitiveness. Through the analysis of literature and by conducting a survey on consumer demands and preferences, the question whether sustainability action can help companies in the consumer electronics sector gain a competitive advantage is answered.
This thesis comes to the conclusion, that sustainability action can yield many advantages for companies, when executed properly. In general, companies with a strong sustainability performance reduce their production cost, have easier access to capital and labor, show financial and stock performance on the same level or higher than less sustainable companies, reduce stakeholder risk and gain consumer goodwill which can materialize into a competitive advantage. Regarding the consumer electronics sector,
this thesis shows that most consumers would prefer more sustainable products over less sustainable ones and would be willing to pay a price premium. What seems to be a big issue in the consumer electronics market is, that even though companies like Apple already act on the issue of sustainability, they are either doing a bad job or having a hard
time communicating their sustainability initiatives to consumers.
Over many decades, greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activity have been increasing and negatively impacting the environment and promoting climate change. One sector that contributes heavily to these emissions is the food industry.
With the aim of reducing these environmental impacts, climate labeling has been introduced as one possible approach to target emissions related to consumer purchasing behavior. This thesis investigates consumer responses to the possible introduction of climate labeling of food products. Moreover, necessary criteria for such an implementation and the potential consequences in terms of increasing sustainability in the food industry are evaluated.
Findings indicate that a label can be effective and change consumer behavior if food labels meet specific label criteria such as an attractive design and little but comprehensible information. Moreover, other factors such as pricing of products can influence the success of food labels.
Regarding the overall food industry, a label could have positive effects but is dependent on changes on both consumer and producer sides following the label introduction. However, it is difficult to exactly evaluate the impact of a label on an entire industry, as green-house gas reductions caused by a label would be hard to measure specifically. Due to the lack of data, it is impossible to predict the actual impact of a climate label on the food industry, but it is possible to assume a positive tendency towards more sustainability.
The interest in topics such as the environment, health and sustainability has increased dramatically in recent years, due to concerns about global warming and demographic change, giving way to the concept of “green branding”.
This bachelor thesis proposes the application of a green branding strategy in order to position Irish agri-food products in the German grocery retail market, and explores its potential effectiveness and current relevance. Firstly, this work intends to offer an overall understanding of the characteristics and implications of a green branding strategy. Secondly, it analyses the connection with Ireland as a country of origin for agri-food products, by putting forward the different arguments for its suitability for the respective products. Finally, the key learnings regarding the successful implementation of a green branding strategy are discussed, based on a real-life best-practice case.
This research employed previous academic and trade literature to develop a theoretical foundation for understanding the concept of green branding in a marketing context. Various forms of industry, consumer and retail insights were used to identify the extent of demand for green brands in Germany and to analyse strength and weaknesses of the Irish agri-food industry in this regard.
An expert interview with the Marketing Manager for Kerrygold in Germany was conducted to uncover points arising from the best-practice application of a green branding strategy.
The findings indicate that there is significant theoretical and practical evidence to suggest that the application of a green branding would be an effective positioning strategy for Irish agri-food in the German consumer market.
The following bachelor thesis was written in cooperation with the company GF Automotive AG located in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. It is a worldwide recognized development and serial production partner of the automotive industry. The thesis covers the topic ‘The potential of gaining competitive advantage through Green Marketing’. The purpose of this thesis is to research if sustainability within the automotive supply industry is of high importance and can be used to gain competitive advantage. The thesis offers possible measures to implement successful practices that were detected in the conducted benchmark. It points out that green marketing in the B2B business can support companies to differentiate and it illustrates how marketing communication of the company GF Automotive AG can be adapted in order to succeed and remain leader in the highly competitive automotive supply market
The relation between Frugal Innovation and Sustainability is a widely discussed topic in current academic literature. To assess the correlation between these two concepts, a sample of the most frequently mentioned Frugal Innovations was selected. The criteria to evaluate the sustainability potential for each of these cases was built upon the UN Sustainable Development Goals, a global reference indicator. Frugal Innovations among the banking, transport, energy, ICT, water, appliances and healthcare sectors were evaluated. The results suggested a positive contribution and impact of Frugal Innovations towards economic, social and environmental development.
The aim of this thesis is to answer the question of how consumers can be influenced by influencers to purchase sustainable fashion. To this end, the following research question was posed: How do social media influencers influence consumers' attitudes, awareness, and purchase intentions toward sustainable fashion? In order to answer the research question, the main terms of the work were defined and explained. Through the use of multiple examples, sustainable influencers with different reach were analyzed. The results of this work showed that followers can be influenced to buy sustainable fashion by influencers on Instagram. Companies see influencer marketing as a high opportunity to achieve their business goals such as brand awareness and increasing sales. Based on this, it is recommendable to use influencers as a corporate strategy to raise awareness of sustainable fashion brands. In this way, sustainable companies can reach different target groups.
For many practitioners, considering sustainability during a software development project is a challenge. The Sustainability Awareness Framework (SusAF) is a tool for thinking through short, medium-and long-term impacts of socio-technical systems on its surrounding environment. While SusAF has been used by several companies, is not widely adopted in industry yet. In this Vision Paper, we discuss the options for extending the reach of SusAF and what it would take to evolve SusAF into a (de-facto) standard
Sustainability is a major concern for our society today. Software acts as a catalyst to support different business activities which have an impact on sustainability. Research from software engineering and other academic disciplines have proposed various software sustainability guidelines, tools, and methods to support software sustainability design in industry. However, there are still challenges on how to design and engineer sustainability into software products by software development practitioners in industry using those proposed sustainability guidelines and tools. The goal of this research is to seek understanding on what software sustainability means for software development practitioners and identify how to properly support engineering of sustainability into software design and development through academic research. Data were gathered and analyzed using grounded theory from workshop with different software development practitioners to seek their understanding on what sustainability means in their software systems. The results show economic and technical sustainability dimensions are the most important to software development practitioners for software sustainability. While the social sustainability dimension was not considered for software sustainability. The findings from this study indicates contrast in academia where all sustainability dimensions are treated as an important element to achieve software sustainability. Therefore, there is need for better collaboration between industry and academia to improve understanding of software sustainability and support effective sustainability engineering in software systems.
A Descriptive Study on Customer Attitudes towards Green Branding in the Fashion Industry in Germany
(2021)
This paper attempts to provide an up-to-date representation and analysis of customers' attitudes towards green branding in the fashion industry and their willingness to pay (WTP) for sustainable and ethical clothing in Germany. Related literature strands are reviewed to understand how the fashion industry works, what green branding means, and how customer attitudes are shaped. After creating an attitude measurement model, an online questionnaire was designed and sent to Furtwangen University students, with 153 valid responses returned. The descriptive analysis sheds light on the three attitudinal components related to sustainability and ethics in the fashion industry. It is noted that customers do not hold a definite attitude. However, a tendency towards the positive end is ascertained. Significant gaps still exist in terms of knowledge and awareness of some commitment by fashion brands. Another huge factor influencing attitudes appears to be a lack of trust. The behavioral component showed that customers are trying to contribute through proper disposal and are willing to buy sustainable and ethical clothing more often. However, there is still some room for improvement in terms of customer education. Nevertheless, it is found that they are willing to accept an additional contribution for sustainable and ethical clothing. In general, it can be concluded that there is a foundation to improve the fashion industry towards more sustainability. However, all stakeholders, i.e., customers and fashion brands, as well as the government, need to work together to change the industry in the long run.
Context: It is impossible to imagine our everyday and professional lives without software. Consequently, software products, especially socio-technical systems, have more or less obvious impacts on almost all areas of our society. For this purpose, a group of scientists worldwide has developed the Sustainability Awareness Framework (SusAF) which examines the impacts on five interrelated dimensions: social, individual, environmental, economic, and technical. According to this framework, we should design software to maintain or improve the Sustainability Impacts. Designing for sustainability is a major challenge that can profoundly change the field of activity – particular for Software Engineers. Objectives: The aim of the thesis work is to analyze the current role of Software Engineers and relate it to Sustainability Impacts of Software Products in order to contribute to this paradigm shift. This should provide a basis for follow-up works. The question in which direction exactly the Software Engineer should develop and how exactly this path can be followed is still owed by the scientific community. Perhaps universities will have to adapt the curriculum in the training of Software Engineers, politics could possibly initiate support programs in the field of sustainability for software companies, or maybe software sustainability certifications could emerge. In any case, Software Engineers must adapt to the times and acquire the necessary knowledge, the skills and the competencies. Results: The results of the dissertation are a better understanding of the needed paradigm shift of Software Engineers and comeplement the SusAF that to better support sustainability design. The extended SusAF is intended for both training and corporate use.
Sustainability first caught greater attention when the Brundtland commission first published their report “Our Common Future”. Since then, a lot has been done to fight against climate change. Sustainability has become one major issue in the daily business of companies. One industry that is surely going to change as a cause of the increased awareness of sustainability issues is the automotive industry. The disruptive electrification push plays an important role in the fast changing industry. E- mobility solutions as a means for more sustainable mobility are demanded more and more by customers. Also, governments shape the change in the industry with new regulations, bonus payments for buying electric cars and their emission targets. All this might sooner or later push traditional combustion engine cars out of the market. New players like Tesla focusing only on electric vehicles are entering the market and traditional car companies are changing their business towards e-mobility as well. That this change works well, companies also will need a well-developed marketing as well as brand positioning strategy and this is where the concept of green marketing kicks in. Broadly spoken, green marketing is the marketing of products that minimize the negative effects on our environment. Therefore, the thesis is generally researching the details of literature on green marketing and brand positioning. Later on, a detailed transition to the automotive industry is made with the analyzing of the three companies Volkswagen, BMW and Tesla. The thesis works out how those three companies managed to transfer their marketing mix into a green one and how this then affected their brand positioning. The thesis discusses the findings critically and gives implications for theory and practice as well as a guide to what needs to be done to be recognized as a green player in the automotive industry.