Browsing by study line "Globaali kestävyys"

Ympäristökriisi on yksi aikamme suurimmista globaaleista ongelmista. Voimakkaana tekijänä kriisissä ovat ihmisten valinnat niin arjen kuluttamisessa kuin yleisessä käyttäytymisessä luontoa kohtaan. Ympäristömyönteinen käyttäytyminen kumpuaa luontoyhteydestä, jonka nähdään rappeutuneen nyky-yhteiskunnassamme. Tästä johtuen lisäämällä ihmisten luontoyhteyttä voisimme edistää heidän ympäristömyönteistä käyttäytymistään. Tämä tutkielma käsittelee luontoyhteyden ja ympäristömyönteisen käyttäytymisen välistä yhteyttä. Tavoitteena on hahmottaa, millä tavoin tämä yhteys muodostuu, jotta voimme lisätä ihmisten ympäristömyönteistä käyttäytymistä syvällä ja perusteellisella tasolla. Tutkielmassa pyritään vastaamaan tähän systemaattisen kirjallisuuskatsauksen keinoin perehtymällä aiempien tutkimusten aihepiireihin ja niiden teoreettiseen pohjaan koskien luontoyhteyden ja ympäristömyönteisen käyttäytymisen suhdetta. Katsauksessa löydettiin 38 kappaletta soveltuvia artikkeleita, joita analysoitiin luokittelemalla niitä seuraavin perustein: 1) millaisia yhteyksiä aiempi tutkimus on luonut luontoyhteyden ja ympäristömyönteisen käyttäytymisen välille, ja 2) mitä välittäviä muuttujia luontoyhteyden ja ympäristömyönteisen käyttäytymisen välillä on havaittu aiemmissa tutkimuksissa. Tutkimuksen mukaan aineistosta voidaan muodostaa kolme kategoriaa, jotka ovat: 1) CTN-PEB, 2) x-CTN-PEB, and 3) CTN-x-PEB. Tutkimuksessa syvennyttiin eniten kategoriaan numero kolme, jossa luontoyhteyden ja ympäristömyönteisen käyttäytymisen suhdetta selvitettiin erilaisten välittävien muuttujien avulla. Jatkotutkimusta kausaalisen yhteyden selvittämiseksi tarvitaan.

This study examines how discussion of environmental sustainability is framed in corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication of European Green Digital Coalition (EGDC) tech companies. The strategy and vision sections of year 2020 corporate annual reports of 14 EGDC companies were chosen for analysis, and 116 quotes discussing environmental sustainability were collected. Inductive frame analysis was performed on this dataset, following Robert Entman’s four frame functions. Seven frames were identified. Frames (1) and (2) defined problems: environmental sustainability was mostly prominently defined through (1) climate change and (2) reduction of carbon emissions, and other goals. Most frames were prescriptive as in suggesting solutions. (3) Techno-optimism and (4) ICT necessitarianism frames highlighted technological solutions as key answers and as being necessary for solving sustainability issues. The companies also discussed (5) reducing their or their customers’ carbon emissions, and acting in (6) compliance with sustainability standards. The final frame contained wordings implicating (7) sustainability for all people, such as “a better future for all”, filling both prescriptive and evaluating-moral judgment frame functions. Lack of previous research on framing of environmental sustainability in CSR communications and the following inductive frame analysis performed here limited the size of the sample, and this can reduce replicability due differing interpretation. This study was limited to discussion of environmental sustainability, and only within the strategy sections of the reports; omissions were not deeply investigated due to this limitation.

Biochar is a porous, carbon-rich material, made from organic material by pyrolysis in low oxygen conditions, and it can be used to sequester carbon into the soil. This review aspires to give an overview of the economic dimensions of using biochar in Finnish (Boreal and sub-boreal) forests. A literature review was conducted to collect and summarize the information about studies and applications elsewhere, and how we could possibly apply them into Finnish forest ecosystems. This thesis is done as part of Helsus Co-Creation Lab -project, where our group was tasked with looking into how biochar could enhance biodiversity in soil and accelerate transformation to low carbon economy. From this larger topic, this paper is looking into the economic side, and whether it is economically viable to use biochar to enhance and uphold biodiversity. This is evaluated by reviewing and categorizing 164 papers and conducting a literature review. My conclusions are that the current biochar applications show lower economic efficiency than other carbon dioxide abatement technologies. The stability of biochar in soil is a key factor, as the half-lives of biochars may not be as long as commonly suggested. Furthermore, competition for biomass resource use can restrict the availability of feedstock, and make it more expensive. Subsidies for biochar application are required if biochar is to be- come a significant part of the national or global climate mitigation policy. The results in different articles are quite variable and there is currently no standard approach to them. There is a need for specific research on what kind of biochar benefits what soil and vegetation, which is expensive. A primary goal is to incorporate a consistent and standardized testing or analysis method for biochar stability into the certification programs run and administered by the International and the European Biochar Initiatives. In the foreseeable future, biochar by itself is unlikely to play a significant role in climate mitigation strategies. Biochar might be just one of several alternatives in a bundle strategy to re- duce carbon emissions. However, its potential use must still be researched more.

Electronic waste is the fastest growing type of waste stream in the world, and this development results from the rapidly accelerating digitalization. Electronic devices become obsolete on an accelerating speed, as there are constantly more powerful devices coming to the market. The most significant environmental impacts of this development are greenhouse gas emissions and natural resource consumption. Circular economy has been proposed as a solution to these environmental challenges, and the goal of this approach is to preserve the value of the materials in the circulation as efficiently as possible. One way of implementing the principles of circular economy is the product-as-a-service-based business model. This research examines the differences between the product-as-a-service-based model and ownership-based model in terms of the environmental impacts that are related to the laptop and tablet procurements. The results of this thesis will be utilized in implementing the actions of the City of Helsinki’s Roadmap for Circular and Sharing Economy. This research was conducted as streamlined life cycle assessment, in which the systematic literature review was used for tracking the environmental impacts of the products’ life cycle stages and components. In addition, expert interviews were carried out in order to collect information about the reuse and recycling practices of the supplier companies that follow these previously mentioned business models. Finally, based on the results of the systematic literature review and the interviews, the company specific differences were assessed in terms of the greenhouse gas emissions and material waste that result from the procurements. The City of Helsinki’s annual procurement volumes were used in this assessment. Based on the results of this research, production and use are the most significant life cycle stages in terms of the devices’ greenhouse gas emissions. Printed circuit boards/printed wiring boards, integrated circuits, displays, and casings are the components with the most significant impact. The results suggest that increasing the lifespan of the devices provides opportunities for significantly lowering impacts in both impact categories, if the devices are efficiently recycled after this.

It is widely acknowledged that previous efforts to communicate the severity and rate of climate change have failed. Science communication has for decades relied on the presumption that more information leads to more informed decisions, thus so far, the scientific consensus about human-caused climate change has not resulted in required changes in behaviour. Previous communication efforts have, for the most part, attributed inaction to the lack of information, but in doing so, have excluded many social and psychological elements of communication. Although raising the level of awareness about climate change has been successful, climate change remains to be perceived to be a distal threat. Recently, more sophisticated approaches have been developed to meaningfully communicate climate change, drawing attention to the framing of the communication. In this study, a new approach to science-based environmental communication is evaluated. The case study seeks to address how immersive Virtual Reality (VR) can be used as a tool in science-based environmental communication for policymakers in a locally relevant context. Via immersive VR, information about forests’ role in climate change is mediated to forest policymakers. In the science communication, climate change is framed as an experiential, local, and present risk, promoting a problem definition that focuses on the climate effects of forest utilisation. I evaluate the success of the science-based environmental communication by measuring participants’ personal responses. I focus on measuring enjoyment, interest, trust, and usability. The study participants are members of the Parliament of Finland and governmental officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry; and the Ministry of the Environment. The study material consists of feedback forms from participants (N=65) and interviews of the key actors (N=7). To consider the historical background and many conflicting interests in Finnish forest and climate politics, I focus on the comparison between the natural resource position and the environmental position. The results of this study offer compelling evidence for how differently policymakers representing these two positions perceive the usage of immersive VR in science-based environmental communication. The environmental position indicated significantly higher levels of success on all measured components. Considering that the science communication framed forest utilisation as an environmental issue, it is not surprising that participants holding the environmental position perceived the science communication to be more enjoyable, interesting, trustworthy, and usable. Accordingly, the study results provide additional support for the idea of Finnish forest policy as a polarised field of policy with two main positions. With the means of immersive VR, I was able to induce strong personal responses to the science communication. Participants holding the natural resource position were more likely to challenge the legitimacy of the information and the use of VR in science communication than participants holding the environmental position. The results point to the likelihood that communicating climate change via immersive VR can induce strong negative emotions in the participants, but when the communication is comparable with the policymaker's policy preferences, they respond more positively. The study results also suggest, that to communicate climate change more meaningfully, immersive VR should be further explored as a supplementary tool in science communication.

Biodiversity loss and ecosystem service degradation and the related economic costs are increasingly recognized as sources of financial risks. The risks are arising through physical and transition sources of risks caused by dependencies and impacts upon biodiversity and ecosystem services. Therefore, it has become increasingly important for both individual financial institutions as well as central banks and financial supervisors to better understand and manage these risks. However, biodiversity loss is associated with unique complexity and uncertainty, making it a challenging task. The purpose of this thesis was to study the linkages between biodiversity loss and financial stability in Finland. This was done by assessing the financial exposure of Finnish credit institutions to sectors dependent on ecosystem services for their production processes. A quantitative analysis was conducted in order to combine loan data obtained from the Bank of Finland and ecosystem service data obtained from the ENCORE database. The results showed that 23% of loans provided by Finnish credit institutions are exposed to high or very high biodiversity-related financial risks. The sectors associated with most value at risks were real estate and agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors. Disruptions of ecosystem services providing surface water and climate regulation were posing the highest financial risks. The findings represent a first step towards assessing the exposure of the Finnish financial system to biodiversity-related financial risks. The results and previous literature indicate that physical biodiversity-related financial risk exposures are significant for individual financial institutions and for the whole financial system, despite the prevailing methodological challenges and gaps in knowledge. In order to complete a comprehensive biodiversity-related financial risk assessment, further research is needed.

In this thesis I focus on a novel disaster response and preparedness mechanism called forecast-based financing. The mechanism is linked to the changing paradigm of humanitarian response that calls for more localized and more resilience building solutions to addressing and preventing humanitarian crisis. It is also in the core of the anticipation agenda which argues that waiting for disasters to happen is not a sustainable option and that forecast data and pre-agreed triggers and actions should be used in order to prevent both loss of lives and mitigate the cost and impact of disasters. Main hypothesis is that climate related hazards to livelihoods and food security seems to be the sector where forecast-based financing could have most potential for increasing resilience and sustainability. Slow onset crises with long lead-time allow for better targeting and more variety of actions. As the lifetime of the action is longer, there is less chance of action which is in vain. Furthermore, the actions which are more localized, for example direct support to farmers, can decrease their vulnerabilities. I aim at taking a critical approach to assessing this potentiality associated with the forecast-based financing mechanism through case study. The three cases (Mongolia, Kenya, Zimbabwe) were selected from pilots implemented by the main actors: the Red Cross, World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Start Network. This thesis uses a combination of evaluative and heuristic approach to qualitative case study analysis. To answer the first research question, 1) is the forecast-based financing mechanism successful in prioritization of actions in a way that best address the needs and resources of vulnerable populations, I aim at finding out if mechanism is effective (or potentially effective) in delivering impact. For the second research question, 2) are the actions sustainable and do they bring socio-economic benefits that go beyond meeting acute humanitarian needs, I will see if new pathways are found for confirming the defined hypothesis. I am using heuristic approach in terms of finding new links e.g. between actions and needs of either donors, actors or beneficiaries. I asses and analyse available reports and evaluations (secondary data) of the selected operations. I conducted eleven (11) semi-structured key informant interviews (primary data) using practitioner’s perspective for retrieving qualitative data, for further understanding and for triangulation. All key informants were affiliated to the cases. My analysis show that the potentiality for development impacts and long-term transformation of the forecast-based financing is there but it is not utilized in the cases reviewed nor is it perceived in a same way across practitioners of different backgrounds. Currently the mechanism is used more for effective response, not for addressing the root causes of vulnerability. In general, the entitlement or empowering of a person who is affected by disaster currently does not go beyond securing bridge over lean season, avoiding negative coping mechanisms or e.g. better yield or survival of livestock. Sustainability potential of the forecast-based financing seems to be currently underutilized and international funding envelopes do not offer an alternative to the humanitarian funding launched case-by-case. Most of the practitioners interviewed were clearly in favour of linking and using forecast-based financing in some way to long-term programming, thinking outside of the framework of humanitarian response, extending lead time significantly and adding positive reinforcement inputs. I argue that with a lead time that goes long in advance, towards development actions, the mechanism needs to be reframed for the donors and the sources of funding might need to be reconsidered. To implement meaningful resilience actions in slow onset cases, triggers need to be early enough and actions in two phases: 1) anticipatory and benefiting from forecast and 2) early response. At beneficiary level the actions should be geared up to better address underlying socio-economic vulnerabilities and take advantage of the long lead time.

Urban energy transitions play a key role in achieving climate targets and keeping the climate crisis from escalating. The district heating system of Helsinki has been characterised as a path-dependent and locked in system that will face difficulties in transitioning away from fossil fuels. In 2021 the city owned energy company Helen announced that it will quit coal burning in 2024, which is five years ahead of the national coal ban prohibiting coal use for energy in 2029. The coal phase out of Helsinki is a concrete example of a demanding coal phase out in a northern city with high energy demand. This thesis aims at answering the research question on how the multilevel policy mix, consisting of policy instruments on the municipal level, the national level, and the international level, contributed to the coal phase out of Helsinki. Through a case study approach relying on ten expert and stakeholder interviews as well as complementary material consisting of key strategy documents, this thesis aims to widen the understanding of the role of policy and politics in sustainability transitions and urban energy transitions. This study covers both policymaking and implementation processes as well as system impacts of the policy mix contributing to the coal phase out of Helsinki. Through empirical reviews the thesis contributes to the conceptualisation of policy mixes on multiple governance levels by studying the combined impact of policy instruments formed at the local, national, and international level. Regulatory policies on the national and international level (emissions trading, national ban on coal, taxation etc.), policies supporting low-carbon solutions on the national level (tax-exemptions) and climate target setting as well as support for low-carbon solutions on the municipal level (deregulation, innovation competitions) altogether contributed to the coal phase out. The findings of this study are in line with previous research emphasising the destabilisation of fossil fuel regimes to achieve transitions towards sustainability. Incorporating the elements of policy processes and strategies as well as policy effects and feedbacks into the concept of policy mixes is important to assess the efficacy and long-term impacts of policy mixes. The coherence of policies on multiple governance levels and the balance between regime destabilising and niche creating policies is also important in ensuring transitions towards sustainability. The results of this study support previous research findings on cities being important arenas and actors for sustainability transitions. Policies from different governance levels intersect on the urban level and decisions on infrastructure transformation are made on the municipal level.

On a global scale the amount of meals consumed outside home setting continues to increase, which means that food service sector has a significant role in reaching global sustainability goals. Finland has a long tradition of public food services and a significant part of Finnish people enjoy a government-subsidized daily lunch. As a student restaurant UniCafe participates in Kela-funded meal scheme, thus UniCafe’s meals follow Finnish Nutrition Recommendations’ nutritional criteria for meals. This research examines the ways UniCafe guides its customers to making environmentally sustainable choices in their restaurants. This thesis also reviews UniCafe’s environmental sustainability measures, most significant of which are offering sustainable meal options, sourcing responsible ingredients and products, proper waste sorting and reducing food waste. This research also dwells in to the reasons behind these environmental measures and examines UniCafe as a forerunner company in the food service sector. The level of acceptability of different customer guidance ways are also evaluated on a general level and within UniCafe clientele. This research was conducted via qualitative case study research approach. The data for this research was col-lected via semi-structured theme interviews by interviewing UniCafe and Ylva restaurant and support services staff. Additionally, primary research data also comprised of Ylva’s online publications on responsibility and business operations. The data was analyzed by qualitative theory-guiding content analysis. According to the results, UniCafe is a forerunner company due to its unique customer and ownership base. UniCafe is expected to take environmental sustainability into account in their daily operations and selections. Five different customer guidance ways used by UniCafe were identified in this research: forced choice re-striction, choice editing, nudging, financial incentives and informational strategies. Most UniCafe customers accept the use of these different customer guidance methods but UniCafe perceives forced choice restriction as problematic, particularly on campuses that do not have many UniCafe restaurants. The results show that UniCafe guides its customers in many ways to promote environmental sustainability of their operations and their customers. In addition, the results confirm that methods such as informational strat-egies are perceived as more acceptable but simultaneously less effective than methods that restrict freedom of choice. In general, UniCafe customers approve environmental sustainability measures and customer guidance. On the other hand, UniCafe’s unique position in the student lunch market in Helsinki metropole area means that the results of this research cannot be generalized to apply to other food service sector operators.

Socio-ecological transition refers to a fundamental change in the structure, culture, and practices of a socio-ecological system. Socio-ecological transitions have been studied especially from an ecological perspective. In recent years, cities have been studied more as socio-ecological systems. The role of individual actors in socio-ecological transitions has not been on a focus of previous research of socio-ecological systems. The study intends to fulfill this gap. This master's thesis examines two cases in Helsinki, namely the evacuation of the residents of Myllypuro Alakiventie in 1999 and the Kyläsaari waste incineration plant in 1983 as socio-ecological transitions. The purpose of the study is to describe the progress of the socio-ecological transition in both cases by placing the course of cases in adaptive circles. The second aim of the study is to find out whether the Helsinki City Administration was able to promote or slow down the progress of the socio-ecological transition, which is being studied in relation to other actors in the socio-ecological transition. As research material consist article from Helsingin Sanomat newspaper and documents from the City of Helsinki Archives. The Master’s thesis describes the progress of the socio-ecological transition in both cases, as well as the role of the actors in the transition. The results show that the City of Helsinki administration had a limited opportunity to promote and slow down the progress of the socio-ecological transition. Other actors in the socio-ecological transformation, such as the townspeople, were also able to influence the progression of the socio-ecological transformation, which made it difficult for city governments to slow down or promote the transformation. In particular, the conflict between the city government and the Helsinki citizens slowed or prevented the city government from reaching its goals. However, the study finds that the city administration was not able to prevent the complete socio-ecological transition in the study cases. Better communication with the citizens and the avoidance of conflicts would help the City of Helsinki's administration to influence the progress of the socio-ecological transition more effectively in the future.