Browsing by study line "Global hållbarhet"
Now showing items 41-60 of 69
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(2020)Computing complex phenomena into models providing information of the causalities and future scenarios is a very topical way to present scientific information. Many claim models to be the best available tool to provide decision making with information about near-future scenarios and the action needed (Meah, 2019; Schirpke et al., 2020). This thesis studies global climate models based on objective data compared to local ecosystem services models combining ecological and societal data offer an extensive overview of modern environmental modelling. In addition to modelling, the science-policy boundary is important when analyzing the societal usefulness of models. Useful and societally-relevant modelling is analyzed with an integrative literature review (Whittemore & Knafl, 2005) on the topics of climate change, ecosystem services, modelling and science-policy boundary, n=58. Literature from various disciplines and viewpoints is included in the material. Since the aim is to create a comprehensive understanding of the multidisciplinary phenomenon of modelling, the focus is not on the technical aspects of it. Based on the literature, types of uncertainty in models and strategies to manage them are identified (e.g. van der Sluijs, 2005). Characteristics of useful models and other forms of scientific information are recognized (e.g. Saltelli et al., 2020). Usefulness can be achieved when models are fit for purpose, accessible and solution-oriented, and sufficient interaction and trust is established between the model users and developers. Climate change and ecosystem services are analyzed as case studies throughout the thesis. The relationship of science and policy is an important discussion especially important when solving the sustainability crisis. Because modelling is a boundary object (Duncan et al., 2020), the role of boundary work in managing and communicating the uncertainties and ensuring the usefulness of models is at the center of the analysis.
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(2019)Tämä on tapaustutkimus Helsingin satamasta uudenlaisten turvallisuuskysymysten, hybridiuhkien, aikakaudella. Suomi ja Suomen elinkeino ovat riippuvaisia meriliikenteestä ja tämän vuoksi satamat, meren ja maan risteyskohdat, on määritelty kriittiseksi infrastruktuuriksi. Koska kriittinen infrastruktuuri on yksi mahdollinen hybridivaikuttamisen kohde, tulisi satamien resilienssiä tarkastella myös tällaisten vaikeiden uhkien näkökulmasta. Näin ollen tutkielmassa vastataan kahteen tutkimuskysymykseen: millaisia resilienssiaukkoja Helsingin sataman varautumisessa, ennakoinnissa ja hallinnassa on, ja miten hybridiuhan olemassaolo muuttaa näitä resilienssiaukkoja. Tarkoitus on kartoittaa ensin yleisesti sataman resilienssiaukkoja, koska niitä on ilman hybridiuhkaakin. Löydettyjä aukkoja tarkastellaan kuitenkin tämän jälkeen hybriuhkien näkökulmasta, koska erilaisena uhkana ne vaikuttavat perinteiseen varautumiseen ja hallintaan. Tutkielma osallistuu laajemman WISE-projektin resilienssiaukkoja kartoittavaan työhön. Resilienssiaukkojen havaitsemisen lisäksi tavoite on esittää uusia näkökulmia resilienssin kasvattamiseksi yllätyksellisiä uhkia vastaan ja osoittaa, kuinka hybridiuhat muuttavat perinteistä varautumis- ja hallintatyötä satamassa. Näkökulmana ja teoreettisena viitekehyksenä toimivat korkean luotettavuuden (high reliability organization) ja tolkullistamisen (sensemaking) teoriat. Analyysi perustuu kolmeentoista haastatteluun ja Huoltovarmuuskeskuksen käsikirjaan. Aineistolle on tehty sisällönanalyysi. Tutkimustuloksina on esitetty yhdeksän resilienssiaukkoa, jotka liittyvät redundanssin puutteeseen, liialliseen määrittelyyn, rutinoitumiseen ja asenteeseen, jossa häiriöiden puute nähdään osoituksena organisaation luotettavuudesta. Hybridiuhka puolestaan muuttaa ja monimutkaistaa resilienssiaukkoja erityisesti sen tulkinnallisen luonteen vuoksi. Sen olemassaolo myös kyseenalaistaa perinteisesti resilientteinä pidettyjä toimintatapoja. Nämä tulokset ovat kuitenkin vasta alku, ja seuraavissa tutkimuksissa tulisi syventyä enemmän sataman käytännön toimijoiden tapoihin ja rutiineihin. Myös tilannekuvien tekeminen ja niistä syntyvät määritelmät ovat kiinnostavia jatkotutkimuksen kohteita valituista näkökulmista. Sama aihe tarjoaa myös kiinnostavan väylän syventyä enemmän kriittisen infrastruktuurin resilienssiin ja erityisesti eri toimintojen keskinäisriippuvuuksiin, joiden pintaa tässä tutkielmassa vain raapaistaan.
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(2021)The Arctic is home to many Indigenous peoples, including the Sámi. It is also an economically attractive area for governments and companies. Arctic Railway has been planned by the Finnish government and private parties to span over Sápmi, the Sámi homeland. Sámi youth association Suoma Sámi Nuorat, Sámi art collective Suohpanterror, and environmental NGO Greenpeace Finland have collaborated to fight against the railway and organized demonstrations and other campaigning. The goals of this thesis are to find out what kind of themes have been present in these Sámi organizations and Greenpeace’s protests and communication related to the Arctic Railway. Shared priorities and differences in their priorities are also determined. Moreover, this thesis explores how the Sámi are portrayed in the protests against the Arctic Railway. The data of this thesis is derived from public media sources, including news articles, social media content, and press releases. Case study is used as a research approach, and qualitative content analysis is used as a method. A middle ground concept functions as an analytical tool. It refers to a creative process where groups from different cultures find ways to work together. Indigenous peoples and environmentalists have often built strategic alliances, although also having differences in their priorities. In the middle ground, Indigenous peoples are recognized as active, creative agents, but also the use of stereotypes of Indigenous peoples have been present in these kinds of alliances. The results of this thesis show that the Sámi organizations have discussed the railway´s impacts on the Sámi livelihoods, lands, and culture, affecting their future as a people. They have also brought up that the railway has been planned without their consent, and the project has violated both Finnish law and international Indigenous rights. Greenpeace has focused on protecting the northern forests while raising awareness of Sámi issues and appearing as a supporter of Sámi people. They have had their unique middle ground where both priority differences and convergences have been present. In the protests against the Arctic Railway, the Sámi are portrayed as active agents. They have taken action in different ways: through demonstrations, participation in international events, art, and social media activism. This research can raise awareness about the potential of Indigenous-environmental alliances in promoting Indigenous rights and environmental protection and help build better alliances in the future. Further research could look at how these kinds of alliances have been negotiated.
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(2020)The goal of this thesis is to examine whether the EU’s climate policy towards Africa is normative after signing the Paris Agreement. This is done by analysing the goals and means of EU climate policy in this context. The aim is also to find out what elements besides normativity form the EU’s climate policy in this case. The research material consists of public documents from various EU institutions, the Joint Africa-EU Strategy and its Action Plans, and joint statements by EU and African actors. Qualitative abductive content analysis was used as the research method. In the context of international climate policy, the EU is described as a normative actor motivated by the promotion of universal norms instead of its own interests. Criteria, based on the Normative Power Europe theory, guide the assessment of the normativity of the EU’s climate policy towards Africa. According to the applied criteria, both the objectives and the means of climate policy should be normative in order for the policy to be considered normative. In its relations with Africa, EU climate policy is not purely normative but a combination of norm diffusion and pursuit of self-interest. EU seeks to secure its energy supplies and European security and increase the opportunities of European industry in Africa. In terms of means, the asymmetric balance of power is a problem for normativity. It makes the EU’s persuasion towards Africa and using the development aid as means of norm diffusion seem like coercion. Thus, the EU climate policy is not always normative. Depending on the context, it is either normative, imperialist or status quo policy.
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(2021)Vuorovaikutus luonnonympäristöjen kanssa tukee ihmisen hyvinvointia ja vaikuttaa moninaisin mekanismein hyvinvoinnin eri osa-alueisiin. Kaupungistumisen ja modernisaation tuomat elämäntapojen muutokset ovat herättäneet huolta nuorten sukupolvien luontoyhteyden heikentymisestä, kun yhä harvemmat ihmiset viettävät päivittäin aikaa luonnossa. Nuorten luontosuhde on muihin ikäryhmiin verrattuna erityinen, sillä kiinnostus luonnonympäristöjä kohtaan on usein vähäisempää teini-ikäisenä kuin lapsena tai aikuisena. Luontokontakteilla on vaikutusta nuorten hyvinvointiin sekä mielenterveyteen, mutta kattavaa tutkimusta suomalaisten nuorten luonnossa virkistäytymisen tavoista ei ole aiemmin julkaistu. Tässä tutkielmassa tarkastellaan, miten nuoret kaupunkilaiset virkistäytyvät luonnossa, ja kuinka vuorovaikutus luonnon kanssa vaikuttaa nuorten koettuun hyvinvointiin. Tutkielma on toteutettu osana monitieteistä Luonnon virkistyskäytön terveys- ja hyvinvointivaikutukset - tutkimus kaupunkilaisnuorista (NATUREWELL) -projektia. Aineisto (N=1123) on kerätty syksyllä 2020 Lahden yläkouluissa. Nuorten luonnossa viettämää aikaa, luontoharrastuksia, luontosuhdetta ja heidän kokemuksiaan luonnon hyvinvointivaikutuksista analysoidaan kuvailevin kvantitatiivisin menetelmin. Tulosten perusteella huoli nuorten sukupolvien luonnosta vieraantumisesta ja luontosuhteen katkeamisesta näyttää Lahdessa enimmäkseen perusteettomalta. Suurin osa nuorista viettää viikoittain aikaa luonnonympäristöissä sekä kesä- että talviaikaan, ja erityisesti kodin lähiympäristön luontoalueet ovat nuorille merkityksellisiä. Tytöt viettävät aikaa luonnossa hiukan poikia useammin ja sukupuolten välillä on eroja luontoharrastuksissa. Myös sosioekonomisilla tekijöillä on selvästi yhteys nuorten luonnossa viettämään aikaan. Kiinnostus luontoa kohtaan vaikuttaa laskevan hiukan yläkoulun aikana, ja nuorten luontosuhteessa on havaittavissa polarisoitumista. Pieni osa nuorista ei juurikaan liiku luonnonympäristöissä tai koe yhteyttä luontoon. Valtaosa arvioi hyvinvointinsa kasvavan luonnonympäristössä käydessä, sekä kokevansa usein positiivisia ja harvoin negatiivisia tunteita luonnossa ollessaan. Tutkimus osoittaa, että luontokontakteilla on positiivista vaikutusta nuorten koettuun hyvinvointiin, mutta vaikutuksen voimakkuutta ei voida suoraan arvioida. Pienetkin hyödyt voivat joka tapauksessa olla yhteiskunnallisesti merkittäviä, jos niillä voidaan auttaa nuoria suhteellisen pienillä toimilla. Nuorten luontosuhteen polarisoitumiseen ja sosioekonomisten ryhmien välisiin eroihin luontosuhteessa voidaan puuttua poliittisin keinoin. Luonnonympäristöjen hyvinvointivaikutusten huomioiminen nuorten kannalta esimerkiksi kouluympäristöissä ja kaupunkipolitiikassa voivat olla merkittäviä keinoja nuorten kokonaisvaltaisen hyvinvoinnin lisäämisessä.
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(2020)Participatory budgeting is one of the major democratic innovations of the recent decades. This participatory method from Brazil has been started to actively utilize in Finnish municipalities during 2010s. The basic idea of this methodology is that citizens can together decide how to use public assets. The goal of this thesis is to understand how participatory budgeting can have an impact on ecological sustainability in Finland. I’m focusing on the proposals of participatory budgeting which the citizens have voted for to be implemented. Research material has been collected from public online sources on all the Finnish participatory budgeting projects. Some of these projects have been excluded as they do not fulfill the characteristics of participatory budgeting. The material is analyzed using content analysis, building categories, themes and types. There are three key findings in this thesis. First, participatory budgeting has created ecologically sustainable solutions, but sustainability has been an unintended by-product. Proposals concerning environment focus primarily on people’s living environment. Second, the changes are minor, and individuals are the ones carrying the responsibility for the sustainability. Third, the means how proposals are carried out influences ecological sustainability. Here, municipal authorities have a significant role. Finnish participatory budgeting projects therefore have the chance to create ecologically sustainable proposals. However, the capability is limited by both small, project specific budgets and processes that do not acknowledge ecological sustainability. In the long run, the changes might be more significant as participatory budgeting still is relatively new method in Finnish society.
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(2024)Datakeskukset ovat osaltaan mahdollistamassa vihreää siirtymää, sillä niiden toiminnasta aiheutuvalla hukkalämmöllä voidaan lämmittää kotitalouksia polttoon perustuvan lämmöntuotannon sijaan. Hukkalämpö sitoo kuitenkin yhteen energian tuottajat ja käyttäjät, ja voi siten myös aiheuttaa odottamattomia seurauksia, joita tässä tutkielmassa tarkastellaan Mäntsälässä sijaitsevan Yandexin datakeskuksen tapauksessa. Mäntsälä oli asettanut valtaosan kaukolämmön tuotannostaan Yandexin datakeskuksen hukkalämmön varaan, joka osoittautui kunnalle ongelmalliseksi ratkaisuksi Venäjän hyökättyä Ukrainaan. Tässä tutkielmassa on tapaustutkimuksen keinoin selvitetty, oliko Yandexin datakeskuksen saapuminen Mäntsälään polkuriippuvaisen kehityskulun seurausta. Järjestelmän polkuriippuvuus voi aiheuttaa sen, että järjestelmä päätyy historiallisten päätösten ja tapahtumien seurauksena epätoivottuun lopputilaan, josta on erittäin vaikeaa irrottautua. Näin voidaan katsoa tapahtuneen myös Mäntsälään ja Yandexin datakeskuksen tapauksessa. Aineiston perusteella luodusta aikajanasta havaittiin, että Yandexin Mäntsälään tulon taustalla oli polkuriippuvainen tapahtumaketju. Mäntsälän kaukolämpöverkon polkuriippuvuuden taustalla havaittiin kolme mekanismia: suuret kiinteät kustannukset, mukautuvat olettamukset ja oppimisvaikutukset. Aiemmasta kirjallisuudesta poiketen, tarkasteltavan energiajärjestelmän polkuriippuvuuden taustalla eivät olleet ainoastaan järjestelmän fyysiset tai sen ympärillä vallitsevien markkinoiden ominaisuudet, vaan polkuriippuvuutta oli aiheuttamassa myös energiajärjestelmää hallinnoivassa organisaatiossa opitut kokemukset tietyistä toimintamalleista.
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(2020)Jätevesiliete sisältää arvokkaita kasviravinteita ja orgaanista ainesta, jotka olisi välttämätöntä saada kiertämään kiertotalouden periaatteiden mukaisesti. Erityisesti kasvien kasvun kannalta olennainen ja määrältään rajallinen fosfori olisi tärkeä ohjata uudelleen käyttöön, esimerkiksi soveltuvaan maatalouteen, sillä Suomessa maatalouteen käytetään vuosittain 95,5 % kaikesta fosforista. Puhdistamoliete on kuitenkin yksi yhteiskunnan haastavimmista sivuvirroista, sillä se sisältää myös haitallisia aineita, kuten raskasmetalleja, mikromuoveja, pysyviä orgaanisia yhdisteitä ja lääkejäämiä. Tässä opinnäytetyössä aihetta tarkastellaan kirjallisuuskatsauksen ja dokumenttianalyysin keinoin sekä vahvistetaan laadullisella aineistolla. Viime vuosina monet suuret suomalaiset viljanostajat ovat kieltäneet puhdistamolietepohjaisten lannoitetuotteiden käytön sopimuspelloillaan. Tutkielmassa kartoitettiin asiantuntijahaastatteluiden avulla, miten tähän lopputulokseen päädyttiin sekä millainen suhtautuminen yrityksissä on uusiin kehitteillä oleviin puhdistusteknologioihin. Tutkimusta varten haastateltiin kolmen yrityksen edustajia tammikuussa 2020. Vastaukset analysoitiin sisällön analyysin keinoin. Puhdistamoliete ja sen käyttö on aineiston perusteella osa ympäristökonfliktien historiallista jatkumoa. Nykytutkimuksen valossa suomalainen puhdistamoliete on käsiteltynä turvallista käyttää. Useista tutkimuksista huolimatta kaikkien haitallisten aineiden pitkäaikaisia vaikutuksia erityisesti maaperään ei ole pystytty täysin kartoittamaan, sillä osa lietteestä löydettävistä haitallisista aineista on yhteiskunnassamme suhteellisen uusia yhdisteitä. Lietepohjaisten tuotteiden loppukäyttö on yhteiskunnallinen, taloudellinen ja ympäristökysymys, josta eri toimijoilla on eri intressit ja vaihtelevat näkemykset. Tutkimuksen perusteella viljanostajat suhtautuvat lietepohjaisiin tuotteisiin kielteisesti niiden kyseenalaisen maineen vuoksi. Yritykset korostivat, että heidän omat asiakkaansa eivät hyväksy lietepohjaisten tuotteiden käyttöä. Lisäksi haastatteluissa nousi ilmi huoli lietteen tutkimuksen tietoaukoista, koetut ihmisperäisten kierrätysravinteiden imagohaitat, sekä yritysten vastuullisuuden painopisteen sijoittuminen muualle kuin kierrätysravinteisiin. Pro gradu tutkielmassani esitän, että lietteen käsittelyn uudet teknologiat eivät tule yksin ratkaisemaan lietepohjaisten tuotteiden käyttöä maataloudessa, sillä viljanostajien kiinnostus kierrätysravinteiden käyttöön on vähäistä ja teknologiset erot käsittelymetodien välillä jäävät helposti epäselviksi.
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Radical innovations or everyday consumer goods? : the marketing of Finnish plant-based milk products (2020)Current food production and consumption practices have major impacts on the climate and the environment. Studies are calling for a transition towards plant-based diets as climate change poses an imminent threat of global natural catastrophes. Plant-based milk (PBM) products can be seen as radical innovations and as alternatives to liquid dairy milk that have started to break away from their former ethical and medical market niches. This study aims to gain understanding in how PBM products are positioned as alternatives to dairy milk and how the mainstreaming of these products could challenge the dairy sector. Specifically, the study is interested in how Finnish PBM products are marketed and how these PBM producers could be potential drivers of a sustainability transition in the food industry. This study focused on the digital marketing material that Finnish PBM producers used during the initial launch of their PBM products. The materials were collected online from existing and locatable sources (e.g. websites and social networking spaces) as well as from solicited material acquired from company representatives. The data was analyzed by conducting qualitative content analysis on the materials. The results showed that Finnish PBMs are marketed as alternative yet convenient products that are simultaneously health, tasty, and functional, as well as sustainable and plant-based. Even though Finnish producers were found to be hesitant to explicitly challenge the dairy sector, some brands positioned their products as part of a new food system that is transitioning away from the use of animal-products. These results suggest that the mainstreaming of Finnish PBMs and specifically oat milk is a positive shift towards more sustainable modes of production and consumption. Furthermore, the involvement of well-established food and dairy industry actors in the Finnish PBM market could have a role in reforming the institutional structures that empower people to eat animal-derived products. The seemingly neutral, non-provocative marketing style of Finnish PBM products is aiming to normalize the use of PBMs and thus claim its spot in Finnish food culture as an everyday consumer good.
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(2021)Interest in the ecosystem services and the well-being provided by nature has grown while the urbanized way of life has reduced contact between humans and nature. Studies have found that nature supports well-being and health in several ways: spending time in nature relieves stress, lifts mood and improves concentration, among other things. Natural environments encourage physical activity and provide opportunities for both social interaction and self-reflection. Nature experiences during childhood and adolescence help to build an empathetic relationship with nature and may promote environmentally responsible behavior. In adolescence, however, contact with nature often decreases. To facilitate positive nature experiences to adolescents, understanding how they experience spending time in nature can help. This thesis examines how adolescents describe their memorable nature experiences and the well-being impacts they associate with these experiences. The thesis is part of the multidisciplinary research project NATUREWELL (The health and well-being impacts of outdoor recreation – study on urban youth). The research data consists of pictures and writings (n=21) by adolescents aged 15-16 years, in which they describe their memorable nature experiences. The data was collected from a secondary school in Lahti, Finland in spring 2020. The research material has been analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The results show that memorable nature experiences arise in a wide range of situations, but almost all participants highlighted the effects of nature on their well-being. The most common themes of the experiences were calming down in nature and uplifted moods, while several of the participants also highlighted the beauty of nature. Nature served both as a refuge and as a source of recreation for them. Half of the experiences had taken place in the nearby nature of the participants, half on trips elsewhere in Finland, abroad or at summer cottages. Photographs, paintings, drawings and collages by the participants often highlighted the visual aspect of the experience by depicting vast landscapes unfolding from the viewer's perspective. The described environments were forests, beaches, lakes, mountains and swamps. Based on the results, all the participants of the study have positive experiences of nature. They perceive psychological, physical, social and mental well-being effects in nature and often refer to them when justifying why they like to spend time in nature. The results of the study can be used in the planning of nature activities, environmental education and well-being interventions for adolescents. The nature experiences of adolescents with a negative attitude towards nature are an important subject for further research.
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(2024)In Sápmi, the traditional homelands of the Indigenous Sámi, climate change and green transition have created together a double burden for the Arctic ecosystems and the Sámi. As an effort to mitigate the climate change, the transition towards green sources of energy and mineral intensive technologies have created conflicting interests for land use in Sápmi, as extractivist activities have been located for instance to their traditional reindeer pasture lands. This thesis focuses on representations of Western edited media about green transition related extractive activities in Sámi context. Construction and operation of Fosen wind farm in Norway and expansion of mineral extraction in Giron, Sweden, act as examples of such activities. The research question is: what issues the Western edited media represents when discussing extractive activities regarding green transition, in the Sámi context? The thesis derives from the identified research gap of the matter, as this kind of research regarding the Sámi has not been conducted before. The thesis uses inductive thematic analysis to identify issues the news media articles represent regarding cases of Fosen and Giron. The research data consists of 35 news articles, published between 2016-2024. The applicable case examples were identified in data collection as illustrating the green transition related extractivist activities having significant impact on the Sámi communities. Through thematic analysis, six themes were identified and further analyzed through the framework of Indigenous Environmental Justice (IEJ). The analysis shows that the media represents green transition related extractivism in both negative- and positive lights. Whereas wind power and mineral extraction are represented as essential drivers for sustainable future, they also have negative impacts for the ecosystems in Sápmi and to the Sámi culture and livelihoods. The activities are represented as causing disputes between the Sámi and other stakeholders, due to conflicting interests of land-use and the Sámi’s experiences of violation of rights and unfairness. The activities taking place in Sápmi are often represented as continuation of Western colonialism, planned without sufficient consultation and involvement of the local Sámi communities. Yet, the Sámi are represented as solution-oriented, aiming to actively protect their traditional lands. The struggle of the Sámi with Western extractivism was also represented as part of wider global struggle of Indigenous people, whose traditional homelands these activities have penetrated to. These issues identified support the notions of IEJ about Western legal systems as failing to resolve environmental injustices and current extractivist activities as a form of on-going colonialism. The analysis also shows that the provision of multiple ontologies and legal orders, intergenerational- and other-than-human justice and acknowledgement of the distinct legal status of Indigenous peoples are needed, as argued by IEJ scholars. In the future, as the extractivist activities in the Arctic are expected to intensify, there is an urgent need for critical assessment of the manner the green transition is currently carried out in Western societies, participatory evaluation of impacts of the extractive projects and emphasis on aspects of fairness.
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(2021)Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of heatwaves in Finland. Heatwaves increase morbidity and mortality, especially among the elderly and chronically ill. Home care services are in an important role supporting the functioning ability and quality of life among populations vulnerable to heat. This study presents a qualitative empirical case study to understand heatwave adaptation in municipal home care services in Helsinki. The purpose of this study is to explore, describe and analyse the effects of the 2018 heatwave in the context of home care services, and the services’ capacity to adapt to heat. The data was collected by conducting semi-structured interviews with home care workers both on the operational and strategical levels. Theoretical frameworks regarding extreme heat vulnerability and local adaptive practices were used to support the analysis. The results suggest that heatwaves have caused challenges for both workers and customers. While the working ability of home care staff may be reduced due to thermal stress, the customers’ reduced functioning ability may simultaneously increase the need for care. Some workers had experienced fatigue, and customers were described having typical heat exhaustion symptoms. Workers adaptive practices were mostly reactive responses aimed at reducing the vulnerability of customers to heat. Interviewees described having taken preventive measures to limit customers’ exposure to heat and prevent adverse heat-related health outcomes by monitoring customers’ hydration more carefully. No long-term preparedness measures were identified on the strategical level. The city had supported workers by offering mineral drink bottles and providing instructions for coping in hot weather. In conclusion, workers have an active role in adaptation, but it might be limited by their own thermal stress, customers’ different health conditions and resources, as well as service-level stressors such as lack of staff. Because heatwaves are expected to increase in the future, home care services’ preparedness to heatwaves might need to be improved. It would be important to consider adaptation needs of both workers and customers as they can be interrelated in the sense, that care is dependent on workers ability to function. In a wider societal framework, the adaptive capacity of home care should be secured through providing sufficient resources for these services. The latter is even more important in the light of future trends regarding the aging of population, increase in need for home-based services and decrease in workforce availability. More research is required on the effects of heatwaves on the most vulnerable populations, what adaptation needs there might be as well as how this relates to service provision.
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(2019)Climate change is one of the most major environmental challenges of our time. The upcoming decades will be crucial for delimiting the global average temperature rise to 1.5 - 2 degrees, as pointed out by the IPCC. Tackling climate change requires system-wide changes, emission reductions from all sectors and a shift towards low-carbon society. The global food system is responsible for circa 20-30 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, achieving the goal of carbon neutrality necessitates profound changes in the food system, i.e. in the ways our food is being produced and consumed today. This, in turn, necessitates a transition towards more plant-based diets. There is a scientific consensus that plant-based diets are - in addition to human health - also beneficial for the climate, as they produce less greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon-intensive lifestyles are especially characteristic for people in industrialized countries. Food covers roughly one fifth of the annual carbon footprint of a Finn. Finnish diets produce relatively large emissions mainly due to high consumption of meat and dairy. As food choices contribute to climate change, it is crucial to seek solutions in order to steer sustainable food consumption. In addition to the efforts of the public sector, proactive companies are also capable of steering or “nudging” sustainable food consumption also by other than conventional means, such as information provision and financial incentives. These means and their acceptability are addressed in this thesis. This thesis explores how Finnish consumers allocate responsibilities between the government, companies and consumers for mitigating climate change. In addition, this thesis elucidates how Finnish consumers perceive food manufacturers’ role and contribution (means) in steering food consumption towards more climate-friendly choices. The study conducted for this thesis was a consumer survey (n=504) and the target population was Finnish consumers aged between 18-74 years. The material was collected during August 2019, and statistical methods were mostly applied to analyze the results. One of the key findings of this study is that half of the survey respondents perceive a shared responsibility between the government, companies and consumers in mitigating climate change. While least responsibility is assigned for consumers, their role is not, however, underestimated. It also seems like food manufacturers play an important role in steering climate-friendly food consumption in the respondents’ opinion. In addition, the respondents seem to be relatively accepting towards the fact of being steered by food companies in order to make more climate-friendly food choices. Also the means to steer consumer behaviour, which were addressed in this study, received a promising level of support from the respondents. The findings of the study shed light on the food industry’s opportunities to influence climate-friendly food consumption and can help to develop policies that aim to mitigate climate change and promote more sustainable culinary culture.
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(2019)This thesis aims to find out what are the challenges in the implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy in a large labour-intensive company in the service business. Companies have an essential role in sustainable development and they are seen as important actors in spreading awareness of sustainability (Simas et al., 2013). While CSR is a concept that is playing an important part in the modern business world and has been involved in companies’ strategies for years now, there is still a gap between the CSR strategy formulation and implementation (Engert & Baumgartner, 2016). The research presented in this thesis is based on a literature review of CSR strategy implementation and on a single case study in a service business company, SOL Group, with high employee turnover, low wage levels and physical and intense working conditions. The objective of this thesis is to identify potential challenges in the CSR strategy implementation in large companies in service business, and based on the findings, structure hypotheses for further research. The case study data collection included four group interviews with several participants in each, as well as direct observation in the field, and it is supported by documents from the case company and literature. From the literature review, two models were identified: the five levers model by Lacy et al. (2009) and the success factor model by Engert & Baumgartner (2016). These two models were used as theoretical frameworks for analysing the challenges in the successful implementation of CSR strategy in the case company. The main finding was that the major challenge in the successful implementation of CSR strategy is to commit and engage the employees to the strategy implementation. This thesis proposes hypotheses for the future, to continue this research as an attempt to bridge the gap between CSR strategy formulation and implementation. It is hoped that the insight from this thesis helps companies to identify their challenges in the CSR strategy implementation and provides some guidelines on how to proceed if wanting to achieve a full implementation of CSR strategy.
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(2021)Forests have become one of the key themes when it comes to sustainability and have been subject to many demands and pressures from various stakeholders in recent years. In particular, the responsible use of forests has surfaced in discussions during the past 20 years. As the world and overall atmosphere is becoming more favorable to sustainability, companies are required to adapt to a changed society. The forest industry has a significant impact on Finland’s sustainable development and economy. In the forest industry corporate responsibility work has developed as demands from society have grown and the work has become more holistic over time as knowledge on the matter has increased. Pressures on companies' environmental work have come from outside companies from society, as well as from internal actors within companies. One well established forest industry company in Finland is Metsä Group, which has long been profiled as an environmentally responsible company. Therefore, corporate responsibility work and its development in Metsä Group has been selected as my research topic. In this thesis, I examine how environmental responsibility work has changed from the point of view of sustainability professionals in Metsä Group during the years 2000-2020. As research material, I use interviews with Metsä Group's sustainability professionals, as well as responsibility and annual reports from 2000-2020. For the interviews, I selected former and current Metsä Group employees who have worked in the company, either the whole duration or partly, during the years 2000-2020. I have analyzed the materials using content analysis as a method. The interviews revealed that, in general, employees felt that, compared to the early 2000s, in 2020 Metsä Group took more and more holistic action for its environmental responsibility. In general, it was seen that the most significant factors influencing corporate responsibility were megatrends such as climate change and biodiversity loss, as well as a general change in societal perceptions related to corporate responsibility. Leaders’ commitment and attitude towards environmental responsibility, as well as customer requirements, were also perceived as significant factors in promoting responsibility work. It was generally felt that if customers or management saw the matter as important it was invested in. All in all, the environmental corporate responsibility of Metsä Group had steadily improved during 2000-2020. Overall, the interviewees felt that environmental responsibility has been incorporated into Metsä Group's strategy, and that corporate responsibility work has become more holistic and professionalized.
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(2021)The way environmental issues are discursively constructed matters for how they are understood and what possibilities there are to solve them. This makes it relevant to investigate discourses around environmental issues and their proposed solutions. One such solution is ecological compensation, which has been widely implemented as a way to avoid environmental degradation and achieve no net loss of biodiversity. Compensation is also a contested mechanism, however, which has been shaped by the interplay of various discourses with diverging understandings of nature conservation. In this study, I investigate how ecological compensation is constructed by experts in Finland. Using the concept of storylines (Hajer 1995) I analyse 9 interviews conducted with experts involved in the discussion around ecological compensation, which is currently being implemented into Finnish legislation. Three storylines are identified which construct ecological compensation either as 1) a way to enable private actors to take environmental responsibility, 2) additional legislation to fill a “gap” in current conservation practices, or 3) a possibility to modify the relationship with nature by fostering local deliberations. This shows diverging understandings of ecological compensation among the experts and contestation over the way it should be implemented. What is at stake in the discussion are questions of how nature conservation should be understood, which makes ecological compensation pivotal for reconfiguring the field of nature conservation by shifting understandings of the roles and responsibilities involved. At the same time, consensus exists about the need to implement ecological compensation, which the experts all agree is the only possibility to stop biodiversity loss in Finland. This is traced to the interpretative flexibility of the ecological compensation concept which accommodates conflicting understandings and enables the experts to agree about the need for ecological compensation while contesting the “details” of how the implementation should take place. In that way, the implementation is supported despite contestation, and the discussion is focused on how – rather than whether – ecological compensation should be implemented.
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(2021)This thesis explores the drivers and barrier to greening in the Finnish music festival scene. The term greening originates in literature on sustainable business and refers to the process of a company achieving greater sustainability through investments, managerial and organisational decisions and implementing policies and processes. The concept of greening is applied to music festivals, a type of event, that cause significant negative environmental impacts. Sustainable event management attempts to mitigate negative environmental impacts and to cause positive impacts for instance through environmental education and inspiring behaviour change. As a theoretical framework, this thesis uses drivers and barriers impacting the greening of music festivals identified in literature. The drivers (organisational and personal values, competitive advantage, consumer demand and the desire to educate) and barriers (lack of finance or support from stakeholders, lack of control over venues, lack of control over patron behaviour, lack of time, lack of sustainable supplies and suppliers), networking in the festival scene and the use of external environmental audits form the basis for a qualitative content analysis. The findings based on interview data from five Finnish music festival managers and a representative from an environmental auditing service suggests that the most significant drivers are value-based and the motivation for greening stems from personal pro-environmental values and the desire to inform and educate audiences. The barriers to overcome are external, related to stakeholders, infrastructure and the supply chain as well as unsustainable attendee behaviour. Additionally, there is among festival managers some uncertainty regarding best practices. A need for increased support from stakeholders and for accessible information highlights the importance of networking. External auditing services should offer flexible and contextual tools and a more inspirational tone. In conclusion, sustainability is seen by the Finnish music festival scene as a key issue and one of increasing priority in the future.
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(2021)The supervisory expectations directed towards banks and other financial institutions to integrate, identify and manage climate-related risks has increased substantially during the past decade. The transition towards a de-carbonized economy creates risks and opportunities for financial institutions. The European Central Bank (ECB) has identified climate-related risks as one of the key drivers in the euro area requiring a forward-looking approach to be taken into consideration while dealing with these risks. One of the main ongoing tasks in the area is the identification and classification of environmentally sustainable activities. The objective of this Master’s thesis is to examine the effect that the reported greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the implementation of an emission reduction strategy have on corporate repayment capacity, calculated through external credit ratings. Previous literature has found a relationship between companies’ creditworthiness and environmental factors, but the results vary depending on the applied variables. The typical approach used in prior studies is the application of aggregated values of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors or limiting the analysis to specific industries or countries. The theoretical framework for this thesis rests mainly on previous academic research on the topic and publications by supervisory bodies. The data comprises 593 corporations from 37 countries operating in different industries over the years 2015-2019. The value of the probability of default (PD) is deployed as a measure of corporate repayment capacity. The climate-related variables and financial ratios were provided by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and Standard and Poor’s (S&P). The relationship between corporate repayment capacity and the climate-related variables was analysed using a panel data multivariate regression model, specifically the ordinary least squares (OLS) method. The results of this study indicate that emission intensity levels contribute statistically in a negative and significant way to corporate credit ratings, implying that higher levels of emissions lead to a higher PD. On the other hand, having an emission reduction target contributes positively and significantly to corporate repayment capacity, indicating that having this target leads to a lower PD. The analysed climate-related variables were statistically more significant in industries considered to consist of high emitting companies, as opposed to low emitting ones.
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(2024)Travel behavior change is crucial for sustainable energy transition in urban environments. Among various strategies, Light Rail Transit (LRT) is gaining popularity as a potent facilitator of modal shift. However, its effectiveness is not consistently superior to its alternative, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). LRT is less cost-effective than BRT while it is more environmentally friendly, which maintains BRT as a feasible and popular means of sustainable transport. While no consensus has been reached, Helsinki, Finland, replaced an existing BRT with its first LRT, raising questions about the sustainability consequences of this change. This paper investigates the first effects of Helsinki’s LRT on travel behavior and its potential benefits over BRT, capturing the duration in which both modes were operational (October to December 2023). Addressing this area's lack of qualitative research, 20 semi-structured interviews are analyzed alongside supplementary quantitative data. The theory of social practice is employed as the theoretical framework, enabling an in-depth understanding of everyday traveling practices. This study aims to answer two questions: 1) What do residents using LRT consider to be the most important factors influencing travel behavior change and why? 2) What potential benefits might LRT exhibit compared to buses? The results show that service attributes such as convenience, frequency, and reliability play a crucial role in the modal choice of Helsinki residents participating in this study, while door-to-door travel time is the most significant factor. It also indicates that they have a more positive attitude toward LRT than BRT at the time of the study. The probable benefits of LRT—speed, reliability, and comfort—are identified as the root factors for LRT's better attractiveness than BRT. From the perspective of social practices, the elements of the practices of LRT, BRT, and cars are identified, and the relationships among them are systematically presented. Marking the initial impacts of LRT on travel behavior from the novel case of Helsinki, the findings offer valuable insights for future research.
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(2021)During the Covid-19 pandemic in Finland, there was a debate about the usefulness of face masks in suppressing the epidemic. Lack of scientific knowledge was emphasised in the debate, and the participants sought to define the role of science in decision-making. In this thesis, the ways in which ignorance and uncertainty were discussed and used to define the boundaries of science in the Finnish face mask debate are studied. In the theoretical part of the thesis, the meanings of ignorance and uncertainty are clarified and the boundary-work of science as well as uncertainty as a boundary-ordering device are discussed. The politicisation of non-knowledge and the characteristics of policy-relevant science are also examined. In the empirical part, the knowledge/non-knowledge claims of the Finnish experts and decision-makers who participated in the face mask debate are analysed. The data consists of 99 quotations collected from news articles published from March 1 to October 31, 2020. Qualitative frame analysis is employed to examine the forms of knowledge and ignorance along with the boundary-ordering devices used in the debate. The results show that experts working at the science-policy boundary highlighted uncertainty and ignorance most often. They also used uncertainty as a boundary-ordering device the most, although overall, this came up very rarely in the debate. The main discrepancy was between the assessments of different expert bodies, as research scientists did not usually mention the underlying uncertainties of scientific findings. Different actors had different approaches towards knowledge and ignorance, reflecting differences in epistemic cultures. Regulatory science and academic science have different criteria for assessing the credibility of knowledge. Moreover, not all ignorance and uncertainty in decision-making can be reduced with scientific methods. Therefore, more resilient decision-making processes should be developed, in which ignorance and limitations of scientific knowledge are identified and embedded in the decisions.
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