Browsing by Author "Herremans, Irene M."

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    A Triple-Bottom Line Decision-Analysis Framework Using Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment: The Case of Large Greenhouse Gas Emitters in Alberta, Canada
    (2018-08-28) Hannouf, Marwa Bassam; Assefa, Getachew; Keough, Noel; Herremans, Irene M.; Gates, Ian Donald; Ugaya, Cassia Maria Lie
    In light of the increased environmental awareness and stringent environmental regulations, there is need to guide businesses to stay competitive while meeting environmental compliance. Sustainability strategies will reduce the environmental burden of companies while increasing their economic and social benefits. However, integrating the three dimensions of sustainability in companies’ decision-making (DM) to develop sustainability strategies is associated with complexity. This thesis takes the context of large greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters given the urgency of the climate change problem and the awareness of reducing GHG emissions to fulfill expectations from global climate change agreements such as the Paris Agreement. Using case studies among large GHG emitters in Alberta, Canada, the objective of this research was to examine the potential utility of the life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) approach to guide companies’ DM in developing sustainability strategies that can reduce their environmental impacts while achieving the remaining of sustainability goals. As LCSA approach is still an emerging field, the first part of this thesis has focused on the method of LCSA following UNEP/SETAC guidelines by addressing some of its challenges. The research has applied two LCSA case studies among large GHG emitters in Alberta, where a new subcategory assessment method for social life cycle assessment approach is developed and starting holistic analysis of LCSA results is presented. The second part has focused on the application of LCSA to support sustainability-oriented DM, where an LCSA-based decision-analysis framework is developed to guide decision-makers in systematic and structured way to analyze the interrelationships between LCSA results and propose potential sustainability solutions. The thesis contributes to the advancement of scientific knowledge in the development of LCSA approach by addressing some of its challenges. The evaluation conducted in this research for LCSA-based decision-analysis framework has indicated that LCSA with its systematic and life cycle perspective has the potential to provide improved information on the sustainability problems in product systems, which is going to increase the potential to develop sustainability solutions. The framework presents different advantages, but is as well associated with challenges especially regarding its application in real world.
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    Food Waste at Grocers in the City of Calgary
    (2019-08-19) Shejwalkar, Manashri; Herremans, Irene M.
    Food waste impacts the environment, energy, economy and society. Grocery stores are a powerful link between consumers and farmers. This influential position imparts a huge responsibility on them to reduce food waste. My research question is “How can the grocers in the city of Calgary help reduce food waste?”. National research conducted by the Second Harvest Foundation formed the baseline for the project. Local primary data were collected from the grocery stores through an online survey to find the reasons for food waste and barriers to implementing a food waste reduction strategy. Even though the sample size was small, the comparison with the national survey revealed that the major reasons for food waste are similar locally and nationally. A multifaceted issue like food waste needs collaborative solutions; hence recommendations were included for both the grocers and local government to help reduce food waste and food insecurity in Calgary.
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    Identifying barriers to environmentally sustainable tourism: Exploratory findings from the Bighorn Backcountry
    (2020-04-03) Tyssen, Rebecca Kathryn; Draper, Dianne; Blue, Gwendolyn; Herremans, Irene M.
    Recent interest in actively developing the tourism industry in the Bighorn Backcountry of Alberta has caused concern over the sustainability of such development. There is agreement among tourists, developers, and other stakeholders that the authentic environment, free of large amounts of infrastructure, should be preserved. To maintain a sustainable tourism environment without hard infrastructure mitigating environmental impact, the Alberta Government has identified a target tourist type, authentic tourists. Authentic tourists are considered to have a high level of ecological concern for the destinations that they visit, resulting in the province’s expectation that such tourists will exhibit a high level of responsibility for environmental sustainability. I interviewed tourists staying in the Bighorn Backcountry, representative of the authentic tourist type, in order to explore challenges related to the proposed development model. I identified a conflict between how tourists perceived their responsibility for the environmental sustainability of their destination and the expectation for responsibility that the development plan is reliant on. Use of online platforms is explored as an approach for overcoming the identified conflict. Findings suggest there is potential in the anticipation stage of travel to engage tourists with environmental concerns and initiatives. Requirements for information to be accessed and utilized by tourists include the need for convenience, trustworthiness, and presentation of facts rather than opinion.
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    Labour Investment: A Managers’ Decision-Making Perspective
    (2020-04-22) Yu, Dongning; Anderson, Mark; Warsame, Hussein A.; Herremans, Irene M.; Mashruwala, Raj; Lehar, Alfred; Muslu, Volkan
    My dissertation consists of three studies that investigate factors that affect management’s labour investment decisions and how management of labour influences firm performance. In my first study, I examine how firms adjust their labour in response to business downturns and how different labour adjustment practices influence firms’ financial performance. I classify firms into two groups: those with more stable labour adjustment strategies (most sticky in labour) and those with more flexible labour adjustment strategies (least sticky in labour). I find that companies with more flexible labour adjustment strategies outperform relative to companies with more stable labour adjustment strategies in terms of return on assets. Using DuPont analysis, I find that underperformance of stable companies is due to lower efficiency (asset turnover) and the superior performance of flexible firms is due to higher efficiency. However, stable firms achieve higher profit margin than flexible firms, consistent with the resource-based view of human capital. In my second study, I investigate whether higher ability managers achieve better performance outcomes through labour investment. I document that deviations from expected net hiring are, on average, smaller for higher ability managers. In this regard, I find that higher ability managers avoid both over-investment and under-investment in labour. I also find that managerial ability mitigates the negative effects of deviations from expected hiring on future firm performance. This latter result holds whether deviations from expected hiring are positive or negative. In my third study, I investigate how companies adjust their employment in recessions with a focus on credit constraints. Controlling for firm productivity, I find an inverted U-shaped relationship between leverage and labour growth rate. This suggests that debt accommodates labour growth up to a certain point, but adding additional debt after that point imposes financial constraints on firms’ ability to effectively manage labour growth – these firms may be forced to grow labour less or reduce labour more than the optimal amount. In addition, recession enlarges the negative impact of financial constraints on labour growth rate. Findings of my thesis studies contribute to management decision-making regarding labour adjustment in response to business cycles.