Achieving Building Sustainability through Innovation

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

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ABSTRACT

The goal of this study is to provide the knowledge about Achieving Sustainability through innovation. The aim of this research is to determine CSR role in achieving sustainability through innovative methods. Sustainability is a new field that seeks to understand the fundamental character of interactions between nature and society. This study will be based on case study approach in which we discuss the approach from a company's perspective which will help in determining the importance of sustainability and its innovation. Case study research design is important as it focuses on specific and interesting cases. This study is based on the case study approach of Danone Group which is the world number 1 company in fresh dairy products. The analysis of the case study provided that for the corporate world sustainability is also important as there is a need of sustainable procedures to be followed by the companies. Through sustainable innovation companies can make changes which contribute to goodness of the environment and society and provides profitability for those organizations who adopt the innovative changes. CSR plays an important role in determining how the companies are environmental friendly. Opportunities for future research are many. The research should be carried in the reference of sustainability reporting and its impact on the innovative methods

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER NO 1: INTRODUCTION1

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY1

Sustainability as a science2

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY4

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY5

RESEARCH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES6

RESEARCH QUESTION6

CHAPTER NO 2: LITERATURE REVIEW7

Defining Sustainability7

Related Theories to Sustainability8

Concept of sustainability11

Sustainability and innovation13

Achieving Sustainability14

Role of sustainability reporting17

Role of CSR in achieving sustainability20

Innovative methods approach for sustainability21

Measuring Sustainability23

Sustainability and innovative methods25

Sustainability, innovation and CSR26

Using sustainability reporting27

Improving financial performance28

Use of information system30

CHAPTER NO 3: METHODOLOGY32

Data Collection Methods32

Case Study33

Questionnaire33

Data Analysis34

Limitations34

Ethical considerations34

Research approach34

Research Ethics35

Informed Consent36

Confidentiality36

Reliability & Validity37

Ethical Considerations37

Research Plan38

CHAPTER NO 4: DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS40

Case Study Analysis40

Discussion40

Achieving Sustainability41

Role of CSR in achieving sustainability44

Sustainability and innovative methods44

Sustainability, innovation and CSR45

CHAPTER NO 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS50

Conclusion50

Recommendations51

Future Research53

REFERENCES55

BIBLIOGRAPHY61

APPENDICES63

Case Study63

CHAPTER NO 1: INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Making Global economic development more sustainable has been labeled as a critical issue for 21st century as little progress has been made in this regard (Esty, Winston, 2009). Making economic development sustainable for a long period of time requires the complete revamp of replacing legacy materials, infrastructures, structure, processes and systems which require increasingly more sustainability. In order to meet the challenge of the main role is played by the engineering community sector which must be qualified enough to affect this change. It must alter and improve processes which include design, planning, operation and construction (Berns, Townend, Khayat, 2009, ...