Reducing the CO2-pollution, resulting from the combustion of fossil coal for energyproduction, is important to affect environmental changes. One way to achieve a reductionis to use the oxy-fuel technology. The technology uses O2 and re-circulated flue gasduring the combustion which results in a flue gas mainly consisting of CO2. The flue gascould then be compressed and stored without environmental effects. A problem thatfollows from the compression is the risk of acidification in sensitive parts of the process.Acidification can occur because of reactions following from the contact of condensedwater and sulphur- and nitrogen-oxides which are also present in the flue gas.This report compiles and evaluates the basis of a scientific unit with the purpose ofexploring the possibilities of extracting impurities of SOx and NOx from the flue gases.The dimensions of the unit are based on basic conditions, defined for an existing oxy-fuelprocess at Chalmers, and on the results of computer modelling.

Detta är ett examensarbete inom textil produktutveckling som har sin grund hos uppdragsgivaren Bellaobastian. Syftet med rapporten är att ge en inblick i miljöarbetet i värdekedjan hos mindre konfektionsföretag, vilka svårigheter som kan förekomma och hur den hållbara utvecklingen kan effektiviseras. Vi vill ge mindre svenska konfektionsföretag råd och förslag om hur de kan uppnå en tillfredställande nivå på deras miljöarbete utan tillgång till enorma resurser.Vi har utfört intervjuer, litteraturstudier samt jämförelseanalyser mellan företagen H&M, ACNE och Lindex. Vid diskussion och analysarbetet var det tydligt att miljöarbete i värdekedjan är en komplex process och att det är flera aspekter som spelar in.Vi har kunnat identifiera åtgärder som företagen kan utföra i hopp om att uppnå en mer hållbar utveckling, både specifika som tex, materialval men även mer övergripande som att ändra sitt synsätt. Åtgärderna vi kunde påvisa kretsar kring:- Minska överkonsumtion och effektivisera resurssparandet- Minska koldioxidutsläppen- Använd miljöledningssystem och märkningar- Ändra företagets synsättEn av slutsatserna vi kunnat konstatera genom våra undersökningar är att det inte räcker med att åtgärda problemen.

The thesis main objective is to establish the determinants for granting executive stock options and to examine their impact on performance for firms listed on OMXS30. The analysis is based on accounting data gathered from annual reports and Thomson Datastream. The empirical results display that firms grant stock options to mitigate the principal-agent problem. Furthermore, risk proves to be positively significant with executive stock options, implying that either executives increase the level of risk after being granted stock options or influence the decision of the remuneration towards stock options when the firm increase the level of risk, in purpose to boost the expected value of their options. No relation between executive stock options and firm performance could be established..

This thesis aims to analyse relations between the risk of Francisella in endemic areas and environmental variables. The thesis also discusses relations between occurrences of Tularemia and meteorological factors. The analysis resulted in several significant models that explained the occurrence of Francisella. These models can however only be applied to the year 2004 since there were too few test performed the other years, therefore no comparisons could be made. Another conclusion was that the relative humidity was significally higher in the year 2003, the same year as the occurrences of Tularemia was at its peak. .

Textiles are made in an unsustainable way and there is a need to find alternative ways and material to reduce the negative impacts on the environment, humans and animals. Problems like pollution, excessive water consumption and loss of soil fertility is a result of this lack of diversity. It is a necessity to find innovative alternatives in other fabrics due to the unsustainable use of cotton and polyester fibers. As in many other countries in the Western part of the world, in Sweden there is a rapid turnover and increased selling of clothes that result in increased textile waste. About 15 kilogram of textiles (net inflow) is consumed per person each year.

Sustainability work is something that is emphasized more and more. Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, is discussed and the question of how much responsibility companies should really take is frequently in the news. Companies tend to ask themselves how much responsibility they should take. CSR is a common concept of companies environmental and social work and a concept we tend to see here and there in our modern society. CSR includes companies? social responsibilities, both in terms of carbon footprint, working conditions, social responsibility and more.

The district heating load is seasonally dependent, with a low load during periods of high ambient temperature. Thermal energy storage (TES) has the potential to shift heating loads from winter to summer, thus reducing cost and environmental impact of District Heat production. In this study, a concept of high temperature borehole thermal energy storage (HT-BTES) together with a pellet heating plant for temperature boost, is presented and evaluated by its technical limitations, its ability to supply heat, its function within the district heating system, as well as its environmental impact and economic viability in Gothenburg, Sweden, a city with access to high quantities of waste heat.The concept has proven potentially environmentally friendly and potentially profitable if its design is balanced to achieve a good enough supply temperature from the HT-BTES. The size of the heat storage, the distance between boreholes and low borehole thermal resistance are key parameters to achieve high temperature. Profitability increases if a location with lower temperature demand, as well as risk of future shortage of supply, can be met.

There is an increased pressure for firms to provide the financial market with additional information. Such disclosure is attached with different kinds of costs. In spite of these costs, and in spite of increased mandatory disclosures, firms choose to voluntary disclosure financial information to analysts and others. This indicates that firms also benefit from providing additional information. The subjects of this study is 431 annual reports from firms listed at the Stockholm Stock Exchange for 2002 and 2005 and the objective is to survey factors that can explain variations in firms? voluntary disclosure.

Nature is in many ways considered a source to both physical and mental health among people. Trends in today?s society reveal that children become more distanced to nature. Seen from the perspective of sustainable development this trend is considered crucial: it is of importance that children in their early ages experience nature positively in order to develop a dedication towards environmental issues as adults.The purpose of this study is to investigate how teachers use outdoor learning as an educational tool. Research data were collected through a series of interviews.

In Sweden today many municipalities and sport clubs chooses to build artificial turfs becauseof the increased period of using the turfs during the year and less maintenance requirementsthan for natural grass fields. What could be problematic with artificial turfs is the rubbergranules used as infill material in the turf matt. The rubber granules are often made fromrecycled tires, which may contain for the human health and the environment, harmful substances.This was the reason why the Swedish Chemicals Agency commissioned a statusreport in 2006 which, among other things, concluded that the environmental and health risksassociated with granules made from recycled tiers in artificial turf fields were small, but thatthere could be a local environmental hazard. The purpose and objective of the risk assessmentwas to identify how artificial turf plans granules can affect recipients in the area closeto the pitches and provide input to reduce the spread of metals and substances harmful forboth human health and the surrounding environment. The work was divided into three parts:(1) the construction of artificial turf pitches and their material content, the spread of granulatesoutside the fields and disposal of artificial turf pitches.

Denna studie syftar till att uppmärksamma uppfattningar om klimatförändringarna utifrån fem informanters perspektiv och med kopplingar till relevant litteratur inom klimatområdet. Viktiga aspekter av klimatförändringar som diskuteras är informanternas syn på människans inverkan på klimatet, fördelningen av ansvar och viljan till förändringar och uppoffringar..

There are today large amounts of contaminated sediments in the Baltic Sea. These contaminants are the result of many years industrial activity where the contaminants have not been taken care of and just released out in the water. When ports want to dredge in their fairways and harbor areas the contaminated sediments need to be considered since they are a environmental risk. The development in this area has been slow and new techniques have just recently made its way into dredging operations in the Baltic Sea region. As a result of this there are no clear methods for implementing new techniques today.

This thesis is based on a case study of the City of Stockholm. The study aims to explore the effects on the city's large investments caused by the public reform. Furthermore, the question concerns the character of the impact and if it will affect what type of investments that will be prioritized. The theoretical background is based on Brunsson's ideas about political organizations shifting towards corporate nature, and Almqvist's interpretation of New Public Management (NPM). Moreover, models explaining public management reform, and the main components of corporate shifting, are used.

In order to survive constant economic, environmental and political challenges, it has appeared to become increasingly important for a firm to recognize the significance of corporate governance. In this thesis, the structure of the board at Smartner Ltd will be outlined and the relationship between the board members and the CEO will be clarified. In addition, the aim is to analyze the corporate governance system at Smartner Ltd to be able to outline and clarify the distinct relationship between the CEO and board of directors..

On November 1st 2010 the obligatory audit was removed in Sweden for small companies. What factors influence such companies to have their financial reports audited, and what factors exert the strongest influence. Purpose: The authors would like to investigate factors that affect companies with voluntary audits in Skåne län to continue with the audit. The authors also wish to examine the factors that have the strongest impact on the choice to adopt auditing. Method: A quantitative study has been conducted in which aquestionnaire was sent to companies in Skåne Län Conclusion: The factors that affect smaller companies to continue with audit are as follows: Accounting quality, cost, creditors (loans), suppliers / customers, the tax office and distort competition.