Buildings worldwide account for 40 % of the total energy use. Climate change is of increasing importance, but few are willing to reduce their standard of living or get a higher cost for the change. Energy efficiency of existing buildings gives the greatest benefit economically and environmentally. The real estate company Klövern AB manages 46 properties in Karlstad. Heating is the major cost of the total operating costs of real estate. Rising energy prices increase the need for Klövern AB to improve energy efficiency and to investigate alternative sources of heat.

Entreprenörer på den svenska riskapitamarknaden har länge hävdat att det är problem för företag i tidig fas att locka till sig kapital från investerare. Detta brukar benämnas the eguity gap. På senare tid har problemet också försökt förklaras utifrån brister hos efterfrågan av kapitalet, dvs entreprenörerna. Med detta menas då att entreprenörerna och deras projekt inte är investment ready. Vi har haft för avsikt att utreda vad investerarna anser om den svenska riskkapitalmarknaden för sådinvesteringar och vilka de vanligaste bristerna i de investeringsförslag, som inkommer till Venture Capital-företag och Affärsänglar, är.

Previous research has discussed how voluntary disclosure relates to the cost of equity capital. Theories of estimation risk support a negative association between disclosure and cost of equity capital, as empirically documented by Botosan (1997) among others. In this Bachelor thesis we investigate whether such a relationship exists on the Swedish capital market. Using the CAPM to estimate the cost of equity capital and a disclosure index based on Aktiespararen?s annual evaluation of corporate disclosure, we test a model where disclosure explains cost of equity capital.

The sun is an endless energy source and the heat it produces can be used to heatup our homes. This technology is relatively old and was introduced in the late70-s. There are two kinds of solar collectors that are most frequently used todayand these are plain solar collectors and vacuum solar collectors. The plain solarcollectors are the once that are used the most but the vacuum solar collectorshave increased more as a percentage the last couple of years.The biggest question asked regarding an investment in solar heating is if theplant is economically profitable. This question has no direct answer because itis dependent on a couple of prerequisites.

When a municipality is about to realize an IT investment, e.g. an economy system, theywill need to do procurement according to the laws of procurements. To perform suchprocurement takes time and energy from the everyday work at the municipalities, andtherefore they want to make a quick and efficient procurement. Unfortunately it showsthat municipalities do not always make an assessment that is sufficient enough for theirneeds, which can result in an inefficient system in a longer perspective. Municipalitiesthink more often about the hard values such as costs of the investments, and not alwaysas much when it comes to the soft values, like the user-friendliness.

This thesis describes the new construction of a small house and it includes studies of three heating systems: geothermal heating, district heating and pellet. The purpose of this thesis is to project a small house which can manage Building Regulations, BBR conditions and then examine three possible heating systems for the small house. This thesis is a literature study which gives an understanding of the heating systems technical structure, properties and costs. An empirical study completes the literature study by giving a deeper understanding of district heating costs and pellet costs. The empirical study contains two interviews, one of which was conducted in a district heating corporation and the other interview was conducted in a pellet corporation.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how investments are justified in the Swedish data center industry, with a focus on cooling equipment. This is achieved through semi-structured interviews with 20 different interviewees. These interviewees represent different facets of the industry and facilitate an understanding of which factors, such as: Investment Costs, operating costs, reliability, environmental impact and the influence of external and internal actors, come into play and to which degree they impact the investment decision-making process. The results show that primarily low operating cost in the form of low energy consumption is the driving factor when it comes to the procurement of new equipment. A lower environmental impact is a positive side-effect of lower energy consumption.

Problems:How would a decision model that takes into account more aspects and dimensions than just the financial aspect look for smaller service compa-nies? What aspects are important to consider in such a decision model?Purpose:The purpose of this master thesis is to develop a decision model based on previous research, to improve decision making in smaller service com-panies ? by considering perspectives that traditional investment calcula-tions ignore.Method:The study was qualitative and was based on both primary and secondary data. As data collection method for the development of the model we used literature search on previous research. The study?s primary data consisted of responses from five smaller service companies.

Purpose There are almost infinite numbers of ways to build dairy farms in Sweden. When building a new free stall barn you have the possibility to affect both working environment and animal welfare for many years to come. The construction costs are influenced by which type of barn that is built and what functions it contains, for example one can predict that automatic milking systems are more expensive to integrate than milking parlours. But what is the real cost of today for the construction of free stall barns with milking centres and how is it affected by construction methods and functions? Is the labour time influenced by the building costs? These are some of the questions this report will try to answer.

During the last decade, there has been an increase in the use of technology-based self-services within the retail sector. The increase is particularly noticeable within the grocery market. The reason behind the increased use of these systems is partially due to the fact that companies within highly competitive retail markets continually look for ways of decreasing costs while upholding efficiency. The problem is that it is difficult to understand the true economical implications of investments relating to these machines. The purpose of this study is to investigate and contribute with new insights regarding the cost-structures of the stationary self-checkout systems and traditional cashier desks, within the retail grocery market.

The purpose of this project is to study Partab's material distribution process, furthermore identify critical problem areas within the company. Further the aim is to provide suggestions to new work procedures regarding material distribution and related processes. Appropriate literature has been used as a support in this process. The main goal of a commercial company is to generate cash flow, and maximize the return on investment. Streamlining material supply and the use of material is a part of this process. Virum and Persson define logistics as: "Logistics is the approach and principles founding the process of planning, development, coordination, organisation, management, and control of material distribution from supplier to user".

The sun is an endless energy source and the heat it produces can be used to heatup our homes. This technology is relatively old and was introduced in the late70-s. There are two kinds of solar collectors that are most frequently used todayand these are plain solar collectors and vacuum solar collectors. The plain solarcollectors are the once that are used the most but the vacuum solar collectorshave increased more as a percentage the last couple of years.The biggest question asked regarding an investment in solar heating is if theplant is economically profitable. This question has no direct answer because itis dependent on a couple of prerequisites.

The lack of fresh and clean water today causes severe problems, mostly in developing countries. Waterborne diseases like typhoid, cholera, amoebic dysentery and diarrhea create health problems and deaths among people. There is a need for low cost interventions like household-based water treatment and safe storage (HWTS). Solvatten AB is a Swedish company based in Stockholm. Their product, Solvatten, is a household water treatment unit that can treat water containing viruses, parasites and bacteria.

A Biogas plant in SLU?s (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) management sustains to behave in con-nection with the new animal stables at Lövsta. There will primarily manure from stables that rot to biogas. The biogas plant will also have the capacity that rot others substrates that can arise in the farm operation. The aim with the biogas plant is to produce non fossil electrical and gas heat for own customs, to reduce smell impact from stables and to make possible different types of research investments within the area.This study has implemented multiple cases study of different investment scenarios.

Background: Within real estate companies assets according to IFRS/ IAS 40 should be valued at fair value, to compare with previous valuation criteria according to which real estate should valued at cost. Two models can be used within IAS 40, these are value at cost and fair value. When valued at cost the real estate value in the balance sheet should be specified at cost. The method chosen by the company should be used for all real estate within the company except for the premises used by the company. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to analyse and evaluate how real estate companies experienced the problems that arose when converting to IAS 40, and to analyse the effects on the companies key ratios as a result of the change of accounting method.