Maria Sandberg

Impression management tactics in sustainability reporting

Purpose - – The study aims to analyzes how companies present their actions to give the impression that they are sustainable actors. It identifies the organizational impression management tactics that companies use in sustainability reporting. Design/methodology/approach - – A qualitative template analysis of two sustainability reports was conducted to inductively identify the organizational impression management tactics that companies use in sustainability reporting. Findings - – The study identified eight organizational impression management tactics used in sustainability reporting, four of which relate to how companies present their actions while the remaining four are characteristic of the writing styles that companies use. Research limitations/implications - – The study is exploratory in nature and does not claim to identify all existing impression management tactics. Therefore, future research is needed to confirm the results and identify possible additional tactics. Practical implications - – Companies can use impression management tactics that more strongly aim to shape the impressions that stakeholders hold or tactics that more neutrally inform stakeholders of their actions. Companies need to make a choice between the two, considering that stakeholders’ expectations of sustainability reporting would be useful. Originality/value - – The study shows the different ways that companies use impression management in sustainability reporting, thus lending insight into a perspective on sustainability reporting that has rarely been explored in previous research.

Downsizing of Housing: Negotiating Sufficiency and Spatial Norms

Housing is one of the major sources of the environmental impact of consumption. An aspect of housing that has rarely been considered in previous studies on sustainable housing is the size of the dwelling, even though research has shown the impact of dwelling size on the environmental impact of housing to be significant. This study analyzes socio-cultural meanings about downsizing as well as norms about dwelling size. The study analyzes naturally occurring, cultural texts (media texts and corporate communications about small-sized dwellings). The study offers a view on how the meaning of downsizing is negotiated, the (in)voluntariness of downsizing emerging as the main point to be negotiated. Additionally, the study offers understanding for how norms about dwelling size are negotiated in order to normalize smaller dwellings. In these ways, the study offers researchers insights about how downsizing can be advanced in order to reduce the environmental impact of housing.

Low Dosage Chemical Treatment for Improved Oxygenation of Pulp Mill Effluents

AbstractMost pulp and paper mills use aerobic biological treatment for their effluents. Aeration is the single most energy intensive process of a treatment plant. Surfactants, commonly occurring in...

Characterization of Wood-Dryer Condensate with Assessment of Toxicity to Microorganisms

Drying of wood causes airborne emissions that can be reduced by recirculating all or part of the drying medium. This favors both emission control and energy efficiency, but results in a condensate ...