• Other research productsclose
• Open Access close
• English close
• VIUSpace close
• Energy Research close

Purpose. Firm level case using action research (AR) to investigate constraints to productivity improvements leading to sustainability (social, economic, environmental) to help organizations and municipalities understand how firm behaviour slows adoption of action on social agendas, such as sustainability. Methodology. Action research involved attending to a single organization for 12 months to observe two organization selected projects using multiple qualitative methods, observation, an interpretive reflection through cycles of action and evaluation. Methods where used as interventions to inform the action team and design further project interventions. Findings. Research findings included limits to organizational capabilities regarding strategy and standards, objectives and measures, structure, and skills development, which were constrained by learning and inertia, knowledge, and founder created culture. This limited the organizational members to reacting to external market forces, internal dilemmas, or nonpecuniary whims of management. Originality. This exploratory paper offers a specific case of organizational constraints led by a foreign founder in the senior living industry by using action research as an intervention. Originality is marked by the observation of constraints without directly inquiring into those constraints, as opposed to most other studies reviewed. I make specific recommendations for the business and municipal government to work towards reciprocal benefits. The paper also gives insight into the challenges of a doctoral study using action research, and the design and conduct of that research methodology as an organizational outsider.

The impending climate crisis creates a critical need to understand the complex social phenomena of human behaviour for the purpose of meaningful interventions to support and foster sustainable practices. Using a qualitative case study approach, the annual Earth Day Festival (the Festival) in the rural community of Roberts Creek, British Columbia, is examined for its supporting effect on pro-environmental behaviour (PEB). Using grounded theory, the research finds six themes identified as place, education, community, support, practice, and celebration. These themes, when mapped onto the belief, normative and control constructs of the Theory of Planned Behaviour, demonstrate how the Festival successfully influences PEB at the individual and community levels. Explored also are three unique properties of the Festival that further support PEB change. These are diversity of experience, interconnection of interventions, and the supportive feedback of celebration. These properties emerge from the combination and interaction of the six themes.

This thesis investigates the organizational design and program outputs of 162 microfinance institutions (MFIs) within 20 nations at-risk of food insecurity. The study involved a cross-examination of microfinance institutions at a national and regional level across Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Economic and physical access to sufficient and safe food is a condition which is being threatened for many developing nations and is projected to be exacerbated by a persistently changing climate. This is a particular issue for smallholder farmers, a highly vulnerable population. This study reveals the readiness of MFIs to address the vulnerability of smallholder farmers to heightened environmental risks. It brings into question the governance models of MFIs through an analysis of key governance, social, and financial indicators in the performance of MFIs. This study highlights the need for an exploratory research process focused on investigating whether MFIs are effectively addressing the risk of a changing climate while contributing to local capacity building.

This case study explores sustainable landscape features and solutions to the impacts of climate change in the City of Colwood, a suburban area on Vancouver Island in Canada. It does so by addressing this research question: What landscape features could be incorporated into a suburban landscape to enhance its ability to mitigate and/or adapt to climate change? The main goal of the case study is to define relevant sustainable suburban landscape features that will potentially help the City of Colwood mitigate and/or adapt to climate change. A qualitative approach has been taken to data collection from a variety of primary and secondary resources—reports, government publications, articles, and case studies from other jurisdictions. These documents have been used to identify landscapes that can address climate change mitigation and/or adaptation. The study’s results on sustainable landscapes in suburban areas could contribute to revisions in laws and policies on sustainable urban landscapes and to future plans and developments in this area. Key words: climate change, mitigation, adaptation, sustainability, regenerative thinking, landscape ecology, urban landscapes, suburban landscapes, sustainable landscapes, City of Colwood.

Alderville is a First Nation community in southern Ontario, Canada. Recently, Alderville First Nation has emerged as a leader in clean energy. Guided by a shared community interest, Alderville has undertaken a large solar project, which is entirely owned by the community. The successful outcomes of the project to date has meant that Alderville First Nation is now positioned not only to expand their project, but also to consult with other First Nation communities regarding their own efforts to move towards sustainability. This research paper explores the movement towards sustainable community development in the First Nation community of Alderville, using a case study approach to answer questions about the ways in which these types of projects support capacity building and promote self-sufficiency in First Nations Communities. It was guided entirely by Alderville First Nation and showcases the contributions of Alderville in the field of sustainable community development. The resulting document includes a culturally relevant case study of Alderville First Nation’s solar farm that can be used to further support their own advocacy work and any work they undertake with other communities interested in moving towards similar sustainable development, as well as to provide evidence-based justification of positive outcomes that can be used to entice future investment in First Nations clean energy and other sustainable development projects. The research also shows that self-sufficiency for First Nations communities can be supported by appropriate investments in culturally relevant sustainable development models like clean energy social enterprises. The research also identified opportunities for better policy alignment to support First Nations and other Indigenous communities as they undertake sustainable community development approaches that are grounded in renewable energy.

Peatland communities in western Canada have slowly developed over thousands of years with wildfires being a constant influence on these systems. As fires move through mature peatland communities, the aftermath is an open landscape where pioneer peatland species establish and develop. The open landscape supports the growth of successional species to create a mature forest, which is then ready for the fire interval cycle to continue. Fire cycles have been a constant on the landscape with little disruption; however, as climate change in western Canada has altered precipitation and temperature regimes, typical vegetation succession patterns that establish after peatland fires may be changing. The Chisholm fire of 2001 burned over 116,000 hectares of forest in northern Alberta, with most of the area being peatlands (treed fens). Vegetation surveys were completed throughout 2018 and 2019 within the burned peatlands of the Chisholm area and compared to an unburnt control area to identify species richness, diversity, composition and vegetation trends. I found, within the re-establishing peatland, a healthy, thriving and diverse community that is developing towards a community similar to the offsite mature treed fen. After almost 20 years of recovery, the affected vegetation community is dominated by peatland species. With temperatures and precipitation levels continually changing, the area is at a transition state in which the community may be maintained on the landscape or the area may experience a regime shift to a drier state.

China’s rapid economic growth in the past four decades has led to serious negative impacts on ambient air quality. Studies identify volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as the major cause of smog, which harms both human health and the environment. Nevertheless, VOC control faces tremendous challenges, especially when small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the furniture sector that account for a large percentage of VOCs in China find current, on-the-market technologies impractical and costly. To alleviate this problem, SunHub Inc. proposed a comprehensive 4-stage solution for abating VOCs at all stages of the production process. My study uses action research to assess the sustainability of SunHub’s solution and finds that it is indeed sustainable. To reach this conclusion, I conduct a two-phase case study. The first phase reviews the literature to determine the appropriate sustainability indicators for assessment, while the second phase analyzes SunHub’s documents and email correspondence with stakeholders.

The participants in this study were property owners who volunteered for involvement in a residential low-impact development (LID) initiative located in Toronto, Canada. The LID entailed the installation of rain gardens for the retention of storm water runoff in the front yards of the residents. Using a phenomenological approach based on individual interviews and a focus group, the study documented participants’ experiences of maintaining the rain gardens and their perceived changes in knowledge and attitudes concerning local actions that support sustainability. While much has been published on the implementation of rain gardens in North America, the assessment of people’s receptivity to this form of storm water intervention has largely gone undocumented. In the final analysis, the results of this study indicated homeowners are in favour of more nature at home, making rain gardens more accessible to the public, and replicating them as an adaptation strategy.

The Duvernay Formation of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin underlies portions of the Upper Athabasca Watershed. To access unconventional shale resources in the Duvernay Formation, horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing were introduced to the area. Hydraulic fracturing requires large volumes of surface water for enhanced completions. This study examines the impacts of surface water allocations, as determined by the Alberta Desktop Method, on water availability of the Upper Athabasca Watershed, under the conditions of global climate change. Results of this study find most water allocations issued through temporary diversion licenses meet the constraints of the Alberta Desktop Method. The greatest risk for water imbalance scenarios occurs during winter months when historical surface water flows measure the lowest. Findings of this research will assist decision makers in understanding current and future water balance scenarios, and in determining appropriate and sustainable water management techniques for hydraulic fracturing operations throughout the Duvernay Formation.

This study used a qualitative approach to explore sustainability communication techniques in Jordan. To ground the research, I used the Jordan Green Building Council (JoGBC) as a case study, conducting semi-structured interviews with JoGBC’s planners and decision makers based on the following questions: how do the proponents and planners of JoGBC, as a (NGO), communicate the nature and importance of sustainable urban development to the residents of Jordan? How do these communication practices compare to other techniques shown to be effective elsewhere? The findings suggest that overall, JoGBC used a variety of communication techniques in their communication for sustainability, and these communications were also consistent with the communication techniques used in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Although the techniques used by JoGBC were created elsewhere, financial constraints were a key barrier for choosing and adopting sustainability communication by JoGBC. This study provides recommendations to improve JoGBC sustainability communications techniques, as well as sustainability communication techniques in Jordan in general.