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    Green banking : an exploration from the perspectives of banks, and retail bank customers : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Banking at Massey University, Manawatu Campus, School of Economics and Finance, New Zealand. EMBARGOED UNTIL JULY 2027.
    (Massey University, 2024-11-11) Kalu Kapuge Dona, Lilani Randika Kapuge
    This study explores green banking adoption from the perspectives of banks, and retail bank customers. Our aim is to contribute to banks’ adoption of green banking. This is achieved by examining banks’ green practices and proposing a constructivist framework for banks to transform from conventional banking into green banking. As banks are driven by a profit motive, if banks’ environmental performance positively connects with attaining their profitability objectives, there may be a motivation to apply green banking practices. In Essay One, we examine the impact of banks’ green performance and disclosures on their financial, market, and risk performance. We employ Bloomberg’s environmental disclosure scores and Refinitiv’s environmental performance scores as proxies to measure banks’ green performance and disclosures. As an addition to ESG literature, we use Yale’s Environmental Performance Index (EPI) to examine the extent to which the home country’s environmental performance moderates the links between the impact of banks’ environmental performance and disclosures on their financial, market and risk performance. Data was drawn from 189 of the world’s largest banks for the period 2009 to 2019, and the analysis incorporates two-step system GMM models. To check the robustness of our results, we removed banks that are major financiers of fossil fuels and EU banks from the main sample. We find no evidence to support Bloomberg’s environmental disclosure scores or Refinitiv’s environmental performance scores impacting banks’ financial, market and risk performance. In addition, EPI does not moderate the links between the impact of banks’ environmental performance and disclosures on their financial, market and risk performance. The findings confirm that environmental performance and environmental disclosures do not matter to big banking players’ prosperity. Overall, this study establishes the need for a commonly agreed banking-industry-oriented environmental rating scale to measure banks’ green performance correctly to avoid misleading green-conscious stakeholders and identify banks’ true green efforts. In Essay Two, in response to the absence of an agreed or standard performance measurement mechanism for green banking, we develop a green banking scorecard (GBS) from a new perspective. First, we use the updated version of the Planetary Boundaries Theory (PBT) to broaden the green banking measurement scale. Second, we employ a Fossil Fuel Index (FI) to assess banks’ true commitments towards green banking, because banks are often criticised as major financiers of fossil fuels. Third, as a new addition to banks’ green performance measurement, we use Yale’s Environmental Performance Index (EPI) which brings international differences in measuring banks’ green performance into a common platform. We apply the GBS to 37 of the world's largest banks to measure their green performance. We find that European banks achieve higher green banking scores compared to Asian and American banks. In Essay Three, following Stakeholders' Theory, stakeholders’ positive behavioural change towards green banking is essential for banks to adopt green banking. Employing Behavioural Response Theory (BRT), we examined retail bank customers’ intention to adopt green banking in New Zealand using 254 online survey responses. To extend this study, we examine whether retail bank customers’ environmental knowledge moderates the association between attitude towards green banking and intention to adopt green banking. The study finds retail bank customers prefer green banking although some of them do not yet intend to adopt green banking. The findings confirm that environmental knowledge has a weak negative moderating effect on the association between attitude towards green banking and intention to adopt green banking. The responses from this study indicate there are specific factors that affect and limit retail bank customers’ intentions to adopt green banking. In summary, this study concludes environmental disclosure scores, or environmental performance scores do not impact banks’ financial, market and risk performance. We proposed a green banking scorecard (GBS) from a new perspective to measure banks’ green performance and we find that European banks achieve higher green banking scores compared to Asian and American banks. Finally, the study finds retail bank customers also prefer green banking and intend to adopt green banking.
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    Model-based packaging design for minimising environmental impact of horticultural packaging systems : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Food Technology at Massey University, New Zealand. EMBARGOED until 13 November 2026.
    (Massey University , 2024) Lozano, Raquel
    Packaging systems are instrumental in delivering high-quality food products to consumers. Food industries grapple with losses throughout the supply chain, resulting in both product and monetary setbacks. When considering the embodied resources in food production, including raw materials, energy, water, and emissions, minimising losses in any stage of the food supply chain is crucial. The New Zealand kiwifruit industry faces several constraints which include short harvest seasons, considerable distance to markets and year-round consumer demand. Packaging and storage plays a role in overcoming these factors by preventing undesirable quality loss traits. Establishing the link between packaging systems, supply chain conditions, and kiwifruit quality (specifically shrivel) provides a basis for evaluating the trade-off between over-packaging and excessing fruit loss. In this thesis, an integrated-mathematical model was developed to aid decision-making in for kiwifruit packaging, aiming to minimise the overall environmental impact throughout the kiwifruit supply chains from packhouse to purchase. This integrated-mathematical model facilitates exploratory analysis of both current and future supply chains and packaging systems. Four models were integrated: mass balance, moisture loss prediction, shrivel loss prediction and an optimisation engine. The mass balance model captured the kiwifruit and packaging masses and associated environmental impacts within kiwifruit supply chains. This model, applicable to any environmental metric, was developed to facilitate the prediction of kiwifruit losses. To validate its accuracy, the framework was applied in assessment examples, comparing its performance against existing research for kiwifruit supply chains. The absolute difference between predicted and actual emissions of CO2eq were less than 1% of the actual mean emissions at different stages of the supply chain. The moisture loss model was used to estimate kiwifruit weight loss both on a packaging unit and individual kiwifruit basis. The model demonstrated close agreement between weight loss predictions and experimental data for average packaging weight loss scenarios. Further refinement is needed to predict individual kiwifruit weight loss, specifically considering the impacts of packaging features on internal packaging water vapour distributions. The shrivel prediction model revealed that predicting kiwifruit losses due to shrivel posed challenges, primarily due to the current knowledge gap regarding the development of shrivel in kiwifruit under storage conditions. While increases in shrivel has been correlated to weight loss in existing literature, the reference state (at orchard, packhouse etc.) is arbitrary. Ideally shrivel would be related to an intrinsic property that could be measured at any point in time without requiring knowledge of this prior history of the fruit. The prediction of losses based on a non-relative starting point represents a knowledge gap addressed in this work, with potential improvements identified for future model iterations. This phase of the model development heavily relied on data collection to establish a mathematical relationship between weight loss and shrivel. The moisture loss and shrivel model served as the foundation for the development of an optimisation engine, enabling the identification of the optimal use of packaging. This model sought a balance between packaging mass and kiwifruit losses, employing various environmental impact categories as performance metrics. The success of this approach was evident as optimal packaging points were identified across (i) different packaging materials, (ii) different packaging materials and formats and (iii) different environmental impact categories. It was found that each optimum point for materials were unique to the ambient conditions of the supply chain, packaging format and material. This work revealed trade-offs between the environmental impact of the packaging material and amount of kiwifruit loss, numerically demonstrating what so far has only been presented as a theoretical concept in other research. Then, this integrated-model was applied to a range of real-life supply chain scenarios showcasing its versatility in addressing possible questions such as ‘what if ?’, ‘can we ?’ and ‘when can we ?. The application of the model to real-life scenarios demonstrated its utility for decision-making with respect to packaging materials and formats. This model is poised to offer crucial support for future packaging materials and supply chains. The limitation of this model lies in fruit loss predictions. To further model applicability, there remains further investigation of hypotheses developed during shrivel model development to refine the kiwifruit loss model. There also remains the opportunity to integrate more prediction models that account for the impact of packaging on other drivers of fruit loss, such as ethylene concentrations within the pack. While the integrated model developed in this thesis has some limitations in accurately predicting kiwifruit losses, this study highlights the significance of linking packaging performance and kiwifruit quality when evaluating environmental impacts. Although kiwifruit served as the focus in this work, the model created here paves the way for exploring the application of optimised packaging systems for other food commodities.
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    Investigating the New Zealand policy response to residential methamphetamine contamination : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health, SHORE & Whāriki Research Centre, College of Health, Massey University, New Zealand. EMBARGOED until further notice.
    (Massey University, 2023) Sanchez Lozano, Claudia Denisse
    Introduction: Methamphetamine use and manufacture has been an on-going issue in New Zealand since the early 2000s. Clandestine manufacture of methamphetamine is associated with hazardous chemicals that contaminate the area in which this activity occurs, with potential health harms to occupants of these structures. From 2010, a set of policies addressing methamphetamine contamination of housing were implemented in the residential sector to determine whether a property is contaminated and the appropriate response. In 2018, a scientific review prompted a dramatic change in the recommended contamination thresholds and related policies, particularly those of Housing New Zealand. This PhD thesis aims to investigate and critically evaluate the policy process and change in approach to residential methamphetamine contamination in New Zealand. Methods: This research applied a qualitative approach to case study research. The methods used included analysis of local and overseas literature, official reports, guidelines, and policy documents, analysis of legal decisions, comparative case study analysis, and qualitative interviews of stakeholders and key experts. More specifically, thematic and content analyses of legal decisions addressing methamphetamine contamination in housing before (N = 685) and after the change in approach (N = 195) were completed. A comparative analysis of the policy responses and outcomes for public housing authorities in the United States and New Zealand was also conducted. In addition, a thematic analysis was carried out on the transcripts from semi-structured interviews with 13 New Zealand key informants (KI) from government, industry, the residential and academic sectors. Results: A range of unintended consequences from residential methamphetamine contamination policies were observed, including termination of tenancies and substantial financial expenditure on testing and remediation. Tenants were particularly disadvantaged by the policies, with public housing tenants facing additional consequences including their suspension from the public housing list. Stakeholders highlighted the need for additional guidance and industry regulation. Inconsistencies in the adoption and interpretation of policies were observed across the residential sector, particularly in the analysis of Tenancy Tribunal decisions. The US public housing authority shared many similarities in policy response and outcomes to Housing New Zealand, starting with a zero-tolerance to eventually moving to a harm reduction approach. Conclusions: Limited scientific evidence of the health risks from methamphetamine contamination in houses enhanced the influence of the political context and fundamental attitudes to drug use in the development and implementation of these policies in New Zealand. Additional guidance is required and it should balance scientific uncertainties with the outcomes of policy implementation. Evaluation of future interventions is needed to avoid further unintended consequences.
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    Gold ore characterisation, mercury use & value chains analysis of the artisanal & small-scale gold mining sector of Wau, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea : thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Earth Science, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand. EMBARGO PENDING.
    (Massey University, 2018) Lucas Ponyalou, Olive Kimale
    Wau, in the Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG), is a rural township with a growing artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector working with mercury (Hg). It was once the centre of gold mining activities for European prospectors and companies between the 1930s and the late 1980s. Mercury amalgamation is used globally for gold extraction in the ASGM industry but was banned by the Minamata Convention in 2013 due to its toxicity to human beings. Miners and their families in Wau are exposed to Hg contamination during the amalgamation and retorting of the Au-Hg amalgam. The Mineral Resources Authority (MRA) regulates the PNG mining industry using the Mining Act 1992 and the Mining Safety Act 1997. Gravity concentration and mercury amalgamation are gold recovery techniques used in the ASGM sector of Wau. Cyanidation, a common technique for processing free-milling Au and AuAg grains less than 0.2 mm in size, is largely used in the corporate mining sector but has not been used within the ASGM sector of PNG. The purpose of this research is to halt the use of mercury in Wau through an improved understanding of its gold ore characteristics. Hence, a study into the economic value chains system, gold grade distribution and ore characterisation was conducted on nine selected ASGM sites located throughout the Namie and Kaindi prospects in Wau. Although modestly profitable, all sites excluded the fundamental practices of grade control and ore characterisation, which are vital to the mining value chain. Comminution, also an important step for liberating gold, was only practised at one mine site. The average gold grades of the nine sites ranged from 0.06 to 5.45 mg/kg Au with the primary mineralization of Kaindi containing higher gold grades than the secondary deposits of Namie. The main gold minerals observed in the scanning electron microscope (SEM) include native Au and electrum AuAg with a predominant grain size of less than 0.07 mm. Mercury amalgamation is only useful on gold crystals with a grain size of 0.07-1.5 mm. Hylander et al. (2007) discovered that mercury will not efficiently amalgamate gold particles less than 0.07 mm. In addition, mercury amalgamation is only useful on free-milling, liberated native gold but will not recover gold that is attached to or encapsulated within other minerals. This suggests that the Wau miners are losing fine-grained gold less than 0.07 mm or any gold that is insufficiently liberated as waste or tailings. This was confirmed in the tailings sample from Site 1 which had numerous fine-grained Au measuring less than 0.07 mm. Thus, cyanidation would be the appropriate technique to process the gold mineral type (Au and AuAg) and gold grain size observed in most sites in Wau. Cyanidation after comminution are steps that must be included in the Wau ASGM value chain in order to optimize the recovery of the dominantly fine-grained Au.