Effect of technology on environmental sustainability - A case study of GHD, New Zealand Author note: Acknowledgement

Running head: DISSERTATION
Effect of technology on environmental sustainability - A case study of GHD, New Zealand
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1
DISSERTATION
Acknowledgement
I would like to express my gratitude towards all the people who had guided me in every way
possible to complete my dissertation. These people had helped me to know my strength and
potential and use it in the best manner to undertake the research study. I would also like to
convey my gratitude towards my supervisor for the continuous monitoring and excellent
guidance, which has helped me to complete my study in proper time. The unconditional support
and guidance provided by my supervisor has not only helped me with the study but will also help
me throughout my life for other purposes also. I would also like to show appreciation for all the
respondents who spent their precious time to fill up the survey form and gave me interviews
regarding the research topic. Lastly, I express my gratitude to my friends and family, who lent
me a constant encouragement and support for completing my study.

2
DISSERTATION
Abstract
The objective of this research paper is to find out the impact of technology on the environmental
sustainability. For this study, the researcher has taken a company, GHD New Zealand, which
focuses on environmental sustainability in their projects, as the case study company. GHD
contributes in the sustainable development through all its projects in the sectors, such as, water,
energy and resources, property and building, transportation and environment. The study focuses
on the factors contributing in the environmental sustainability and how much technology
contributes in improving the measures of sustainable development. The researcher has conducted
a survey on 50 employees of GHD New Zealand, and interviewed three managers to collect
primary data on the sustainability and company practices and analyzed those using quantitative
and qualitative method. It has been found that people perceive environmental sustainability as a
very important issue and they also think that technology plays a major role in sustainable
development. Advanced technology enhances environmental sustainability and that has been
reflected from the research paper. The researcher has made recommendations based on the
findings and has drawn a conclusion on the paper with future scope of the study.

3
DISSERTATION
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................6
1.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................6
1.2 Background of the study........................................................................................................7
1.3 Research aim........................................................................................................................10
1.4 Research objectives.............................................................................................................10
1.5 Research questions...............................................................................................................10
1.6 Problem statement...............................................................................................................11
1.7 Hypothesis...........................................................................................................................11
1.8 Rationale of the research.....................................................................................................11
1.9 Structure of the research......................................................................................................12
Chapter 2: Literature Review.........................................................................................................14
2.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................14
2.2 Environmental sustainability and its contributing factors...................................................15
2.3 Evaluation of the factors......................................................................................................16
2.4 Role of technology on sustainability...................................................................................18
2.5 Impact of technology...........................................................................................................20
2.6 Implementation of technology to improve sustainability....................................................23
2.7 Conceptual framework.........................................................................................................24
2.8 Summary..............................................................................................................................25

4
DISSERTATION
Chapter 3: Methodology................................................................................................................26
3.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................26
3.2 Research Philosophy/Paradigm:..........................................................................................26
3.3 Research Approach..............................................................................................................27
3.4 Research purpose.................................................................................................................28
3.6 Data collection.....................................................................................................................29
3.7 Sample selection – population and sample size...................................................................30
3.8 Sampling techniques............................................................................................................31
3.9 Data analysis........................................................................................................................32
3.10 Limitations of the study.....................................................................................................32
3.11 Ethical Considerations.......................................................................................................33
3.12 Timeline of the research....................................................................................................34
3.13 Summary............................................................................................................................34
Chapter 4: Results, analysis and discussion..................................................................................35
4.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................35
4.2 Discussion............................................................................................................................35
4.2.1 Demographic analysis...................................................................................................35
4.2.2 Quantitative analysis.....................................................................................................43
Qualitative analysis: Interview analysis....................................................................................49
4.3 Summary..............................................................................................................................51

5
DISSERTATION
Chapter 5: Conclusion and recommendation.................................................................................53
5.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................53
5.2 Linking to the objectives.....................................................................................................53
5.2.1 Linking to the first objective.........................................................................................53
5.2.2 Linking to the second objective....................................................................................54
5.2.3 Linking to the third objective.......................................................................................55
5.2.4 Linking to the fourth objective.....................................................................................56
5.3 Recommendation.................................................................................................................56
5.4 Future scope of the study.....................................................................................................57
References......................................................................................................................................58
Appendix........................................................................................................................................64

6
DISSERTATION
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Introduction
Environmental sustainability is the other name for sustainable development. This is a
very significant societal challenge of 21st century. As stated by Moldan, Janoušková and Hák
(2012), the Brundtland Commission defined the sustainable development as the development,
which fulfils the requirements of the present without making any compromisation in the ability
of the future generation in meeting their requirements as well. Under sustainable development,
nature, life support and community must be sustained for the next generation, and for this, the
economy, people and society must be developed. Sustainable development is influenced by
technology. A trend in this type of development is the unusually fast development and
implementation of information technology. This is commonly known as IT Revolution (Miller
2015). It has contributed in reducing the cost of information and communication and made the
access to information easier for the people. Hence, the awareness about almost everything has
increased considerably. Sustainability is no exception. The world has become increasingly aware
and concerned about the sustainable development due to the usage of advanced information
technology. The policies for sustainable development aim to change the nature of the economic
growth than limiting it. The policies are based on the belief that continued growth in a finite
world is possible only through advancement of technology, as this enables the community to find
some new sources or provide other alternative sources if a particular resource seems to be
running out. At the same time, technology helps people in using, recycling and reusing of the
resources that are left in the most efficient way.

7
DISSERTATION
Sustainability represents a noteworthy global challenge for the society as it forces the
society to balance between the wish to flourish economically and the responsibility for ensuring
the continued protection and conservation of the environment and social development
(McKinnon et al. 2015). The developing countries are specifically vulnerable and face more
challenges to implement the sustainability than the developed countries due to lack of capital and
infrastructure. The developed countries have now joined in multiple movements to increase the
awareness about sustainability and have been investing a substantial amount of money for the
research purpose. To implement the sustainable measures, technological advancement is the first
and foremost requirement. Advancement in technology in almost all the spheres, especially, in
the field of information and communication is extremely important to implement the measures
for sustainable development, as it helps in getting information about the stock of resources much
faster and hence, making decisions becomes faster too. The challenges towards sustainable
development can be offset through technology only. Not only the information, but the actions are
also dependent on technology.
The purpose of this research paper is to discover the effect of technology on the
sustainability of the environment. As the world is becoming more and more dependent on
technology and the impact on environment is also increasing, it has become extremely essential
for the companies to be careful about their footprint on the environment. The technological
revolution has changed the way of life and it has important implications on the developmental
aspects (Purt 2012). The improved technology plays a major role in all aspects of sustainable
development, such as, social, economic and environment. In this research study, the researcher
has taken GHD New Zealand as the case study company.