No abstract

Bamboo fibre has gained significant interest as a sustainable reinforcement fibre in natural fibre/polymer composites, which is as a result of specific mechanical properties and being a biodegradable material compared to glass fibres. The article also gives a summary of how to improve the mechanical properties of bamboo fibre reinforced polypropylene (BFRP) composites as presented in various researches and the methodology of attaining these ultimate properties of bamboo fibres with polymeric matrices leading to improved BFRP. Mechanical properties of BFRP composites are improved by introducing coupling agent. Fibre treatment and nanoclay addition, in the right proportion, as reported have improved mechanical properties of BFRP composite.

Natural fibers that are mainly from plants, animals and regenerated sources are degradable and environmentally friendly as they absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, they are cost effective when compare to the synthetic fibers. These materials mainly from plant are used initially for domestics' purposes. They have recently been introduced to some industries, such as automotive, aircraft, marine and buildings, arising from their excellent mechanical, physical and chemical properties. The common natural fibers used for Natural Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites (NFRPC) are, cotton, sisal, coir, jute, hemp, flax, banana, bamboo etc. Several researches and publications on natural fibers and its composite show that despite the properties of these fibers, their applications were limited to non-structural applications either for interior or exterior applications just for their environmental and low-cost benefit with less concern for their strength capabilities. Sisal and jute are fibers from vegetable and bast plants that had been proved to have exhibited excellent tensile and flexural properties (bast composite) and best impact properties (vegetable composite), were also restricted to non-structural applications only. This paper reviewed the present status and future expectations of natural fiber reinforced composites in structural applications using sisal and jute fiber reinforced polymer composites as a case.

The paper examined the extent of environmental accounting and its relationship with corporate sustainability with an ardent focus on controversies, contradictions, gaps and relationships with previous explorations. The researchers adopted an assiduous literature review approach on the diverse perspectives of investigators and scholars through probing into their conceptualizations, empiricism and theoretical underpinnings of industrialized nations, emerging economies and least developed countries. The analysis provides a comprehensive overview of recent studies on multiple dimensions of environmental accounting and their interrelationship with corporate sustainability. We observed that there was a broad gap on the issue of profitability, financial leverage, industry type and social and moral responsibility of environmental accounting. Additionally, we also discovered that the relationship between environmental accounting and corporate sustainability has not been effectively established in emerging economies. Premised on this intriguing findings, it was recommended that standard setters should yield to the incessant calls and proposals canvassed by renowned scholars for directives bordering on the establishment of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on environmental accounting (EA) in order to enhance corporate sustainability (CS).

This paper seeks to provide a novel approach and insight into the synergies between corporate social responsibility (CSR), environmental disclosure (ED) and financial reporting quality (FRQ) which is emerging and changing rapidly. The study examined the nexus between corporate social responsibility (CSR), environmental disclosure (ED) and financial reporting quality (FRQ) among corporate entities listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE). Data were collected from a sample of 169 listed firms in Nigeria. The research used a panel data set comprising of 624 firm year observations spanning the period 2015 to 2017. The empirical results of the study revealed that there exists a significant relationship between environmental disclosure(ED), firm size (FS), and financial reporting quality (FRQ). However, empirical evidence shows an insignificant relationship between social disclosure (SD), leverage and financial reporting quality (FRQ). We therefore recommend a proposal for the establishment of an inductive corporate social responsibility/environmental disclosure/financial reporting framework that future scientists/scholars can institute to explore the determinants of corporate social responsibility (CSR), environmental disclosure (ED) and financial reporting quality (FRQ) in developing countries.