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Although public, governmental, international and stakeholder pressure have led to corporations conforming to better sustainability performance, there has been an insignificant reduction in environmental degradation levels, and progress in sustainable development is limited. This study examines which factors influencing environmental management and reporting in South Africa could potentially contribute to this limited progress. The study was based on a series of interviews with sustainability managers of JSE‐listed firms. Results suggest that stock exchange listing requirements, internal processes and structures, experienced staff and the sustainability committee positively influence environmental and overall corporate sustainability, yet that resource and time constraints, as well as reporting fatigue, potentially limit the advancement of sustainable development. This restricts the further reduction of environmental degradation, which is urgently necessary in light of the harmful impacts that for example climate change has on the environment, societies and economies.

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We studied the gut morphology of the ice rat Otomys sloggetti robertsi, a non-hibernating murid rodent endemic to the sub-alpine and alpine regions of the southern African Drakensberg and Maluti mountains. The gut structure of O. s. robertsi is well adapted for a high fibre, herbivorous diet, as is the case with other members of its subfamily Otomyinae. Despite the broad similarity in gross gut morphology with mesic- and arid-occurring otomyines, O. s. robertsi has a larger small intestine, caecum, stomach volume and parts of the colon, which we suggest are adaptations for increased energy uptake and/or poor diet quality in alpine environments. However, O. s. robertsi has a smaller larger intestine than other otomyines, perhaps because it occupies a mesic habitat. Seasonal sexual differences occurred, with females increasing dimensions of the stomach, small intestine length, caecum, and large intestine in summer. Sexual asymmetry in gut morphology may be related to increased energy requirements of females during pregnancy and lactation, indicating phenotypic plasticity in response to poor quality vegetation and a shorter growing season in alpine habitats.