An initial review of biodiversity reporting by South African corporates: The case of the food and mining sectors

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine to what extent South African companies listed on the local stock exchange in the mining and food producer and retail sectors are including biodiversity-related issues in their integrated and sustainability reports. The study employs established biodiversity reporting frameworks for gauging changes in the frequency of disclosures from 2011 to 2013 and determining if biodiversity information is being included in either the integrated or sustainability reports of the companies under review. Consistent with the findings of a special edition of Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal (AAAJ), the research finds few examples of detailed reporting on biodiversity issues. This is despite the fact that South Africa has a well-established code of corporate governance, a long history of including non-financial information in corporate reports and is an advocate of the integrated reporting movement. The study calls into question the sincerity of companies in the two sectors under review when it comes to providing balanced accounts of their management of non-financial capital as recommended by the country’s codes on governance and the International Integrated Reporting Council.

A review of biodiversity reporting by the South African seafood industry

“…These are summarised in Table 1. The disclosures recommended by the GRI are similar to those found in the prior biodiversity reporting research (see Jones & Solomon 2013;Mansoor & Maroun 2016) which suggests that companies provide a descriptive account of the species and habitats affected by their operations (Van Liempd & Busch 2013), paying particular attention to animal populations and ecosystems under pressure because of human activity (Atkins et al 2015b). These can be complemented by 'scene-setting disclosures' that include a clear explanation of what a company understands about biodiversity, its biodiversity mission statement or policy and an explanation of any affiliations with applicable environmental groups, NGOs or research communities (Jonäll & Rimmel 2016;Mansoor & Maroun 2016;Van Liempd & Busch 2013). Additional detail can be provided on specific engagements with these groups, including partnerships, conservation initiatives and any advice provided on how to make business models more sustainable (partnership engagements).…”

“…(p. 185) a normative scorecard that is used to evaluate the quality of biodiversity disclosures. This complements the biodiversity reporting research that has neglected one of Africa's largest economies and biodiversity regions (Jones & Solomon 2013;Mansoor & Maroun 2016). It also adds to the body of integrated reporting research that deals in detail with the proliferation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures by leading South African corporations (e.g.…”

“…The last 20 years has seen a steady increase in the range of environmental data being included in sustainability and integrated reports (PwC 2014 and, to a lesser extent, details on biodiversity conservation and management (Atkins & Maroun 2018;Jones & Solomon 2013;Mansoor & Maroun 2016). According to the GRI (2007):…”

“…Source: Adapted from: Jonäll and Rimmel 2016;Mansoor and Maroun 2016;Van Liempd and Busch 2013 and disclosures that deal directly with biodiversity risks related to the seafood industry (see Michelon et al 2015;Romi & Longing 2016 and D SR denote the total possible biodiversity disclosures (being eight themes in the integrated report and eight themes in the sustainability report). A QI equal to 1 means that the biodiversity metrics referred to by the GRI and prior literature (per Table 2) have been addressed.…”

“…The same principle applies for evaluating biodiversity reporting by South African companies. Companies that see biodiversity metrics as material should include this information in their primary report to stakeholders, this being the integrated report (see Mansoor & Maroun 2016;Rensburg & Botha 2014). We therefore calculate a ratio of the total biodiversity disclosures included in companies' integrated reports, relative to the total biodiversity disclosures found in the sustainability reports to measure an emphasis quality dimension:…”