Formal and informal sustainability reporting: an insight from a mining company’s subsidiary in Ghana

Abstract

PurposeUsing a subsidiary of a multinational mining company in Ghana as a case, the purpose of this study is to examine the formal and informal forms and channels of sustainability reporting in the emerging economy’s context. Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews were conducted amongst managers and employees of the mining company and members of their host community. Based on the interview themes, archival data were extracted from the 2020 Integrated Annual Report of the case company to corroborate the results from the interviews. FindingsThe authors found that most of the stakeholders from the host community interviewed were not aware and, to an extent, not interested in formal sustainability reports. In place of that, the management of the mining subsidiary uses informal channels of communication, including meetings and durbars, to verbally engage the local community and their representatives on sustainability matters. Whilst the formal sustainability reports met the internal requirements set by the parent company, the informal engagements were critical for gaining external legitimacy from the host community and other interest groups. Hence, the authors argue that mining companies and their subsidiaries, particularly in developing economies, need to consider informal forms of sustainability reporting alongside the formal channels to engage local communities to address sustainability issues and avert disruptions to their operations. Originality/valueSustainability reporting studies have focussed mainly on annual reports published in print or corporate websites, ignoring informal forms of sustainability reporting. This study sheds light on the informal forms of sustainability reporting. This is important as formal forms of sustainability reporting may be less useful for engaging local mining communities in developing economy contexts.

Sustainability reporting on the websites of public and private universities in Ghana

“…The study used content analysis of universities websites to compare and contrast sustainability reports among public and private universities in Ghana. Previous studies such as Amoako et al (2021aAmoako et al ( , 2021b, Hinson et al (2010) and Lozano (2011) state that information on sustainability could be communicated to stakeholders through possible means such as newspapers, television, websites or standalone environmental or sustainability reports. However, websites disclosures were used in this study because the researcher realized that most universities in Ghana do not publish annual reports.…”

“…Organizations not only report on their financial performance but also their impact on society as well. Sustainability reporting is synonymously described as triple bottom line reporting, corporate social responsibility reporting and corporate citizenship reporting (Amoako et al, 2021a(Amoako et al, , 2021b.…”

“…Based on the managerial perspective of the stakeholder theory, stakeholders who play a more prominent role in the corporation tend to be happier and more likely to have a greater impact on corporate disclosure practices. As a result, sustainability reporting is used to engage with various stakeholders who are crucial to the company's success (Amoako et al, 2021a(Amoako et al, , 2021b. Sustainability issues are voluntarily included in annual reports or standalone sustainability reports to demonstrate that stakeholders' expectations are being met (Gnanaweera and Kunori, 2018).…”

“…HEIs of both the public and private sectors are under pressure to go beyond the financial bottom line in reporting with the expectation that they will create public value. To meet societal accountability expectations, sustainability reporting is necessary (Amoako et al, 2021a(Amoako et al, , 2021b.…”

Stakeholder perceptions of sustainability reporting on the websites of technical universities in Ghana

“…Sustainability reporting can also be used to manage performance in TUs (Domingues et al, 2017;Talapatra and Uddin, 2019). It is referred to as a voluntary activity that is aimed at communicating an organization's initiatives and sustainability efforts to its stakeholders (Amoako et al, 2022;Higgins et al, 2018;Nicol o et al, 2021;Stough et al, 2018;Majumdar and Sinha, 2021), as well as assessing the status quo of an organization's environmental, social and economic dimensions. Even though several universities are now embracing sustainability reporting practices (Asif, 2015;Brusca et al, 2018;Gamage and Sciulli, 2017), research on sustainability reporting of HEIs are fragmented.…”