Sustainability Reporting: Managing for Wealth and Corporate Health

Integrated reporting vs. sustainability reporting for corporate responsibility in South Africa

“…Certain stakeholders and investors began to demand other forms of non-financial information to be measured and reported on in order to supplement the financial information provided (Eccles, Krzuz, 2010;Ligteringen, Arbex, 2010). In particular stakeholders demanded that organisations be more transparent on issues in respect of how they treat the environment, how they treat their employees, how they treat their communities and how they govern themselves (DiPiazza, Eccles, 2002;White, 2009). During the 1970s there was a shift in emphasis in reporting as organisations began to focus on social responsibility (Buhr, 2007).…”

“…The three aspects of sustainability (economic, environmental, and social) are translated into a corporate sustainability approach (Jonikas, 2013;Thomsen, 2013). Generally, corporate sustainability is the long term focus on an organisation's environmental, economic, and social impacts and their interactive effect (White, 2009). Corporate sustainability has been presented as the ultimate goal for corporations, meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Thomsen, 2013).…”

“…The movement to corporate responsibility into business practice is a response to not only the negative environmental effects the organisation may have, but also to evaluate the economic and social effects of the organisation on a global scale (White, 2009). The three aspects of sustainability (economic, environmental, and social) are translated into a corporate sustainability approach (Jonikas, 2013;Thomsen, 2013).…”

Sustainability reporting of logistics service providers in Europe

“…Indeed, the Bruntland report, which provides the most broadly accepted definition of sustainable development, stresses that "industry's response to pollution and resource degradation has not been and should not be limited to compliance with regulations" (Gro Harlem Brundtland, 1987, p.185), since legal and regulatory compliance policies are an essential part of resources and environmental management, but are not sufficient in themselves. Sustainability reporting (SR) as a voluntary corporate initiative (Lozano, 2012) aims to evaluate the current situation of an organisation as well as inform internal and external stakeholders of progress towards sustainability (Dalal-Clayton and Bass, 2002;White, 2009). As such, it can serve as a managerial tool (White, 2009).…”

“…Sustainability reporting (SR) as a voluntary corporate initiative (Lozano, 2012) aims to evaluate the current situation of an organisation as well as inform internal and external stakeholders of progress towards sustainability (Dalal-Clayton and Bass, 2002;White, 2009). As such, it can serve as a managerial tool (White, 2009). Through proactive reporting companies can reduce information asymmetry regarding their sustainabilityrelated activities to ensure legitimacy (Hahn and Kühnen, 2013).…”