The Influence of the Sustainability Logic on Carbon Disclosure in the Global Logistics Industry: The Case of DHL, FDX and UPS

Abstract

As a significant contributor to carbon emissions, global logistics companies are under scrutiny from various stakeholders, and respond by disclosing carbon-related information in the form of carbon reports. Carbon disclosure is, however, a mainly voluntary practice that allows for a broad range of interpretation from the management field, which leads to different approaches to the measurement and reporting of carbon-related information. From a theoretical perspective, these different carbon-disclosure approaches in global logistics companies can be attributed to the underlying construct of competing logics, namely the market and the sustainability logic. While competing logics are frequently discussed in the current literature, little is known about their influence on shaping carbon-disclosure practices. The aim of this paper is to examine the similarities and differences in the measurement and reporting of carbon-related information in order to capture the underlying logic that drives carbon-disclosure behaviour in the global logistics industry. We adopt an interpretative content analysis approach and examine the carbon-related information using the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) reports of DHL, FDX and UPS. The analysis reveals significant differences in the applied carbon-disclosure strategies, as well as in the degree of transparency between the three companies. The results also indicate that the carbon-disclosure practices of FDX are dominated by a market logic that emphasizes the economic benefits of carbon reductions, while DHL and UPS have prioritized the sustainability logic to gain a competitive advantage.

The interaction between institutional and stakeholder pressures: Advancing a framework for categorising carbon disclosure strategies

“…For example, the mission statements on climate change of the multinational company DHL indicate a shift of the sustainability logic to a closer position to the company's functioning in recent years (Herold & Lee, ). In 2011, the statements DHL issued regarding climate change stated that “carbon efficiency is (…) directly related to (…) cost efficiency” (CDP, , p. 3), indicating a focus on the market logic (Schaltegger & Burritt, ).…”

“…In fact, the presence of carbon disclosure can be attributed to the adoption of the sustainability logic (Herold & Lee, ; Herold, ; Schaltegger & Hörisch, ). The sustainability logic reflects the integration of “sustainability” and “climate change” principles into a company's value system due to a potential legitimacy gap, which can be defined as “where corporate performance remains unchanged, but societal expectations about that performance have changed” (Hrasky, , p. 177).…”

Blockchain for and in Logistics: What to Adopt and Where to Start

“…However, the various layers of subcontractors involved in typical transport processes make it difficult to verify environmentally friendly standards [26,27]. By having such information on the blockchain, customers would be able to trace the goods back to the first node in the chain of transport, providing insight to the chosen transport route and the carrier choice.…”

A Systematic Literature Review of Green and Sustainable Logistics: Bibliometric Analysis, Research Trend and Knowledge Taxonomy

“…Wang et al [63] found that green logistics performance would impose positive effects to the exporting countries in the international trade. Herold and Lee [64] investigated the carbon reports disclosed by some giant international logistics enterprises, e.g., UPS, FedX and DHL, and compared their sustainability-…”