scholarly journals GHG Reporting and Impression Management: An Assessment of Sustainability Reports from the Energy Sector

2015 ◽  
Vol 147 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Talbot ◽  
Olivier Boiral
Keyword(s):  
Impression Management ◽  
Energy Sector ◽  
Sustainability Reports

Impression Management in Sustainability Reports: An Empirical Investigation of the Use of Graphs

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles H. Cho ◽  
Giovanna Michelon ◽  
Dennis M. Patten
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Impression Management ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Social And Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Sustainability Reports ◽  
Social And Environmental Performance

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether firms use graphs in their sustainability reports in order to present a more favorable view of their social and environmental performance. Further, because prior research indicates that companies use social and environmental disclosure as a tool to reduce their exposure to social and political pressures (the legitimacy argument), we also examine whether differences in the extent of impression management are associated with differences in social and environmental performance. Based on an analysis of graphs in sustainability reports for a sample of 77 U.S. companies for 2006, we find considerable evidence of favorable selectivity bias in the choice of items graphed, and moderate evidence that where distortion in graphing occurs, it also has a favorable bias. Our results regarding the relation between impression management and performance are mixed. Whereas we find that graphs of social items in sustainability reports for companies with worse social performance exhibit more impression management, no significant relation between environmental performance and impression management in the use of environmental graphs is found. Overall, our results provide additional evidence that corporate sustainability reporting, as it currently exists, appears to be more about fostering positive public relations than providing a meaningful accounting of the social and environmental impacts of the firm.

scholarly journals Greenhouse Gases and Circular Economy Issues in Sustainability Reports from the Energy Sector in the European Union

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 5993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Janik ◽  
Adam Ryszko ◽  
Marek Szafraniec
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Greenhouse Gases ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Energy Sector ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Quality Of Reporting ◽  
Research Results ◽  
Corporate Strategies ◽  
Sustainability Reports

The achievement of climate neutrality and eco-economic decoupling requires explicit measures to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions and to implement circular economy (CE) principles in practice. The energy sector is of particular importance in meeting these challenges because it exerts a substantial environmental impact. Therefore, it is extremely important to determine how essential GHG and CE issues are for companies operating in the energy sector. This can be reflected in corporate strategies, but it can also be disclosed to the public in sustainability reports. For this reason, this article presents a comprehensive analysis of sustainability reports based on the latest GRI Standards published by companies representing the energy sector in the European Union to determine the existence, quality, and specificity of reporting GHG and CE issues. The research results demonstrate that sustainability reports from the energy sector companies tend to focus more on GHG issues. They rarely point to actions related to CE, including actions enabling a reduction in GHG emissions, as those with high priority. In addition, declarations from the analyzed companies regarding intentions related to GHG and CE issues at the strategic level find a rather poor reflection in the description of specific actions in this area or in demonstrating appropriate indicators at the operational level. Considering the indicators included in the reports, the analyzed companies insufficiently describe the methods they use to gather, compile, and analyze information on the effectiveness of actions taken to address GHG and CE issues. As for the identification of potential determinants of the quality of reporting GHG and CE issues, the research results indicate that it is mostly influenced by external assurance and the report option. Sustainability reports submitted for external assurance and reports with the comprehensive option are significantly more developed than other types of reports. However, the clarity of reports with the core option is higher compared to the comprehensive group. In addition, it was indicated that the clarity of stand-alone reports is higher compared to other types of reports.

scholarly journals Selective coupling as institutional response to sustainability development in electric utilities

2021 ◽  
Vol 128 ◽  
pp. 05008
Author(s):  
Johannes Slacik ◽  
Dorothea Greiling
Keyword(s):  
Impression Management ◽  
Electric Utilities ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Electricity Sector ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Climate Targets ◽  
Sustainability Reports ◽  
Management Approaches

Electric utilities are in an environmental sensitive industry, exploiting natural resources and contributing to climate change issues. The focus of critical stakeholders on sustainability agendas and management approaches and the increasing tight sector-regulations pressure electric utilities to act and distribute sustainability reports declaring their sustainability performances and goals towards achieving climate targets. However, literature criticizes the utility’s reporting practices as form of impression management being decoupled from actual sustainability compliance. This paper analyzes in light of institutional theory the compliance with or decoupling from sustainability agendas in the under-researched electricity sector by identifying the coverage of materiality in sustainability reports and the implemented sustainability management control systems for sustainability development. Quantitative and qualitative methods are used including correlation- and variance analysis of material indicators and expert interviews. This study contributes by having identified a sector-wide continuous form of selective coupling from the sustainability agendas in electric utilities. Furthermore, this paper found that sustainability agendas and the implementation of sustainability control mechanisms are governed by institutional hybrid logics which are still at an early stage.

scholarly journals Does the shareholder salience influence the corporate social responsibility of entities from energy sector?

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 225-235
Author(s):  
Bogdan-Ștefan Ionescu ◽  
Liliana Feleagă ◽  
Luminița-Mihaela Dumitraşcu
Keyword(s):  
Energy Sector ◽  
Normative Theory ◽  
The Other ◽  
Stakeholder Salience ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Sustainability Reports ◽  
The One ◽  
Corporate Social

AbstractThe stakeholder salience framework has become, over the past two decades, a tool often used to identify, asses and prioritize stakeholders and has demonstrated considerable theoretical and managerial implications. The objective of this paper is to determine to what extent stakeholder salience influences how different stakeholder categories are represented in the sustainability reports of entities from energy sector. In this respect, an interpretative content-based analysis of the social and environmental information disclosed by entities is used. The sample encompasses six energy entities that are comprised of Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Index (DJSI) constituent’s list on September 19, 2016. The results highlight that stakeholders who hold power have a high score of salience, being followed by those who possess legitimacy and then by those who possess urgency. The obtained results suggest the need to continue to focus on the normative theory of the stakeholders. The results also highlight that there is a link between the stakeholder salience, on the one hand, and the number and type of attributes held by each category of stakeholders, on the other hand. Stakeholders who hold power have a high score of salience, being followed by those who possess legitimacy and by those who possess urgency.

scholarly journals The quality of sustainability reports and impression management

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 643-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominique Diouf ◽  
Olivier Boiral
Keyword(s):  
Impression Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Global Reporting Initiative ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Responsible Investment ◽  
Sustainability Performance ◽  
Sustainability Reports

Purpose The purpose of this research is to analyze the perceptions of stakeholders – more specifically, socially responsible investment (SRI) practitioners – of the quality of sustainability reports using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on 33 semi-structured interviews carried out with different stakeholders and experts (e.g. consultants, fund managers, analysts, consultants) in the field of SRI in Canada. Findings The perceptions of SRI practitioners shed more light on the elastic and uncertain application of the GRI principles in determining the quality of sustainability reports. Their perceptions tend to support the argument that sustainability reports reflect the impression management strategies used by companies to highlight the positive aspects of their sustainability performance and to obfuscate negative outcomes. Originality/value First, undertake empirical research on stakeholders’ perceptions – which have been largely overlooked – of the quality of sustainability reports. Second, shed new light on the impression management strategies used in sustainability reporting. Third, show the reflexivity and the degree of skepticism of practitioners with regard to the reliability of information on sustainability performance.

scholarly journals Through the Smokescreen of the Dieselgate Disclosure: Neutralizing the Impacts of a Major Sustainability Scandal

2021 ◽  
pp. 108602662110435
Author(s):  
Olivier Boiral ◽  
Marie-Christine Brotherton ◽  
Alexander Yuriev ◽  
David Talbot
Keyword(s):  
Impression Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Corporate Misconduct ◽  
New Era ◽  
Unethical Behaviors ◽  
Neutralization Techniques ◽  
External Sources ◽  
Sustainability Reports

This article analyzes the main neutralization techniques used in car manufacturers’ sustainability reports to disclose on the Dieselgate scandal. We conduct a conventional qualitative content analysis of 72 sustainability reports, covering the period 2013-2017, from 15 car manufacturers that were accused of unethical behaviors related to the measurement of diesel vehicle pollutant emissions. We then present a framework based on four configurations of neutralization techniques, namely, “head in the sand,” “self-proclaimed green leadership,” “wait and see,” and “start of a new era.” We describe that the manufacturers used heterogeneous neutralization techniques. Furthermore, the sustainability reports analyzed are relatively opaque and disconnected from the accusations made against the companies, which are widely reported by external sources. This article contributes to the emerging literature on the defensive impression management practices used to rationalize corporate misconduct in this area.

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