Are The Banks on The Way of Sustainability Reporting Practices: From A Developing Country Perspective?

<p class="Imar-Abstract"><em>This study examines the extent and nature of social, economic, and environmental reporting practices of Bangladeshi-listed banks. Using content analysis technique, Information was gathered from the available annual reports of 25 banks from 2014 to 2019. Findings revealed that overall reporting of environmental information has increased by 47% from 2014 to 2019, whereas overall social reporting has increased by 30% from 2014 to 2019. Again, we tried to explore sustainability reporting practices of these banks considering 26 categories too, where the first 12 categories are used to identify environmental accounting and reporting practices and the rest 14 for social and economic reporting. The findings of 26 categories of sustainability reporting reflect that social, economic, and environmental reporting has increased greatly by 74.90% in 2019. Most of the banks disclosed mostly about energy consumption (D6) from environmental reporting while economic social (D16), education, and training (D18), health and safety (D19) and culture (D20) from social perspectives and least about activities undertaken for tree plantation (D3) from an environmental perspective. This study has great implications for the policymakers of the corporate sector and government.</em></p><p class="Imar-Abstract"> </p>

Informasi Akuntansi Lingkungan: Apa yang Memotivasi Perusahaan untuk Mengungkapkan?

Over the years, there has been an increase in corporate initiatives in the area of environmental reporting practices. The study is conducted to analyze the factors that influence the disclosure of environmental accounting in companies in Indonesia. The sample in this study are 44 entities listed on the IDX from 2016-2020 which are collected by purposive sampling method. The data analysis technique used is panel data regression which is tested with SPSS and Eviews. The results show that firm size, auditor independence and public ownership do not affect environmental disclosure. Profitability affects environmental disclosure negatively. Leverage, listing period and company reputation positively affect environmental disclosure.

Source Credibility in Environmental Reporting of Two Different Media Landscapes

This research attempts to understand environmental communication taking place in countries with different political, socio-cultural contexts and organizational media levels. In this regard, the research's focuses on Pakistani and British print media systems, which have different organizational systems and contexts. Therefore, it is worth analyzing whether these organizational differences affect the way their news content in relation to the environment is being produced, with emphasis on the credibility of sources. A quantitative content analysis of two Pakistani and two British newspapers was conducted from the previous one decade through January 2007 to December 2016 by using a sample of 5315 environmental news stories published in four publications concerning from each country such as Dawn and Nation from Pakistan, whereas Telegraph and Guardian have chosen from the UK. The Significance of this quantitative study is based on the theoretical approach of agenda-setting and media source credibility. Assuredly, environmental reporting of Pakistani and British print media diverges in the context of source preferences in agenda-setting and media source credibility capacity. Subsequently, dominantly quoted news sources of environmental issues in Pakistani and British print media depict the environmental agenda of each country.

Use of Administrative Data for Waste Statistics in the Czech Republic

The Czech Statistical Office (CZSO) changed the calculation of the total volume of waste and also changed the definition of municipal waste compared to the previous methodology. This was made possible by the wider use of the existing administrative data source, the Integrated Environmental Reporting System (ISPOP). The change in the definition of municipal waste was a response to recent Eurostat activities, which led to a more precise definition. The original method no longer meets this definition.

Assessing the Potential for Agonistic Engagement Among Accountants: A quasi-experimental repeated Q study of social and environmental reporting

<p>A number of writers have recently criticised a perceived narrowness in accountants’ understanding of their profession. In particular, they claim that the predominant focus on shareholders and capital markets may be at the expense of wider public interests that accounting should serve. As accountants engage increasingly with a variety of complex and politically contentious issues, there is cause for concern regarding their capacity to represent and engage with non-financial interests. Some of these concerns are reflected in ongoing debates regarding social and environmental reporting (SER). Accountants are important players in the SER field. They have high-profile roles as self-proclaimed ‘thought leaders’ in areas such as sustainability and integrated reporting, and are increasingly involved in developing SER concepts and practices, discussion papers and best practice guidance. These technologies increasingly rely on, and are legitimised by, their incorporation of a plurality of perspectives. However, both academics and civil society groups have raised concerns that professional accounting bodies are too closely aligned with business interests, and prioritise ‘business case’ (BC) understandings of concepts such as SER, which favour shareholder-oriented perspectives. As in other areas of policy controversy, the capacity to engage with a plurality of perspectives is important because of its impact on, inter alia, the issues that are recognised, how problems are conceived and responded to, and which or whose perspectives are prioritised. While prior research has explored management and stakeholder perspectives, there has been very little research to date on accountants’ perspectives on SER. Relatedly, relatively little is known about accountants’ abilities to incorporate a multiplicity of views when attempting to engage with complex issues. This study seeks to fill this gap. My research was designed as a quasi-experimental investigation that uses Constructive Conflict Methodology (CCM) and Q methodology (QM) to examine divergent perspectives of SER among three groups of accountants: academics, practitioners, and students. In particular, my research explores the use of CCM as a framework, which when implemented via QM, can help operationalise the theoretical developments of an agonistic approach to critical dialogic accounting (CDA). Drawing on applications of CCM and QM in political theory and policy analysis, my research design is divided into two distinct phases. Phase One focuses on identifying and understanding the range of perspectives among participants regarding SER. Informed by this understanding, Phase Two develops a workshop, the SER Dialogue, to bring together participants who are representative of the diverse perspectives identified. In Phase One, 34 participants’ perspectives of SER were explored through a mix of semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and QM. The participants evidenced a range of diverse understandings of SER, with three general approaches identified from participants’ Q data: the Critical (F1(CR)), Business Case (F2(BC)) and Incremental Change (F3(INC)) approaches. These general categorisations helped identify differences, inconsistencies and contradictions in the participants’ ideological orientations and illustrated the contested discursive landscape within which SER is conceptualised. Participants’ alignment with each general category also identified possible constraints in their capacity to recognise and understand divergent perspectives. Informed by these insights, Phase Two focused on developing a discursive space for agonistic pluralist engagement (the SER Dialogue) with a group of participants, representing the three diverse perspectives. Ultimately, these participants had both a larger number and magnitude of shifts in their perspective of SER compared to a control group. There was also a general increase in alignment with F1(CR), with many participants demonstrating the development of critically pluralist and reflexive understandings. These findings illustrate the potential for agonistic pluralist engagement to develop accountants’ capacity for pluralist engagement with perspectives surrounding complex and politically contentious issues, while also enabling resistance to the hegemony of BC perspectives within the field of accounting.</p>

Assessing the Potential for Agonistic Engagement Among Accountants: A quasi-experimental repeated Q study of social and environmental reporting

<p>A number of writers have recently criticised a perceived narrowness in accountants’ understanding of their profession. In particular, they claim that the predominant focus on shareholders and capital markets may be at the expense of wider public interests that accounting should serve. As accountants engage increasingly with a variety of complex and politically contentious issues, there is cause for concern regarding their capacity to represent and engage with non-financial interests. Some of these concerns are reflected in ongoing debates regarding social and environmental reporting (SER). Accountants are important players in the SER field. They have high-profile roles as self-proclaimed ‘thought leaders’ in areas such as sustainability and integrated reporting, and are increasingly involved in developing SER concepts and practices, discussion papers and best practice guidance. These technologies increasingly rely on, and are legitimised by, their incorporation of a plurality of perspectives. However, both academics and civil society groups have raised concerns that professional accounting bodies are too closely aligned with business interests, and prioritise ‘business case’ (BC) understandings of concepts such as SER, which favour shareholder-oriented perspectives. As in other areas of policy controversy, the capacity to engage with a plurality of perspectives is important because of its impact on, inter alia, the issues that are recognised, how problems are conceived and responded to, and which or whose perspectives are prioritised. While prior research has explored management and stakeholder perspectives, there has been very little research to date on accountants’ perspectives on SER. Relatedly, relatively little is known about accountants’ abilities to incorporate a multiplicity of views when attempting to engage with complex issues. This study seeks to fill this gap. My research was designed as a quasi-experimental investigation that uses Constructive Conflict Methodology (CCM) and Q methodology (QM) to examine divergent perspectives of SER among three groups of accountants: academics, practitioners, and students. In particular, my research explores the use of CCM as a framework, which when implemented via QM, can help operationalise the theoretical developments of an agonistic approach to critical dialogic accounting (CDA). Drawing on applications of CCM and QM in political theory and policy analysis, my research design is divided into two distinct phases. Phase One focuses on identifying and understanding the range of perspectives among participants regarding SER. Informed by this understanding, Phase Two develops a workshop, the SER Dialogue, to bring together participants who are representative of the diverse perspectives identified. In Phase One, 34 participants’ perspectives of SER were explored through a mix of semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and QM. The participants evidenced a range of diverse understandings of SER, with three general approaches identified from participants’ Q data: the Critical (F1(CR)), Business Case (F2(BC)) and Incremental Change (F3(INC)) approaches. These general categorisations helped identify differences, inconsistencies and contradictions in the participants’ ideological orientations and illustrated the contested discursive landscape within which SER is conceptualised. Participants’ alignment with each general category also identified possible constraints in their capacity to recognise and understand divergent perspectives. Informed by these insights, Phase Two focused on developing a discursive space for agonistic pluralist engagement (the SER Dialogue) with a group of participants, representing the three diverse perspectives. Ultimately, these participants had both a larger number and magnitude of shifts in their perspective of SER compared to a control group. There was also a general increase in alignment with F1(CR), with many participants demonstrating the development of critically pluralist and reflexive understandings. These findings illustrate the potential for agonistic pluralist engagement to develop accountants’ capacity for pluralist engagement with perspectives surrounding complex and politically contentious issues, while also enabling resistance to the hegemony of BC perspectives within the field of accounting.</p>

The Environmental Reporting Bill 2014

<p>This paper reviews the development of State of the Environment Reporting both internationally, and with a specific emphasis on Environmental Reporting In New Zealand. It provides a summary of the various uses of State of the Environment Reports and their use in policy development, and highlights the importance of reporting independence from Executive Governments to ensure that the State of the Environment Reports are accurate and trusted. The essay provides a brief description and analysis of the two main frameworks used in State of the Environment Reports, and compares them to the framework developed by the Ministry for the Environment for use in New Zealand. The essay then goes on to discuss the Environmental Reporting Bill introduced by the New Zealand Government in February 2014. The essay concludes that the Environmental Reporting Bill in its current state has serious flaws that will result in State of the Environment Reports that are not independent and will not provide a comprehensive assessment of the state of New Zealand's environment.</p>

The Environmental Reporting Bill 2014

<p>This paper reviews the development of State of the Environment Reporting both internationally, and with a specific emphasis on Environmental Reporting In New Zealand. It provides a summary of the various uses of State of the Environment Reports and their use in policy development, and highlights the importance of reporting independence from Executive Governments to ensure that the State of the Environment Reports are accurate and trusted. The essay provides a brief description and analysis of the two main frameworks used in State of the Environment Reports, and compares them to the framework developed by the Ministry for the Environment for use in New Zealand. The essay then goes on to discuss the Environmental Reporting Bill introduced by the New Zealand Government in February 2014. The essay concludes that the Environmental Reporting Bill in its current state has serious flaws that will result in State of the Environment Reports that are not independent and will not provide a comprehensive assessment of the state of New Zealand's environment.</p>

Analysis of Carbon Neutrality Programmes in the International Market

<p>Carbon Neutrality is a new concept that lacks a broadly accepted definition. There are diverse definitions and many different carbon neutrality programmes available in the market. The availability of so many diverse definitions and programmes can create confusion about what consumers are buying and whether or not it is of a reasonable level of quality. This thesis's aim was to analyse a selection of programmes from the Carbon Neutrality market to gain a greater understanding of content, process, and criteria that comprise carbon programmes. As there was a lack of literature available on Carbon Neutrality; this thesis developed a series of criteria that were developed from a literature review of the broader literature of environmental. The literature review focused on potential market failures, environmental reporting and eco-labels, which identified issues such as information asymmetry, lack of transparency, and adverse selection. Of the Carbon Neutrality service providers asked to participate in this thesis, the majority declined, as a result two were analysed; The Carbon Neutral Company, and CarbonZero. The analysis showed that the programmes use many, but not all, of the criteria identified by this thesis as necessary to provide accurate and comprehensive Carbon Neutral accreditation. The programmes varied in their definitions of what is Carbon Neutrality. This was illustrated by which sections of their programmes were voluntary and which were mandatory. This thesis came to the conclusion that as an undeveloped market there are issues around what should be included in a programme. The criteria developed by this thesis also have the potential to be used for analysing environmental reporting standards and eco-labels. Furthermore methods of communicating a programme's content and the outcome of CN accreditation varied, exhibiting both positive and negative aspects addressing issues such as information asymmetry and adverse selection.</p>

Analysis of Carbon Neutrality Programmes in the International Market

<p>Carbon Neutrality is a new concept that lacks a broadly accepted definition. There are diverse definitions and many different carbon neutrality programmes available in the market. The availability of so many diverse definitions and programmes can create confusion about what consumers are buying and whether or not it is of a reasonable level of quality. This thesis's aim was to analyse a selection of programmes from the Carbon Neutrality market to gain a greater understanding of content, process, and criteria that comprise carbon programmes. As there was a lack of literature available on Carbon Neutrality; this thesis developed a series of criteria that were developed from a literature review of the broader literature of environmental. The literature review focused on potential market failures, environmental reporting and eco-labels, which identified issues such as information asymmetry, lack of transparency, and adverse selection. Of the Carbon Neutrality service providers asked to participate in this thesis, the majority declined, as a result two were analysed; The Carbon Neutral Company, and CarbonZero. The analysis showed that the programmes use many, but not all, of the criteria identified by this thesis as necessary to provide accurate and comprehensive Carbon Neutral accreditation. The programmes varied in their definitions of what is Carbon Neutrality. This was illustrated by which sections of their programmes were voluntary and which were mandatory. This thesis came to the conclusion that as an undeveloped market there are issues around what should be included in a programme. The criteria developed by this thesis also have the potential to be used for analysing environmental reporting standards and eco-labels. Furthermore methods of communicating a programme's content and the outcome of CN accreditation varied, exhibiting both positive and negative aspects addressing issues such as information asymmetry and adverse selection.</p>