Sustanibility and CSR Reporting Flashcards
What does sustainability consist of?
- Socially responsible
- Economic viability
- Environmental quality
What does it mean to be socially responsible?
Diversity, human rights, community outreach, indigenous communities, labour relations
What does it mean to economically viable?
Innovation, capital efficiency, risk management, margin improvement, growth enhancement and total shareholder return
What does it mean to have environmental quality?
Clean air, water & land emission reductions, zero water, releases and sells, biodiversity
Define sustainable development.
Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
What issues does S&CSR encompass of ?
- Eco-justice (justice between ppl)
- Eco-efficiency (environmental protection)
- Inter-generational equity
- Intra-generational equity
Explain INTRA-generational equity.
Within the same generation. Eg. Solution to world hunger
What’s the difference between sustainability and CSR?
Sustainability involves the preservation of resources and working in a way that is conducive long-term. CSR on the other hand refers to businesses’ responsibility to act ethically.
What are the reasons for adopting sustainable and corporate social responsibility practices?
- Compliance (mandatory) - legislation
- Voluntary activity - eg. Coles and woolies just announce that they are gonna compete on cost now instead -> sustainability
- Strategic activity
What are the 2 ways of a voluntary CSR?
- Altruist approach
2. Strategic approach
Define altruistic approach.
- Guided by an ethical or moral stance
- can involve philanthropy or recycling initiatives
- may increase profits by enhanced reputation or market share
Define strategic approach.
- helps environment, society and business operations
- creates a shared value for the organisation and society
What are the benefits of sustainability reporting for companies?
- Sound corporate governance
- Improves risk management
- Formalising and improving communication with key stakeholders
- Attracting and retaining competent staff
- Ability to benchmark performance within and between
What is a sustainability report?
It presents info about the economic value of an entity but provides info upon which stakeholders can also judge the environmental and social value of an entity.
What are the factors promoting the use, quality and quantity do sustainability reporting?
- Mandatory
- Management accountability
- Marketing
- Government funding, incentives, tax deductions
- Shareholder activism
- Economic benefits e.g. cost efficiencies
What are the factors hindering the use, quality and quantity of sustainability reporting?
- Cost
- Different rules in different countries
- Public goods and free rider problem
What’s the aim of International Integrated Reporting Committee?
- To create a globally accepted integrated reporting framework which brings together financial, environmental, social and governance info in a clear, concise, consistent and comparable format.
- To help with the development of more comprehensive and comprehensible info about organisations, prospective as well as retrospective, to meet the needs of the emerging more sustainable, global economy.
What does the legitimacy theory say about environmental reporting ?
Legitimacy theory would propose that entities with poor environmental performance would more likely produce greater levels, or higher quality environmental information to address potential legitimacy threats.
What’s the purpose of GRI?
To develop a globally accepted reporting framework to enhance the quality of sustainability reporting.
What can SR that is based on the GRI framework be used for?
- Demonstrate organisational commitment to sustainable development
- To compare organisational performance over time
- To measure organisational performance with respect to laws, norms, standards and voluntary initiatives.
How to create our own SR?
- many voluntary frameworks
- exemplar companies
Define Legitimacy Theory.
Company needs to have a relationship with the society in order to keep going
What is the purpose of the Legitimacy Theory?
Used to understand corporate action and activities, particularly relating to social and environmental issues.
Explain Legitimacy Theory: The Social Contract.
- describes how business interacts with society
- relationship between business and society
- explicit and implicit expectations society has about how businesses should act
List the ways in which org can obtain or maintain legitimacy.
- Seek to educate society about actual changes in performance
- Seek to change society’s perceptions (but no actual change in behaviour)
- Seek to manipulate perception by deflection
- Seek to change expectations of its performance
Define stakeholder theory.
All stakeholders have different demands and we gonna try to meet them.
Who are Stakeholders?
Stakeholder are any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievements of the organisations’ objectives.
What are the key differences between stakeholder and legitimacy theory?
- Stakeholder theory considers relationships between the organisation and its various identified stakeholders.
- In Legitimacy theory the organisation considers society in general.
What are the 2 versions of Stakeholder Theory?
- Ethical (normative) branch - treat all managers fairly
2. Managerial (positive) branch - who has the most power will get their needs met
Elaborate on Ethical (normative) branch.
- Organisations have a moral obligation to consider how their operations affect stakeholders
- Fair treatment
- All stakeholders equally important
Elaborate on Managerial (positive) branch.
- Seeks to explain how stakeholders may influence organisation’s actions
- Depends on power or influence of stakeholders
- Power: degree of control over resources required by organisations
- Power. legitimacy and urgency
- Manage stakeholder relationships
What is the difference between CSR reporting and integrated reporting?
CSR reporting provides voluntary information on how the organisation contributes to sustainable development whereas integrated reporting involves showing how the company integrates environmental
