141 research outputs found
The United Nations framework convention on climate change: Objectives, outcomes and corporate accountability
No full textThis chapter explains how the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an important achievement of the Rio Earth Summit held in 1992, instigated interest in, and enthusiasm for, the fight against climate change in the international arena, promoting national actions, creating common frameworks and motivating corporations to take action against climate change. The Convention recognised climate change as a problem in 1994 when the UNFCCC took effect, which was remarkable considering that there was much less scientific evidence available at that time. Through extensive literature review, this chapter presents the origin and content of the Convention and explains how it creates new international instruments for mitigating climate change, its impact on corporate climate change-related accountability practices and where it stands now after 20 years in operation. The researcher argues that there is a need for strong cooperation among national and international actors such as governments, nies, national and international non-governmental organisations and international governmental organisations in order to create climate changerelated accountability.</p
Corporate Climate Change-Related Auditing and disclosure Practices: Are companies Doing Enough?
No full textThis chapter explores whether the climate change-related audit and disclosure practices of corporations reflect real change in their corporate accountability practices for climate change. The growing need to deal with the threat of climate change raises a range of financial reporting and audit implications for corporations worldwide. There is evidence of companies undertaking social and environmental audit practice and disclosing information in relation to their climate change-related performance in response to the initiatives and guidelines provided by international government bodies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and research organisations. However, based on a review of media reports, archival documents and a case study, this chapter argues that there is limited real change in corporate action if there is no government regulation. A radical (reform based) approach, such as mandatory monitoring (compliance audit) and disclosure requirements, are necessary to ensure corporate accountability in relation to climate change.</p
The climate change-related disclosures and accountability practices of NGOs: Evidence from Australia
No full textThis paper focuses on Non-Governmental Organisations’ (NGOs) broader social accountability, investigating their public disclosures on climate change commitment and performance. Using a synthesised disclosure index, we analyse the annual reports of 30 NGOs, all signatories to the Australian Council for International Development’s (ACFID) Code of Conduct. Overall disclosure rates from 2008 to 2013 were higher for commitment than performance, but were very low overall. However, the number of NGOs disclosing information rose markedly over the period. Although it is not directly possible to attribute the change in disclosure levels to the implementation of the Code, the enactment of the new Code could be one of the motivating factors for NGOs’ disclosure practices and their demonstrations of greater social accountability
Carbon emission accounting fraud
No full textThis chapter explores the motivation behind potential carbon emission accounting fraud by corporations. There are several different possible risks of carbon emission accounting fraud which remain mostly overlooked by researchers to date, despite the fact that such frauds have a negative impact on a country’s economy as well as the real purpose of mitigating carbon emissions. The chapter offers discussion of some potential risks of carbon emission accounting fraud as well as related prevention policy. The study suggests that an effective mandatory carbon emission related fraud prevention policy is essential to eliminate opportunities to commit such fraud by corporations
Human rights performance disclosure by companies having operations in high risk countries: Evidence from Australian mineral sector
No full textThe aim of this study is to explore whether Australian mineral companies operating in high human rights risk countries provide more human rights disclosures than companies operating in low risk countries. A content analysis instrument containing 88 specific human rights performance items derived from a number of international human rights guidelines has been developed to investigate the annual reports, social responsibility reports and corporate websites of the top 50 Australian mineral companies (2010/2011). The findings show that human rights performance disclosures by companies with operations in high human rights risk countries are significantly higher than companies with operations in the low risk countries. By disclosing extended human rights performance information, companies operating in high risk countries appear to ease community concerns about human rights violations. The finding is consistent with legitimacy theory which posits that organisations respond to community concerns in relation to particular social issues
Stakeholder pressures on corporate climate change-related accountability and disclosures: Australian evidence
No full textThis study investigates stakeholder pressures on corporate climate change-related accountability and disclosure practices in Australia. While existing scholarship investigates stakeholder pressures on companies to discharge their broader accountability through general social and environmental disclosures, there is a lack of research investigating whether and how stakeholder pressures emerge to influence accountability and disclosure practices related to climate change. We surveyed various stakeholder groups to understand their concerns about climate change-related corporate accountability and disclosure practices. We present three primary findings: first, while NGOs and the media have some influence, institutional investors and government bodies (regulators) are perceived to be the most powerful stakeholders in generating climate change-related concern and coercive pressure on corporations to be accountable. Second, corporate climate change-related disclosures, as documented through the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), are positively associated with such perceived coercive pressures. Lastly, we find a positive correlation between the level of media attention to climate change and Australian corporate responses to the CDP. Our results indicate that corporations will not disclose climate change information until pressured by non-financial stakeholders. This suggests a larger role for non-financial actors than previously theorized, with several policy implications
Demand for, and impediments to, the disclosure of information about climate change-related corporate governance practices
No full textBased on a survey of climate change experts in different stakeholder groups and interviews with corporate climate change managers, this study provides insights into the gap between what information stakeholders expect, and what Australian corporations disclose. This paper focuses on annual reports and sustainability reports with specific reference to the disclosure of climate change-related corporate governance practices. The findings culminate in the governance practises. Interview results indicate that the low levels of disclosures made by Australian companies may be due to a number of factors. A lack of proactive stakeholder engagement and an apparent preoccupation with financial performance and advancing shareholders interest, coupled with a failure by managers to accept accountability, seems to go a long way to explaining low levels of disclosure
Corporate accountability in relation to human rights: Have RIOs done enough?
No full textThis chapter focuses on the development of corporate human rights standards since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, better known as the Earth Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. One of the important agendas for this Summit was human rights (apart from the climate change issue). This chapter provides a critical evaluation of institutional change in human rights guidelines and associated corporate (non) accountability in relation to human rights in line with the RIO summit. Based on a review of the media reports, archival documents and a case study, we argue that while there are a number of international organisations working towards the creation of corporate accountability in relation to human rights, there is limited real change in corporate action when faced with no government regulation. A radical (reform-based) approach, such as mandatory monitoring (compliance audit) and disclosure requirements is necessary to ensure corporate accountability in relation to human rights
Anti-bribery disclosures: A response to networked governance
No full textThis study examined the posited link between networked governance (the activities of NGOs and the media) and the anti-bribery disclosures of two global telecommunication companies. Based on a joint consideration of legitimacy theory, media agenda setting theory and responsive regulation, the findings show that anti-bribery disclosures are positively associated with the activities of the media and NGO initiatives. The findings also show that companies make anti-bribery disclosures to maintain symbolic legitimacy but are less prominent in effecting a substantive change in their accountability practices
Public disclosure and actional legitimacy: Evidence from WFP’s operations in Nepal’s earthquake affected community
No full textThis paper investigates how a global humanitarian NGO, World Food Program (WFP), struggled to maintain its legitimacy in response to crisis regarding the distribution of rotten food among earthquake victims in Nepal in mid-2015. Through thematic analysis of news media articles and WFP’s disclosure documents, and relevant reports released by the Nepalese government and human rights organisations, the study finds that while WFP put emphasis on the promise of future commitment as part of its actional legitimation process, it took a strong defensive approach, with a limited responses regarding current action s. The paper contributes by providing insight in an operational level that an organisational action in a disaster affected community will remain ineffective until proper coordination with local stakeholders including the local government and community members is fully developed
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