Business Strategy and the Environment · 2003 · 139 citations · 37 references
BusinessAccountancyAccountingCorporate ComplianceCorporate ReportingEnvironmental AccountingCorporate Responsibility ReportingCorporate SustainabilityEnvironmental Performance MeasurementEnvironmental ReportingPerformance MetricsSustainability ReportingCorporate Compliance ReportingCorporate Sustainability MetricsCorporate Sustainability Performance ReportingCorporate Sustainability Reporting StandardsEnvironmental MetricsEnvironmental Reporting StandardsIso 14001 AuditsMetrics
Corporate environmental reports have attracted attention, yet the metrics they use have not been closely examined, despite metrics being key to conveying report content. The study analyzes metrics in 79 recent corporate environmental reports. The authors apply an environmental sustainability lens, use two metric taxonomies, and examine how firm characteristics influence metric choice. They find ISO 14001 compliance and larger firm size are linked to more future‑oriented metrics, yet most reports rely on lagging, operational metrics, vary by region, and only about half of environmentally aware firms publish a CER. © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Abstract Although there has been increased attention to corporate environmental reports (CERs), there has yet to be a close examination of the metrics used in these reports. Metrics do not address the content of CERs, but, perhaps more importantly, metrics provide the means for conveying the content. In this paper, we analyze metrics used in 79 corporations' recent CER reports. We define and use an 'environmental sustainability' lens, and apply two environmental metrics taxonomies to CER metrics. We also consider the implications of key internal and external firm factors on CER metrics. Our findings suggest that (i) firms' compliance with ISO 14001 increases the presence of future oriented metrics, (ii) a majority of CER content uses lagging metrics with descriptive and operational performance information, (iii) larger firms are more likely than smaller firms to use future oriented metrics and (iv) there are noticeable differences across countries/regions in terms of CER metrics. Several important issues seem evident from the study. First, the metrics most commonly used in CERs provide little information about future performance. Second, the majority of metrics describe operations performance rather than environmental impact. Third, even though the sample was chosen based on a priori indicators of corporate environmental awareness, only about half of the companies sampled had a CER available. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment
37