IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eme/aaajpp/v24y2011i8p1119-1148.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Private climate change reporting: an emerging discourse of risk and opportunity?

Author

Listed:
  • Jill F. Solomon
  • Aris Solomon
  • Simon D. Norton
  • Nathan L. Joseph

Abstract

Purpose - This paper aims to explore the nature of the emerging discourse of private climate change reporting, which takes place in one‐on‐one meetings between institutional investors and their investee companies. Design/methodology/approach - Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with representatives from 20 UK investment institutions to derive data which was then coded and analysed, in order to derive a picture of the emerging discourse of private climate change reporting, using an interpretive methodological approach, in addition to explorative analysis using NVivo software. Findings - The authors find that private climate change reporting is dominated by a discourse of risk and risk management. This emerging risk discourse derives from institutional investors' belief that climate change represents a material risk, that it is the most salient sustainability issue, and that their clients require them to manage climate change‐related risk within their portfolio investment. It is found that institutional investors are using the private reporting process to compensate for the acknowledged inadequacies of public climate change reporting. Contrary to evidence indicating corporate capture of public sustainability reporting, these findings suggest that the emerging private climate change reporting discourse is being captured by the institutional investment community. There is also evidence of an emerging discourse of opportunity in private climate change reporting as the institutional investors are increasingly aware of a range of ways in which climate change presents material opportunities for their investee companies to exploit. Lastly, the authors find an absence of any ethical discourse, such that private climate change reporting reinforces rather than challenges the “business case” status quo. Originality/value - Although there is a wealth of sustainability reporting research, there is no academic research on private climate change reporting. This paper attempts to fill this gap by providing rich interview evidence regarding the nature of the emerging private climate change reporting discourse.

Suggested Citation

  • Jill F. Solomon & Aris Solomon & Simon D. Norton & Nathan L. Joseph, 2011. "Private climate change reporting: an emerging discourse of risk and opportunity?," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 24(8), pages 1119-1148, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:aaajpp:v:24:y:2011:i:8:p:1119-1148
    DOI: 10.1108/09513571111184788
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/09513571111184788/full/html?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/09513571111184788/full/pdf?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1108/09513571111184788?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jill Frances Solomon & Aris Solomon, 2006. "Private social, ethical and environmental disclosure," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 19(4), pages 564-591, July.
    2. Roberts, John & Sanderson, Paul & Barker, Richard & Hendry, John, 2006. "In the mirror of the market: The disciplinary effects of company/fund manager meetings," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 277-294, April.
    3. repec:eme:aaajpp:v:20:y:2007:i:3:p:356-381 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Hines, Ruth D., 1988. "Financial accounting: In communicating reality, we construct reality," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 251-261, April.
    5. Jill Solomon & Aris Solomon & Nathan Joseph & Simon Norton, 2000. "Institutional Investors’ Views on Corporate Governance Reform: policy recommendations for the 21st century," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(3), pages 215-226, July.
    6. Jill F. Solomon & Lauren Darby, 2005. "Is private social, ethical and environmental reporting mythicizing or demythologizing reality?," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(1), pages 27-47, March.
    7. Helen Tregidga & Markus J. Milne, 2006. "From sustainable management to sustainable development: a longitudinal analysis of a leading New Zealand environmental reporter," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(4), pages 219-241, July.
    8. Georgios Georgakopoulos & Ian Thomson, 2005. "Organic salmon farming: risk perceptions, decision heuristics and the absence of environmental accounting," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(1), pages 49-75, March.
    9. Pushkala Prasad & Michael Elmes, 2005. "In the Name of the Practical: Unearthing the Hegemony of Pragmatics in the Discourse of Environmental Management," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(4), pages 845-867, June.
    10. Giles Atkinson, 2000. "Measuring Corporate Sustainability," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(2), pages 235-252.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. repec:eme:aaajpp:v:21:y:2008:i:2:p:240-267 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Mäkelä, Hannele & Laine, Matias, 2011. "A CEO with many messages: Comparing the ideological representations provided by different corporate reports," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 217-231.
    3. Solomon, Jill F. & Solomon, Aris & Joseph, Nathan L. & Norton, Simon D., 2013. "Impression management, myth creation and fabrication in private social and environmental reporting: Insights from Erving Goffman," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 195-213.
    4. Abraham, Santhosh & Bamber, Matthew, 2017. "The Q&A: Under surveillance," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 15-31.
    5. Natalia Semenova, 2023. "The Public Effect of Private Sustainability Reporting: Evidence from Incident-Based Engagement Strategy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(2), pages 559-572, January.
    6. repec:eme:aaajpp:v:22:y:2009:i:7:p:1029-1054 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Tregidga, Helen & Milne, Markus & Kearins, Kate, 2014. "(Re)presenting ‘sustainable organizations’," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 477-494.
    8. Zhang, Linhan & Tang, Qingliang & Huang, Robin Hui, 2021. "Mind the Gap: Is Water Disclosure a Missing Component of Corporate Social Responsibility?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(1).
    9. repec:eme:aaajpp:v:20:y:2007:i:5:p:702-728 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. repec:eme:aaajpp:v:20:y:2007:i:6:p:805-824 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Castilla Polo, Francisca & Gallardo Vázquez, Dolores, 2008. "Social information within the intellectual capital report," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 14(4), pages 353-363, December.
    12. repec:eme:aaajpp:v:22:y:2009:i:8:p:1211-1257 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. repec:eme:aaajpp:v:20:y:2007:i:6:p:855-882 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Tobias Hahn & Frank Figge, 2011. "Beyond the Bounded Instrumentality in Current Corporate Sustainability Research: Toward an Inclusive Notion of Profitability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 104(3), pages 325-345, December.
    15. Nicolas Garcia‐Torea & Belen Fernandez‐Feijoo & Marta De La Cuesta, 2020. "CSR reporting communication: Defective reporting models or misapplication?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 952-968, March.
    16. Journeault, Marc & Levant, Yves & Picard, Claire-France, 2021. "Sustainability performance reporting: A technocratic shadowing and silencing," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    17. Du Rietz, Sabina, 2014. "When accounts become information: A study of investors’ ESG analysis practice," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 395-408.
    18. Ahblom, Per & Sjögren, Ebba, 2019. "Delivering performance: the capital market framing of financial numbers from a preparer perspective," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 102819, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    19. Gray, Rob, 2010. "Is accounting for sustainability actually accounting for sustainability...and how would we know? An exploration of narratives of organisations and the planet," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 47-62, January.
    20. Spence, Crawford, 2009. "Social accounting's emancipatory potential: A Gramscian critique," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 205-227.
    21. Hanna Maria Sievinen & Tuuli Ikäheimonen & Timo Pihkala, 2022. "The role of dyadic interactions between CEOs, chairs and owners in family firm governance," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 26(1), pages 223-253, March.
    22. Monfardini, Patrizio & Barretta, Antonio D. & Ruggiero, Pasquale, 2013. "Seeking legitimacy: Social reporting in the healthcare sector," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 54-66.
    23. Nataliia Kochkina & Silvia Macchia & Michela Floris, 2024. "Strategic Language Use in Sustainability Reporting: An Empirical Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-31, November.
    24. Dillard, Jesse & Reynolds, MaryAnn, 2011. "Re-stor(y)ing social change," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(5), pages 492-499.
    25. Ji Li & Fuqiang Zhao & Silu Chen & Wanxing Jiang & Tao Liu & Shengping Shi, 2017. "Gender Diversity on Boards and Firms’ Environmental Policy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 306-315, March.
    26. David Coen & Kyle Herman & Tom Pegram, 2022. "Are corporate climate efforts genuine? An empirical analysis of the climate ‘talk–walk’ hypothesis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 3040-3059, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eme:aaajpp:v:24:y:2011:i:8:p:1119-1148. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Emerald Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.