IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v182y2023i1d10.1007_s10551-021-04946-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Counter-reporting sustainability from the bottom up: the case of the construction company WeBuild and dam-related conflicts

Author

Listed:
  • Antonio Bontempi

    (Autonomous University of Barcelona)

  • Daniela Bene

    (Autonomous University of Barcelona)

  • Louisa Jane Felice

    (Autonomous University of Barcelona)

Abstract

Controversies around large-scale development projects offer many cases and insights which may be analyzed through the lenses of corporate social (ir)responsibility (CSIR) and business ethics studies. In this paper, we confront the CSR narratives and strategies of WeBuild (formerly known as Salini Impregilo), an Italian transnational construction company. Starting from the Global Atlas of Environmental Justice (EJAtlas), we collect evidence from NGOs, environmental justice organizations, journalists, scholars, and community leaders on socio-environmental injustices and controversies surrounding 38 large hydropower schemes built by the corporation throughout the last century. As a counter-reporting exercise, we code (un)sustainability discourses from a plurality of sources, looking at their discrepancy under the critical lenses of post-normal science and political ecology, with environmental justice as a normative framework. Our results show how the mismatch of narratives can be interpreted by considering the voluntary, self-reporting, non-binding nature of CSR accounting performed by a corporation wishing to grow in a global competitive market. Contributing to critical perspectives on political CS(I)R, we question the reliability of current CSR mechanisms and instruments, calling for the inclusion of complexity dimensions in and a re-politicization of CS(I)R accounting and ethics. We argue that the fields of post-normal science and political ecology can contribute to these goals.

Suggested Citation

  • Antonio Bontempi & Daniela Bene & Louisa Jane Felice, 2023. "Counter-reporting sustainability from the bottom up: the case of the construction company WeBuild and dam-related conflicts," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(1), pages 7-32, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:182:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-021-04946-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-021-04946-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-021-04946-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-021-04946-6?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. Rob Gray & Andrew Brennan & Jeff Malpas, 2014. "New accounts: Towards a reframing of social accounting," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(4), pages 258-273, December.
    2. Rüdiger Hahn & Regina Lülfs, 2014. "Legitimizing Negative Aspects in GRI-Oriented Sustainability Reporting: A Qualitative Analysis of Corporate Disclosure Strategies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(3), pages 401-420, September.
    3. Sonja Gallhofer & Jim Haslam & Elizabeth Monk & Clare Roberts, 2006. "The emancipatory potential of online reporting: The case of counter accounting," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 19(5), pages 681-718, September.
    4. Olivier Boiral, 2013. "Sustainability reports as simulacra? A counter-account of A and A+ GRI reports," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 26(7), pages 1036-1071, September.
    5. Mayumi, Kozo & Giampietro, Mario, 2006. "The epistemological challenge of self-modifying systems: Governance and sustainability in the post-normal science era," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(3), pages 382-399, May.
    6. Gray, Rob & Brennan, Andrew & Malpas, Jeff, 2014. "New accounts: Towards a reframing of social accounting," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 258-273.
    7. Banerjee, Subhabrata Bobby, 2010. "Governing the Global Corporation: A Critical Perspective," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(2), pages 265-274, April.
    8. John Kennedy Lewis, 2016. "Corporate Social Responsibility/Sustainability Reporting Among the Fortune Global 250: Greenwashing or Green Supply Chain?," Eurasian Studies in Business and Economics, in: Mehmet Huseyin Bilgin & Hakan Danis (ed.), Entrepreneurship, Business and Economics - Vol. 1, edition 1, pages 347-362, Springer.
    9. Leonardo Mazzei & Gianmarco Scuppa, 2006. "The Role of Communication in Large Infrastructure: The Bumbuna Hydroelectric Project in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 7110.
    10. David Talbot & Olivier Boiral, 2018. "GHG Reporting and Impression Management: An Assessment of Sustainability Reports from the Energy Sector," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 367-383, January.
    11. Antoaneta Roussi, 2020. "Row over Africa’s largest dam in danger of escalating, warn scientists," Nature, Nature, vol. 583(7817), pages 501-502, July.
    12. Kotchen Matthew & Moon Jon J., 2012. "Corporate Social Responsibility for Irresponsibility," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 1-23, November.
    13. Andreas Georg Scherer & Guido Palazzo, 2011. "The New Political Role of Business in a Globalized World: A Review of a New Perspective on CSR and its Implications for the Firm, Governance, and Democracy," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(4), pages 899-931, June.
    14. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-04-2012-00998 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Andy Stirling, 2010. "Keep it complex," Nature, Nature, vol. 468(7327), pages 1029-1031, December.
    16. Krajnc, Damjan & Glavic, Peter, 2005. "How to compare companies on relevant dimensions of sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(4), pages 551-563, December.
    17. Guido Palazzo & Andreas Scherer, 2006. "Corporate Legitimacy as Deliberation: A Communicative Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 66(1), pages 71-88, June.
    18. Ansar, Atif & Flyvbjerg, Bent & Budzier, Alexander & Lunn, Daniel, 2014. "Should we build more large dams? The actual costs of hydropower megaproject development," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 43-56.
    19. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-01-2015-1942 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Jacobo Ramirez, 2021. "Contentious Dynamics Within the Social Turbulence of Environmental (In)justice Surrounding Wind Energy Farms in Oaxaca, Mexico," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 387-404, March.
    21. Shearer, Teri, 2002. "Ethics and accountability: from the for-itself to the for-the-other," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 541-573, August.
    22. Olivier Boiral, 2016. "Accounting for the Unaccountable: Biodiversity Reporting and Impression Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 135(4), pages 751-768, June.
    23. Helen Tregidga, 2017. "“Speaking truth to power”: analysing shadow reporting as a form of shadow accounting," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 30(3), pages 510-533, March.
    24. Hoffman, W. Michael, 1991. "Business and Environmental Ethics," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(2), pages 169-184, April.
    25. Shallini Taneja & Pawan Taneja & Rajen Gupta, 2011. "Researches in Corporate Social Responsibility: A Review of Shifting Focus, Paradigms, and Methodologies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 101(3), pages 343-364, July.
    26. Waheed Hussain & Jeffrey Moriarty, 2018. "Accountable to Whom? Rethinking the Role of Corporations in Political CSR," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 519-534, May.
    27. Benton, Raymond, 2002. "Environmental Racism, Consumption, and Sustainability - Faces of Environmental Racism: Confronting Issues of Global JusticeLaura Westra and Peter S. Wenz, Editors Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Pub," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(1), pages 83-98, January.
    28. Cho, Charles H. & Patten, Dennis M., 2013. "Green accounting: Reflections from a CSR and environmental disclosure perspective," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 443-447.
    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. George, Sendirella & Brown, Judy & Dillard, Jesse, 2023. "Social movement activists’ conceptions of political action and counter-accounting through a critical dialogic accounting and accountability lens," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    2. Islam, Muhammad Azizul & Deegan, Craig & Haque, Shamima, 2021. "Corporate human rights performance and moral power: A study of retail MNCs’ supply chains in Bangladesh," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    3. Arno Kourula & Guillaume Delalieux, 2016. "The Micro-level Foundations and Dynamics of Political Corporate Social Responsibility: Hegemony and Passive Revolution through Civil Society," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 135(4), pages 769-785, June.
    4. Vinnari, Eija & Laine, Matias, 2017. "The moral mechanism of counter accounts: The case of industrial animal production," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 1-17.
    5. Buhmann, Alexander & Fieseler, Christian, 2021. "Towards a deliberative framework for responsible innovation in artificial intelligence," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    6. Chiba, Soumaya & Talbot, David & Boiral, Olivier, 2018. "Sustainability adrift: An evaluation of the credibility of sustainability information disclosed by public organizations," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 328-340.
    7. Rajiv Maher & Moritz Neumann & Mette Slot Lykke, 2022. "Extracting Legitimacy: An Analysis of Corporate Responses to Accusations of Human Rights Abuses," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 176(4), pages 609-628, April.
    8. Mitzi Cubilla‐Montilla & Ana‐Belén Nieto‐Librero & Ma Purificación Galindo‐Villardón & Ma Purificación Vicente Galindo & Isabel‐María Garcia‐Sanchez, 2019. "Are cultural values sufficient to improve stakeholder engagement human and labour rights issues?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(4), pages 938-955, July.
    9. Charles H. Cho & Matias Laine & Robin W. Roberts & Michelle Rodrigue, 2018. "The Frontstage and Backstage of Corporate Sustainability Reporting: Evidence from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Bill," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(3), pages 865-886, October.
    10. Jan Bebbington & Tom Cuckston & C. Feger, 2021. "Biodiversity," Post-Print hal-03746729, HAL.
    11. Irvine, Helen & Moerman, Lee, 2017. "Gambling with the public sphere: Accounting’s contribution to debate on social issues," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 35-52.
    12. Adelaide Martins & Delfina Gomes & Manuel Castelo Branco, 2020. "Managing Corporate Social and Environmental Disclosure: An Accountability vs. Impression Management Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, December.
    13. David Talbot & Guillaume Barbat, 2020. "Water disclosure in the mining sector: An assessment of the credibility of sustainability reports," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(3), pages 1241-1251, May.
    14. Contrafatto, M. & Thomson, I. & Monk, E.A., 2015. "Peru, mountains and los niños: Dialogic action, accounting and sustainable transformation," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 117-136.
    15. Adam Gjesdal, 2024. "Diversity and Business Legitimacy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 195(2), pages 269-281, November.
    16. Olivier Boiral & Iñaki Heras-Saizarbitoria & Marie-Christine Brotherton & Julie Bernard, 2019. "Ethical Issues in the Assurance of Sustainability Reports: Perspectives from Assurance Providers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(4), pages 1111-1125, November.
    17. Tweedie, Jonathan, 2023. "The emancipatory potential of counter accounting: A Žižekian critique," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    18. Chakhovich, Terhi & Virtanen, Tuija, 2023. "Accountability for sustainability – An institutional entrepreneur as the representative of future stakeholders," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    19. Xiaojun Du & Fei Feng & Wei Lv, 2022. "Bibliometric Overview of Organizational Legitimacy Research," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, May.
    20. Olivier Boiral & David Talbot & Marie‐Christine Brotherton, 2020. "Measuring sustainability risks: A rational myth?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2557-2571, September.

    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:kap:jbuset:v:182:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-021-04946-6. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.