Journal ArticleDOI
W(h)ither Ecology? The Triple Bottom Line, the Global Reporting Initiative, and Corporate Sustainability Reporting
Markus J. Milne,Rob Gray +1 more
TLDR
In this paper, the authors identify and isolate the concept of the "triple bottom line" (TBL) as a core and dominant idea that continues to pervade business reporting, and business engagement with sustainability.Abstract:
This paper offers a critique of sustainability reporting and, in particular, a critique of the modern disconnect between the practice of sustainability reporting and what we consider to be the urgent issue of our era: sustaining the life-supporting ecological systems on which humanity and other species depend. Tracing the history of such reporting developments, we identify and isolate the concept of the ‘triple bottom line’ (TBL) as a core and dominant idea that continues to pervade business reporting, and business engagement with sustainability. Incorporating an entity’s economic, environmental and social performance indicators into its management and reporting processes, we argue, has become synonymous with corporate sustainability; in the process, concern for ecology has become sidelined. Moreover, this process has become reinforced and institutionalised through SustainAbility’s biennial benchmarking reports, KPMG’s triennial surveys of practice, initiatives by the accountancy profession and, particularly, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)’s sustainability reporting guidelines. We argue that the TBL and the GRI are insufficient conditions for organizations contributing to the sustaining of the Earth’s ecology. Paradoxically, they may reinforce business-as-usual and greater levels of un-sustainability.read more
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Journal ArticleDOI
Three pillars of sustainability: in search of conceptual origins
TL;DR: The three-pillar conception of sustainability, commonly represented by three intersecting circles with overall sustainability at the centre, has become ubiquitous as discussed by the authors, however, there is no single point of origin of this threepillar conception, but rather a gradual emergence from various critiques in the early academic literature of the economic status quo from both social and ecological perspectives on the one hand, and the quest to reconcile economic growth as a solution to social problems on the part of the United Nations on the other.
Journal ArticleDOI
CSR reporting practices and the quality of disclosure: An empirical analysis
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the use of three reporting practices: stand-alone reports, assurance, and reporting guidance in relation to disclosure proxies that capture the quality of disclosure along three complementary dimensions: the content of the information disclosed, the type of information used to describe and discuss CSR issues, and the managerial orientation.
Journal ArticleDOI
Sustainable development: Meaning, history, principles, pillars, and implications for human action: Literature review
TL;DR: In spite of its pervasiveness and the massive popularity it has garnered over the years, sustainable development has become a popular catchphrase in contemporary development discourse as mentioned in this paper, however, it has not yet achieved sustainable development.
Journal ArticleDOI
Organized hypocrisy, organizational façades, and sustainability reporting
TL;DR: The authors argue that contradictory societal and institutional pressures, in essence, require organizations to engage in hypocrisy and develop facades, thereby severely limiting the prospects that sustainability reports will ever evolve into substantive disclosures.
Journal ArticleDOI
Integrated reporting: A structured literature review
TL;DR: The authors reviewed the field of integrated reporting to develop insights into how research is developing, offer a critique of the research to date, and outline future research opportunities, finding that most published research presents normative arguments for and there is little research examining practice.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
The Tragedy of the Commons
TL;DR: The population problem has no technical solution; it requires a fundamental extension in morality.
Book
Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business
TL;DR: The seven revolutions for sustainable capitalism: competition, competition, triple win revolution, values from me to we revolution, information and transparency, no hiding place revolution, lifecylces from conception to resurrection revolution, partnerships after the honeymoon revolution, time three scenarios revolution, corporate governance, stake in the future, sustainability transition, value shifts, value migrations the worlds of money and power, sustainability audit, how are you placed.
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The Limits to Growth
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate five major trends of global concern: accelerating industrialization, rapid population growth, widespread malnutrition, depletion of nonrenewable resources, and a deteriorating environment.