Sustainability accounting and reporting in the mining industry: current literature and directions for future research

This paper explores sustainability accounting and reporting in the mining industry through an analysis of the literature in the Journal of Cleaner Production from 2004 to 2013. It complements the special issue papers on the theme of sustainability accounting and reporting by discussing prior literature on this aspect in this journal. The research design involved a manual analysis of all articles where a two stage screening process was undertaken to ascertain: firstly, whether an article was based on the mining context; and secondly, where it addressed sustainability accounting and reporting. It was found that while sustainability accounting and reporting practices are evolving, progress is slow. Mining companies were not fully accountable for their sustainability impacts, a situation that was exacerbated in a developing country context. However, some positive developments were also observed such as partnerships with NGOs and improving practices in specific contexts. Moreover, a number of these studies provided practical recommendations for improving sustainability accounting and reporting in the mining industry. A need for effective sustainability management and credible reporting is recommended for mining companies in their transition to sustainability. After discussing the state of the existing literature, future research opportunities are highlighted. This paper contributes to the literature and practice by providing an understanding of current mining sustainability accounting and reporting practices, assessed through the academic literature. Future research directions that have the potential to provide an understanding of sustainability accounting and reporting issues not addressed in the current literature are also outlined within the context of the mining industry. These include new developments such as integrated reporting, climate change accounting and water accounting, coupled with an emphasis on sustainability reporting and auditing, and consideration of a range of stakeholders, social issues and differing contexts.

[1]  D. Murguía,et al.  Sustainability reporting on large-scale mining conflicts: the case of Bajo de la Alumbrera, Argentina , 2013 .

[2]  C. K. Lindblom.  The implications of Organizational Legitimacy for Corporate Social Performance and Disclosure , 1994 .

[3]  Sumit K. Lodhia.  Accountants responses to the environmental agenda in a developing nation: An initial and exploratory study on Fiji , 2003 .

[4]  Sumit Lodhia,et al.  The World Wide Web and its potential for corporate environmental communication : a study into present practices in the Australian minerals industry , 2006 .

[5]  Muhammad Azizul Islam,et al.  Motivations for an Organisation within a Developing Country to Report Social Responsibility Information: Evidence from Bangladesh , 2008 .

[6]  H. Jenkins,et al.  Corporate social responsibility in the mining industry: Exploring trends in social and environmental disclosure , 2006 .

[7]  Philip Peck,et al.  Environmental and social disclosure and data richness in the mining industry , 2003 .

[8]  Jane Newbold,et al.  Chile's environmental momentum: ISO 14001 and the large-scale mining industry – Case studies from the state and private sector , 2006 .

[9]  C. Dey,et al.  Social accounting at Traidcraft plc: A struggle for the meaning of fair trade , 2007 .

[10]  John W. Meyer,et al.  Institutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony , 1977, American Journal of Sociology.

[11]  Sumit Lodhia,et al.  Sustainability reporting and reputation risk management: an Australian case study , 2011 .

[12]  James Hazelton.  Accounting as a human right: the case of water information , 2013 .

[13]  Abraham Kumah,et al.  Sustainability and gold mining in the developing world , 2006 .

[14]  Konstantinos Evangelinos,et al.  Corporate environmental management and regulation of mining operations in the Cyclades, Greece , 2006 .

[15]  C. Deegan.  Introduction: The legitimising effect of social and environmental disclosures – a theoretical foundation , 2002 .

[16]  Sumit Lodhia,et al.  Web based social and environmental communication in the Australian minerals industry: an application of media richness framework , 2012 .

[17]  W. Powell,et al.  The iron cage revisited institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields , 1983 .

[18]  R. Burritt,et al.  Sustainability accounting and reporting: fad or trend? , 2010 .

[19]  M. Clarkson.  A Stakeholder Framework for Analyzing and Evaluating Corporate Social Performance , 1995 .

[20]  R. Freeman.  Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach , 2010 .

[21]  Jeffrey Unerman,et al.  User needs in sustainability reporting: Perspectives of stakeholders in Ireland , 2005 .

[22]  J. Pfeffer,et al.  Organizational Legitimacy , 1975 .

[23]  S. Schaltegger,et al.  Managing Sustainability Performance Measurement and Reporting in an Integrated Manner. Sustainability Accounting as the Link between the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard and Sustainability Reporting , 2006 .

[24]  A. Whitmore,et al.  The emperors new clothes: Sustainable mining? , 2006 .

[25]  B. Frame,et al.  Initiating sustainable development reporting: evidence from New Zealand , 2009 .

[26]  Sumit K. Lodhia.  Environmental Accounting in Fiji: An Extended Case Study of the Fiji Sugar Corporation , 1999 .

[27]  Rüdiger Hahn,et al.  Determinants of Sustainability Reporting: A Review of Results, Trends, Theory, and Opportunities in an Expanding Field of Research , 2013 .

[28]  K. Jacobs,et al.  The practice turn in environmental reporting: A study into current practices in two Australian commonwealth departments , 2013 .

[29]  Sumit Lodhia,et al.  Research methods for analysing World Wide Web sustainability communication , 2010 .

[30]  Catherine Driussi,et al.  Pollution minimisation practices in the Australian mining and mineral processing industries , 2006 .

[31]  Adisa Azapagic,et al.  Developing a framework for sustainable development indicators for the mining and minerals Industry , 2004 .

[32]  Carlos Larrinaga,et al.  Corporate social reporting and reputation risk management , 2008 .

[33]  Karen MacDonald.  Section 1: environmental management, legal and policy issues in the mining industry , 2006 .

[34]  Sumit Lodhia,et al.  Corporate Environmental Reporting Media: A Case for the World Wide Web , 2004 .

[35]  Catherine Pellegrino,et al.  Climate change accounting and the Australian mining industry: Exploring the links between corporate disclosure and the generation of legitimacy , 2012 .

[36]  Arieh A. Ullmann.  Data in Search of a Theory: A Critical Examination of the Relationships Among Social Performance, Social Disclosure, and Economic Performance of U.S. Firms , 1985 .

[37]  L. Preston,et al.  The Stakeholder Theory of the Corporation: Concepts, Evidence, and Implications , 1995 .

[38]  S. Young,et al.  Cross-Sector Collaboration Shaping Corporate Social Responsibility Best Practice within the Mining Industry , 2012 .

[39]  Sumit K Lodhia,et al.  Environmental Accounting for South Pacific Island Nations: A Possible Mechanism for Encouraging Sustainable Development by the Corporate Sector , 2004 .

[40]  Brendan O’Dwyer.  Managerial perceptions of corporate social disclosure: An Irish story , 2002 .

[41]  Carlos Larrinaga.  Sustainability Reporting: Insights from Neo-Institutional Theory , 2007 .

[42]  Carol A. Adams,et al.  Accountability, Social Responsibility, and Sustainability: Accounting for Society and the Environment , 2014 .

[43]  K. Jacobs,et al.  Driving Public Sector Environmental Reporting , 2012 .

[44]  Jayne M. Godfrey,et al.  Regulatory theory insights into the past, present and future of general purpose water accounting standard setting , 2012 .

[45]  Geoffrey Wells.  Sustainable Business: Theory and Practice of Business Under Sustainability Principles , 2013 .

[46]  Sumit K. Lodhia.  Corporate Perceptions of Web Based Environmental Communication: An Exploratory Study into Companies in the Australian Minerals Industry , 2006 .

[47]  Deanna Kemp,et al.  Corporate social responsibility, mining and “audit culture” , 2012 .

[48]  Deanna Kemp,et al.  Mining, water and human rights: making the connection. , 2010 .

[49]  Markus J. Milne,et al.  Securing organizational legitimacy , 2002 .

[50]  R. Roberts,et al.  Determinants of corporate social responsibility disclosure: An application of stakeholder theory , 1992 .