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Laufer, William S.

doi:10.1023/a:1022962719299

Cited by 926 publications

(235 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…A major issue encountered with the GRI report database was that despite the GRI reporting guidelines and a framework of data that must be included to meet a specific application level, the method of presenting this data is left to a high level of discretion to the reporting company. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this encourages an extensive amount of "greenwashing" and "window dressing" (Laufer, 2003) of reports especially in industry sectors that are notoriously unsustainable such as the energy, utility, materials, mining and the automotive sectors. This greenwashing is usually in the form of uplifting introductory messages from executives and directors, pictures depicting "green" activities, indigenous communities and pristine landscapes, and extensive descriptions of the company's sustainability and eco-friendly values and mission.…”

Section: Figure 3 Emissions Intensity Of the Mining Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…8, No. 9;2015 202 These recommendations are listed below: 1) Standardize reporting via a database of historical data Rampant greenwashing (Laufer, 2003) makes it difficult for readers to identify and interpret key sustainability indicators. Many companies report targets for reductions and conservation, and yet without easy access to historical data as to whether or not they have met previous targets.…”

Section: Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does GRI Reporting Impact Environmental Sustainability? An Industry-Specific Analysis of CO2 Emissions Performance between Reporting and Non-Reporting Companies

Bernard¹,

Abdelgadir²

2015

JSD

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The stated goal of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reporting framework is two-fold: to make it easier for organizations to communicate their sustainability performance to stakeholders, and to drive companies to become more sustainable. Our aim in this paper is to assess if GRI-reporting has any direct and positive impact on sustainability performance, and more specifically on CO 2 emissions of the reporting companies. This study is the first that attempts to answer this question in a quantitative and systematic manner. We analyze the CO 2 emissions data from 40 A-level GRI-reporting companies, over a period of six years and across five industry sectors, comparing them with a control group of 24 non-reporting companies, to assess any direct impact of reporting on emissions. We perform an industry-specific analysis of the CO 2 emissions of both reporting and non-reporting companies for each industry sector. We find that amongst all reporting companies and industries, only the Utilities industry exhibits a dramatic decrease in emission intensity between 2007-2012, while the others show only minimal reductions, while the overall absolute emissions levels have grown significantly for both sets of companies. On the more qualitative side, we also note, based on our own experience in undertaking this study, that the GRI reports are not conducive to providing stakeholders with a coherent, user-friendly or transparent structure of a company's sustainability performance in general, or improvement thereof, concluding that neither of the GRI stated goals are currently attained. Finally, we provide constructive recommendations on how the GRI reporting process could better achieve its stated purpose. Academics, investors and analysts alike might find the review, the analysis as well as the recommendations of this paper useful, as they directly address the core objectives of the GRI reporting process and how it could be improved to have the desirable impact.

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Section: Figure 3 Emissions Intensity Of the Mining Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does GRI Reporting Impact Environmental Sustainability? An Industry-Specific Analysis of CO2 Emissions Performance between Reporting and Non-Reporting Companies

Bernard¹,

Abdelgadir²

2015

JSD

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“…The literature on corporate sustainability has emphasized the growing role of ESG risks involved in investment decisions which has resulted in subsequent growth in sustainability accounting frameworks in recent years (Brown et al, 2009). However, such formal accounting has often been subject to the so-called greenwash and misapplication (Laufer, 2003;Furlow, 2010). Therefore, we suggest that existing good industry practices and culture such as specialization driven investment and co-investment practices can be the basis for integrating other emerging sustainability practices which could eventually influence firm behaviour (Gordon, 1991).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Venture Capital Firms’ Specialization, Differences and Complementarities

Siddiqui¹,

Hossain²

2016

IJBM

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The paper analyses the differences in venture capital (VC) firms, proposes a classification of the firms and empirically investigates their investment and co-investment behaviour. The VC firms are not homogeneous and beside funds they possess a diverse set of nonfinancial resources which they optimize. A classification is developed based on VC firm resources and specialization represented by organizational form and affiliation. Based on Australian market data, we classify the VC firms in three categories, namely strategic, financial and independent using resource based theory, and highlight differences. Then the firms' specialization is related to their portfolio characteristics to identify and analyse differences and complementarities in terms of investment strategies. The influence of specialization in investment and co-investment strategies is also analysed. This study shows that specialization influences investment decisions and co-investor selection. Implications of such investment practices on resource efficiency, financial viability and transition to sustainability are also discussed.

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“…The procedural and managerial value of social reporting is indirectly confirmed by the low number of schools (about 17% of the respondents) who consider social report as a marketing tool to increase the number of students enrolled. This looks positive if we consider the criticism addressed to social reporting, often considered as a mere greenwashing tool (Laufer, 2003;Marquis & Toffel, 2013).…”

Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Reporting in Italian Public Schools in Theory and Practice

Raucci¹,

Agostinone²,

Tarquinio³

2016

RES

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Some of the challenges that schools are currently facing include the stakeholders engagement, the necessity to open schools to the local territory and the need to be accountable for activities and results.The Italian reform of the school system has required schools to overcome their self-referentiality and to make themselves more accountable to stakeholders. The social reporting process can be considered as an effective response to enable schools to become accountable, triggering fruitful stakeholder engagement processes and, at the same time, implementing a management tool. This is an exploratory research paper. It aims to describe, through a questionnaire, the awareness and dissemination degree of social reporting in Public schools located in Southern Italy given the particularities of this area. Frequency percentage and descriptive statistical methods are used to interpret findings. Results show that, although social reporting is well known in theory, it is still under-used by schools in practice.

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Untitled

Cited by 926 publications

References 28 publications

Does GRI Reporting Impact Environmental Sustainability? An Industry-Specific Analysis of CO2 Emissions Performance between Reporting and Non-Reporting Companies

Does GRI Reporting Impact Environmental Sustainability? An Industry-Specific Analysis of CO2 Emissions Performance between Reporting and Non-Reporting Companies

Venture Capital Firms’ Specialization, Differences and Complementarities

Social Reporting in Italian Public Schools in Theory and Practice

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