The emancipatory potential of extinction accounting: Exploring current practice in integrated reports

Maroun, Warren; Atkins, Jill

doi:10.1016/j.accfor.2017.12.001

Cited by 58 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 57 publications

(96 reference statements)

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“…We classified these studies into two groups. The first group focused on developing a normative framework for corporate reporting (Atkins & Maroun, ; Atkins, Maroun, Atkins, & Barone, ; Maroun & Atkins, ). The framework claims to be emancipatory and transformational by encouraging a corporation to develop a narrative account of its own understanding of species extinction and how it is acting to prevent extinctions.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring factors relating to extinction disclosures: What motivates companies to report on biodiversity and species protection?

2020

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This paper seeks to contribute to the existing business strategy and the environment literature by investigating the disclosure practices of biodiversity/extinction (B/E) and threatened species. We use greenwashing theory to understand global companies' motivation to report on B/E information. Data are collected from 200 Fortune Global companies for 3 years. We develop our comprehensive 53 disclosure index and create and test OLS regression model to measure the relationships between B/E disclosures and its determinants factors including environmental performance, industry sector, country, assurance, environmental awards, presence of biodiversity partners, and the number of species' related disclosure. Our results reveal that there are positive significant relationships between B/E disclosure and assurance provided by the Big 4: gaining an environmental award, companies from high biodiversity risk sectors, developing countries, presence of biodiversity partners, and how many specific biodiversity words are published in companies' reports. On the other hand, there are positive insignificant relationships between B/E disclosure and assurance: poor performers and the number of species disclosed in companies' reports. Our findings have important implications for regulators and policymakers. Our evidence appears to be robust when controlling for possible endogeneities.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring factors relating to extinction disclosures: What motivates companies to report on biodiversity and species protection?

2020

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“…A similar attempt to develop a normative framework for corporate reporting is set out in three recent papers - , Maroun and Atkins (2018), and Atkins, Maroun, Atkins, and Barone (2018) -describing the notion of "extinction accounting". The framework claims to be emancipatory and transformational by encouraging a corporation to develop a narrative account of its own understanding of species extinction and how it is acting to prevent extinctions.…”

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confidence: 99%

MakingAccounting for BiodiversityResearch a Force for Conservation

Cuckston

2018

Social and Environmental Accountability Journal

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Within the accounting literature, there has recently been a rapid rise in the number of published papers concerned with the issue of biodiversity. The argument expressed within these papers tends to begin by stressing the magnitude of planet-wide biodiversity loss, frequently invoking the warning from some biologists that humanity is causing a modern-day mass extinction event (see Ceballos et al., 2015). The argument then proceeds to suggest that since accounting plays a major role in shaping society, then accounting for biodiversity can/should have a role in addressing biodiversity loss (e.g. Jones & Solomon, 2013). However, within this extant literature there have emerged two distinct approaches to thinking about how accounting can play such a role. A first approach focuses on efforts to bring biodiversity into existing social and environmental accountability mechanisms, such as corporate sustainability reporting. A second approach takes a different starting point, looking instead to biodiversity conservation efforts and then investigating the role of accounting in such efforts. The purpose of this short commentary is to set out the essential features of these two approaches, and to argue that it is this second approach that offers research in accounting for biodiversity the most potential to develop into a force for conservation. First approach: biodiversity reporting A major stream of accounting research on the theme of biodiversity has been the study of corporate reporting on this topic. As such, this work is a continuation of social and environmental accounting research into corporate disclosure practices, or what Bebbington and Larrinaga (2014, p. 397) call a 'sociology of preparers'. Content analyses of biodiversity reporting have covered listed corporations

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“…23. Earlier literature highlighted the emancipatory potential of extinction accounting by organisations, or other bodies, in order to use the dynamic status of species populations as a call for action and transformational change (Maroun and Atkins, 2018;Atkins and Atkins, 2019).…”

Section: Aaajmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Naturalist's Journals of Gilbert White: exploring the roots of accounting for biodiversity and extinction accounting

Atkins

Maroun

2020

AAAJ

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PurposeThis paper explores the historical roots of accounting for biodiversity and extinction accounting by analysing the 18th-century Naturalist's Journals of Gilbert White and interpreting them as biodiversity accounts produced by an interested party. The authors aim to contribute to the accounting history literature by extending the form of accounting studied to include nature diaries as well as by exploring historical ecological accounts, as well as contributing to the burgeoning literature on accounting for biodiversity and extinction accounting.Design/methodology/approachThe authors’ method involves analysing the content of Gilbert White's Naturalist's Journals by producing an 18th-century biodiversity account of species of flora and fauna and then interpretively drawing out themes from the Journals. The authors then provide a Whitean extinction account by comparing current species' status with White's biodiversity account from 250 years ago.FindingsThis paper uses Gilbert White's Naturalist's Journals as a basis for comparing biodiversity and natural capital 250 years ago with current species' status according to extinction threat and conservation status. Further the paper shows how early nature diary recording represents early (and probably the only) forms of accounting for biodiversity and extinction. The authors also highlight themes within White's accounts including social emancipation, problematisation, aesthetic elements and an example of an early audit of biodiversity accounting.Research limitations/implicationsThere are limitations to analysing Gilbert White's Naturalist's Journals given that the only available source is an edited version. The authors therefore interpret their data as accounts which are indicative of biodiversity and species abundance rather than an exactly accurate account.Practical implicationsFrom the authors’ analysis and reflections, the authors suggest that contemporary biodiversity accounting needs to incorporate a combination of narrative, data accounting and pictorial/aesthetic representation if it is to provide a rich and accurate report of biodiversity and nature. The authors also suggest that extinction accounting should draw on historical data in order to demonstrate change in natural capital over time.Social implicationsSocial implications include the understanding gleaned from the authors’ analysis of the role of Gilbert White as a nature diarist in society and the contribution made over time by his Journals and other writings to the development of nature accounting and recording, as well as to one’s understanding and knowledge of species of flora and fauna.Originality/valueTo the authors’ knowledge this is the first attempt to analyse and interpret nature diaries as accounts of biodiversity and extinction.

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The emancipatory potential of extinction accounting: Exploring current practice in integrated reports

Cited by 58 publications

References 57 publications

Exploring factors relating to extinction disclosures: What motivates companies to report on biodiversity and species protection?

Exploring factors relating to extinction disclosures: What motivates companies to report on biodiversity and species protection?

MakingAccounting for BiodiversityResearch a Force for Conservation

The Naturalist's Journals of Gilbert White: exploring the roots of accounting for biodiversity and extinction accounting

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