Organisations globally are communicating their environmental sustainability impact to stakeholders by means of the widely used sustainability report. A key benefit of environmental sustainability reporting is that organisations can gain a positive reputation when these reports are presented to stakeholders. Organisations in South Africa are faced with many challenges regarding managing sustainability information and producing an environmental sustainability report. Two of the primary challenges are the many diverse standards for sustainability reporting and data quality issues. Information Technology (IT) can be used to support and improve the process of sustainability reporting but it is important to align the environmental sustainability strategies with the strategies of business and also with the IT strategy to avoid silos of information and reporting. Enterprise Architecture (EA) can be used to solve alignment problems since it supports business-IT alignment. EA is defined by the International Standards Organisation (ISO) as “The fundamental concepts or properties of a system in its environment embodied in its elements, relationships, and in the principles of its design and evolution”. It can be argued, therefore, that EA can be used to support environmental sustainability information management and the reporting process by means of its support of improved business-IT alignment and ultimately integrated systems. The main objective of this study is to investigate how EA can be used to support environmental information management (EIM) and reporting. A survey study of thirty one prominent South African organisations was undertaken in order to investigate the status of their EA adoption and environmental reporting and EIM processes. An EA for EIM Toolkit and a set of guidelines are proposed which can provide support for EIM through the use of EA. These guidelines were proposed based on best-practice for each of the three process levels of an organisation, namely, the strategic level, the operational level and the technological level. The toolkit and guidelines were derived from theory and the results of the industry survey were then validated by an in-depth analysis of a case study consisting of multiple cases with key employees of seven South African organisations which have proved to be successful at EA and EIM and reporting. The results of the case study show that the EA for EIM Toolkit and related guidelines can assist organisations to align their environmental sustainability strategies with their organisational and IT strategies.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: It is calculated that the biosphere is worth between $16 and $54 trillion. The environment, however, is constantly under threat of proposed development that focuses on recreational, industrial, commercial and residential developments. The environment is an unobtrusive subject. Members of the public can seldom gain firsthand experience about those activities and actions that influence the environment. Therefore, the public relies heavily on the media to inform them of the general state of the environment. This thesis aims to provide guidelines to journalists who work in the field of environmental reporting. Various models of the communication of science, according to which environmental journalists present their work, are discussed. Sustainable journalism is presented as a solution in the debate between objective and subjective reporting. Environmental journalists have diverse sources to tap in search of credible articles. Attention is given to the specific relationship between the media, scientists and lobby groups. Attention is also given to the process of interviewing sources. Certain issues and activities generate more media attention than others. This is discussed with reference to news subjects, agenda setting and the framing of messages. Attention is given to the issues that make a subject newsworthy, ie risk journalism, local input, human interest, conflict and visual impact. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die waarde van die biosfeer word geskat tussen $16 en $54 triljoen. Die omgewing word daagliks in gedrang gebring deur voorgestelde ontwikkeling wat fokus op ontspanning, industriële, kommersiëleen residensiële uitbreidings. Omdat die omgewing 'n onopvallende ("unobtrusive")onderwerp is, steun die publiek swaar op die media om hulle in te lig oor die belangrikheid en invloed van gebeurtenisse in die omgewing wat hulle nie self kan ervaar nie. Daarom speel omgewingsjoernalistiek 'n baie spesifieke rol in die bewusmaking van die publiek oor aspekte wat die omgewing bedreig of interessant maak. Dit moet ook die publiek aanspoor tot direkte omgewingsvriendelikeaksies. Riglyne word in hierdie verhandeling uiteengesit in 'n poging om tot hulp te wees vir joernaliste wat die omgewing hul belangstellingsveldwil maak. Die verskillende modelle van wetenskaplike kommunikasie, waarvolgens omgewingsjoernaliste hul werk aanbied, word bespreek. Volhoubare joernalistiek word as oplossing aangebied in die debat oor objektiewe en subjektiewe verslaggewing. Die verskillende bronne wat omgewingsjoernaliste kan tap om nuuswaardige artikels te kan skryf, word bespreek. Daar word veral gekyk na die media se verhouding en wisselwerking met wetenskaplikes en drukgroepe. Die proses van onderhoudsvoering word ook bespreek. Die suksesvolle gebruik van nuusonderwerpe, asook agendastelling en die raming van artikels om 'n bepaalde boodskap oor te dra, word bespreek om lig te werp op die vraag waarom sekere omgewingsverwante gebeure meer media-aandag genereer as andere Aandag word gegee aan die faktore wat nuuswaardigheid beïnvloed, soos die onmiddellikheid van nuus, risiko-joernalistiek, plaaslike inhoud, die menslike nuushoek, konflik en beeldmateriaal.

Svenska branschen för bostadsbolag bidrar till en stor del av landets miljöpåverkan. Tillsammans står bostadsbolagen för 10 till 40 % av Sveriges förbrukning av energi och farliga kemikalier, avfallsgenerering och utsläpp. Trots denna påverkan råder det stor variation i vilken omfattning som svenska allmännyttiga kommunala bostadsbolag miljöredovisar. Ur tidigare forskning identifierades variabler som antas påverka miljöredovisningens omfattning vilket formade studiens syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att utreda i vilken omfattning som allmännyttiga kommunala bostadsaktiebolag i Sverige miljöredovisar och analysera hur mängden lagenliga miljöupplysningar påverkas av bolagsstorlek, lönsamhet, skuldsättningsgrad, miljöledningssystemets kvalitet och kommunalpolitik.   Denna dokumentstudie genomför en innehållsanalys för att samla in numerisk data främst från årsredovisningar från 134 allmännyttiga kommunala bostadsaktiebolag. För att analysera insamlad data sammanställdes deskriptiv statistik och en multipel linjär regressionsanalys utfördes.   Studien finner att det råder stor spridning i vilken omfattning som allmännyttiga kommunala bostadsaktiebolag miljöredovisar. Dessutom urskiljer studien att miljöredovisningen är av liten omfattning i större delen av bolagen. Slutsatserna är i linje med tidigare forskning som studerat miljöredovisning i bostadsbolag. Regressionsanalysen visar att skuldsättningsgrad och kommunalpolitik har en signifikant positiv inverkan på miljöredovisningens omfattning.   Då denna studie enbart granskar miljöredovisning för ett specifikt räkenskapsår kan en intressant aspekt för vidare forskning vara att undersöka en längre tidsperiod. Det hade även varit av intresse att studera andra former av bostadsbolag, förslagsvis privatägda.   Det finns få studier som fokuserar på allmännyttiga kommunala bostadsbolag och miljöredovisning. Till skillnad från tidigare studier bedöms miljöredovisningens omfattning genom att beräkna antal ord relaterat till bolagets interaktion med miljön. Med hjälp av denna studie kan bostadsbolag se om förbättringar är nödvändiga. / The Swedish real estate sector contributes to a large part of the country’s environmental impact. Collectively, real estate companies account for 10 to 40 % of Sweden's energy consumption and hazardous chemicals, waste generation and emissions. Despite this impact, there is a large spread in the extent to which Swedish public municipal housing companies conduct environmental reporting. From previous research, variables were identified that are assumed to affect the extent of environmental reporting, which formed the purpose of the study: The purpose of this study is to investigate to what extent municipal housing company in Sweden conduct environmental reporting and analyze how the amount of legal environmental disclosures is affected by company size, profitability, leverage, quality of the environmental management system and local government politics.   This document analysis conducts a content analysis to collect numerical data mostly from annual reports of 134 public municipal housing companies. To analyze the collected data, descriptive statistics were compiled and a multiple linear regression analysis was performed.   The study finds that there is a large spread in the extent to which public municipal housing companies conducts environmental reporting. In addition, the study distinguishes that the environmental reporting is small in scaleamong many of the companies. The findings are consistent with previous research that also studied environmental reporting in real estate companies. The regression analysis shows that leverage andlocal government politics have a significant positive impact on the extent of environmental disclosures.   Since this study only examines environmental reporting for a particular fiscal year, an interesting aspect for future research can be to examine a longer period of time. It had also been of interest to study other types ofhousing companies, such as privately owned.   There are few studies that focus on public municipal housing companies and environmental reporting. Unlike previous studies, the extent of environmental reporting is assessed by counting number of words related to the company's interaction with the environment. With the help of this study, real estate companies can see whether improvements are required.

Miljö- och hållbarhetsredovisning har blivit en viktig del för företag att använda i syfte att legitimera sin verksamhet. Inom miljö- och hållbarhetsredovisning finns ett ramverk som är upprättat av Global Reporting Initiative. Detta ramverk är idag det mest fullständiga och används av företag som vill förmedla sin miljö- och hållbarhetsinformation på ett seriöst sätt. Idag finns inga krav i form av lagstiftning för företag att använda något ramverk för miljö- och hållbarhetsrapportering. Detta medför att företag fritt kan välja om de vill följa något ramverk eller inte. De företag som inte väljer att följa något ramverk kan alltså fritt välja på vilket sätt och hur de ska rapportera sin miljö- och hållbarhetsinformation.I denna undersökning har jag valt ut åtta företag fördelat på två olika branscher som inte följer ramverket från Global Reporting Initiative. Detta urval har gjorts för att kunna se hur och vad företag rapporterar när det själva kan välja fritt. De frågeställningar som tas upp i uppsatsen är om det går att se dominans av kvalitativ eller kvantitativ information, om det går att se om företagens miljö- och hållbarhetsredovisningar kan vara missvisande och vilka skillnader som finns mellan branscherna jag valt. Syftet med uppsatsen är att få en förståelse för hur företag väljer att redovisa sin miljö- och hållbarhetsinformation och vilka skillnader som går att hitta.Resultatet av undersökningen visar att företagen inom oljeindustrin var mer benägna att rapportera miljö- och hållbarhetsinformation. Den mest sannolika förklaringen till detta resultat är att deras legitimitetsbehov kan anses tyngre än för företagen inom industribranschen. Resultatet visar också att det var stark dominans av kvalitativ information i rapporterna. Det framgick även att miljö- och hållbarhetsredovisningarna i vissa fall kan vara missvisande.Det som är viktigt är att miljö- och hållbarhetsredovisningar alltid granskas av en revisor för att intressenter ska kunna vara säkra på att informationen är användbar i beslutssituationer. Jag anser att det är viktigt att forskare fortsätter att granska hur och på vilket sätt företag redovisar sin miljö- och hållbarhetsinformation.

Background: Companies today are under increasing pressure from their stakeholders to become more and more transparent regarding the way they deal with the impact on the environment and the communities where they operate in. This type of information is mainly provided by means of sustainability reports. Several guidelines have been developed to aid report makers on the way. Currently however these sustainability reports still differ widely in the quantity of information provided which makes them difficult to compare and it is therefore important to understand the factors that can influence the amount of information being published. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the factors having an impact on the amount of sustainability information published by Swedish companies using the guidelines developed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Method: Telephone interviews were conducted with eleven of the twenty-three Swedish companies listed in the GRI register in order to get their point of view regarding these factors. Results: The study identified that the willingness to communicate with more than one stakeholder group is the most important factor that can influence the amount of information disclosed in sustainability reports. The authors also argue that a proactive attitude towards identifying legitimation strategies instead of an adaptive approach can also influence the degree of disclosure. Finally, a positive attitude towards the GRI guidelines may also contribute to producing a more detailed report.

<p>Background: Companies today are under increasing pressure from their stakeholders to become more and more transparent regarding the way they deal with the impact on the environment and the communities where they operate in. This type of information is mainly provided by means of sustainability reports. Several guidelines have been developed to aid report makers on the way. Currently however these sustainability reports still differ widely in the quantity of information provided which makes them difficult to compare and it is therefore important to understand the factors that can influence the amount of information being published.</p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the factors having an impact on the amount of sustainability information published by Swedish companies using the guidelines developed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).</p><p>Method: Telephone interviews were conducted with eleven of the twenty-three Swedish companies listed in the GRI register in order to get their point of view regarding these factors.</p><p>Results: The study identified that the willingness to communicate with more than one stakeholder group is the most important factor that can influence the amount of information disclosed in sustainability reports. The authors also argue that a proactive attitude towards identifying legitimation strategies instead of an adaptive approach can also influence the degree of disclosure. Finally, a positive attitude towards the GRI guidelines may also contribute to producing a more detailed report.</p>

M.Tech. Internal Auditing / Mining can have a positive impact on Namibia by contributing towards economic growth and infrastructure development, by creating jobs, and by increasing foreign currency earnings; but on the other hand, the exploration of natural resources often runs in parallel with corruption, exploitation, environmental devastation, and population displacement through migrant labour. It is therefore imperative for mines to be sustainable in their operations: in other words, mines must protect and enhance the economic, social and environmental milieus of Namibia. The main objective of a mining company is profit maximisation through exploitation of natural resources, and the company can therefore be defensive, even antagonistic, towards sustainable operations and sustainability reporting. The pressure from mining companies' stakeholders for them to be transparent in their operations, and to report on all sustainability-related issues is increasing, and research has indicated that mining companies are, in the majority, supportive of the initiative, and realise the advantages of pursuing sustainable operations. Research results from the study indicated that between the different types of companies, and between countries, there is a significant variation in the sustainability reporting performance, both delivered and required. Improvement opportunities were identified in a number of areas with regards to the quality, consistency and extent of sustainability reporting. The rationale and the motivation for this study was therefore to determine the standard of integrated sustainability reporting being achieved by mining companies in Namibia, in order to determine the needs and shortcomings in the sustainability reporting arena. The final deliverable of this study was to develop a reporting framework which could enable enhanced integrated sustainability reporting by providing the mining industry in Namibia with a structured framework that conforms to world class standards.

The broad aim of this research was to assess the decision-usefulness of environmental reports produced by South African companies that are listed on the Johanessburg Securities Exchange (JSE) to users of the reports. The study was motivated by a lack of research on the decision-usefulness of environmental reports in South Africa. The study was conducted in two phases. The first phase in form of a content analysis evaluated the decision-usefulness of the environmental reports of top 100 JSE-listed South African companies using a control list and a judgement scale. The second phase in form of a questionnaire survey was aimed at determining, the information needs of users of environmental reports produced by South African companies (that are listed on the JSE), the extent to which they read and employ the reports for making decisions. In addition, this phase was meant to ascertain the degree of users' satisfaction with the decision-usefulness of the environmental reports as well as elicit their suggestions on ways of improving the reports. Furthermore, the second phase was aimed at determining the users’ perception of the relative importance of environmental reports as well as ascertaining whether there was an expectation gap between the users and the preparers of the reports with regard to their decision-usefulness. The results of the content analysis phase of the study indicate that the environmental reports of the sampled companies were decision-useful, however their decision-usefulness varied widely. Although decision-useful, the environmental reports of the sampled companies were not comparable. In addition, the environmental reports of companies from sectors with a significant impact on the environment, and those of large companies were more decision-useful than the reports of companies from sectors with an insignificant impact on the environment and those of smaller companies. The results of the questionnaire survey phase of the study indicate that users prefer balanced environmental reports that disclose both negative and positive aspects that identify and describe key relevant issues, that are specific and contain accurate information, and that provide future oriented information. In addition, users prefer environmental reports that identify and address key stakeholders and their concerns, demonstrate the integration of environmental issues into core business processes, and that compare quantitative impacts against best practice. Furthermore, the results also indicate that users do read environmental reports, mostly from companies’ websites Portable Document Format (PDF) annual reports and that they mostly use the environmental reports for research, their own knowledge, and to hold companies accountable. However, users are not fully satisfied with the decision-usefulness of the environmental reports as they feel that there is a need to improve the reports in order to make them more decision-useful. The results also indicate that users perceive environmental reports to be more important than any other type of reports, most notably the financial reports. Comparing the responses of the users to those of preparers on various issues pertaining to the decision-usefulness of environmental reports, significant differences were found between the views of the two groups. These differences provide ample evidence that is consistent with the existence of an environmental reporting expectation gap in South Africa. This study makes several original contributions to environmental reporting literature, most notable of which is that, it is the first study in the South African context to empirically evaluate the quality (decision-usefulness) of environmental reports in line with the accounting conceptual frameworks and the GRI guidelines combined. By so doing, the study introduces to the academic literature an extensive five dimensional qualitative characteristic framework for evaluating the quality (decision-usefulness) of environmental reports. In addition, the study uniquely employs the decision-usefulness theory to provide insights into the environmental reporting practices of South African companies that are listed on the JSE. In so doing, it re-contextualises the theory that is typically employed in explaining financial reporting, and demonstrates its applicability in explaining the decision-usefulness of the environmental reporting practices of South African companies that are listed on the JSE. / Accounting / D. Com. (Accounting)

The broad aim of this research was to assess the decision-usefulness of environmental reports produced by South African companies that are listed on the Johanessburg Securities Exchange (JSE) to users of the reports. The study was motivated by a lack of research on the decision-usefulness of environmental reports in South Africa. The study was conducted in two phases. The first phase in form of a content analysis evaluated the decision-usefulness of the environmental reports of top 100 JSE-listed South African companies using a control list and a judgement scale. The second phase in form of a questionnaire survey was aimed at determining, the information needs of users of environmental reports produced by South African companies (that are listed on the JSE), the extent to which they read and employ the reports for making decisions. In addition, this phase was meant to ascertain the degree of users' satisfaction with the decision-usefulness of the environmental reports as well as elicit their suggestions on ways of improving the reports. Furthermore, the second phase was aimed at determining the users’ perception of the relative importance of environmental reports as well as ascertaining whether there was an expectation gap between the users and the preparers of the reports with regard to their decision-usefulness. The results of the content analysis phase of the study indicate that the environmental reports of the sampled companies were decision-useful, however their decision-usefulness varied widely. Although decision-useful, the environmental reports of the sampled companies were not comparable. In addition, the environmental reports of companies from sectors with a significant impact on the environment, and those of large companies were more decision-useful than the reports of companies from sectors with an insignificant impact on the environment and those of smaller companies. The results of the questionnaire survey phase of the study indicate that users prefer balanced environmental reports that disclose both negative and positive aspects that identify and describe key relevant issues, that are specific and contain accurate information, and that provide future oriented information. In addition, users prefer environmental reports that identify and address key stakeholders and their concerns, demonstrate the integration of environmental issues into core business processes, and that compare quantitative impacts against best practice. Furthermore, the results also indicate that users do read environmental reports, mostly from companies’ websites Portable Document Format (PDF) annual reports and that they mostly use the environmental reports for research, their own knowledge, and to hold companies accountable. However, users are not fully satisfied with the decision-usefulness of the environmental reports as they feel that there is a need to improve the reports in order to make them more decision-useful. The results also indicate that users perceive environmental reports to be more important than any other type of reports, most notably the financial reports. Comparing the responses of the users to those of preparers on various issues pertaining to the decision-usefulness of environmental reports, significant differences were found between the views of the two groups. These differences provide ample evidence that is consistent with the existence of an environmental reporting expectation gap in South Africa. This study makes several original contributions to environmental reporting literature, most notable of which is that, it is the first study in the South African context to empirically evaluate the quality (decision-usefulness) of environmental reports in line with the accounting conceptual frameworks and the GRI guidelines combined. By so doing, the study introduces to the academic literature an extensive five dimensional qualitative characteristic framework for evaluating the quality (decision-usefulness) of environmental reports. In addition, the study uniquely employs the decision-usefulness theory to provide insights into the environmental reporting practices of South African companies that are listed on the JSE. In so doing, it re-contextualises the theory that is typically employed in explaining financial reporting, and demonstrates its applicability in explaining the decision-usefulness of the environmental reporting practices of South African companies that are listed on the JSE. / Accounting / D. Com. (Accounting)

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / The objective of this research study was to investigate whether socially responsible companies that disclose their carbon emission, referred to in this research report as ‘carbon disclosure leaders’, outperform their non-disclosing counterparts, referred to in this research report as ‘carbon disclosure laggards’. This research study attempted to substantiate the relationship between companies’ carbon disclosure practices and companies’ share price performance. An empirical analysis was conducted with a focus on South African-listed Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) top-100 companies. A portfolio approach was utilised to establish if any significant relationship exists between company carbon disclosure and company share price performance. Portfolios were constructed based on companies that participated in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and were thus categorised into JSE industry sectors. It was assumed that by using industry-specific sectors, the macro-economic conditions would generally affect all companies in that specific sector in a similar way, thus enabling comparative analysis. The results from this study subsequently found, having done various analyses in terms of share price growth and carbon disclosure, that no significant correlation exists in terms of the CDP. This would, however, be correct in terms of the analysed data, which is limited at times, but cannot be necessarily inferred as a broader statement. Intuitively, it can be said that carbon disclosure and greater ratings in terms of the CDP would imply that companies are more positive in dealing with their carbon footprint, which would be more positive for their long-term existence and sustainability. Equally, it could also yield various cost savings that will translate into higher earnings and earnings per share that drive share price growth. In becoming more active in reducing the carbon footprint, companies would also reduce their risk profile since they would be better aligned to potential restrictive carbon emission legislation and improve their public profile, which could again boost profitability. Further arguments can be made to suggest that disclosure of a company’s carbon initiatives and footprint would benefit the company’s value and share price performance. Thus, having observed the outcomes of the analyses conducted in this report, the more appropriate question would be if other factors exist that could have affected the outcomes as observed and whether these factors could have overshadowed the proof that there is a positive correlation between share price growth and carbon disclosure.