Purpose This paper aims to propose and apply a novel risk-based approach to explore whether socio-political theories explain the level of corporate environmental disclosures given inconclusive evidence on the relation between environmental disclosure and environmental performance. Design/methodology/approach Based on content analysis of corporate risk reporting, the paper develops measures of environmental risk to proxy for a firm’s exposure to public pressure in regard to environmental concerns that should be positively associated with the level of corporate environmental disclosures according to socio-political theories. Multiple regressions are used to test the predictions of socio-political theories for US Standards and Poor’s 500 constituents from polluting sectors. Findings The level of environmental disclosures is found to be positively associated with a firm’s environmental risk while unrelated to its environmental performance. The findings suggest that firms tend to provide higher levels of environmental disclosures in response to greater exposure to public pressure as depicted by broad environmental indicators. The results are robust to alternative measures of environmental disclosures, environmental risk and environmental performance, alternative specifications of the economic model and additional sensitivity checks. Research limitations/implications This study is limited to US firms in polluting sectors. The risk-based approach proposed may not be appropriate to cover sectors where corporate risk reporting is less likely to address environmental risk, but it could potentially be adopted in other countries with advanced risk reporting regulation or practice. Practical implications Findings are important to understand a firm’s incentives to disclose environmental information. Cross-sectional differences found in environmental disclosures, risk and performance, highlight the importance of considering industry affiliation when analyzing environmental data. Originality/value This paper is the first to use firm-level environmental risk variables to explain the level of corporate environmental disclosures. The risk-based approach taken suggests opportunities for research at the multi-country level and in countries where corporate environmental performance data are not publicly available.

In the 29 years following \"Our Common Future\" by the United Nations, there is considerable debate among governments, civil society, interest groups and business organisations about what constitutes sustainable development, which constitutes evidence for a contested discourse concerning sustainability. The purpose of this study is to understand this debate in the developing economic context of Brazil, and in particular, to understand and critique the social and environmental accounting [SEA] discursive constructions relating to the State-owned, Petrobras as well as to understand the Brazilian literature on SEA. The discourse theory [DT]-based analysis employs rhetorical redescription to analyse twenty-two reports from Petrobras from 2004-2013. I investigate the political notions by employing the methodological framework of the Logics of Critical Explanation [LCE]. LCE engenders five methodological steps: problematisation, retroduction, logics (social, political and fantasmatic), articulation and critique. The empirical discussion suggests that the hegemony of economic development operates to obfuscate, rhetorically, the development of sustainability, so as to maintain the core business of Petrobras conceived as capital accumulation. Equally, these articulations also illustrate how the constructions of SEA operate to serve the company\'s purpose with few (none) profound changes in integration of sustainability. The Brazilian literature on SEA sustains the status quo of neo-liberal market policies that operate to protect the dominant business case approach to maintain an agenda of wealth-creation in relation to social and environmental needs. The articulations of the case manifested in policies regarding, for example, corruption, which involved over-payments for contracts and unsustainable practices relating to the use of fossil fuels and demonstrated that there was antagonism between action and disclosure. The corruption scandal that emerged after SEA disclosures highlighted the rhetorical nature of disclosure when financial resources were subtracted from the company for political parties and engineering contractors hid facts through incomplete disclosures. The articulations of SEA misrepresent a broader context of the meanings associated with sustainability, which restricted the constructions of SEA to principally serve and represent the intention of the most powerful groups. The significance of SEA, then is narrowed to represent particular interests. The study argues for more critical studies as limited Brazilian literature concerning SEA kept a \'safe distance\' from substantively critiquing the constructions of SEA and its articulations in the Brazilian context. The literature review and the Petrobras\' case illustrate a variety of naming, instituting and articulatory practices that endeavour to maintain the current hegemony of development in an emerging economy, which allows Petrobras to continue to exercise significant profit at the expense of the social and environmental. The constructed idea of development in Petrobras\' discourses emphasises a rhetoric of wider development, but, in reality, these discourses were the antithesis of political, social and ethical developmental issues. These constructions aim to hide struggles between social inequalities and exploitation of natural resources and constitute excuses about a fanciful notion of rhetorical and hegemonic neo-liberal development. In summary, this thesis contributes to the prior literature in five ways: (i) the addition of DT to the analysis of SEA enhances the discussion of political elements such as hegemony, antagonism, logic of equivalence/difference, ideology and articulation; (ii) the analysis of an emerging economy such as Brazil incorporates a new perspective of the discussion of the discourses of SEA and development; (iii) this thesis includes a focus on rhetoric to discuss the maintenance of the status quo; (iv) the holistic structure of the LCE approach enlarges the understanding of the social, political and fantasmatic logics of SEA studies and; (v) this thesis combines an analysis of the literature and the case of Petrobras to characterise and critique the state of the Brazilian academy and its impacts and reflections on the significance of SEA. This thesis, therefore, argues for more critical studies in the Brazilian academy due to the persistence of idea of SEA and development that takes-for-granted deep exclusions and contradictions and provide little space for critiques. / Em 29 anos da publicação \"Nosso Futuro Comum\" apresentado pelas Nações Unidas, ainda há um considerável debate entre governos, sociedade civil, grupos interessados e organizações empresariais sobre o que constitui o desenvolvimento sustentável e, portanto, há evidência da contestabilidade do discurso sobre sustentabilidade. A proposta desse estudo é entender esse debate em um contexto de desenvolvimento econômico no Brasil e, em particular, entender e criticar as construções discursivas de contabilidade social e ambiental [CSA] relacionadas à estatal Petrobras, assim como discutir a literatura brasileira de CSA. A análise baseada na Discourse Theory [DT] usa redescrição retórica para analisar vinte e dois relatórios da Petrobras entre 2004 e 2013. Eu investigo as noções políticas através do emprego da metodologia chamada Logics of Critical Explanation [LCE]. A LCE tem cinco passos metodológico: problematização, explicação retrodutiva, lógicas (sociais, políticas e fantasmáticas), articulação e crítica. Os resultados sugerem que a hegemonia do desenvolvimento econômico opera para obscurecer retoricamente o desenvolvimento da sustentabilidade que mantém o core business da Petrobras igualmente concebido como acumulação de capital. Igualmente, essas articulações também ilustram como as construções de CSA operam para servir o propósito da empresa com pouca (ou nenhuma) profunda mudança na integração com a sustentabilidade. A literatura brasileira de CSA sustenta o status quo de políticas de mercado neoliberais que operam para proteger a dominante abordagem do business case para manter a agenda de geração de riqueza num cenário de necessidade sociais e ambientais. As articulações do estudo de caso manifestaram essas políticas, por exemplo, em relação à corrupção, no qual envolveu superfaturamento de contratos e práticas insustentáveis relacionadas ao uso de combustíveis fósseis os quais demonstraram que há antagonismo entre ação e disclosure. O escândalo de corrupção que surgiu após as divulgações de CSA marcou a natureza retórica do disclosure em que recursos financeiros subtraídos da empresa para partidos políticos e empreiteiras esconderam fatos através de disclosures incompletos. As articulações da CSA deturpam um contexto amplo dos significados associados com a sustentabilidade, que restringiram as construções da CSA para principalmente servir e representar a intenção dos grupos mais poderosos. A significância da CSA é, portanto, limitada para representar interesses particulares. O estudo argumenta por mais estudos críticos já que a limitada literatura brasileira sobre CSA mantém uma \'distância segura\' de substantivas críticas das construções de CSA e suas articulações no contexto brasileiro. A revisão da literatura e o caso da Petrobras ilustram a variedade de nomes, instituições e práticas articulatórias que se esforçam para manter a atual hegemonia de desenvolvimento numa economia emergente que permite à Petrobras continuar a exercer significante lucro à custa do social e do meio ambiente. A ideia construída de desenvolvimento nos discursos da Petrobras enfatiza uma retórica ampla de desenvolvimento, mas, na realidade, esses discursos são antíteses de questões políticas, sociais e éticas de desenvolvimento. Essas construções objetivam esconder as lutas entre desigualdades sociais e exploração dos recursos naturais as quais constituem pretextos sobre uma fantasiosa noção de desenvolvimento retórico, hegemônico e neoliberal. Em resumo, esta tese contribui para a antecedente literatura em cinco principais aspectos: (i) a adição da DT para a análise da CSA engrandece a discussão de elementos políticos tais como hegemonia, antagonismo, lógica de equivalência/diferença, ideologia e articulação; (ii) a análise de uma economia emergente como o Brasil incorpora uma nova perspectiva nas discussões dos discursos da CSA e do desenvolvimento; (iii) esta tese também inclui um foco na retórica para discutir a manutenção do status quo; (iv) a estrutura holística da abordagem LCE amplia os entendimentos das lógicas sociais, políticas e fantasmáticas dos estudos de CSA e; (v) esta tese combina uma análise da literatura e do caso da Petrobras para caracterizar e criticar o estado da academia brasileira e seus impactos e reflexos na significância da CSA. Esta tese, portanto, argumenta por mais estudos críticos na academia brasileira devido à persistente ideia de desenvolvimento que taken-for-granted profundas exclusões e contradições e proporciona pouco espaço para críticas.

In the 29 years following \"Our Common Future\" by the United Nations, there is considerable debate among governments, civil society, interest groups and business organisations about what constitutes sustainable development, which constitutes evidence for a contested discourse concerning sustainability. The purpose of this study is to understand this debate in the developing economic context of Brazil, and in particular, to understand and critique the social and environmental accounting [SEA] discursive constructions relating to the State-owned, Petrobras as well as to understand the Brazilian literature on SEA. The discourse theory [DT]-based analysis employs rhetorical redescription to analyse twenty-two reports from Petrobras from 2004-2013. I investigate the political notions by employing the methodological framework of the Logics of Critical Explanation [LCE]. LCE engenders five methodological steps: problematisation, retroduction, logics (social, political and fantasmatic), articulation and critique. The empirical discussion suggests that the hegemony of economic development operates to obfuscate, rhetorically, the development of sustainability, so as to maintain the core business of Petrobras conceived as capital accumulation. Equally, these articulations also illustrate how the constructions of SEA operate to serve the company\'s purpose with few (none) profound changes in integration of sustainability. The Brazilian literature on SEA sustains the status quo of neo-liberal market policies that operate to protect the dominant business case approach to maintain an agenda of wealth-creation in relation to social and environmental needs. The articulations of the case manifested in policies regarding, for example, corruption, which involved over-payments for contracts and unsustainable practices relating to the use of fossil fuels and demonstrated that there was antagonism between action and disclosure. The corruption scandal that emerged after SEA disclosures highlighted the rhetorical nature of disclosure when financial resources were subtracted from the company for political parties and engineering contractors hid facts through incomplete disclosures. The articulations of SEA misrepresent a broader context of the meanings associated with sustainability, which restricted the constructions of SEA to principally serve and represent the intention of the most powerful groups. The significance of SEA, then is narrowed to represent particular interests. The study argues for more critical studies as limited Brazilian literature concerning SEA kept a \'safe distance\' from substantively critiquing the constructions of SEA and its articulations in the Brazilian context. The literature review and the Petrobras\' case illustrate a variety of naming, instituting and articulatory practices that endeavour to maintain the current hegemony of development in an emerging economy, which allows Petrobras to continue to exercise significant profit at the expense of the social and environmental. The constructed idea of development in Petrobras\' discourses emphasises a rhetoric of wider development, but, in reality, these discourses were the antithesis of political, social and ethical developmental issues. These constructions aim to hide struggles between social inequalities and exploitation of natural resources and constitute excuses about a fanciful notion of rhetorical and hegemonic neo-liberal development. In summary, this thesis contributes to the prior literature in five ways: (i) the addition of DT to the analysis of SEA enhances the discussion of political elements such as hegemony, antagonism, logic of equivalence/difference, ideology and articulation; (ii) the analysis of an emerging economy such as Brazil incorporates a new perspective of the discussion of the discourses of SEA and development; (iii) this thesis includes a focus on rhetoric to discuss the maintenance of the status quo; (iv) the holistic structure of the LCE approach enlarges the understanding of the social, political and fantasmatic logics of SEA studies and; (v) this thesis combines an analysis of the literature and the case of Petrobras to characterise and critique the state of the Brazilian academy and its impacts and reflections on the significance of SEA. This thesis, therefore, argues for more critical studies in the Brazilian academy due to the persistence of idea of SEA and development that takes-for-granted deep exclusions and contradictions and provide little space for critiques. / Em 29 anos da publicação \"Nosso Futuro Comum\" apresentado pelas Nações Unidas, ainda há um considerável debate entre governos, sociedade civil, grupos interessados e organizações empresariais sobre o que constitui o desenvolvimento sustentável e, portanto, há evidência da contestabilidade do discurso sobre sustentabilidade. A proposta desse estudo é entender esse debate em um contexto de desenvolvimento econômico no Brasil e, em particular, entender e criticar as construções discursivas de contabilidade social e ambiental [CSA] relacionadas à estatal Petrobras, assim como discutir a literatura brasileira de CSA. A análise baseada na Discourse Theory [DT] usa redescrição retórica para analisar vinte e dois relatórios da Petrobras entre 2004 e 2013. Eu investigo as noções políticas através do emprego da metodologia chamada Logics of Critical Explanation [LCE]. A LCE tem cinco passos metodológico: problematização, explicação retrodutiva, lógicas (sociais, políticas e fantasmáticas), articulação e crítica. Os resultados sugerem que a hegemonia do desenvolvimento econômico opera para obscurecer retoricamente o desenvolvimento da sustentabilidade que mantém o core business da Petrobras igualmente concebido como acumulação de capital. Igualmente, essas articulações também ilustram como as construções de CSA operam para servir o propósito da empresa com pouca (ou nenhuma) profunda mudança na integração com a sustentabilidade. A literatura brasileira de CSA sustenta o status quo de políticas de mercado neoliberais que operam para proteger a dominante abordagem do business case para manter a agenda de geração de riqueza num cenário de necessidade sociais e ambientais. As articulações do estudo de caso manifestaram essas políticas, por exemplo, em relação à corrupção, no qual envolveu superfaturamento de contratos e práticas insustentáveis relacionadas ao uso de combustíveis fósseis os quais demonstraram que há antagonismo entre ação e disclosure. O escândalo de corrupção que surgiu após as divulgações de CSA marcou a natureza retórica do disclosure em que recursos financeiros subtraídos da empresa para partidos políticos e empreiteiras esconderam fatos através de disclosures incompletos. As articulações da CSA deturpam um contexto amplo dos significados associados com a sustentabilidade, que restringiram as construções da CSA para principalmente servir e representar a intenção dos grupos mais poderosos. A significância da CSA é, portanto, limitada para representar interesses particulares. O estudo argumenta por mais estudos críticos já que a limitada literatura brasileira sobre CSA mantém uma \'distância segura\' de substantivas críticas das construções de CSA e suas articulações no contexto brasileiro. A revisão da literatura e o caso da Petrobras ilustram a variedade de nomes, instituições e práticas articulatórias que se esforçam para manter a atual hegemonia de desenvolvimento numa economia emergente que permite à Petrobras continuar a exercer significante lucro à custa do social e do meio ambiente. A ideia construída de desenvolvimento nos discursos da Petrobras enfatiza uma retórica ampla de desenvolvimento, mas, na realidade, esses discursos são antíteses de questões políticas, sociais e éticas de desenvolvimento. Essas construções objetivam esconder as lutas entre desigualdades sociais e exploração dos recursos naturais as quais constituem pretextos sobre uma fantasiosa noção de desenvolvimento retórico, hegemônico e neoliberal. Em resumo, esta tese contribui para a antecedente literatura em cinco principais aspectos: (i) a adição da DT para a análise da CSA engrandece a discussão de elementos políticos tais como hegemonia, antagonismo, lógica de equivalência/diferença, ideologia e articulação; (ii) a análise de uma economia emergente como o Brasil incorpora uma nova perspectiva nas discussões dos discursos da CSA e do desenvolvimento; (iii) esta tese também inclui um foco na retórica para discutir a manutenção do status quo; (iv) a estrutura holística da abordagem LCE amplia os entendimentos das lógicas sociais, políticas e fantasmáticas dos estudos de CSA e; (v) esta tese combina uma análise da literatura e do caso da Petrobras para caracterizar e criticar o estado da academia brasileira e seus impactos e reflexos na significância da CSA. Esta tese, portanto, argumenta por mais estudos críticos na academia brasileira devido à persistente ideia de desenvolvimento que taken-for-granted profundas exclusões e contradições e proporciona pouco espaço para críticas.

The economic activities of multinational corporations (MNCs) in the extractive industries of developing countries produce a myriad of immediate negative social, economic and environmental impacts on communities hosting their operations. Consequently, stakeholders have increasingly called for (greater) accountability of these corporations for the impacts of their operations on stakeholders and the wider society. The extent to which these MNCs are accountable for their operations' negative environmental impacts in the developing countries is underexplored as prior studies have primarily focused on corporate social responsibility rather than accountability of these corporations. However, accountability apparently means different things to different parties, and especially in a non-Western context. This thesis primarily seeks to explore the concept of accountability in a developing country context and how it is understood and practised within the Nigerian oil industry. More specifically, it seeks to understand the extent to which oil MNCs in Nigeria discharge accountability in the context of gas flaring and oil spills environmental pollution emanating from their operations. The study utilises a mixed methods approach to generate data to provide understanding on stakeholders' conceptions of accountability, the nature of accounts constructed by the MNCs on gas flaring and oil spills environmental incidents, and the plausible corporate sense-making embedded within those accounts. The empirical data produce both general and nuanced conceptions of accountability between the MNCs and stakeholders. An account-giving heuristic highlights four broad and further nuanced accounts the corporations provide on these negative environmental incidents which are largely in conflict with stakeholders' narratives. Moreover, the sense-making analysis of the MNCs' accounts suggests that those accounts apparently serve corporate self-interest rather than the discharge of accountability. However, organisational, institutional, relational, and national contextual factors apparently encourage the un-accountability of the MNCs. Accountability in the Nigerian oil industry will remain elusive without critical institutional and regulatory reforms.