Water disclosure and firm risk: Empirical evidence from highly water‐sensitive industries in China

In this paper, we examine the relationship between water disclosure and firm risk. Specifically, based upon a panel dataset of 334 Chinese listed firms operating in highly water‐sensitive industries during 2010–2015, we use regression models to analyze the relationships between water disclosure and three types of firm risk (i.e., total risk, systematic risk, and idiosyncratic risk) and the moderating effects of media coverage on these relationships. Our empirical results show that (a) although there are no significant relationships between water disclosure and total risk and idiosyncratic risk, there is a significant negative relationship between water disclosure and systematic risk; (b) negative media coverage weakens the negative relationship between water disclosure and systematic risk, whereas nonnegative media coverage reinforces this negative relationship. Our cornerstone study examines the effect of a specific type of environmental disclosure (i.e., water disclosure) on firm risk, and our empirical findings are different from previous studies, which examined the effects of overall corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure on firm risk. We analyze the causes of the differences in detail. With this study, we make theoretical, empirical, and managerial contributions to CSR disclosure–firm risk research in business ethics literature

Social water assessment protocol: a step towards connecting mining, water and human rights

The human right to water has recently been recognized by both the United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Council. As the mining industry interacts with water on multiple levels, it is important that these interactions respect the human right to water. Currently, a disconnect exists between mine site water management practices and the recognition of water from a human rights perspective. It has been argued that the Minerals Council of Australia Water Accounting Framework can be used to strengthen the connection between water management and human rights. This article extends this connection through the use of a Social Water Assessment Protocol (SWAP). The SWAP is a scoping tool consisting of a set of questions classified into taxonomic themes under leading topics with suggested sources of data that enable mine sites to better understand the local water context in which they operate. Three of the themes contained in the SWAP - gender, Indigenous peoples and health - are discussed to demonstrate how the protocol may be useful in assisting mining companies to consider their impacts on the human right to water

Review of methods addressing freshwater use in life cycle inventory and impact assessment

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