Accounting for carbon in the FTSE100: Numbers, narratives and credibility

PhDThe United Kingdom Government has mandated ambitious carbon objectives, requiring an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050, and a 20% interim reduction by 2020. Their achievement will require government and large companies to work together, and for each to be assured of the other’s strategic intent. An emergent carbon accounting can provide reassurance if it produces credible information that supports the claims made by each party. This thesis investigates the extent to which carbon reduction narratives are supported or contradicted by actual carbon emissions disclosed in corporate accounting reports. It also investigates whether large corporations have delivered absolute carbon reductions in support of the government’s legally binding objectives. As a result of these and other investigations, the thesis contributes to the carbon accounting literature by critiquing the method of framing emissions employed by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the extent to which carbon reduction is supported by meaningful managerial incentives and the means by which analysts might rebalance financial return with carbon risk in portfolio construction. Following a middle ground approach, the research employs a numbers and narratives analysis in which critical alternative narratives are created at national, sectoral and firm levels. The analysis disaggregates macro carbon emissions data, and considers carbon emissions at a corporate meso and micro level. Narratives constituted out of these numbers, together with counter-narratives generated from corporate disclosures, are then evaluated to assess their credibility. The thesis adopts a practical approach, utilising multiple framing devices. In addition to reporting scopes 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions, it describes a business model framework in which firms are expected to disclose their carbon-material stakeholder relations. Further recommendations are aimed at aligning the interests of corporate managers, investors and financial analysts with government carbon policy in order to modify behaviour and reduce emissions trajectories towards a lower carbon future

Accounting for carbon and reframing disclosure : A business model approach

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Colin Haslam, John Butlin, Tord Andersson, John Malamatenios, and Glen Lehman, 'Accounting for carbon and reframing disclosure: A business model approach', Accounting Forum, Vol. 38 (3): 200-211, September 2014, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accfor.2014.04.002, Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This manuscript version is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/The paper contributes to the research in accounting and the debate about the nature of carbon footprint reporting for society. The paper utilises numbers and narratives to explore changes in carbon footprint using UK national carbon emissions data for the period 1990–2009 and six years (2006–2011) of carbon emissions data for the FTSE 100 group of companies and a case study that focuses on the UK mixed grocery sector. Our argument is that existing approaches to framing carbon disclosure generate malleable, inconsistent and irreconcilable numbers and narratives. In this paper we argue for an alternative framing of carbon disclosure informed by a reporting entities business model. Specifically, we suggest, that a reporting entity disclose its carbon–material stakeholder relations. This alternative, we argue, would increase the visibility of carbon generating stakeholder relations and avoid some of the difficulties and arbitrariness associated with framing carbon disclosure around a reporting entity boundary where judgements have to be made about responsibility and operational control.Peer reviewe

Accounting for decarbonisation and reducing capital at risk in the S&P500

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Colin Haslam, Nick Tsitsianis, Glen Lehman, Tord Andersson, and John Malamatenios, ‘Accounting for decarbonisation and reducing capital at risk in the S&P500’, Accounting Forum, Vol. 42 91): 119-129, March 2018. Under embargo until 7 August 2019. The final, definitive version is available online at doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accfor.2018.01.004.This article accounts for carbon emissions in the S&P 500 and explores the extent to which capital is at risk from decarbonising value chains. At a global level it is proving difficult to decouple carbon emissions from GDP growth. Top-down legal and regulatory arrangements envisaged by the Kyoto Protocol are practically redundant given inconsistent political commitment to mitigating global climate change and promoting sustainability. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and European Commission (EC) are promoting the role of financial markets and financial institutions as drivers of behavioural change mobilising capital allocations to decarbonise corporate activity.Peer reviewe

Qualification roadmap empowering the Greek building sector workforce in the field of energy

Summarization: A key factor hampering the delivery of high energy performance renovations in buildings is the under-qualification of the construction sector's workforce with regard to energy efficiency and renewable energy sources systems. Towards this direction, this paper proposes an integrated methodological framework, determining measures for the case of Greece, which are delivered in the form of a national qualification roadmap. These measures aim to enhance the qualifications of the blue collar workers and generally empower the Greek construction sector. They also facilitate the adherence of Greece to the European Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Sources Directives and support the attainment of the national energy objectives for 2020. The methodological framework is initiated with the analysis of the status quo of the Greek building sector and the skills and qualifications gap of the workforce, as well as the identification of the corresponding barriers that impede growth. Subsequently, a number of diverse measures are proposed and evaluated, using a synergy of decision analysis and evaluation methods. The measures that are assessed as of high priority are afterwards specified to concrete actions. Throughout the whole modular procedure, multiple relevant national bodies were actively engaged via transparent consultation procedures and multilateral discussions. Finally, 44 acknowledged organisations declared their endorsement to the roadmap by signing an official letter.Presented on: Renewable and Sustainable Energy Review