Planetary Boundaries and Sustainability Indicators. A Survey of Corporate Reporting Boundaries

The aim of this research is two fold: (a) to inquire into the methodological foundations of boundary setting for improved sustainability reporting and (b) to explore current corporate practice in this area, with a particular emphasis on environmental indicators. The paper contends that the boundaries of significant sustainability indicators should encompass all entities over which there is sustainability control, together with indirect impacts arising from activities across the supply chain, and not merely direct impacts caused by entities within boundaries based on financial control. The paper explores, through an empirical study of the sustainability reports disclosed by some of the top FT500 companies, how corporations are setting environmental boundaries in practice. Results show a lack of ambition in the practice of setting organizational and operational boundaries. Most reporting entities define organizational boundaries restricted to financial control, and most of the indirect environmental impacts sought remain undisclose

Corporate sustainability - integrating environmental and social concerns?

This article presents a case of the early stages of an attempted integration of environmental management and corporate responsibility in a UK utility company, which may, in due course, develop into a more holistic orientation towards corporate sustainability. The company had made some deliberate attempts to link environmental and social responsibility issues. However, this integration was partial and contested within the company. The case shows that dealing with environmental soundness and starting to integrate environmental and social issues and management need not be a sequential process. Institutional and wider social factors are shown to play a strong role in influencing company thinking and actions in this area, seemingly sending rather mixed signals in this case. The case also highlights the role of sustainability champions in making links between the organization’s business purpose, its environmental performance and its social responsibility in terms of the long term sustainability of the region and the company’s future