Sustainability and integrated reporting : a study of the inhibitors and enablers of integrated reporting

 Integrated Reporting is an emerging phenomenon that promises to bring together the material information about an organisation\u27s strategy, governance, performance and prospects in a way that reflects the commercial, social and environmental context within which it operates. This report captures the variety of organisational factors that are relevant to decisions about Integrated Reporting in Australia.&nbsp

Integrated reporting and internal mechanisms of change

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the internal mechanisms employed by early adopters of integrated reporting in Australia to manage their reporting process and explores whether integrated reporting is stimulating innovative disclosure mechanisms

The Glycemic Index

The glycemic index is a ranking of carbohydrate containing foods. Foods are ranked according to their immediate effect on blood sugar levels. The higher a food raises blood sugar, the higher its glycemic inde

Walking the talk(s) : Organisational narratives of integrated reporting

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how the managers of early adopting Australian firms contribute to the institutionalisation of integrated reporting (IR). Design/methodology/approach – This study is situated within institutional theory. The authors undertook semi-structured interviews with 23 Australian managers. The authors drew on Gabriel's (2000) poetic analytics to show how the sensemaking activities of the early adopters contribute to the institutionalisation process. Findings – Two main narratives dominate our managers’ experience: IR as story-telling and IR as meeting expectations. These two narratives are constructed simultaneously and theyset up contrasting plots regarding salient events, responsibilities and characters that are resolved through one or more of three “inter-narratives” that background these tensions. The inter-narratives suggest time, the company's strategy, and talking and engagement can solve problems. Research limitations/implications – The authors argue that the managers of early adopting firms are important in the institutionalisation process. Even though they may not necessarily be institutional entrepreneurs they do engage in important “institutional work”. The study is limited by its predominant focus on only one participant to the institutionalisation process, and it is may be the case that the institutionalisation of IR is not ultimately successful. Originality/value – Provides in-depth insights into an under-researched participant in an institutional field contributes to institutionalisation. Additionally, it sheds light on the conditions under which firms will engage with IR

Sustainability reporting and non-reporters : understanding why companies do not produce sustainability reports

 This report explores the social and organisational factors that help to explain why some ASX200 listed companies, in selected industries, do not provide detailed and comprehensive stand-alone sustainabilty reports.&nbsp

The ‘purpose ecosystem’ : emerging private sector actors in earth system governance

The private sector arguably plays a critical role in addressing the challenges of the Anthropocene and providing potential solutions to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Recently, a myriad of new actors in the form of intermediaries, initiatives and organisations have started driving wider systems change by advocating and advising companies to reconsider and broaden their fundamental ‘raison d’être’. In this Perspective we argue that the emergence of this ‘purpose ecosystem’ could play an important function within earth system governance, specifically by endorsing and accelerating action aligned with achieving the UN SDGs; yet we also highlight a number of risks, barriers and critical considerations for its overall assessment and propose important questions for further research

From “business as usual” to sustainable “purpose‐driven business”: challenges facing the purpose ecosystem in the United Kingdom and Australia

Purpose‐driven businesses have a stated objective to contribute to the welfare of society and the planet alongside generating shareholder value. As interest in purpose‐driven businesses grows, an emerging “purpose ecosystem” of advisers, investors, and enablers offers different types of support for businesses wanting to transition to sustainability. This paper examines how the transition towards purpose‐driven business in Australia and the United Kingdom requires addressing challenges facing this support ecosystem at three levels. First, at the individual level where support providers need to build the capabilities of managers who are experiencing tensions around integrating societal and environmental purpose while facing pressure for maximizing shareholder value. Second, the support providers working within the purpose ecosystem offering professional advice and finance face their own tensions between environmental or social objectives and commercial pressures. Third, there are challenges facing actors in the ecosystems aiming to change the wider policy and institutional environment but facing lobbying from those wanting to keep “business as usual.” We identify practical implications for those parts of the purpose‐driven business ecosystem providing support. This includes building capabilities to combine social, environmental, and commercial purpose; coordination among support providers; and creating an institutional environment to avoid “purpose wash.

Optical and Infrared Photometry of the Type Ia Supernovae 1999da, 1999dk, 1999gp, 2000bk, and 2000ce

We present BVRI photometry of the Type Ia supernovae 1999da, 1999dk, 1999gp, 2000bk, and 2000ce, plus infrared photometry of three of these. These objects exhibit the full range of decline rates of Type Ia supernovae. Combined optical and infrared data show that families of V - infrared color curves can be used to derive the host extinction (A_V) of these objects. Existing data do not yet allow us to construct these loci for all color indices and supernova decline rates, but the V-K color evolution is sufficiently uniform that it allows the determination of host extinction over a wide range of supernova decline rates to an accuracy of roughly +/- 0.1 mag. We introduce a new empirical parameter, the mean I-band flux 20 to 40 days after maximum light, and show how it is directly related to the decline rate.Comment: 53 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal (scheduled for the September 2001 issue