Sustainability and the Corporate Reporting System
My paper explores foundational sustainability reporting concepts, including what corporate sustainability reporting is, what form it should take, what difference it makes and what role ought to be played by reporting standards. The starting point is the Brundtland definition of sustainable development (Brundtland, 1987) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs; UN, 2015). These have two […]
Richard Barker is a Professor of Accounting at the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford. This post is based on his recent article forthcoming in the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy.
My paper explores foundational sustainability reporting concepts, including what corporate sustainability reporting is, what form it should take, what difference it makes and what role ought to be played by reporting standards.
The starting point is the Brundtland definition of sustainable development (Brundtland, 1987) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs; UN, 2015). These have two implications for the corporate sector. First, to the extent that corporations provide the goods and services with which society meets its needs, there is public interest in the ongoing financial viability (and therefore profitability) of the corporate sector. Second, to the extent that the private economic incentives of corporations (and their investors) are realised at the expense of sustainability goals (including at a cost to future generations), there is conflict between the interests of society and those of investors and others with beneficial interests in corporate activity.
