Abstract
The purpose of this qualitative research was to determine the organizational characteristics that contribute to developing sustainability reports with GRI A+ application levels. Judgment sampling was used to select organizations that received an A+ GRI application level in 2010. These organizations were then surveyed using a fifteen-question survey, which emulated the semi-structured interview questions utilized by Farneti and Guthrie (2007). The survey was disseminated to 107 organizations and the responses were collated and analyzed to determine important themes relevant to this research study. The results of this research study suggest a relationship between an organization’s genuine commitment to sustainability by their leadership and a sustainability report’s compliance level. Furthermore, this research also implies a relationship between the stakeholders’ sustainability expectations and the sustainability report compliance level. The combination of an organization’s leadership expressing a genuine commitment to sustainability reporting, as well as the stakeholder’s expressing expectations for sustainably promotes a sustainability-minded culture within the organization, which facilitates sustainability report production. Also, the compliance level of an organization’s sustainability report is contingent upon the organization’s ability to overcome resource constraints and to recognize the value of the market incentives generated by the development of a sustainability report. The implications of this research provide a global, multi-industry benchmark for organizations struggling with sustainability reporting compliance, government policy-makers, and stakeholders.
Keywords
sustainability reporting, sustainability, compliance, sustainability report, CSR, corporate social responsibility, organizational structure
Date of this Version
4-2012
Department
Mechanical Engineering Technology
Department Head
Dr. Kenneth A. Burbank
Degree
Master of Science
Head of Graduate Program
Dr. James L. Mohler
Advisor 1 or Chair of Committee
Professor Bruce A. Harding
Advisor 2
Dr. Rodney G. Handy
Advisor 3
Dr. Gareth O'Donnell
Committee Member 1
Professor Bruce A. Harding
Committee Member 2
Dr. Rodney G. Handy
Committee Member 3
Dr. Gareth O'Donnell
Included in
Environmental Health and Protection Commons, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons, Sustainability Commons