Motivating corporate environmental reporting: a comparison of the motivations of some British Columbia and New Zealand companies in publishing environmental reports

Abstract

This research compares the motivations of four New Zealand and five Canadian companies that have published a corporate environmental report. The aim was to explore possible motivational differences that might explain the differing numbers of reports published in the two countries. Interviews and questionnaires were administered to company environmental mangers, exploring the relative importance of six motivations for environmental reporting. Low statistical reliability from the questionnaire data meant the analysis was only able to discuss sociological and political economic based reasons for the reporting gap. There are a myriad of reasons why New Zealand companies, compared to Canadian companies, are less likely to publish environmental reports. These include differences in company size and the subsequent ability to absorb reporting costs, contrasting resource management legislation and differing business norms. The internal motivations for environmental reporting do not appear to vary significantly between companies in each country except in isolated cases, where specific company and industry factors such as privatisation dominate the company strategy for reporting. An analysis of interview responses revealed that the most important reason for environmental reporting for companies in both countries was as a forum to "tell their side of the story".