Using external environmental reporting to embed sustainability into organisational practices

This paper aims to explore the relationship between external environmental reporting (EER) and internal strategies, processes and activities (ISPA) to understand the role EER plays in embedding sustainability into organisational practices.

The case study considered how carbon measures associated with the carbon emissions management and reporting scheme (CEMARS) embedded sustainability into organisational practices in a family-owned wine company. Evidence collected during semi-structured interviews with informed employees was triangulated with observational data, field notes and documentary evidence.

A dynamic relationship was found between EER and ISPA, which embedded sustainability into organisational practices and promoted the developments of environmental reporting. CEMARS data were embedded into production management, capital expenditure and budget review processes, whereas more frequent EER was required by managers to support their operational activities. The company at times relied on an eco-validation approach to justify sustainability decisions despite their negative impact on short-term profit. EER contributed to the strategic planning, target setting and control functions of the management control systems.

Sustainability research should simultaneously address EER and ISPA. The interplay between the two dimensions determines whether sustainability is embedded in organisations and whether organisations will act in a sustainable manner.

The practical implication of the research is that organisations need to integrate EER information into ISPA if they want managers to establish patterns of behaviour that simultaneously consider the financial and environmental impacts of decisions. An EER such as CEMARS can provide coherence and focus for sustainability initiatives.

This research reveals that sustainability is embedded into organisations through the interactions between EER and ISPA, thus contributing to the understanding of internal organisational change. It identifies an eco-validation approach to decision-making that complements the eco-efficiency approach and shows that EER need not operate independent of internal processes and can be integrated into management control systems.