The Role of Environmental Initiatives in Encouraging Companies to Engage in Environmental Reporting

A number of studies have indicated that the environmental disclosure of corporations is still at a very low level even though they are faced with increasing pressures from diverse stakeholder groups, including governmental agencies, to address environmental concerns. In spite of the substantial contingent financial exposure created by the superfund legislation in the US for chemical and similar firms, disclosures of liabilities are a relatively recent phenomenon (Milne and Patten, 2002). In an attempt to encourage and help corporations to engage in environmental reporting, some international organisations have produced environmental initiatives. This study considers a range of these initiatives, put forward by different organisations as an attempt to aid the development of social and environmental disclosures. The question, which the study attempts to answer, is whether these initiatives help corporations to overcome the obstacles preventing the production of more detailed environmental reports.