Abstract

With increasing awareness of environmental issues, there has been rising

demand for environmental-friendly business practices. Prior research has
shown that the implementation of environmental management practices is
influenced by existing and potential stakeholder groups in the form of
external pressures from legislators, environmental groups, financial
institutions and suppliers, as well as internally by employees and
owner/manager attitudes and knowledge. However, it has been reported that
despite business owner/managers having strong green attitudes, the level
of implementation of environmental-friendly practices is low. In order to
explore the connection between pressures for improved practices and the
management actions taken, this article examines how influence from various
stakeholders is related to awareness of environmental issues, and how this
awareness relates to actions taken within the businesses to reduce the
environmental impact of their operations. The results indicate that legislation
does result in general environmental awareness, and that organizations are
then willing tochange their business processes and environmental strategies. However,
despite their actions they have little awareness of the benefits that might arise from cost
reductions from their environmental-friendly practices. Those influenced by
their suppliers act to reduce waste, but do not put into place formal
environmental management systems, or use environmental messages to
market their goods or services. Nevertheless, it can be argued that they have
a real commitment to environmental issues, as evidenced by a willingness to
voluntarily contribute to environmental organizations.

Giovanni Azzone, Michael Brophy, Giuliano Noci, Richard Welford, William

Young, A stakeholders' view of environmental reporting, Long Range Planning,
Volume 30, Issue 5, October 1997, Pages 699-709, ISSN 0024-6301,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0024-6301(97)00058-7.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0024630197000587)
Abstract: In practice, environmental reports can range from a simple public
relations statement to a detailed and in-depth examination of the company's
environmental performance, policies, practices and future direction. The
central objective of any environmental report has to be to communicate the
company's environmental performance to the report reader. This article is
based on the assumption that the vast majority of existing environmental
reports are unable to satisfy all of the information requirements of the
target groups for which they are written. To try and rectify this situation
the article first of all defines the different audiences, or target groups,
of an environmental report. The authors have then consulted with key
representatives of each of these target groups and identified the most
important issues that they want to see presented in an environmental report.

This information is summarized in tabular form, and from these findings the
article proposes two separate reporting strategies which companies may pursue
for a more effective environmental report: (1) they can produce a generic
report concentrating on the key points which all target groups accept as
being of primary importance; or alternatively (2) they can produce
specialized environmental reports which address all of the requirements of a
specific target group. It is the authors' intention in this article to provide
companies with the information necessary to choose and then be able to
undertake either of these scenarios.
Lars Bjrn Larsen, Strategic implication of environmental reporting, Corporate
Environmental Strategy, Volume 7, Issue 3, 2000, Pages 276-287, ISSN 10667938, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1066-7938(00)80122-0.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1066793800801220)
Abstract: As the level of environmental disclosure and stakeholder demands for
environmental information increases it is becoming more evident that a
company's environmental performance as well as its environmental reporting
activities should be considered as a strategic issue in order to ensure
consistency and balance between the business strategy, the environmental
strategy, and the reporting activities.
Through a discussion of image and environmental disclosure, challenges in
environmental information management, and a short case study, this article
explores some of the strategic implications of environmental reporting. The
author also provides useful practitioner advice on how environmental reporting
should be addressed at a strategic level*.

Green Accounting involves putting a value on a countrys natural resources,

like forests and seas, in order to have a more complete snapshot of a
countrys economic performance.
At the very minimum, every time we hear reports about GDP (gross
domestic product) growth in the news, we should also hear how
sustainable the growth really is, John Talbert, World Resources
Institute senior economist, said in an article.
Also called environmental accounting, it ultimately aims to have
integrated statistics showing the relationship between the environment
and the economy.
Under that type of accounting, countries modify their System of National
Accounts (SNA) to reflect the use and depletion of natural resources.

Data from the SNA are the basis of major economic indicators, like GDP
and gross national product (GNP).
In having data that show the contribution of the environment to the
economy, as well as the costs of pollution and environmental degradation,
governments can come up with policies tackling natural resource
management and sustainable development.
While various countries have already experimented with environmental
accounting, there has been no international consensus on a standardized
method yet.
Experts have criticized the current system of computing economic
indicators, like the GDP, as narrow. The World Conservation Union said
SNAs do not reflect some elements, such as environmental expenditures
for instance, the cost of replacing property destroyed in landslides due
to deforestation.
The lack of valuation for natural resources in the environment is one of
the major reasons for the continuing decline of ecosystems, Glenn-Marie
Lange, World Bank senior environmental economist, said in an article on
Scientific Americans website.
In the Philippines, the National Statistical Coordination Board began
implementing the UNs System of Environmental-Economic Accounts
(SEEA) in 1998. The pilot compilation included data on the countrys
forests, fish, water, mineral and energy, and land and soil. Kate
Pedroso, Inquirer Research
Sources: IUCN.org, Scientific American, the Philippine Environmental and
Natural Resources Accounting Project (Enrap Phase II) Main Report,
United Nations Statistics Division

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Hossain, M. M., Rowe, A. L., & Quaddus, M. (2013). A managerial perspective of Corporate Social and
Environmental Responsibility (CSER) reporting: Evidence from a developing country.