An English-for-specific-purposes motivated analysis of corporate sustainability reports: An analysis of text and context

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on corporate sustainability reports (CSRs). In doing so, a number of rhetorical moves were identified in such reports and the rhetorical purposes of those moves were investigated. The findings helped understand the corporations’ eco-ideologies and priorities.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 12 CSRs from laptop-manufacturing companies were chosen. The CSRs then underwent data coding which led to the identification of rhetorical moves and sub-moves. The identified moves were then analyzed contextually to interpret the corporations’ larger-scale ideologies.

Findings

The findings identified a number of rhetorical moves. For instance, the corporations were shown to stress issues, such as resource management and waste management, in the CSRs. In addition, linguistic analysis of the CSRs indicated that the companies accepted their share in environmental issues and aimed to address such issues.

Originality/value

The present study is the first known attempt at analyzing the CSRs issues by laptop manufacturers. While some previous studies (Mason and Mason, 2012) have investigated the CSRs issued by a wide array of companies, no existing study has focused on tech companies.

Citation

Saeli, H. (2019), "An English-for-specific-purposes motivated analysis of corporate sustainability reports: An analysis of text and context", Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 24 No. 3, pp. 456-470. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-10-2018-0111