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Marketing Management, Consumer Behavior.

This case is suitable to be used in advanced undergraduate and MBA/MSc level.

This case attempts to highlight the issues pertaining to Hirdaramani Mihila CKT apparel factory’s implementation of the “green space” concept. The concept of “green space” has been well accepted by the factory employees, and their participation in the “green process” is quite evident. Hirdaramani Mihila CKT is an apparel manufacturing company located in Agalawatte, Matugama, in the Kalutara District of Sri Lanka. The Mihila CKT factory was established in conformance with green building specifications and as an eco-friendly apparel industry. The administration of Mihila CKT has achieved success in three key areas after implementing this concept: cutting down energy consumption, enhancing water security, and reusing fabric waste. The factory also maintains a garden that manifests biodiversity. This case underlines the challenges and successes faced by Mihila CKT in adopting and implementing green space concept.

This case illustrates the following:

• the importance of having green technology in the apparel industry to embrace green concept;

• the effectiveness of the green space concept in relation to global green standards; and

• the potential benefits to the local residents from the green technology initiatives of an apparel factory like Hirdaramani Mihila CKT.

the importance of having green technology in the apparel industry to embrace green concept;

the effectiveness of the green space concept in relation to global green standards; and

the potential benefits to the local residents from the green technology initiatives of an apparel factory like Hirdaramani Mihila CKT.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how sustainability reporting is shaped by the global influences and particular national context where businesses operate.

The paper uses both content analysis of published sustainability information and semi-structured interviews with corporate managers to explore how sustainability reporting is used to address unique social and environmental challenges in a developing country – Sri Lanka. The use of integrative social contracts theory in investigating sustainability reporting offers novel insights into understanding the drivers for sustainability reporting practices in this particular country.

The findings reveal that managers’ perceptions about usefulness of sustainability reporting, local contextual challenges and global norms influence the extent to which companies engage in sustainability reporting and the nature of sustainability information reported. In particular, Sri Lankan company managers strive to undertake sustainability projects that are beneficial not only to their companies but also to the development of the country. However, while company managers in Sri Lanka are keen to undertake sustainability reporting, they face different tensions/expectations between global expectations and local contextual factors when undertaking sustainability projects and reporting. This is also showcased in what is ultimately reported in company annual reports, where some aspects of sustainability, e.g. social, tend to focus more on addressing local concerns whereas other disclosures are on issues that may be relevant across many contexts.

Important insights for government and other regulatory authorities can be drawn from the findings of this study. By capitalising on the strong sense of moral duty felt by company managers, policymakers can involve the business sector more to mitigate the social and environmental issues prevalent in Sri Lanka. The findings can also be used by other developing countries to enable pathways to engage with the corporate sector to contribute to national development agendas through their sustainability initiatives and projects.

While the usual understanding of developing country’s company managers is that they try to follow global trends, in Sri Lanka, this research shows how managers are trying to align their responsibilities at a national level with global principles regarding sustainability reporting. Therefore, this paper highlights how both hypernorms and microsocial rules can interact to define how company managers undertake sustainability reporting in a developing country.