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1 – 10 of 15Federica Doni, Antonio Corvino and Silvio Bianchi Martini
Lately, sustainability issues are increasingly affecting all sectors, even if oil and gas industry is highly required to improve its social performance because of the societal…
Abstract
Purpose
Lately, sustainability issues are increasingly affecting all sectors, even if oil and gas industry is highly required to improve its social performance because of the societal pressure to environmental protection and social welfare. Sustainability concerns and corporate governance features and practices are more and more connected because sustainability has been perceived as a crucial topic by owners and managers. In this perspective, the empirical analysis aims to explore whether and to what extent, sustainability-oriented corporate governance model is linked with social performance.
Design/methodology/approach
By adopting a multi-theoretical framework that includes the legitimacy theory, the stakeholder theory and the resource-based view theory, this analysis used a sample of 42 large European-listed companies belonging to the oil and gas industry. The authors run fixed effects regression models by using a dependent variable, i.e. the social score, available in ASSET4 Thomson Reuters, and some independent variables focused on sustainable corporate governance models, stakeholder engagement, firm profitability, market value and corporate risk level.
Findings
Drawing upon the investigation of a moderating effect, findings display that stakeholder engagement is positively associated with corporate social performance and it can be considered an important internal driver able to shape a corporate culture and most likely to address corporate social responsibility issues.
Research limitations/implications
This study confirms the need to develop an organizational and holistic approach to corporate governance practices by analyzing internal and external governance mechanisms. From the managerial perspective, managers should opt for a sustainable corporate governance model, as it is positively correlated with corporate social performance.
Originality/value
There is an urgent need to investigate sustainability issues and their potential association with firm internal mechanisms, particularly in the oil and gas industry. This paper can extend the current body of knowledge by pointing out a positive relationship between stakeholder engagement and firm social performance.
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The purpose of this paper is to show the impact that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have on the evolution of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). GRI is a sustainability…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show the impact that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have on the evolution of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). GRI is a sustainability report disclosed by business organizations to meet the demands and interests of various stakeholders. These stakeholders’ needs have influenced GRI and its guidelines.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology for this paper is library-based archival research. It is qualitatively and analytically descriptive of prior academic research and published literature on the subject.
Findings
Sustainability accounting rulemaking has evolved overtime resulting in proliferation of reporting rules. These rules have improved the extent and scope of environmental and economic performances that businesses disclose in GRI.
Originality/value
GRI has provided the foundation for integrated reporting (IR). Both GRI and IR have ecological and functional dimensions. Sustainability is functionally inherent in the accounting principle of materiality, when disclosed in external reporting. The ongoing concern of business assumes an organization is systemic and operates as a living entity only when it can provide sustainable performance that benefits stakeholders and society.
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Muhammad Arhami, Anita Desiani, Munawar and Raisah Hayati
Purpose – The purpose of this research is to study the ecological developments that are growing rapidly and are complemented by technological developments that make ecology a…
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this research is to study the ecological developments that are growing rapidly and are complemented by technological developments that make ecology a discipline which is able to collaborate, integrate, and use data for the development of science.
Design/Methodology/Approach – The method involves integration, analysis, and conclusion, drawing knowledge dissemination from heterogeneous ecological data that make the ecological research so complex requiring an approach to simplify the problem.
Findings – The data involved in ecology are very complex and diverse and spread from various sources, which are not mutually integrated so that a structured arrangement is required through the arrangement of computer-based data management.
Research Limitations/Implications – Eco-informatics is one of the options to manage the data, settings, and transform it into information and knowledge.
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Iordanis Eleftheriadis and Evgenia Anagnostopoulou
This study aims to examine the various climate change practices adopted by firms and develop a set of corporate indexes that measure the level of climate change corporate…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the various climate change practices adopted by firms and develop a set of corporate indexes that measure the level of climate change corporate commitment, climate change risk management integration and climate change strategies adoption. Moreover, this study examines the relationship between the aforementioned indexes. The authors claim that there is a positive relationship between the adoption of climate change strategies, corporate commitment and risk management integration. The aforementioned indexes have been used to assess the largest companies in the oil and gas sectors.
Design/methodology/approach
To assess this study’s sample companies, a content analysis of their carbon disclosure project (CDP) reports for the years 2012-2015 was conducted. Finally, weights were assigned to the content analysis data based on the results of a survey regarding the difficulty of implementing each climate change practice included in the respective index. The survey sample included climate change experts who are either currently employed in companies that are included in the Financial Times Global 500 (FT 500) list, or work as external partners with these companies.
Findings
The present study results highlight the need for developing elaborate corporate indexes, as the various climate change practices have different degrees of difficulty regarding their implementation. Additionally, a general trend in adopting climate change strategies is observed, especially in the field of carbon reduction strategies, which mainly involve the implementation of low carbon technologies. Finally, a positive and significant relationship was found between carbon reduction targets, risk management integration and climate change strategies.
Practical implications
Although international research has extensively examined the importance of managers’ perceptions on environmental issues as an enabling factor in developing environmental strategies, according to the results of our survey, corporations must go beyond top management commitment towards climate change to be able to successfully implement climate change strategies. Incorporation of climate change risk management procedures into a company’s core business activities as well as the establishment of precise carbon reduction targets can provide the basis on which successful climate change strategies are implemented.
Originality/value
Most studies address the issue of climate change management in terms of environmental or sustainability management. Furthermore, research on climate change and its relationship with business management is mainly theoretical, and climate change corporate performance is measured with aggregate indexes. This study focuses on climate change which is examined from a five-dimensional perspective: top management commitment, carbon reduction targets, risk management integration, carbon reduction and carbon compensation strategies. This allows us to conduct an in-depth analysis of the various climate change practices of firms.
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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the scientific basis of the Paris climate agreement.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the scientific basis of the Paris climate agreement.
Design/methodology/approach
The analyses are based on the IPCC’s own reports, the observed temperatures versus the IPCC model-calculated temperatures and the warming effects of greenhouse gases based on the critical studies of climate sensitivity (CS).
Findings
The future emission and temperature trends are calculated according to a baseline scenario by the IPCC, which is the worst-case scenario RCP8.5. The selection of RCP8.5 can be criticized because the present CO2 growth rate 2.2 ppmy−1 should be 2.8 times greater, meaning a CO2 increase from 402 to 936 ppm. The emission target scenario of COP21 is 40 GtCO2 equivalent, and the results of this study confirm that the temperature increase stays below 2°C by 2100 per the IPCC calculations. The IPCC-calculated temperature for 2016 is 1.27°C, 49 per cent higher than the observed average of 0.85°C in 2000.
Originality/value
Two explanations have been identified for this significant difference in the IPCC’s calculations: The model is too sensitive for CO2 increase, and the positive water feedback does not exist. The CS of 0.6°C found in some critical research studies means that the temperature increase would stay below the 2°C target, even though the emissions would follow the baseline scenario. This is highly unlikely because the estimated conventional oil and gas reserves would be exhausted around the 2060s if the present consumption rate continues.
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Michele Machado, Marcos Sousa, Vicente Rocha and Antonio Isidro
The purpose of this study is to identify innovation models in the judiciary according to the current integrated theoretical approach for innovation in services.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify innovation models in the judiciary according to the current integrated theoretical approach for innovation in services.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a quantitative approach. The authors collected the data through a questionnaire sent to labor court public servants and judges in a Regional Labor Court in the Midwestern region of Brazil. They performed a principal component analysis to identify the factors to map the innovation models present in the court.
Findings
Two factors were obtained from the results, which describe innovations in processes and services in the court studied. In terms of the examples of innovations cited by the respondents, one may note that those related to information and communications technology are the most remembered, especially the introduction of the electronic lawsuit.
Originality/value
The results can contribute toward a deeper understanding of which vectors of service innovation are affected as well as the nature of the court’s underlying structure. Also, the research instrument used allows the identification and analysis of the innovation model for services and thus contributes to its validation.
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