master thesis sustainability reporting

THE SUSTAINABILITY INSIGHT SYSTEM

THESIS,  created and developed by TSC, is a performance assessment system that  guides  retailers and suppliers to benchmark, quantify, and take action on critical sustainability issues within their consumer product supply chains.  

Science-Based Insights

Eliminates Survey Fatigue

Established Assessments

Data-Backed Decision Making

THESIS For Retailers and Suppliers  

For Retailers:

C urrent retailers:

Ahold delhaize usa, costco, dollar tree, family dollar, kroger, sam’s club, staples, tractor supply company, walgreens, walgreens boots alliance (wba), walmart, woolworths..

For Suppliers :

In 2023, tsc will introduce a common reporting period for all suppliers on thesis to current retail customers. this common reporting period is designed to support supplier engagement with thesis and minimize survey fatigue  .

Learn more about THESIS

Where did thesis come from  .

THESIS was originally created by TSC starting in 2009 and launched as The Sustainability Index in 2014. In 2019, TSC partnered with SupplyShift to create our current iteration of THESIS, powered by SupplyShift’s cutting edge platform and informed by TSC’s deep roots in higher education, including ASU and Wageningen University + Research. THESIS currently has more retail users than ever before.  

Every spring, TSC staff work with TSC members to revise and update THESIS for the upcoming fall campaign.   

Who is SupplyShift ?  

THESIS is powered by SupplyShift , TSC’s partner who is committed to helping businesses create more transparent, responsible, and resilient supply chains. Learn more about SupplyShift and visit THESIS on their platform . 

What is the Science Behind THESIS?

THESIS is rooted in TSC’s university-based, scientific methodology. THESIS is based in LCA methodology and was developed in a pre-competitive way using TSC’s stakeholder engagement expertise that brings the CPG industry, NGOs, and higher education together for greater impact. It is this combination of stakeholders that sets THESIS apart from other consultant-led performance assessment platforms.  

TSC methodology is based on creating and evolving strict, LCA-based key performance indicators using relevant sources and evidence for hotspots.  

THESIS 2022 at a Glance

TSC Impact Report

Summary of 2021 THESIS Scores — From 2016 to 2021, the THESIS assessments of product manufacturers have improved (relatively):

From 32.5% to 48.4% (where 100% equals the maximum score)..

This is an indication that the systems and processes put in place to respond to THESIS KPIs are creating positive changes in the manufacturer’s practices and its supply chain, leading to an overall improvement in scores. Scores improved from 2020 to 2021 at about the same pace they have annually over all six years.

THESIS Industry Insight Reports  

HOUSEHOLD CHEMICALS

PACKAGING INSIGHTS

TRENDS IN TEXTILES

The Difference: University-Based Research

TSC and THESIS originate from our founding university, Arizona State University , with contributions from our partnership with Wageningen University + Research.   

Get Started with THESIS Today

Amy Scoville-Weaver

Director, Retail

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Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, sustainability reporting quality and the financial sector: evidence from china.

Meditari Accountancy Research

ISSN : 2049-372X

Article publication date: 18 May 2022

Issue publication date: 13 October 2023

Based on institutional theory, this paper aims to examine whether, and if so which, institutional forces influence the quality of China’s listed financial institutions’ (FIs) sustainability disclosures.

Design/methodology/approach

Using univariate statistical and multiple regression analyses, this study quantitatively examines the impacts of coercive pressure from the government and stock exchanges, imitation within subsectors and normative pressure from industry associations and regulators on the quality of China’s listed FIs’ sustainability disclosures. Assessment of the robustness of regression results uses panel random-effects and generalized methods of moments estimation.

Financial sector corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure quality did not increase dramatically following issue of the “Guiding Opinions on Establishing a Green Finance System.” However, a convergence in quality is found over time. State ownership concentration and state links to dominant shareholders negatively impact the quality of financial sector sustainability disclosures, whereas stock exchange index listing requirements and industry association reporting guidance have positive influences.

Research limitations/implications

First, data availability limits the sample to listed financial firms with RKS quality scores. Thus, results may not be generalizable to the broader listed and unlisted financial sector. Second, this study only examines the influence of external forces based on institutional theory. However, internal institutional forces, such as corporate governance, may require examination. This study’s results indicate that coercive pressure, as represented by issue of the “Green Finance” policy, has not yet prompted the financial sector to improve reporting quality; however, normative pressure has had significant influence in influencing FIs’ CSR practices, with China’s banks potentially taking a leading role.

Originality/value

The financial sector has a lower direct environmental impact than traditional polluting industries and different operating and reporting structures, features often used to argue for its exclusion in prior studies. However, its indirect environmental impact via lending and investing activities is significant, suggesting evidence on the determinants of sustainability disclosure quality is required. This study uses evidence from China’s financial sector to reduce this gap in the literature.

• CSR disclosures
• Financial sector
• Institutional theory
• Multiple regression modeling

Dong, S. , Xu, L. and McIver, R.P. (2023), "Sustainability reporting quality and the financial sector: evidence from China", Meditari Accountancy Research , Vol. 31 No. 5, pp. 1190-1214. https://doi.org/10.1108/MEDAR-05-2020-0899

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited

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Sustainability as part of accountability and organisational reporting

Leanne Gaul

“Sustainaiblity is here to stay or we may not be.” Niall FitzGerald, Co-Chairman of Unilever

Introduction

Sustainability reporting is a relatively new concept when compared with traditional accounting methods evidenced in Mesopotamia, 6000 years ago 1 .Increasing legislative, taxation and economic influences commencing from the industrial revolution in the 19th century have brought about iterative development of accounting and reporting policy. 2 This development seeks to bring together evolving stakeholder needs and expectations and organisational performance. 3

Numerous sustainability reporting terms have developed over time such as; corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting, triple bottom line (TBL) reporting, corporate sustainability and social responsibility (CSSR) reporting, environment, social and governance (ESG) and corporate citizenship reporting. 4  The evolution of these terms has led to them being used interchangeably, however this is incorrect, each of these names provide differing context, however ‘sustainability reporting’ encapsulates the spirit of all terms and will be used for the remainder of this chapter.

In more recent times the effects of climate change have escalated environmental disasters resulting in increased stakeholder concerns and a call for greater transparency over environmental and social impacts caused by organisational operations. 5 The mechanism for accountability is provided through sustainability reporting, however these disclosures are an outcome to the policies and practices implemented by organisations, hence reporting should be viewed as a process of planning, accounting and reporting. 6 As this process occurs on a regular basis it is recognised as the sustainability reporting cycle . 7 Each phase provides important contributions to the effectiveness of sustainability performance and reporting outcomes, as summarised in diagram 1 below.

Sustainability Reporting Phase 1 – Planning

This phase requires the identification of sustainability risks to the organisation and pinpointing the most strategically relevant risk. 9  Issues in the planning phase are motivated by the sustainability strategy, which is driven by the organisations mission, vision, goals and objectives, hence communicating an understanding what of sustainability is to employees and stakeholders becomes crucial. Absence of a clear definition can translate to stakeholder confusion over what is considered sustainable activity and what is not.

The most widely accepted definition was developed by the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987 in their seminal “Our Common Future” report (or the “Brundtland Report”). 10 The Brundtland Report focussed on sustainable development to offset rising negative impacts to social and environmental systems triggered by organisational activities. The writers of the report sought to convey the importance of action to combat the effects of climate change, hence sustainable development was conceived as development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. 11 The concept of ‘future generations’ as stakeholders was previously not considered due to their lack of existence in a present context which did not allow for the possibility of engagement 12 . Several issues have been associated with this definition including the broadness of scope, the concept of ‘needs’ 13 and the lack of attention to basic sustainability concepts of social and environmental concerns. This diminished specificity has allowed organisations to adapt sustainability definitions to suit their goals and objectives, such as a skewed approach to financial objectives rather than a balanced approach to economic, social and environmental concerns 14 . To overcome this issue, adaptations of sustainability definitions have been developed since 1987 15 , however none have been widely accepted nor are they as readily recognisable as the Brundtland Report’s contribution. 16

Another important contribution came from John Elkington in 1997, which was developed as a result of the increasing environmental disasters in the 1990s. 17  Elkington focussing on three main areas for sustainability disclosure; economic, social and environmental matters and called this Triple Bottom Line (TBL) reporting its focus on profit, people and planet (the 3P’s). 18  TBL required a synthesis of all three elements incorporating the traditional financial reporting with environmental and social matters. This enabled insights into each of these three sustainability capitals, but also highlighted relationships between the 3P’s. Why is this important? It allows the user of the TBL report to understand the impact each capital has on the others, that is how do profit-seeking activities impact the environment and society. The increased scope of TBL reporting increases organisational transparency and accountability to stakeholders. For organisations pursuing the TBL approach the mission and business strategy must reflect this concept and identifying appropriate definitions to frame this pathway must be undertaken. Let’s look at Cisco’s mission statement below:

“Shape the future of the Internet by creating unprecedented value and opportunity for our customers, employees, investors, and ecosystem partners.” 19

Interpreting this mission statement through the TBL lens (3P’s) identifies:

• Profits – relate to investors;
• People – relate to customers and employees; and
• Planet – relate to ecosystem or environment.

From an inter-relational perspective:

unprecedented value and opportunity – are not only possible for each stakeholder group, but can also be realised through connections. For example: value and opportunities created for employees in the form of improved skills through better training results in a more efficient workforce which improves profits and drives innovations to reduce impact on the environment.

Teaching resource:

The Woolworths Group – People, Planet, Prosperity – http://crs.woolworthsgroup.com.au/

Sustainability Reporting Phase 2 – Accounting

Once risks are identified and analysed in the planning phase, organisational managers can then seek to locate the causal relationship between the sustainability issue and business activities in the accounting phase. 20 Once determined, sustainability targets, KPIs, practices and activities can be developed and implemented. 21  Let’s look at some examples taken from Pinna et al. (2018) who examined sustainability KPIs from two soft drink companies 22  :

Source: Pinna et al. (2018), p. 865 23

From a sustainability perspective we can understand the risks to environmental and social perspectives from the given KPIs. The organisations have set a sustainability strategy incorporating impacts to the environment and social concerns, they have identified KPIs that meet with the strategy and set appropriate measurements through policies and practices. Once this has been done appropriate targets would need to be set and then data would be gathered through the relevant period, calculated according to the prescribed formula, then compared to the target. If the organisation outperformed its target a positive message would be communicated to the market, however if it underperformed the opposite may hold. We can see from this the greater level of transparency could put the organisation at a disadvantage, so why would an organisation produce a sustainability report?

The answer is simple, because it is what stakeholders are demanding. In recent times those organisations that have continued to operate sustainably and provide sustainability reporting, have maintained higher stock prices and lower volatility than non-participating entities 24 . Therefore greater transparency over sustainability matters has inspired greater confidence in investors driving perceived value. So how do organisations account for sustainability?

To account for sustainability performance, formalised frameworks provide a mechanism to maintain quality and standardisation of accounting practices. As accountants we know mandatory compliance with the Australian Accounting Standards is required for the general-purpose financial reports 25 , however a significant proportion of sustainability reporting is voluntary. 26 From a mandatory reporting perspective, the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) provides prescriptive guidance for financial reporting which incorporates the requirement to comply with accounting standards. 27  Materiality plays an important role in financial reporting disclosure which relates to information that has a material effect on price or value of the organisation and consequently results in misstatement or non-disclosure causing adverse actions by users of the report. 28  Despite the material impact of non-financial activities by companies 29 , Australian government has not made the move to require companies incorporate environmental and social matters within or supplementary to the compulsory financial reporting. 30  An exception is the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) scheme initiated by the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (Cth) which is a national framework providing guidance to companies reporting on their greenhouse gas emissions, energy production and consumption and other similar information. 31

To meet the requirements of disclosure, whether mandatory or voluntary, performance measurement systems must be developed and implemented. The purpose of standard approaches to measuring organisational performance is to achieve comparable and complete reporting with the objective of being transparent in operational activities. 32  Therefore the development of universally accepted standards and frameworks is critical. 33  To support the development of non-financial standard-setting, numerous international frameworks have made contributions over time, three of which will be discussed below commencing with the most well-known provider the Global Reporting Initiative or GRI.

The GRI, established by the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES) in 1997, is an independent body that provides organisations with standards to disclose sustainability impacts, thus improving communications efficacy. 34 The GRI standards are split into three categories; topic, sector and universal. 35  Another global standards provider is AccountAbility offering guidance over three core areas; AA1000AP-guidance for organisational response to sustainability concerns and long-term development; AA1000SES stakeholder engagement and AA1000AS v3 relating to sustainability assurance. 36  A final consideration was developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) commencing in 1947. 37  ISO is a collaborative association facilitating the sharing of knowledge by experts to develop standards. 38 The ISO standards encapsulate a broad scope of sustainability issues in order to support global trade, economic growth, innovation, health and safety and sustainable development. 39

The three standard-setters discussed in the previous paragraph are only a small selection of the available offerings, however they widely used in the global context. All three standards are offered on an international scale allowing standardisation of reporting and fostering comparability between organisations, industries, markets and geographical regions. 40 It is important to note, organisations can use numerous standards from various standard-setters, this provides flexibility for organisations to select appropriate standards to support sustainability goals and objectives.

Additional resources

• for additional insights into sustainability reporting guidance and other tools see: Siew, R. Y. J. (2015). A review of corporate sustainability tools (SRTs). Journal of Environmental Management, 164 , (pp. 180-195) – https://doi. 10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.09.010

Sustainability Reporting Phase 3 – Reporting

Beyond the planning and accounting phases follows reporting for accountability to internal and external stakeholders. Two main forms of reporting will be considered below: (1) stand-alone reporting and (2) integrated reporting (<IR>):

• (1) Stand-alone sustainability reporting – is set apart from the traditional annual report (AR), usually as an addendum to the AR or separate entirely. This method fails to consider the relationships between environmental, social and economic concerns. 41  This type of reporting is developed by the organisation, either internally or through associations such as consultants or best practice.
• (2) Integrated reporting (<IR>) – has the potential to overcome the limitations of stand-alone reporting. The integrated report incorporates economic, social and environmental performance, not only meeting legislative and regulatory compliance, but also providing insights into the connections or relationships between all three reporting areas. 42  This supports the TBL concept. <IR> was introduced by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) and is a global partnership comprising of regulators, investors, business and academic stakeholders, accounting professionals and non-government organisations (NGOs). 43  <IR> is a framework for reporting, it does not provide standards such as those offered by GRI. Rather it provides a mechanism to nurture ‘integrated thinking’ by and organisation to encourage all business units to set and maintain sustainability goals. 44 *

The iterative development of sustainability reporting has created a dynamic environment, which continues in its state of flux. Movement toward integrated reporting has been growing since 2000, however stand-alone reporting continues to hold favour with a majority of Australian listed companies preferring this method, as discussed in the following section.

For more reading on concepts discussed in this section click on the links provided below:

• Integrated reporting website: https://www.integratedreporting.org/
• *Integrated thinking: A virtuous loop – https://www.integratedreporting.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Integrated-thinking-virtuous-loop.pdf
• Integrated reporting examples: http://examples.integratedreporting.org/home
• Stand-alone sustainability report example: APA sustainability report 2021 – https://www.apa.com.au/globalassets/asx-releases/2021/apa-sustainability-report-fy21.pdf
• M. Bray & M Chapman, What does an integrated report look like? https://home.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/pdf/2013/04/what-does-ir-look-like.pdf

How common is Sustainability Reporting?

The KPMG Sustainability Reporting Survey 2020 (the survey) investigates the incidence of sustainability reporting from a global perspective. The survey identified 96 percent of the G250 companies 45  and 80 percent of the N100 companies 46  produced sustainability reports. Additionally, 76 percent of the G250 companies incorporate sustainability performance information in their annual reports 47 , thus aligning with an integrated reporting presentation. The Australian sustainability reporting environment includes both mandated and voluntary forms, predominantly the latter. Due to the voluntary nature of most reporting, managerial discretion over sustainability reporting content results in a failure to meet stakeholder reporting expectations. 48  Despite this, Australian companies producing sustainability disclosures continue to grow with 98 percent of ASX100 companies publishing reports, increasing from 93 percent in 2017. Those companies taking a more integrated approach to sustainability reporting increased from 29 percent (2017) to 67 percent (2020), indicating a shift in favour of organisations embedding sustainability goals into business processes. 49

Sustainability stakeholders

The purpose of organisations producing sustainability reports is to communicate organisational sustainability performance 50 , as such it is important managers select voluntary sustainability content based upon external stakeholders’ information needs. Increasingly stakeholders are playing greater roles in the evolution of sustainability reporting from a global perspective. 51  Common stakeholder groups are employees, customers, regulators, investors, government, communities, indigenous groups, society or the broader public, suppliers and NGOs. Stakeholders not commonly cited are transient populations (such as holidaymakers/tourists) 52 , future generations 53  and natural ecosystems/biodiversity. 54  The latter two cannot self-represent their interests, hence they require qualified representation. 55

Organisational managers are required to prioritise competing stakeholder needs due to their limited resources. This may result in some stakeholders only having their needs partly met or not at all. Therefore, effective engagement by managers involving two-way communications will provide more informed decisions and increase transparency and effectiveness of reporting.

Self-study task

You work for an Australian energy company – products are a mixture of coal fired and renewable energy and LPG. List organisational stakeholders and rank in order of most important to least important and provide a short explanation for each.

Concluding remarks

Escalating global natural disasters from climate change is stimulating stakeholder demand for companies to operate sustainably and be accountable for social and environmental impacts from business operations. Hence public and private sectors are producing sustainability reports to retain, and attract, customers, investors and suppliers. The process of producing these reports is time and resource intensive, however outcomes are beneficial to all participants as organisations foster closer relationships with their stakeholders and build greater efficiencies in business operations. The sustainability reporting cycle is continuously developing, incorporating innovative development and improvement to best practice, thus organisations, and other stakeholders, must keep working toward the goal of sustainable development. To sum up with a quote from Edmund Burke:

“Nobody made a greater mistake that he (or she) who did nothing because he (or she) could only do a little.”

From a sustainability perspective, the key take-away from this quote is individuals can make small contributions to offset environmental degradation, poverty and social injustice and these small efforts will cohesively generate significant change for the greater good. This provides context to “Think globally, act locally”.

• M.R. Mathews, Socially responsible accounting, Routledge & Chapman, London, 1984.
• M. S. Urdan & P. Luoma, ‘Designing effective sustainability assignments: How and why definitions of sustainability impact assignments and learning outcomes’, Journal of Management Education, 44(6), (794-821), 2020.
• I. Herremans, Sustainability performance and reporting, Business Expert Press, New York, 2019. For current information on the impacts of climate change see website: Climate Change in Australia – https://www.climatechangeinaustralia.gov.au/en/
• S. Schaltegger & M. Wagner, ‘Managing sustainability performance measurement and reporting in an integrated manner: Sustainability accounting as the link between the sustainability balanced scorecard and sustainability reporting’, Sustainability Accounting and Reporting, Springer, Netherlands, 2006. A. Kaur & S. Lodhia, ‘Stakeholder engagement in sustainability accounting and reporting: A study of Australian local councils’, Accounting, Auditing, & Accountability , Emerald Group Publishing Ltd, 31(1), (338-368), 2018.
• S. Schaltegger and M. Wagner, ‘Managing sustainability performance measurement and reporting in an integrated  manner: Sustainability accounting as the link between the sustainability balanced scorecard and sustainability reporting’ in  S. Schaltegger, M. Bennett and R. Burritt (eds) Sustainability Accounting and Reporting, Springer, Delft, Netherlands, 2006,  ch 30.
• M. S. Urdan and P. Luoma, ‘Designing effective sustainability assignments: How and why definitions of sustainability impact assignments and learning outcomes’(2020) 44(6) Journal of Management Education 794-821.
• World Commission on Environmental Development, Report for the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/5987our-common-future.pdf p. 17 (accessed 5 January 2022).
• M. A. White, ‘Sustainability: I know it when I see it’ (2013) 86 Ecological Economics 213-217.
• P. Johnston, M. Everard, D. Santillo and K. H. Robert, ‘Reclaiming the definition of sustainability’, (2007) 14(1) Environmental Science and Pollution Research International 60. H. Alhaddi, Triple bottom line and sustainability: A literature review’ (2015) 1 Business and Management Studies .
• M. S. Urdan and P. Luoma, ‘Designing effective sustainability assignments: How and why definitions of sustainability impact assignments and learning outcomes’ (2020) 44(6) Journal of Management Education 794-821.
• S. Roostaie, N. Nawari and C. J. Kibert, ‘Sustainability and resilience: A review of definitions, relationships, and their integration into a combined building assessment framework’ (2019) 154 Building and Environment 132-144.
• J. Elkington, ‘Accounting for triple bottom line’ (1997) 2 (3) Measuring Business Excellence 18-22).
• A. Miteva. Business strategy: 101 incredible mission statement examples (in 2022), https://mktoolboxsuite.com/mission-statement-examples/ , 2022 (accessed 9 January 2022).
• S. Schaltegger and M. Wagner, ‘Managing sustainability performance measurement and reporting in an integrated manner: Sustainability accounting as the link between the sustainability balanced scorecard and sustainability reporting’ in S. Schaltegger, M. Bennett and R. Burritt (eds) Sustainability Accounting and Reporting, Springer, Delft, Netherlands, 2006, ch 30.
• C. Pinna, M. Demartini, F. Tonelli and S. Terzi, ‘How soft drink supply chains drive sustainability: Key performance indicators (KPIs) identification’ (2018) 72 ScienceDirect 862-867.
• R. Albuquerque, Y. Koskinen, S. Yang and C. Zhang, Resiliency of environmental and social stocks: An  analysis of the exogenous COVID-19 market crash. (2020) 9 (3) The Review of Corporate Finance Studies 593-621.
• Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) s 296
• Parliamentary Joint Committee on corporations and Financial Services, ‘Chapter seven – Sustainability report: Current and legislative market requirements’ https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Corporations_and_Financial_Services/Completed_inquiries/2004-07/corporate_responsibility/report/c07 (accessed 7 January 2022).
• Australian Accounting Standards Board, ‘AASB 1031: Materiality’ https://www.aasb.gov.au/admin/file/content102/c3/AASB1031_9-95.pdf (accessed 7 January 2022).
• Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) s. 677
• Clean Energy Regulator, ‘About the National Greenhouse Energy Reporting scheme’ (n.d.) http://www.cleanenergyregulator.gov.au/NGER/About-the-National-Greenhouse-and-Energy-Reporting-scheme (accessed 7 January 2022).
• Global Reporting Initiative, ‘How are we funded’, https://www.globalreporting.org/about-gri/how-we-are-funded/ , 2021. Siew, R. Y. J. (2015). A review of corporate sustainability tools (SRTs). Journal of Environmental Management, 164 , (pp. 180-195) – https://doi. 10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.09.010
• Global Reporting Initiative, ‘GRI standards: A short introduction to the GRI standards’, https://www.globalreporting.org/media/wtaf14tw/a-short-introduction-to-the-gri-standards.pdf , n.d. (accessed 7 January 2022).
• AccountAbility, ‘Standards’. https://www.accountability.org/standards (accessed 7 January 2022).
• International Organization for Standardization, ‘Developing standards’, https://www.iso.org/developing-standards.html (accessed 7 January 2022).
• International Organization for Standardization, ‘9000Store: Who is ISO?’ https://the9000store.com/articles/who-is-iso/ (accessed 7 January 2022).
• Global Reporting Initiative, ‘The importance of these standards’, https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/standards-development/universal-standards/ (accessed 7 January 2022). G. Michalczuk, and U. Konarzewska, (2018, 26-27 September 2018), ‘GRI reporting framework as a tool of social accounting [Paper presentation]’, Economic and Social Development: 33rd International Conference on Economic and Social Development – “Managerial Issues in Modern Business”, Warsaw.
• J.C. Jensen and N. Berg, ‘Determinants of traditional sustainability reporting versus integrated reporting:  An institutionalist approach’. (2012) Business strategy and the environment, 21 (5), 299-316. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.740
• International Integrated Reporting Council. (2021). International <IR> framework . https://www.integratedreporting.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/InternationalIntegratedReportingFramework.pdf (accessed 7 January 2022).
• T. Feng, L. Cummings and D. Tweedie, ‘Exploring integrated thinking in integrated reporting – an  exploratory study in Australia’ (2017) 18 (2) Journal of intellectual capital. 330-353.
• G250 is the top global 250 companies
• N100 includes 5,200 companies from 52 countries
• KPMG, ‘The time has come: Australian supplement global sustainable reporting survey (11th ed.)’ https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/au/pdf/2020/sustainability-reporting-survey-2020-au-supplement.pdf (accessed 7 January 2022).
• R. L. Burritt & S. Schaltegger, ‘Sustainability accounting and reporting: Fad or trend?’ (2010) 23 (7) Accounting, Auditing & Accountability 829-846.
• KPMG, ‘The time has come: Australian supplement global sustainable reporting survey (11th ed.)’ https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/au/pdf/2020/sustainability-reporting-survey-2020-au-supplement.pdf . (accessed 7 January 2022).
• R. Lozano and D. Huisingh, ‘Inter-linking issues and dimensions in sustainability reporting’ (2011) 19 (2) Journal of Cleaner Production 99-107.
• A. Uyar, ‘Stand-Alone Sustainability Reporting Practices in an Emerging Market: A Longitudinal Investigation’ (2017) 28 (2)  Journal of Corporate Accounting & Finance (Wiley) 62–70.
• A. Kaur and S. Lodhia, S. ‘Stakeholder engagement in sustainability accounting and reporting: A study of  Australian local councils’ (2018) 31 (1) Accounting, auditing, & accountability 338-368.
• World Commission on Environmental Development. Report for the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/5987our-common-future.pdf (accessed 6 January 2022).
• S. Gaia and M. J. Jones, ‘UK local councils reporting of biodiversity values: A stakeholder perspective’ (2017)  30 (7) Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 1614-1638.

Sustainability as part of accountability and organisational reporting Copyright © by Leanne Gaul is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Current topics for final thesis

Turning on the heat global warming and corporate risk-taking..

The following topic is suitable for BA or MA students. Please keep in mind that it is best suited for candidates who are familiar with statistical software and time series regression or those who are willing to acquire these skills within the context of their thesis. However, suggestions for alternative methodological approaches (e.g., interviews, literature reviews) are welcome.

If you are interested in the following topic, please get in touch with  Dr. Wiebke Szymczak . 

Turning on the heat? Global warming and corporate risk-taking

Heat is a common metaphor to describe interpersonal conflict. Strikingly, psychological research indeed suggests a link between heat stress and aggressive or asocial behavior. With global temperatures on the rise, one may wonder: what are the consequences of heat stress on corporate decisions? This thesis project will combine meteorological and financial data to test whether heat stress triggers systematic changes in corporate risk-taking, as one possible manifestation of aggressive financial decisions.

Shareholder activism and sustainability. Is shareholder activism a solution or a problem?

On the one hand, the term shareholder activism refers to an investment strategy of a small group of hedge funds which target underperforming firms in order to foster the implementation of financial or governance changes and capitalize on potential increases in shareholder value. On the other hand, shareholder activism refers to the actions of large institutional investors who engage with their target firms to push a non-financial agenda, e.g., better working conditions or higher investments into emission mitigation technologies. There are two possible variants of this thesis project: The first represents a systematic literature review in order to contrast both types of shareholder activism and identify positive as well as negative side-effects of both types of shareholder activism with respect to environmental, social and governance aspects. The second represents an empirical investigation into the non-financial effects of shareholder activism with respect to corporate ESG performance.

Sustainability, but not too much?

Investor objections to corporate sustainability Financial professionals report that some investors respond negatively to sustainability-focused marketing strategies to the extent that relationship managers maintain two slide decks to advertise sustainable investment products. The empirical literature suggests a positive or at least non-negative effect of corporate sustainability on financial performance. Yet, some investors remain reluctant to sustainable investment products. This thesis project aims to review the theoretical literature and explore the motives and rationales of investors who shy away from sustainable investment products.

The effect of disaster experiences on sustainability preferences

Extreme weather events are becoming ever more frequent and severe. While much research has addressed the contribution of the global economy to anthropogenic climate change, the behavioral implications of exposure to extreme weather on economic decisions have yet to be fully explored. A small but growing literature suggests that exposure to extreme weather events and natural disasters can have significant and systematic effects on the risk preferences of economic decision makers. Moreover, the attention-based view of the firm suggests that extreme weather exposure may also emphasize the importance of a stable environment as a basis for economic growth and corporate success. Within the context of this thesis project, the candidate will develop and implement a suitable regression strategy to test the impact of extreme weather exposure on sustainability preferences of households or firms.

Mood effects in ESG ratings

The following topic is suitable for BA or MA students. Please keep in mind it is best suited for candidates who are familiar with statistical software and time series regression or those who are willing to acquire these skills within the context of their thesis. However, suggestions for alternative methodological approaches (e.g., interviews, literature reviews) are welcome.

If you are interested in the following topics, please get in touch with  Dr. Wiebke Szymczak . 

Does the weather at rating offices affect ESG ratings of local firms? Several empirical studies show that local weather conditions can have a systematic effect on investor decisions. However, little is known about the specific biases in ESG ratings. Applying the rationale of investors mood effects to ESG rating agencies, theory may predict higher ESG ratings when raters are in high spirits and lower ESG ratings when spirits are low, ceteris paribus. Within the context of this thesis project, the candidate will gather establishment addresses for the major rating agencies and connect these addresses with relevant climate data in order to analyze how weather variables affect sustainability ratings of local firms.

Don't foul your own nest

Don’t foul your own nest

Does distance between HQs and plants predict pollution intensity? A proliferating number of empirical studies suggest that air pollution has a detrimental effect on local property prices. If top managers and employees in strategic positions live close to corporate headquarters, their own residential property may be affected by local production facilities. Consequently, rational choice theory predicts that they will prefer to keep air pollution as far away from home as possible. Moreover, firms reduce the risk of litigation by keeping firms away from residential areas. This thesis project will combine data on corporate air pollution reported in the toxic release inventory, financial data and corporate location data to analyze whether there exists a systematic pattern to shift polluting activities to facilities further away from corporate headquarters and/or local residential areas.

Assessing physical climate risks

The following topic is suitable for MA students. Please keep in mind that it is best suited for candidates with excellent Excel skills and those who are familiar with GIS and scenario modelling. For all the details, please refer to the full topic description .

If you are interested in the following topic, please get in touch with Dr. Sven Lundie .

Assessing physical climate risks for Altana Management Services GmbH

The importance of sustainability continues to grow at Altana Management Services GmbH. Altana is currently dealing with CDP reporting. The EU taxonomy, CSRD and in particular the TCFD are further topics that Altana will increasingly address in the future.

The effects of climate change on the company's own production are to be investigated as part of the master's thesis, i.e. the physical risks will be qualitatively assessed for the 50 production sites. In addition, the availability of materials is an important topic for the company, as climate change will also have an impact on the supply chain (including delivery times and quantities). Sales markets will also be affected. For this reason, Altana wants to systematically address future scenarios (for different warming scenarios (1.5 as well as 2 degrees), two time horizons) at the production sites that identify the risks and opportunities for the company.

The TCFD will serve as a framework guideline for this project. In a first step, only physical risks and opportunities of climate change will be addressed (e.g. risk assessment regarding future availability of biogenic raw materials or cooling water for production). In a next step, transitory risks, for example, can be investigated, as TCFD reporting by Altana could take place from 2023 onwards (outside this project).

Sustainable investment by a listed insurance company - curse and/or blessing?

The following topic is suitable for MA students. Please be aware that basic knowledge of the German language is required. The thesis itself can be written in English or German. For all the details, please refer to the full topic description .

If you are interested in the following topic, please get in touch with Prof. Dr. Timo Busch .

In close cooperation with the Investment Division of HDI Germany, this thesis sets out to explore ways of integrating sustainability into the investment decisions of a listed insurance company. Among other things, a market and opinion analysis is to be carried out for this master thesis. Possible focus areas include how the insurance company can have a positive impact on biodiversity through their investments and how to deal with data issues in measuring the sustainability of investments and the disparity of definitions of what exactly falls under the term sustainable investment.

Development of a Scope 3 estimation method for industry sectors

Reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions, those under the direct ownership and operational control of the business is usually the first target in a company’s carbon reduction strategy. However, to become truly carbon neutral, Scope 3 emissions, which are indirect emissions released upstream and downstream in a company’s value chain, need to be prioritised too as scope 3 emission often contribute more than half of the total GHG emissions. With the introduction of the CSRD in the EU it will become compulsory for companies to report on their Scope 3 emission.

The GHG protocol has developed the framework for quantifying scope 3 emissions. Within the GHG protocol 15 sub-categories are further specified to cover all upstream and downstream emissions in detail. However, quantifying relevant scope 3 emissions can be very challenging in practice due to data availability, complexity of calculation and possibly lack of inhouse knowledge with companies.

In order to address corporate needs, the objective of this Master Thesis is to develop a Scope 3 estimation methodology according GHG protocol and to quantify the GHG hotspots along the value chains of industry sectors (following NACE and GICS codes) .

Required activities of this desk top research are, e.g.

• Review and analysis of GHG protocol, GHG ISO standards, CSRD, NACE and GICS, …
• Development of a quantitative estimation methodology for industry sectors
• Research of LCA studies that are representative for industry sectors
• Development of an Excel-based tool for qualifying and/or quantifying GHG hotspots along the value chains of industry sectors
• The student should have an interest in Scope 1, 2 & 3 GHG emissions, LCA/PCF/EPDs, environmental regulation, statistics as well as in methods development.

The Master Student will gain highly relevant GHG accounting knowledge in due course of the work.

Start: as soon as possible

Supervisors: Prof Timo Busch and Dr. Sven Lundie

The student will have the opportunity to align with the supervisor on a bi-weekly basis. Please reach out to Sven Lundie ( info "AT" sven-lundie.com )  if you are interested in this topic.

Applications for 2024 Columbia Summer Session programs are now open!

Capstones and culminating projects.

Many SPS graduate programs require students to undertake a capstone course or similar final project. Capstone courses can take the form of a workshop or independent study. Regardless of their title, such courses provide SPS students with a unique opportunity to demonstrate mastery of the skills and knowledge acquired through their studies in replacement of a master’s thesis. 

Working in teams or independently, capstone students solve real-world problems for a range of organizations. For example, the Sports Management Supervised Research Projects have had NFL staff as clients; Sustainability Management M.S. students have consulted with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and Technology Management M.S. students have worked with mentors from BP, Goldman Sachs, HBO, Prudential, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 

For the culminating project of their master’s degree, SPS students present their capstone project methods, findings, and recommendations before faculty, students, and industry clients, including government and nonprofits. You may find these projects below. 

Bioethics Capstones

  Learn more about the program

Construction Administration Capstones

Learn more about the program

Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Capstones

Strategic communication capstones, sustainability management capstones, sustainability science capstones, technology management capstones.

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