The Reality and the Rhetoric
Organisational Sustainability Reporting
What it is.
The Reality and the Rhetoric examines the gap between what organisations say about sustainability and what they actually do behind the disclosure. Co-authored by Professor Stewart Jones with Geoff Frost and Philip Lee, it studies four Australian organisations in depth, comparing their external sustainability reporting against the internal management practices and systems needed to support comprehensive, reliable disclosure.
The findings are pointed: a significant rift between the external rhetoric of sustainability and the internal processes and culture meant to back it up. But the book also makes a more constructive case, that the rhetoric itself can drive real change, as organisations come under pressure to close the gap between what they report and how they operate.
Written years before ESG became mainstream, it asks the question that still matters most to anyone using sustainability disclosure: how much of it is real, and how much is presentation.
Written to be used.
- Investors and analysts who weigh ESG and sustainability disclosure.
- Directors and managers responsible for sustainability reporting.
- Regulators and standard-setters working on disclosure quality.
- Researchers and students in sustainability and corporate reporting.
From the publisherThe book examines the gap between the external reporting of four Australian organisations and the internal management practices and systems necessary to support comprehensive and reliable disclosure. It finds a significant rift between the external rhetoric of sustainability and the internal management processes and culture, but also that the rhetoric can be effective in driving real change internally, as organisations seek to close the gap between the reality and rhetoric of sustainability reporting.
Get the book.
A close look at how far corporate sustainability reporting matches what organisations actually do.
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