Journal of Cleaner Production 84 (2014) 43e50

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Journal of Cleaner Production

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Sustainability accounting and reporting in the mining industry:

current literature and directions for future research
Sumit Lodhia a, *, Nadia Hess b
a
Centre for Accounting, Governance and Sustainability, University of South Australia Business School, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, South Australia 5001,
Australia
b
School of Law, University of South Australia Business School, Adelaide, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper explores sustainability accounting and reporting in the mining industry through an analysis of
Received 21 May 2014 the literature in the Journal of Cleaner Production from 2004 to 2013. It complements the special issue
Received in revised form papers on the theme of sustainability accounting and reporting by discussing prior literature on this
28 August 2014
aspect in this journal. The research design involved a manual analysis of all articles where a two stage
Accepted 28 August 2014
Available online 10 September 2014
screening process was undertaken to ascertain: firstly, whether an article was based on the mining
context; and secondly, where it addressed sustainability accounting and reporting. It was found that
while sustainability accounting and reporting practices are evolving, progress is slow. Mining companies
Keywords:
Sustainability accounting and reporting
were not fully accountable for their sustainability impacts, a situation that was exacerbated in a
Social developing country context. However, some positive developments were also observed such as part-
Environmental nerships with NGOs and improving practices in specific contexts. Moreover, a number of these studies
Management provided practical recommendations for improving sustainability accounting and reporting in the
Communication mining industry. A need for effective sustainability management and credible reporting is recommended
Mining for mining companies in their transition to sustainability. After discussing the state of the existing
literature, future research opportunities are highlighted. This paper contributes to the literature and
practice by providing an understanding of current mining sustainability accounting and reporting
practices, assessed through the academic literature. Future research directions that have the potential to
provide an understanding of sustainability accounting and reporting issues not addressed in the current
literature are also outlined within the context of the mining industry. These include new developments
such as integrated reporting, climate change accounting and water accounting, coupled with an
emphasis on sustainability reporting and auditing, and consideration of a range of stakeholders, social
issues and differing contexts.
© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction responsibility and business ethics), and often its researchers draw
upon this research, an emphasis on the management and reporting
Sustainability accounting and reporting is the organisational aspects of sustainability differentiates the accounting literature
response to the management and reporting of its social and envi- from others areas of research inquiry into sustainability. The
ronmental issues (Bebbington et al., 2014; Burritt and Schaltegger, management and reporting dimensions are the focus of the current
2010; Gray et al., 2014; Schaltegger et al., 2006). It has risen to study, guiding the analysis of existing literature in this paper.
prominence in recent times due to the increasing emphasis on The mining industry requires effective sustainability accounting
sustainability (social and environmental) issues in the modern day and reporting in order to transition to sustainability. It is an in-
globalised society. Whilst sustainability accounting and reporting dustry where social and environmental issues are critical and
research has a similar goal to business and sustainability oriented stakeholder pressures are paramount (Lodhia, 2007). Companies in
literature (for example, subject matters such as corporate social the industry need to provide evidence of their social and environ-
mental responsibility to their stakeholders, and sustainability ac-
counting and reporting is an approach that has being increasingly
* Corresponding author. utilised by them (Jenkins and Yakovleva, 2006; Lodhia, 2012b; Peck
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (S. Lodhia), Nadia.Hess@unisa. and Sinding, 2003). Pellegrino and Lodhia (2012) suggest that in
edu.au (N. Hess).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.08.094
0959-6526/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
44 S. Lodhia, N. Hess / Journal of Cleaner Production 84 (2014) 43e50

addition to companies, mining industry associations are also 2010; Lodhia, 2013). Thus, in line with the traditional accounting
increasingly involved in the reporting of social and environmental practice, sustainability accounting and reporting includes an in-
issues in the industry. Sustainability accounting and reporting ternal component which requires management of sustainability
should be matched by effective performance in relation to social issues, often referred to as sustainability management, and an
and environmental matters (Bebbington et al., 2014; Gray et al., external reporting element, referred to as sustainability reporting
2014; Schaltegger et al., 2006). (Bebbington et al., 2014; Gray et al., 2014). Conversely, Schaltegger
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the existing literature in and Wagner (2006) use the terms sustainability accounting and
the Journal of Cleaner Production on sustainability accounting and sustainability reporting; whereby the former refers to the man-
reporting in relation to the mining industry1. It adds to the existing agement of sustainability issues and the latter, the formal reporting
reviews of sustainability accounting and reporting literature but of these issues. It is within these broad parameters that the practice
provides a new perspective to such reviews. This study differs from of sustainability accounting and reporting has been analysed in the
the more general reviews of sustainability accounting and report- academic literature.
ing (such as for example, Hahn and Kühnen, 2013) as it focuses on a Whilst the focus of sustainability accounting and reporting
specific context. literature has been on corporations, other organisations such as
In line with the special issue, emphasis is within the context of Governments and Non-Governmental Organisations could provide
the mining industry. The overall goal is to take stock of the existing a useful context for an analysis of the use of sustainability man-
literature in order to identify what has been done and to use this agement systems and/or sustainability reporting (Lodhia et al.,
review as a basis for identifying areas that require further research 2012; Lodhia and Jacobs, 2013; O'Dwyer, 2002; O'Dwyer et al.,
investigation. 2005). Similarly, the focus on sustainability accounting and
The Journal of Cleaner Production has contributed extensively to reporting has moved on from an extensive emphasis on the
literature on sustainability in the mining industry, evident from a developed part of the world to cover developing nations (see for
number of special issues on this matter (including the current example, Islam and Deegan, 2008; Lodhia, 1999, 2003, 2004a).
issue). There have also been specific studies in the general issues of The notion of accountability provides the foundations for sus-
this Journal that have addressed sustainability in mining. The tainability accounting and reporting (Gray et al., 2014). In essence,
Journal has a subject editor specifically for mining, highlighting the an organisation is accountable to both its internal and external
importance given to literature on this industry. Within this broad stakeholders, and sustainability accounting and reporting enables
literature, there are a number of papers that are based on sus- the organisation to provide evidence of its accountability. Similarly,
tainability accounting and reporting. This subject matter is a theme theories have been postulated to explain sustainability accounting
for the current special issue. These observations can be contrasted and reporting. Prominent among these are legitimacy theory and
with other publication outlets for sustainability accounting and stakeholder theory while new institutional sociology has also had
reporting research (including multi-disciplinary journals) where an increasing use in recent times.
the mining industry has not featured prominently, generally, and Legitimacy theory (Deegan, 2002; Dowling and Pfeffer, 1975;
especially in relation to special issues. Most of these journals focus Lindblom, 1993) states that for organisations to survive, they
on sustainability accounting and reporting overall and have limited need to legitimise their existence to society and sustainability ac-
literature into the intricacies and complexities of the mining counting and reporting enables them to be legitimate. Conversely,
industry's practices per se. These developments suggest that the stakeholder theory (Clarkson, 1995; Donaldson and Preston, 1995;
Journal of Cleaner Production is an ideal context for undertaking a Freeman, 1984; Roberts, 1992; Ullmann, 1985) highlights the
longitudinal review of sustainability accounting reporting in the various stakeholders that an organisation needs to manage in order
mining industry when compared to other publication outlets. to legitimise its existence.
Section two describes the concept of sustainability accounting Another theory that has had an increasing use is new institu-
and reporting in detail. The context, theories and methods used in tional sociology (Bebbington et al., 2009; Di Maggio and Powell,
prior literature on sustainability accounting and reporting are dis- 1983; Larrinaga-Gonza
lez, 2007; Meyer and Rowan, 1977) which
cussed. Section three in turn outlines the research design used for states that coercive (regulatory), normative (professionalisation
this study. Section four discusses prior Journal of Cleaner Production and networks) and mimetic (replicating other successful practices)
literature on sustainability accounting and reporting in the mining pressures lead to organisational conformity in the adoption of
industry. The internal management aspects are discussed before sustainability accounting and reporting. A more recent develop-
attention shifts to sustainability reporting studies. A special issue ment is that of reputation risk management (Bebbington et al.,
on mining in this Journal is also mentioned because it emphasises 2008; Hogan and Lodhia, 2011; Panchal-Arora and Lodhia, 2013)
the management and reporting of sustainability. The overall liter- which emphasises organisational reputation and outlines strate-
ature is then analysed, leading to section five where future research gies that can be used to manage an organisation's reputational risk
opportunities are identified. Section six concludes the paper. through sustainability accounting and reporting.
A variety of research methods have been used to explore sus-
tainability accounting and reporting practices. These methods pri-
2. Sustainability accounting and reporting
marily include content analysis for reports (see for example, Jenkins
and Yakovleva, 2006; Peck and Sinding, 2003; Roberts, 1992) and
Sustainability accounting and reporting has its roots in the
websites (Lodhia, 2010, 2012b), interviews (see for example,
traditional accounting practice where management accounting
O'Dwyer, 2002) and surveys (see for example, O'Dwyer et al., 2005).
involves internal organisational practices that assist in manage-
Other methods that have been used, albeit in a small number of
ment of an organisation and financial reporting provides a financial
studies, include experiments (see for example, Milne and Patten,
account of organisational performance (Burritt and Schaltegger,
2002) and ethnographic methods (see for example, Dey, 2007).

1
3. Research design
Even though the focus of this paper is on the Journal of Cleaner Production, the
relevance of this paper extends beyond the readership of this Journal. This is due to
the extensive literature on mining within the Journal, as well as the broader interest Prior literature on sustainability accounting and reporting in the
that a special issue attracts. mining industry published in the Journal of Cleaner Production from
 S. Lodhia, N. Hess / Journal of Cleaner Production 84 (2014) 43e50 45

2004 to 2013 was analysed. As the focus was on contemporary Other studies on the management of sustainability issues in the
research, the most recent decade was regarded as appropriate for mining industry have addressed the developing part of the world
obtaining a longitudinal assessment of existing research. This and focused on specific issues such as water management.
provides sufficient depth to enable an understanding of what has Kumah (2006) discussed the environmental performance of the
been done but also to assess what could be done in the future. gold mining industry in developing countries by undertaking a case
Emphasis in the analysis of the Journal of Cleaner Production study on the gold mining industry in Ghana. He posited that whilst
literature was on the twin aspects of the management and the the increase in gold mine investment is needed to propel econo-
reporting of sustainability issues as described in the preceding mies, an expansion in operations is often associated with negative
section so that the investigation of sustainability accounting and environmental and socioeconomic issues, including reports of hu-
reporting was consistent with that described in the literature. The man rights abuses by the major gold corporations. The author
intention was to establish the Journal's contribution to the devel- concluded that in spite of the rich natural resources base of many
opment of sustainability accounting and reporting research in the developed countries, this had failed to materialise into significant
mining industry. benefits for the local communities. The paper provided a series of
The study involved a labour intensive, manual analysis of Journal recommendations in reference to the Brundtland Report, with the
of Cleaner Production articles with involvement of this paper's au- focus of a higher level of government involvement e through
thors in this process. Every article published in the Journal from changes to economic policy, and making environmental and social
2004 to 2013 was downloaded. This approach was used instead of reporting mandatory e to helping achieve economic prosperity and
an electronic search on sustainability-related terms as it was social justice for local communities.
possible that depending on the search terms, certain articles could Kemp et al. (2010) highlighted the points of disconnection be-
have been overlooked. tween technical, scientific, and engineering based approaches to
A two stage screening process was used to identify the appro- water management on the one hand, and human rights perspec-
priate articles for the review. Initially, both authors undertook this tives on the other. They discussed the lack of reporting in relation to
screening independently. They then compared their resulting ar- the right to water in the mining industry. A multi-disciplinary
ticles and addressed any possible discrepancies in the screening. approach was suggested as the way forward, one where social
This thorough process ensured that the research was rigorous. It science has as much importance as engineering and natural
also ensured that research validity and reliability was guaranteed. science.
In the first instance, articles that did not include the mining Some of the studies that have focused on the reporting of sus-
context were excluded. Secondly, the remaining articles were read tainability issues in the mining industry have emphasised the
briefly and an assessment was made as to whether they addressed development of sustainability indicators, highlighted the use of the
sustainability accounting and reporting issues. This led to a final web as a communication medium, addressed specific issues such as
analysis of the remaining articles which were read in detail and climate change policy and observed reporting in the developing
their key themes are discussed below. part of the world.
Azapagic (2004) developed a comprehensive framework of
4. Journal of Cleaner Production literature sustainability indicators specifically tailored for the minerals in-
dustry. The framework comprises economic, environmental, social
There have been a number of studies in the Journal of Cleaner and integrated indicators which can be used both internally for
Production that discuss the management aspects of sustainability. sustainable management as well as externally, for sustainable
Through a short survey, Driussi and Jansz (2006) investigated reporting and stakeholder engagement. The indictors are consis-
the current pollution minimisation practices undertaken by four tent with the GRI framework while additional sector-specific in-
Australian mining companies (BHP Billiton, BlueScope Steel, New- dicators to reflect the unique characteristics of the minerals
mont Mining Corporation, and AngloGold Australian) to determine industry were also developed.
the improvements that had been made, as well as the policies that Lodhia (2012b) used the media richness framework to explore
had been implemented, by the companies. The authors found that the extent of the use of the web as a medium for the social and
the four companies used Australian and International codes of environmental communication in the context of the Australian
practice and standards, as well as company policies, as a framework mining industry. Through the use of a case study methodology that
to develop pollution minimisation strategies. The study concluded incorporated interviews and website analysis, the usage of the web
that whilst Australian mining companies appeared to be committed by three Australian mining companies was analysed. The study
to improving the sustainability of their operations as well as min- found that each of the companies recognised the benefits of the
imising their environmental impact, there was still room for web, and that each company did use the web for social and envi-
improvement. ronmental communication. However, there was variation in the
In an opinion piece, Whitmore (2006) highlighted that the idea features used by the three companies. The study concluded that
of ‘new, sustainable mining’ coined by the mining industry was in ostensibly the full potential of the web is not utilised. There is scope
fact not all that different to the mining practices of the past. He for further studies to investigate why the developments in web
considered the various sustainability initiatives in the mining in- based technology have not been comprehensively adopted by
dustry (which impact sustainability accounting and reporting mining corporations.
practices) and the 2001 London Declaration. The author deter- Pellegrino and Lodhia (2012), through a content analysis of
mined that the Declaration contained a series of half-truths, documents and website information, sought to establish whether
exposing the fallacy of sustainable mining. The paper discussed climate change and impending carbon pricing requirements had an
four key half-truths: the supposed need for more minerals from impact on the climate change disclosure of the Australian mining
every mine, the claim that mining catalyses development, the belief industry. They explored the disclosure practices of two leading
that technical fixes can solve every problem, and that the main mining companies, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, as well as two key
opposition to mining comes from ignorant communities and NGOs. industry bodies, the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) and the
Whitmore (2006) concluded that from the perspective of the mine Australian Coal Association (ACA). Legitimacy theory was used to
affected communities, nothing seemed to have changed; the at- determine the motivations for the voluntary disclosures by the
tempts by the mining industry to ‘green-wash’ itself had failed. mining industry. The study concluded that both the companies and
46 S. Lodhia, N. Hess / Journal of Cleaner Production 84 (2014) 43e50

the industry associations used voluntary disclosure on sustain- the process of obtaining ISO certification for three mining opera-
ability issues in a way to maintain their legitimacy and to ensure tions. Evangelinos and Oku (2006) examined the corporate envi-
the continuation of their social licence to operate. It was found that ronmental management practices of the minerals mining
the companies focused on their own performance while the in- operations in the Greek Cylclades islands through interviews and
dustry associations looked at broader policy issues such as the content analysis of various documents. Both positive and negative
impending carbon pricing requirements. The unique contribution impacts of mining were discussed, and this led the authors to
of this study is the importance of focussing at the industry level for suggest that mining operations in this context should consider
critical issues such as climate change whereby both micro (com- winewin situations (for the company and the stakeholders) in re-
panies) and macro (industry associations) levels of analysis was gard to sustainable operations. Jenkins and Yakovleva (2006)
undertaken. investigated corporate social responsibility by examining the so-
Murguía and Bo €hling (2013) discussed the effectiveness of sus- cial and environmental disclosure trends in the mining industry
tainability reporting in the mining industry with a case study on the through a chronological analysis of the reporting of the top 10
Bajo de La Alumbrera mine, Argentina. The GRI guidelines were global mining companies. Their findings suggested that whilst such
used for the analysis of reporting and stakeholder theory provided disclosure has increased and has become more sophisticated,
the overriding theoretical framework for this study. The authors reporting companies can be classified according to a ‘leaders to
found that whilst the sustainability report had a high compliance laggards’ continuum. ‘Mature reporters’, ‘adolescents’ and ‘infants’
with the GRI guidelines in relation to the quantity of disclosure, the were terms used to categorise the variation in these companies'
overall quality of the disclosures was poor. The study found that the social and environmental reporting (Jenkins and Yakovleva, 2006).
information provided was not precise enough to fulfil the GRI re- The authors suggested that strong leadership and cooperation from
quirements, especially in relation to the Environmental category. the leading companies was needed to support the laggards of the
The authors concluded that when sustainability reports contain industry.
low quality data in relation to contentious issues, the credibility of Table 1 summarises the major published works on sustainability
such reports can be questioned. It was also concluded that if accounting and reporting (in Mining) in the Journal of Cleaner
stakeholder expectations are only managed, as opposed to stake- Production from 2004 to 2013. In line with Section 2, it also outlines
holders being engaged within the reporting process, conflicts tend the theories and methods used in these studies.
to continue. This paper contributed to the literature by highlighting These studies on the management and reporting of sustain-
how sustainability reporting can play an adverse role and exas- ability in the mining industry in the Journal of Cleaner Production
perate conflicts if the information reported is not of a high quality. have made important contributions to both the literature as well as
Mining literature in the Journal of Cleaner Production has also to the practical understanding of mining company practices. The
addressed specific aspects of sustainability accounting and report- findings of the various studies suggest that the transition to sus-
ing; with a focus on auditing and the Non-Governmental sector. tainability in this industry has been somewhat slow and that there
Kemp et al. (2012) challenged the current audit culture for is scope for further improvement. Concerns have been raised about
corporate social responsibility. Semi-structured interviews were mining operations in the developing part of the world whilst
conducted with 16 global mining companies, an international in- Government and NGO involvement is perceived as critical for
dustry organisation, and stakeholders from academia and non- transforming business practices. Other suggestions for improve-
government organisations. It was found that internal audits have ment in practice focus on improving sustainability management
limited value in their ability to stimulate internal engagement. This practices, precise indicators for reporting and a need to make
was because the process relies on auditors generating performance reporting credible, alternative approaches to reporting through
data against preselected indicators and the organisations personnel new media, and involvement of stakeholders through their
are regarded as subjects of the audit rather than participants in the engagement with mining companies.
process. Alternative approaches to the traditional audit culture The overview of the major literature on sustainability account-
were then suggested. ing and reporting published in this Journal also highlights a number
McDonald and Young (2012) explored the 30 year journey taken of interesting trends. Studies have focused on the developed and
by mining giant Alcoa of Australia in their collaborative relationship developing part of the world, with both large and small miners
with the not for profit organisation, Greening Australia. Through being analysed. The methods range from opinion pieces to surveys,
the use of interviews and documents, the research explored why interviews and content analysis. Both management and reporting
the relationship was formed and assessed the reasons for its issues are considered in the literature. The analysis of the existing
longevity. This paper offered a model of corporate social re- literature also reveals that the coverage of environmental issues is
sponsibility by introducing key variables that inform the longevity more extensive than social issues. A majority of the studies have
of a successful environmental partnership including, government focused on corporations.
support, employee support, interaction or engagement opportu- There is a lack of theorisation in a majority of the studies as
nities, and the need for effective evaluation when planning and indicated in Table 1. In some cases, theories are not applicable to the
monitoring initiatives. study but other studies could benefit from a more extensive theo-
In a special issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production on mining, retical underpinning to explain the findings. As discussed earlier,
legal policy and sustainability, a number of papers related to sus- legitimacy and stakeholder theories have been extensively used in
tainability accounting and reporting were discussed. The editorial prior sustainability accounting and reporting while newer per-
by MacDonald (2006) provided an overview of the environmental spectives such as reputation risk management and new institu-
management tools that can be employed to assist industry players tional sociology are emerging. The benefit of researchers working in
in improving the environmental, economic and ethical perfor- a multi-disciplinary environment with publication outlets such as
mance of the mining industry. MacDonald highlighted a recurring Journal of Cleaner Production is that they could also “borrow” the-
theme in each of the papers; the negative image associated with ories from other disciplines such as sociology and even the envi-
the mining industry and serious efforts that have been made to ronmental and social sciences. There is indeed a need for “rich”
remove this stigma and to move towards maintaining ethically and theoretical insights to explain the intricacies of sustainability ac-
socially acceptable practices. Newbold (2006) examined the counting and reporting and a need to go beyond the standard
application of ISO 14001 in a Chilean mining context and critiqued theoretical lens (Lodhia and Jacobs, 2013).
 S. Lodhia, N. Hess / Journal of Cleaner Production 84 (2014) 43e50 47

Table 1
Sustainability accounting and reporting literature in the Journal of Cleaner Production.

Title (in order of appearance) Authors Theory Methods Significant findings

Pollution minimisation practices in the Australian Driussi and None Survey Current pollution minimisation practices by four Australian
mining and minerals processing industries Jansz (2006) mining companies follow Australian and internal guidelines
but there is room for improvement.
The emperors new clothes: Sustainable mining? Whitmore None Opinion “New Sustainable Mining” is no different from past practices.
(2006) piece
Sustainability and gold mining in the developing Kumah None Case study Gold mining in the developing world does not benefit local
world (2006) communities.
Mining, water and human rights: Making the Kemp None Content Social science and natural science based approaches to water
connection et al. (2010) analysis management are needed for the mining industry.
Developing a framework for sustainable Azapagic None Framework A framework comprising economic, social, environmental
development indicators for the mining and (2004) development and integrated indicators is developed specifically for the
minerals industry mining industry.
Web based social and environmental communication Lodhia Media Interviews, The full potential of the web is not utilised for sustainability
in the Australian minerals industry: an application (2012b) richness website communication in the Australian mining industry.
of media richness framework framework analysis
Climate change accounting and the Australian mining Pellegrino Legitimacy Content Voluntary disclosure is used by both Australian mining
industry: Exploring the links between corporate and Lodhia theory analysis companies and industry associations to legitimise their
disclosure and the generation of legitimacy (2012) existence in light of impending carbon pricing
requirements.
Sustainability reporting on large-scale mining conflicts: Murguía and Stakeholder Case study With reference to mining in a developing nation,
the case of Bajo de la Alumbrera, Argentina €hling
Bo theory sustainability reporting can play an adverse role and create
(2013) conflicts if information is not of a high quality.
Corporate social responsibility, mining and Kemp et al. None Interviews The current audit culture for corporate social responsibility
“audit culture” (2012) for global mining has limited value.
Cross-sector collaboration shaping corporate social McDonald None Interviews, Through a study of collaboration between an Australian
responsibility best practice within the mining and Young document mining company and an NGO, model for successful
industry (2012) analysis partnerships is developed.
Editorial. Section 1: environmental management, MacDonald None Editorial Environmental management can be used by the mining
legal and policy issues in the mining industry (2006) industry to improve its performance and image.
Chile's environmental momentum: ISO 14001 and Newbold None Case study Critiques the ISO certification by mining companies in Chile.
the large-scale mining industry e case studies (2006)
from the state and private sector
Corporate environmental management and regulation Evangelinos None Interviews, Mining operations in the developing context should consider
of mining operations in the Cyclades, Greece and Oku document winewin situations for a company and its stakeholders.
(2006) Analysis
Corporate social responsibility in the mining industry: Jenkins and None Content Corporate social responsibility reporting by 10 global mining
Exploring trends in social and environmental Yakovleva analysis companies can be classified into the leaders-laggards
disclosure (2006) continuum.

There are a number of areas of future research on sustainability the impact of mining in developing and underdeveloped countries.
accounting and reporting that can be undertaken in the mining Similarly, studies should move beyond the corporate focus and
industry. There is considerable scope for further research in this explore other parties that have a role in sustainability accounting
context and some of these are addressed in this special issue. Future and reporting in the mining industry. Social issues should also be
research opportunities, which address some of the gaps in the considered in conjunction with environmental issues. Finally, the
literature highlighted here, and highlight new avenues for research, regulatory aspects of sustainability accounting and reporting in the
are discussed next. mining industry require the attention of researchers.
Whilst sustainability reporting research has been dominant in
5. Future research opportunities both academic studies as well as in practice, a new concept has
emerged that focuses on integrating the various strands of
There are a number of worthwhile pursuits in sustainability reporting. It has been highlighted that existing sustainability
accounting and reporting research within the context of the mining reporting practices function in isolation of financial reporting and
industry. Some of these issues stem from the review of articles in therefore, do not have a significant impact on business strategy and
the Journal of Cleaner Production. Other areas of research include operations. Integrated reporting (Adams, 2013; IIRC, 2013), has
contemporary sustainability accounting and reporting matters and been proposed as a new form of reporting that integrates economic,
these have been applied to the mining industry context. As dis- social and environmental information in a concise format, and
cussed earlier in the paper, the focus is primarily on the Journal of enables a breakdown of the “silos” in an organisation. It is hoped
Cleaner Production, due to its extensive emphasis on the mining that such reporting is accompanied by integrated thinking whereby
industry. However, these areas of research could easily apply to integrated strategy, operations and performance provide the basis
other journals and where similar work has been already under- for an organisation to manage its economic, social and environ-
taken; these are identified in this Section. mental matters.
Research can be undertaken in relation to contemporary issues The International Integrating Reporting Council (IIRC) has
such as integrated reporting, climate change and water accounting. recently been formed to provide guidance for the development of
The communication media for reporting, the auditing aspect of integrated reporting. However, the IIRC's pilot case studies do not
sustainability accounting and reporting, and the role of stake- have an extensive involvement of mining companies. The adoption
holders and their relationship with the mining industry are also and impact of integrated reporting on mining companies is there-
areas worth investigating. Studies do not have to be merely fore a research inquiry that needs to be addressed. Studies could
restricted to the developed part of the world and should address seek to content analyse the social, environmental and economic
48 S. Lodhia, N. Hess / Journal of Cleaner Production 84 (2014) 43e50

information disclosed by mining companies and assess their extent practices in developing and underdeveloped countries, especially
of integration. Surveys and interviews of corporate executives and in relation to multinational operations in these parts of the world.
managers could also be undertaken to seek their views on current Studies should not merely be restricted to a corporate focus;
and future integrated reporting practices. studies of other institutions would also be useful. Studies of NGOS
Climate change will have a major impact on the practices of and their relationships with mining companies (see for example,
mining companies in the future and there is a need for studies to McDonald and Young, 2012) would add to the understanding of
address how mining companies address this environmental issue. mining-stakeholder relationships. Similarly, the role of institutions
Studies like Pellegrino and Lodhia (2012) need to be followed by such as the International Council on Mining and Metals and global
further work that explores actual climate change accounting bodies such the United Nations in overseeing, encouraging and
practices of mining companies. The disclosure of climate change providing guidance on sustainability in mining operations can also
matters in a range of media is another area worth investigating. be explored within the sustainability accounting and reporting
Water Accounting is an emerging area of research in sustain- context.
ability accounting (Chalmers et al., 2012) and there is need for The emphasis in a majority of sustainability accounting and
further studies to extend the work of Kemp et al. (2010) and explore reporting studies, including those focussing on the mining industry,
water management and its reporting in the mining industry. For is on environmental issues. Social issues are equally relevant and
instance, Kemp et al. (2010) and Hazelton (2013) link water need to be explored in further depth. Mining companies do have a
disclosure to human rights, suggesting that such information is role to play in regard to social issues such as health and safety,
critical to stakeholders. poverty alleviation, local community development, equitable
Social media is becoming an increasingly important corporate resource sharing and so forth. Studies are therefore needed to
communication tool and it is of interest to research its use for sus- explore the management and reporting of these issues by mining
tainability communication. Studies are required that would expand companies. This will enable an assessment of social justice matters
the work of Lodhia (2004b, 2005, 2006a, 2006b, 2012b) which within the confines of a large, powerful and wealthy industry.
looked at the use of corporate websites, and explore whether and Studies can seek to comprehend whether the numerous
how mining companies are using social media for communicating voluntary guidelines and initiatives in the mining industry (such as
social and environmental information. Mining companies do not sell the global mining initiative, mining certification evaluation project
their products directly to consumers and require less need for and a sustainable development framework for the Australian
electronic media for advertising and marketing purposes (Lodhia, mining industry) could contribute to the development of manda-
2012b). They are therefore likely to use social media more exten- tory guidelines for management and reporting of sustainability is-
sively for their image management because social and environ- sues (Lodhia, 2012a). Such developments in guidelines in this
mental performance is often related to their “licence to operate”. industry can have lessons for the development of integrated
Most sustainability accounting and reporting studies focus on reporting guidelines.
annual performance. However, the electronic means of communi-
cation discussed previously enable more timely disclosure and 6. Conclusions
future studies could explore ongoing disclosure. This has the po-
tential to facilitate studies of specific events, such as a major social This paper has highlighted that whilst the Journal of Cleaner
and environmental incident. Incidents like the OK Tedi disaster Production is not specifically focused on sustainability accounting
involving BHP Billiton took place at a time when information and and reporting, its multi-disciplinary emphasis has provided an
communication technology usage and potential was not promi- outlet for such research, especially for studies on the mining in-
nent. However, present day incidents have extensive coverage and dustry. It is hoped that this paper will encourage researchers to
disclosure, and studies can seek both corporate and stakeholder pursue the numerous possibilities that exist in relation to sustain-
views of these incidents. ability accounting and reporting research in the mining industry.
The mining industry has a wide ranging set of stakeholders. Similarly, a publication outlet such as the Journal of Cleaner Pro-
There is a need for further studies such as Murguía and Bo €hling duction is useful for emerging researchers seeking an impact of
(2013) to consider how mining companies manage and engage research beyond their narrow disciplinary focus. In an academic
their stakeholders, especially in relation to their sustainability ac- climate where multidisciplinary and trans-disciplinary research is
counting and reporting practices. Such research would facilitate a encouraged, the diverse readership of the Journal of Cleaner Pro-
movement away from a corporate perspective and provide a duction ensures that a broader audience comprehends and cites an
“voice” to stakeholders, enabling an understanding of their opin- increasingly important area of research.
ions and concerns. Interviews and focus groups could be utilised for This study found that sustainability accounting and reporting
such studies. practices in the mining industry are evolving slowly. Whilst some
The auditing aspect of sustainability accounting and reporting in companies have been found to be leading sustainability reporting
the mining industry is an area that requires greater emphasis in the practices, there is a need for improvements in the management of
literature. Auditing can be internally focused with attention given sustainability issues and the subsequent auditing of these aspects.
to internal management systems (Kemp et al., 2012) or it could be The situation in developing countries needs to be drastically
external through assurance of reporting practices. Studies are improved as it appears that multinationals do not extend their
required to establish which type of organisations provide sustain- accountability in relation to operations in these parts of the world.
ability auditing services, what is being audited (management sys- The involvement of NGOs and the government as regulators has
tems or reports) and how effective is such auditing in the absence been suggested as essential for making mining companies
of an overall sustainability management and reporting model. responsible and accountable for their social and environmental
The global operations of mining warrant studies of various impacts.
contexts. Research on sustainability accounting and reporting in This paper contributes to the sustainability and reporting liter-
the mining industry should not only be restricted to the developed ature by analysing the existing literature on the mining industry in
part of the world. There is a need for literature to extend prior work a multidisciplinary journal. The study adds a new dimension to the
such as Kumah (2006), Newbold (2006), Evangelinos and Oku review literature on sustainability accounting and reporting
(2006), and Murguía and Bo €hling (2013) that consider the through its focus on the specific mining context instead of a more
 S. Lodhia, N. Hess / Journal of Cleaner Production 84 (2014) 43e50 49

general focus. It has established the key findings in the literature, Hahn, R., Kühnen, M., 2013. Determinants of sustainability reporting: a review of
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identified specific trends and highlighted gaps in the current
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