Abstract
The connection between the respect of sustainable development and joint rules of conduct in international trade has increased dramatically in recent years. Many countries have promoted sustainability development and requirement with their trading partners both in the West and the East-Asian Region. This has led corporate sustainability disclosures to become a vital role that facilitates international trade. Although recently there have been numerous studies that investigate corporate sustainability disclosures in China, understanding the perceived importance of this form of disclosure cannot be ignored for analyses. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to provide exploratory evidence, showing the users’ perceived importance in corporate sustainability in China and addressing to what extent it is different from what was intended in the GRI guidelines. This study examines three sustainable aspects, which are corporate environmental, economic and social disclosures. The findings in this study provide an indication that what was intended in GRI may not be so important in China. Although there are indicators shown to be different from what was intended in the GRI guidelines, 50 % of the items remain to be significant when analysing CSD in China.
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Appendices
Appendix A
7.1.1 Sustainable Environmental Information
How do you perceive the importance of the following aspects in environmental disclosure?
-
1.
Material usage (materials used from recycled materials).
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
-
2.
Energy (energy consumption, energy intensity, reduction of energy consumption or reduction in energy requirements of products and services).
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
-
3.
Water (the amount of water withdrawal by source, influence from such withdrawal and percentage and total volume of water recycled and reused).
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
-
4.
Biodiversity (operational sites owned, leased, managed in or adjacent to, protected areas and areas of high biodiversity value outside protected areas. It may also include description of significant impacts of activities, products and services on biodiversity in protected areas and areas of high biodiversity value outside protected areas or habitats protected or restored, as well as the total number of IUCN Red List species and national conservation list species with habitats in areas affected by operations and by level of extinction risk).
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
-
5.
Emissions (direct or indirect greenhouse gas emissions, greenhouse gas emission intensity, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, emissions of ozone-depleting substances and NOx, SOx and other significant air emissions).
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
-
6.
Effluents and waste (total water discharge by quality and destination; total weight of waste by type and disposal method; total number and volume of significant spills; weight of transported, imported, exported or treated waste deemed hazardous under the terms of the Basel Convention annexes i, ii, iii and viii; percentage of transported waste shipped internationally; identity, size, protected status and biodiversity value of water bodies and related habitats significantly affected by the organisation’s discharges of water and run-off).
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
-
7.
Products and services (the extent of impact mitigation of environmental impacts of products and services, percentage of products sold and their packaging materials that are reclaimed by category).
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
-
8.
Compliance (monetary value of significant fines and total number of nonmonetary sanctions for non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations).
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
-
9.
Transportation (environmental impacts of transporting products and other goods and materials for the organisation’s operations and transporting members of the workforce).
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
-
10.
Environmental overall sustainability (total environmental protection expenditures and investments by type)
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
-
11.
Supplier environment assessment (percentage of new suppliers that were screened using environmental criteria, significant potential negative environmental impacts in the supply chain and actions taken).
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
-
12.
Environmental grievance mechanisms (the number of grievances about environmental impacts filed, addressed and resolved through formal grievance mechanism).
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
-
13.
What other aspects do you think are important for a company to disclose environmental information? Please specify here and rate it.
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
Appendix B
7.1.1 Sustainable Economic Information
How do you perceive the importance of the following aspects in economic disclosure?
-
1.
Economic performance (direct economic value generated and distributed, financial implications and other risks and opportunities for the organisation’s activities due to climate change, coverage of the organisation’s defined benefit plan obligation and financial assistance received from the government).
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
-
2.
Market presence (ratios of standard entry level wage by gender compared to local minimum wage at significant locations of operation and proportion of senior management hired from the local community at significant locations of operation).
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
-
3.
Indirect economic impacts (development and impact of infrastructure investments and services supported and significant indirect economic impacts, including the extent of impacts).
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
-
4.
Procurement practices (proportion of spending on local suppliers at significant location of operation).
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
-
5.
What other aspects do you think are important for a company to disclose economic information? Please specify here and rate it.
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
Appendix C
7.1.1 Sustainable Social Information
How do you perceive the importance of the following aspects in social disclosure?
-
1.
Labour practice and decent work.
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
-
2.
Human right.
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
-
3.
Social.
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
-
4.
Product responsibility.
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
-
5.
What other aspects do you think are important for a company to disclose economic information? Please specify here and rate it.
Least important
Not important
Neutral
Important
Most important
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Zhang, J., Djajadikerta, H.G., Zhang, Z. (2015). The Perceptions and Challenges of Corporate Sustainability Reporting in China. In: Djajadikerta, H., Zhang, Z. (eds) A New Paradigm for International Business. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-499-3_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-499-3_7
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