Digital dissemination of environmental and social initiatives. investigation of reporting practices in german shipping industry

Abstract

Both sustainable development and corporate social responsibility (CSR) have received particular attention recently, hence becoming increasingly important in the business world as a model in building equilibrium between economic benefits and growth on the one side, and the society and the environment on the other side. CSR is a strategic business concern that indicates responsiveness towards economic and environmental issues striving for a favorable influence on the development of society, and consequently sustainable development. Along with the trend of incorporation CSR initiatives into every-day business operations, the demand for more transparency on companies’ activities in these areas has been expanding. As companies appear to increasingly engage in disclosure of information related to their environmental and social impacts, this study explores voluntary disclosure of data related to these two groups of concerns, particularly on companies’ websites. The goal of the paper is to contribute to the understanding the reporting and disclosure of sustainability data. The study particular investigates the extent to which German freight shipping companies use websites as channels for presenting their social and environmental information to the public. The research included 82 freight shipping companies, members of the German ship-owners’ association. For each company, the study measured the level of compatibility with the Global Reporting Initiative environmental and social reporting standards. The results indicate that companies seated in Hamburg, companies with group affiliation and companies with large fleets outperform those located in other German provinces, nonaffiliated shipping companies and modest-sized fleets.