A Data-Driven Approach to Evaluation of Sustainability Reporting Practices in Extractive Industries
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Mining Engineering Department, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USA
2
Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USA
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Kwame Awuah-Offei and Que Sisi
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 8716; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168716
Received: 8 July 2021 / Revised: 26 July 2021 / Accepted: 31 July 2021 / Published: 4 August 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design for Sustainability in the Minerals Sector)
Sustainability reporting is one of the tools that contribute to incorporating sustainable development in the design of extractive operations (i.e., “Design for Sustainability”), and the demand for sustainability reports is increasing due to the increased focus on sustainable development and sustainable financing efforts. The extractive industries are believed to have unique strengths to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Nonetheless, companies are expected to be transparent and accountable not only to investors but to all stakeholders, including communities, suppliers, clients, employees, and governments. Therefore, extractive industries require effective sustainability accounting and reporting to transition and contribute to sustainable development. Through a data-driven approach, this paper examines the scope and consistency of sustainability indicators used in the sustainability reports of eight oil and gas and eight mining companies from 2012 to 2018. Through content analysis and relevant statistical methods, we analyze the ways in which companies reported on their contributions to sustainable development, with a focus on indicators used and trends over time both within each industry and between industries. We demonstrate that extractive industries’ sustainability reporting practices are not consistent over time and that internal issues are better represented than external issues, in particular transportation and supply chain issues. Furthermore, while there are similar trends across the industries in terms of social and environmental indicator reporting, there are significant differences in economic reporting. We conclude that although both industries have established sustainability reporting practices, there are trends that demonstrate what companies are focusing on more, as well as areas for improvement. We see this as an initial step for conceptualizing how these industries can more objectively, consistently, and effectively assess and contribute to sustainable development.
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Keywords:
sustainability reporting; extractive industries; sustainability indicators; data-driven approach; content analysis; sustainable development; design for sustainability
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MDPI and ACS Style
Perdeli Demirkan, C.; Smith, N.M.; Duzgun, H.S.; Waclawski, A. A Data-Driven Approach to Evaluation of Sustainability Reporting Practices in Extractive Industries. Sustainability 2021, 13, 8716. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168716
AMA Style
Perdeli Demirkan C, Smith NM, Duzgun HS, Waclawski A. A Data-Driven Approach to Evaluation of Sustainability Reporting Practices in Extractive Industries. Sustainability. 2021; 13(16):8716. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168716
Chicago/Turabian StylePerdeli Demirkan, Cansu, Nicole M. Smith, H. S. Duzgun, and Aurora Waclawski. 2021. "A Data-Driven Approach to Evaluation of Sustainability Reporting Practices in Extractive Industries" Sustainability 13, no. 16: 8716. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168716
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