An analysis of corporate environmental communication on the Asian mining’s corporate websites
Keywords:
Web-based corporate, Environmental communication, Website content analysis, Corporate environmental responsibility, Online communicationAbstract
The study aims to investigate the company's environmental communication through the corporate's website using samples from the Asian mining industry. Websites are a communication medium that must be used by companies to convey information and their environmental commitments to stakeholders because they are relatively cost-effective and timely. We applied content analysis to each of the websites of Asian mining companies for 2023. The unit of analysis of this study is all the websites of mining companies in Asia including the homepage to the coders clicked on each link. All menus on the company's website are clicked and opened to ensure that all the information needed has been gathered to answer this research question. The results show that most companies communicate their environmental responsibilities on websites, such as general environmental considerations and statements. A total of 168 mining companies (83.17 percent) use websites as a medium of communication for their environment. Some entities go a step further by prominently displaying environmental information on their homepages, dedicating more pages to it, and even creating a special menu for environmental communication. This research has practical and social implications. For practical implications, the research framework presented herein offers a practical tool for organizations to evaluate and enhance their environmental information communication practices in alignment with prevailing standards in the Asian mining industry. For social implications, the findings of this study can strengthen investors’ trust on the company by accessing the company website.
References
1. Lodhia, S. Web Based Social and Environmental Communication in the Australian Minerals Industry: An Application of Media Richness Framework. J. Clean. Prod. 2012, 25, 73–85, doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2011.11.040.
2. Nguyen, N. A Review of Social License to Operate in Southeast Asian Mining. Extr. Ind. Soc. 2021, 8, 100841, doi:10.1016/j.exis.2020.11.007.
3. Lodhia, S.; Hess, N. Sustainability Accounting and Reporting in the Mining Industry: Current Literature and Directions for Future Research. J. Clean. Prod. 2014, 84, 43–50, doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.08.094.
4. Lodhia, S.K. Corporate Perceptions of Web-Based Environmental Communication: An Exploratory Study into Companies in the Australian Minerals Industry. J. Account. Organ. Chang. 2006, 2, 74–88, doi:10.1108/18325910610654135.
5. Lodhia, S.K. Corporate Environmental Reporting Media: A Case for the World Wide Web. Electron. Green J. 2004, doi:10.5070/g312010553.
6. Yu, J.; Coulson, K.R.; Zhou, J.X.; Wen, H.J.; Zhao, Q. Communicating Corporate Environmental Citizenship: An Examination of Fortune 500 Web Sites. J. Internet Commer. 2011, 10, 193–207, doi:10.1080/15332861.2011.596006.
7. Lodhia The World Wide Web and Its Potential for Corporate Environmental Communication: A Study into Present Practices in the Australian Minerals Industry. Int. J. Digit. Account. Res. 2006, 6, 65–94, doi:10.4192/1577-8517-v6_3.
8. Yu, J.; Coulson, K.R.; Zhou, J.X.; Wen, J. Substantive and Associative Claims in Environmental Communication: A Study of Fortune 500 Websites. J. Promot. Manag. 2013, 19, 211–223, doi:10.1080/10496491.2013.769476.
9. Unerman, J.; Bennett, M. Increased Stakeholder Dialogue and the Internet: Towards Greater Corporate Accountability or Reinforcing Capitalist Hegemony? Accounting, Organ. Soc. 2004, 29, 685–707, doi:10.1016/j.aos.2003.10.009.
10. Lymer, A. Internet and the Future of Reporting in Europe. Int. J. Phytoremediation 1999, 21, 289–301, doi:10.1080/096381899336041.
11. Ashbaugh, H.; Johnstone, K.M.; Warfield, T.D. Corporate Reporting on the Internet. Account. Horizons 1999, 13, 241–257, doi:10.2308/acch.1999.13.3.241.
12. Debreceny, R.; Gray, G.L.; Rahman, A. The Determinants of Internet Financial Reporting; 2002; Vol. 21;.
13. Moreno, A.; Capriotti, P. Communicating CSR, Citizenship and Sustainability on the Web. J. Commun. Manag. 2009, 13, 157–175, doi:10.1108/13632540910951768.
14. Cesar, S.; Jhony, O. Making or Breaking Social License to Operate in the Mining Industry: Factors of the Main Drivers of Social Conflict. J. Clean. Prod. 2021, 278, 123640, doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123640.
15. Cho, C.H.; Phillips, J.R.; Hageman, A.M.; Patten, D.M. Media Richness, User Trust, and Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility: An Experimental Investigation of Visual Web Site Disclosures. Accounting, Audit. Account. J. 2009, 22, 933–952, doi:10.1108/09513570910980481.
16. Herzig, C.; Godemann, J. Internet-Supported Sustainability Reporting: Developments in Germany. Manag. Res. Rev. 2010, 33, 1064–1082, doi:10.1108/01409171011085903.
Downloads
Published
Conference Proceedings Volume
Section
License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.