Browsing by Author "Lai, Timothy"

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    The extent of biodiversity and species reporting by the top 75 companies listed on the london stock exchange (ISE)
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Lai, Timothy; Ecim, Dusan; Maroun, Warren
    Corporate activities have significantly contributed to the accelerating decline of biological diversity on a global scale, having contributed to resource exploitation, industrialisation, land-use changes and deforestation in their associated operations. In recent years, the loss of habitats, ecosystems and threatened species has been brought to the attention of the public, mostly as a result of adverse events caused by these organisations in the conduct of their operations. The real impacts and consequences of biodiversity loss, has however, largely remained under-reported resulting in the need for organisations to adopt greater levels of corporate accountability and transparency within their biodiversity reports. This study analyses the primary reports (i.e., annual reports) of the top 75 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) across a three-year period (2018 – 2020). These reports are studied in order to assess the quality and quantity of the biodiversity and species extinction disclosures, with thepurpose of identifying any trends and patterns across the three years. This research also assesses the possible determinants driving biodiversity disclosures. A mixed method approach is utilised. The content in the primary reports is analysed and evaluated to identify biodiversity-related disclosures and categorises them according to the themes outlined in a detailed disclosure checklist developed using the existing professional and academic literature. Secondly, the quantum and quality of the biodiversity and species extinction related disclosures included in these reports will be determined using a standardised scoring system. This paper finds that the biodiversity and species extinction disclosure among the LSE-listed companies has remained low in both quality and quantity. Although there is considerable improvement in the biodiversity disclosures year-on-year, the disclosures remain limited in substance, lacking sufficient detail over the biodiversity-related matters conveyed to key stakeholders. This research provides insight into the environmental reporting practices of UK-listed companies and aims to identify the trends, patterns and weaknesses found within biodiversity reporting. This study expands on the limited volume of literature within the environmental accounting field, to ultimately aid the transformation in corporate reporting practices