Social And Environmental Accounting Journal ...

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Books review a

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Markus J. Milne , Andrea Coulson , Wan Ying Hill & Elizabeth A. Kirk a

University of Otago

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University of Strathclyde

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Glasgow Caledonian University

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Lecturer in Law, Department of Law , University of Dundee Published online: 22 Nov 2010.

To cite this article: Markus J. Milne , Andrea Coulson , Wan Ying Hill & Elizabeth A. Kirk (2002) Books review, Social and Environmental Accountability Journal, 22:1, 21-28 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0969160X.2002.9651670

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Books Review

More than this, though, “No Space” is also about how advertising and brands are infiltrating every aspect of our public space from billboards to sponsored TV and other (sporting and entertainment) events to the media and beyond to state schools and universities. “No Choice” documents how in the “brand wars” global and other large corporates are getting increasingly more sophisticated at eliminating local competition and diversity. The infamous example, of course, is Microsoft’s web browser and Netscape, but others include Wal-Mart’s strategy of saturating a region with its out-on-the-edge-of-town stores (Wal-Mart, of course, could easily be Tescos or Sainsburys in the UK or The Warehouse in New Zealand) and Starbucks strategy of opening new stores to the point where they even start to cannibalise each other but produce an overall lift in corporate profits. The overriding tactic in all these cases, of course, is to drive out the independent retailers in the process. Even more perverse strategies involve corporate censorship and “copyright bullies”, where excessive use of legal action enforces “copyright” over logos, names and so on. Disney Inc., amongst others, is a past master at such tactics. By the time I got to this point in Klein’s book (about half way), I was amazed and disgusted, but not overly surprised by what I’d read. The next section— “No Jobs”—, however, left me stunned, cold, depressed, and outraged in that order. “No Jobs” documents the appalling sweatshop factories of China, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Vietnam and on and on that produce all manner of “outsourced” products for large westernbased multinationals in fenced-in compounds called “export processing zones”. In such zones, young, single, teenage women (mostly) get paid less money in a day than buys them a day’s decent feed, and where, after 12-16 hours work, they sleep overcrowded in tiny rooms with lines on the floor to mark their “sleeping parks”. As Klein suggests, the whole edifice is based on fear. “The governments are afraid of losing their foreign factories; the factories are afraid of losing their brand-name buyers; and the workers are afraid of losing their unstable jobs. These are factories built not on land but on air”. “No Jobs”, however, also clearly documents how many western-based jobs have effectively been downgraded to part-time temp positions. Klein notes and goes on to illustrate the point that “Everyone knows that a job in the service sector is a hobby, and retail is a place where people go for “experience”, not a livelihood.” But more than this, she also documents how Microsoft and United Parcel Services, amongst others, effectively created two classes of workers who largely did the same jobs but under different conditions and pay. At UPS, some workers were working a regular full-time job, but

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(NO SPACE, NO CHOICE, NO JOBS,) NO LOGO Naomi Klein (London: Flamingo an Imprint of Harper CollinsPublishers), 2000, 490pp, pbk UK£8.99 2001,547pp+xxii, NZ$£29.95 Golfing legend Tiger Woods has just flown into Auckland, New Zealand, to play in the New Zealand Open, and to greet him on his arrival is a group demonstrating about the cap he wears on his head. Why? Well, as clearly articulated by this group on prime time news, Tiger Woods gets paid thousands of dollars a day to wear a cap on his head that brandishes the Nike “swoosh” logo, while those who made the cap “live” in some East Asian country (China, Vietnam, the Philippines, etc) and get paid less than two dollars a day to make hundreds of them. Tiger, of course, is not alone in accepting millions of dollars in sponsorship to support brands like Nike. Others include Michael Jordon, Wayne Gretzky, and our own (New Zealand that is) Johna Lomu who takes god knows what from Addidas. And Nike, of course, is not the only brand-based multinational spending millions upon millions of dollars building up its brand through advertising, public relations, and sponsorship promotions. Others include Addidas, Reebok, the Gap, Lacoste, Molson beer, Starbucks, McDonalds, and the list goes on and on. And not all of these organisations operate East Asian sweatshop factories, of course. No, Klein’s book is not just about rogue clothes and shoes manufacturers, although they do seem to feature very heavily it has to be said: it is about all manner of organisations that have effectively contracted out of “production”, shipping this out in many cases to cheap labour countries, and are spending colossal sums on building “brands”. And Klein’s book is not just about anti-social corporate behaviour either, it is also about how an increasingly vocal minority who, sickened by such corporate excesses, are getting organised and gearing up to effectively fight back. “No Space” documents numerous examples of how corporates set on building brands rather than making “things” spend sickening sums on advertising and public relations to create lifestyle images and myths that surround the base product.

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due to their contractual conditions were receiving substantially less pay than co-workers working the same hours doing the same job. Sound familiar? It certainly does to some of my colleagues, who, on fixed-term positions (which are regularly rolled over), are effectively not entitled to such benefits as research study (sabbatical) leave. Klein makes a good case that we shouldn’t be willing to give it away just yet and concede to these powerful corporate brutes. Indeed, “No Logo”—the final section, and the overriding rationale for the book— offers much in the way of an optimistic account of just how sophisticated anti-corporate activism is getting. Just as the demonstrating group referred to at the start shows, ‘brand superstars’ can effectively “boomerang”: they can be turned to work against their brands. “Ad busting” “Hacking” and “Culture jamming” are also steel fist in velvet glove tactics that are being increasingly used to successfully attack the symbols of the branded corporates. Along with these tactics are the increasingly ‘organised’ demonstrations around world economic summits, new store openings, and the famous McDonald’s court case. Klein’s book is brilliantly written, and as a basis for conveying the bigger picture and reminding us what it’s all about, it has to be considered a “must read”. (Markus J. Milne, University of Otago)

victim and the feel good cultures in which no one takes responsibility for themselves anymore, in which blame is liberally spread about and in which instant gratification is the order of the day. Moving on, and much as Klein does in No Logo, he takes us on a journey to the land of consumer populism in which shopping has become a kind of religion, and in which commercialism has turned us from citizens into consumers and in the process eroded the sense of responsibility that citizens have for one another. Commercialism is also shown to have infiltrated our public spaces and others aspects of our community life, notably our work patterns and lack of leisure. As one example, Humphrys shows how the English Soccer League has all but been destroyed by big-business media interests. Similarly, and much closer to his experience, he laments the commercialisation of television and the news media. Finally, after a depressing 11chapters charting the demise of British society to the power of the commercial interests, he asks what’s to be done about it all? His answer? Well, and again much like Klein, he suggests we must learn to speak out, we must stand up for our differences, we must learn to have the courage of our convictions, and we must dissent. We have to become dissident citizens. A thoroughly good read, and highly recommended for those in need of reminding that much of western society is becoming stuffed by the interests of those seeking profit. (Markus J. Milne, University of Otago)

DEVIL’S ADVOCATE John Humphrys (London: Arrow Books) 2000, 271pp+xi, £7.99

ACCOUNTING FOR BIODIVERSITY: A Natural Inventory of the Elan Valley Nature Reserve M.J. Jones and J. Matthews, Occasional Research Paper No.29 (London: ACCA), 2000

Like Klein’s No Logo, this book too is a call to arms for those who are dissatisfied with the way things have been happening and the way things are heading. As he states in the introduction, “…we should all argue much more about many of the things that we have come to take for granted or accepted with resignation or even indifference because some powerful group or vested interest has foisted them upon us, or because we have simply not stopped to think.” Unlike Klein, however, Humphrys doesn’t spend time digging up the dirt on global corporates or spend time finding out about anti-corporate activism. No, Humphrys, who has spent over 40 years in British journalism, and reached the dizzy heights of BBC nine-o-clock newscaster, spends time reflecting on changes he’s observed in British society during a lifetime’s work as a journalist. Drawing anecdotes from stories he’s covered, his extremely well written book charts the Social and Environmental Accounting

This research report is a valuable contribution to the social and environmental accounting literature for (at least) three reasons. In the first instance, the subject matter the report deals with is one, which will be of interest to many organisations. Second, the report reflects a cross disciplinary approach to understanding the impacts of organisations and as such yields greater benefit than a narrow accounting focus. Finally, the report provides a comprehensive example of how to do a natural inventory and suggested annual report summary of such an inventory and as such helps us to translate research into practice. In brief, the report outlines how organisations may provide accounts (of a qualitative, quantitative and financial nature) of their impact on the ecosystems within which they operate. This can be done, by providing an account 22

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of how an inventory of natural capital has changed over time. Jones and Mathews outline a model of how habitats (which comprise of both flora and fauna) can be described and envisage that organisations may undertake inventories of the habitats, which they are custodians of at regular intervals. Having identified the habitats the authors then attempt to put a financial value on some elements the habitats, drawing from ‘Tir Gofal’ (an agri-environmental scheme in Wales in which farmers are compensated for maintaining habitat). This is, for me, one of the elements of the report, which is of great interest. While noting that there are problems with undertaking the valuation of natural assets, the authors suggest that providing some sort of financial account of the eco-system services provided is useful as year on year trends in habitat can be more easily tracked (by virtue of these changes being captured in a single value). The political value of presenting a financial figure in a world, which dwells almost exclusively on the financial, should also be noted. The model developed by the authors was piloted on Cosmeston Lakes Country Park and in this research report the model was applied to the Elan Valley Estate, which is owned by Hyder plc (a UK public limited company). The report thus demonstrates the value of the model for organisations such as water companies, electricity companies and local authorities who own and/or operate on or over (possibly) large areas of land and who therefore have the ability to affect the quality of the habitats contained on and in that land. In closing, this is a well executed attempt to provide more information about accounting for natural capital. The report is immensely practical and demonstrates how new forms of accounts may be constructed to deal with new demands for accountability. (KJB) This research paper has been published in PDF format see: www.accaglobal.com/research.html

At the time of writing Jeucken Marcel is a practitioner in Rabobank and a doctoral researcher at Erasmus University. Previous work by the author includes a translation of a dutch book Sustainable Banking (1998) and joint editorial work with Jan Jaap Bouma and Leon Klinkers on Sustainable Banking: The Greening of Finance (2001). Together this experience provides the author with a strong foundation for the production of this accessible yet intellectually challenging book. The book is set out in three parts. Each part and subsequent chapter is very well sign-posted. Part 1. Sustainability: a general introduction discusses the potential role of banks in pursuing sustainable (economic) development. Part 2. Banking and Sustainability provides examples of bank products and internal operations applied in pursuit of sustainable development including some interest points on the accountability, reporting and loan pricing. Part 3. In reflection includes a survey of sustainable banking drawn from public disclosures made by 34 international banks. The book ends with some thoughts on the future of banking and questions whether banks can achieve sustainability by continuing within current economic perspectives. The author’s stated aim is not to provide definitive answers but to stimulate thinking in terms of solutions. The stated target audience of the book is banking practitioners and policy makers followed by academics. For an academic audience it provides a wealth of empirical information and offers up for debate some conceptual thoughts on paradigm shifts in the traditional economic foundations of banking. It would be an excellent textbook for a specialist class on environmental banking but I believe it is best read at leisure or dipped into for reference for to consume it as a whole takes patience due to its ambitious content. My main criticisms of the book is that in seeking to cover such a scope and live up to the title the author is over ambitious. The result is that everything promised cannot be included (certainly not in any great depth). Once you have reflected on the content the title appears somewhat misleading. The primary concern of the book is environmental banking issues. Those interested in sustainability may find the scope of the book disappointing. As the author is quick to acknowledge, the books focus on sustainable development is limited to a merging of the environment and the economy. Reference to finance is made in a broad sense due to the apparent inclusions of the wide range of services that often fall under the banking banner. The book excludes a detailed review of equity investment issues such as social responsible investment funds that receive only reference in passing. As such much of the social dimension of sustainability is unfortunately missing and leaves one feeling that the book might have been better titled

SUSTAINABLE FINANCE and BANKING: The Financial Sector and the Future of the Planet Marcel Jeucken (London: Earthscan) 2001, 318 + viiipp, £29.95 Jeucken Marcel has been heralded as the first to provide a comprehensive and accessible book on the subject of sustainable finance and banking. One does not have to look far to find glowing commentaries that welcome the book as a much needed introduction to the subject. Social and Environmental Accounting

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environmental banking. However, under this revised title the author makes an exceptional contribution. To read this book is a must for anyone working in this area of environmental banking whether a practitioner or academic. My recommendation would be look out for his doctoral thesis if this book is anything to go by the thesis should provide a very interesting read. (Andrea Coulson, University of Strathclyde)

constraints including possibly the recruitment of free student labour (p.33-34); and handy advice on interviewing, focus group and other participatory appraisal methods (p.53-61). In addition, the manual describes two interesting and case studies and these were documented in detail (p.68-97). These two illustrative samplers would be most useful for innovative learning. Pearce has the knack of ensuring clarity and simplicity of writing without compromising on the rigour and comprehensiveness demanded of the subject matter; and the workbook design and CD ROM presentation are also exemplary. The package is well-suited (and has indeed been proven) to be a comprehensive (self) learning kit. For all these practical strengths (plus general affordability – currently I am unsure of the cost?), I do honestly believe that many people engaged in organisations other than those in the community/social enterprise sector could also find this a most useful reference guide. So even if Social Audit is not one of your own interest areas, do please take the trouble to review and recommend it to your library. Then fingers crossed, more organisations might get interested and be encouraged to go through the learning cycles. With hope, each organisation can then further specify and fine-tune for themselves optimised frameworks including: the accountability network of stakeholder; consultation and prioritisation; the (de)limitation of (non)disclosure of sensitive information; the balancing of auditor independence and interdependence. (Wan Ying Hill, Glasgow Caledonian University) If you would like further information on this package or how to order please contact CBS Network on [email protected]

SOCIAL AUDIT AND ACCOUNTING: Manual, Workbook and CD Rom John Pearce (West Calder: CBS Network & Social Enterprise Network) 2001, 97pp + 15pp, £33.00 + p&p Despite some prominent (and global) experimental/ developmental work by some NGOs, value-based and commercial businesses, Social Accounting and Social Audit may still provoke some rather unsure reaction/mystification from various quarters. No worries, I would happily recommend those interested to get hold of this ‘courseware’ to explore the new possibilities. The package of publication comes from one of the key engineers of the Social Audit Movement (or Guru if you will) whose consistent body of work commands high esteem. The Social Audit Manual is developed from the earlier Work Book “Social auditing for small organisations” which Pearce has co-authored with Peter Raynard and Simon Zadek (New Economics Foundation, 1997) and the author’s continuing teaching/training work in the UK and New Zealand. The manual is specifically designed for the target audience of community organisations and local social enterprises. In this new manual, expertly, Pearce guides the reader to understand the theory and practice of social accounting and social audit. The accompanying Workbook and CD-Rom complete the whole practical ‘how-to-do-it’ system design and (proforma) documentation toolkit. The Social Audit manual starts with a useful review of the principles, benefits, snags as well as the historical developments of social audit (p.12 17). Then the well-structured manual covers the methodology and all the essential stages of social accounting and social audit in uncluttered and clear English. Pearce has included practical wisdom bountiful throughout such as: value affirmation (p.23-24); stakeholder mapping (p.25-27); keeping things simple (p.30); considerations of the resource Social and Environmental Accounting

GREENING THE CORPORATION: Management Strategy and the Environment Challenge Peter Thayer Robbins (London: Earthscan) 2001, 198pp + xviii, £17.95 This book grew out of Peter Thayer Robbins PhD research at the LSE, where he was concerned with “how corporate responses to environmental crises be understood sociologically”. His interest centres on which cultural and organisational factors can lead to good environmental practice. In his exploration of green corporate management systems, he

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SUSTAINABLE BANKING: The Greening of Finance Jan Jaap Bouma, Marcel Jeucken and Leon Klinkers (eds) (Sheffield: Greenleaf Publishing in association with Deloitte & Touche) 2001, 480pp £45.00/US$84.00.

conducted four in-depth case studies of major corporations, based on 55 interviews – Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) (chemicals); Ben & Jerry’s (ice cream manufacturers); Body Shop (cosmetics etc.); and Royal Dutch Shell (oil). Companies were described as having “traditional” corporate culture or those with “socio-environmental” corporate culture. A company with a “traditional” culture focuses primarily on generating wealth for its shareholders through a corporate cultural ethic, which emphasises such terms as “continuous improvement”, “safety first”; or “total quality management”. Whilst the social-environmental corporation culture, also focuses on generating wealth for its shareholders whilst being sociallyenvironmentally active – guided by a corporate cultural ethic – such as “linked prosperity”; “profits and principles” “caring capitalism”. ARCO and Shell are the former and Ben & Jerry’s and the Body Shop are the later. Chapter one looks at the major environmental challenges facing companies today and explores their responses through innovation; technology; organisation and strategy. Chapter 2 looks at three sets of overarching sociological theories and concepts that can help our understanding of corporate greening. The three theories that are presented include: ecological modernisation; the sociology of management; and green economics and business. Ecological modernisation is the “over-arching framework” which is then used in the rest of the book, to help us understand “the ways in which institutions integrate environmental and economic objectives as part of a process of overall social change”. Chapter three examines the structural variables in environmental management and introduces a typology of environmental management styles. The four cases studies are then presented – and by identifying common elements, a further model is developed. Finally chapter 6 presents conclusions on the model developed earlier and considers the analysis within the wider theoretical literature as well as presenting avenues for future research. Detailed endnotes and references are also included. Few sociological analyses of corporate greening have been undertaken, and at its simplest level Peter Thayer Robbins descriptions of the problems of conducting in-depth case studies and the accounts of the case studies themselves will prove fascinating to most readers. Similarly the theoretical chapters will provide most students with some stimulating sociological insights into how we construct social reality and explain social change. (SG)

Social and Environmental Accounting

This book consists of thirty-two articles by various authors, representing a range of organisations from Deloitte & Touche, KPMG to UNEP, the World Resources Institute and a number of banks and universities. The book is divided into five sections: (1) Environmental Policies of Banks; (2) Transparency and Communication; (3) Sustainable Investment Funds; (4) Environmental Risks and Banks’ Products; (5) The Role of Government, NGOs and Multilateral Banks. These sections are reviewed very briefly below. The first section on banks includes case studies of banks such as the Dutch ethical bank ASN, the British Co-operative Bank, The Grameen Bank of Bangladesh and UBS of Switzerland. It also includes articles on the environmental practices and policies of banks in Austria, Hungary and Thailand and an interesting article on European banks and the “triple bottom line” issues they are facing. The second section includes an interesting case study of the Triodos Bank and possible links between environmental and financial performance. Kaisa Tarna of KPMG contributes with an article on environmental reporting in the financial services sector, while Björn Stigson (President, World Business Council for Sustainable Development) discusses “making the link between environmental performance and shareholder value: the metrics of eco-efficiency”. The third section on “sustainable” funds includes contributions by Schaltegger and Figge on the historical development of “sustainable” funds. This is followed by a case study of the Eco-sar fund of Bank Sarasin in Switzerland. Other contributions includes articles on the Dow Jones Sustainablity Index and the Green Fund system in the Netherlands. The fourth section on environmental risks includes a case study of Lloyds TSB by Andrea Coulson of Strathclyde University and general contrbutions on banks and environmenatl risk and performance by various authors. The fifth section on the role of government and other organisations includes contributions about the role of the World Bank, UNEP and an interesting article by Stephen Viederman (from the Jessie Smith Noyes

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Foundation) on whether financial institutions can contribute to sustainability. This book is a useful resource for those interested in the environment and financial markets. The broad coverage including financial institutions and issues in Bangladesh, China, USA, Thailand and many European countries is also commendable and increases the value of it. (NK) To view Chapter 32 “Can financial institutions contribute to sustainability”, table of contents and further information, see www.greenleaf publishing.com/catalogue/banking.htm

and references becomes a bit of an annoyance, but perhaps that is just this writer’s pet peeve. (Elizabeth A. Kirk, Lecturer in Law, University of Dundee, Department of Law) METAPHORS FOR CHANGE: Partnerships, Tools and Civic Action for Sustainability Edited by Penny Allen with Christophe Bonazzi and David Gee (Sheffield: Greenleaf), 2001, 326pp, £19.95/US$40.00pbk

THE ILLUSION OF PROGRESS: Unsustainable development in international law and policy Alexander Gillespie (London: Earthscan), 2001, 256pp, £40.00hbk, £14.95pbk

Metaphors for Change, is a book of readings complied to provide us with a “roadmap for sustainability”, which endeavours to let us know “how we can get from where we are to where we want to be?”. Some of the contributions have come from two international conferences ECO 1997 and ECO 1999, and the others have been either specially commissioned or are re-printed pieces. The editors argue that environmental questions have previously been dealt with metaphorically, by catastrophism or manicheism (zero growth, Malthusianism, Deep Ecology, `man is the enemy’, `less is more’, etc) – metaphors with limited impact because they have failed to connect with the mainstream ideas of culture, politics and business. Instead this book examines a number of new metaphors for change, which appear to have increased possibilities for us all, by delivering “new perceptions (`structured knowledge’) that help interpret the past and the present, and help us forge the future”. So the book is divided into four sections, beginning with metaphors for change, it then goes on to look at related partnerships, tools and action. Part I includes 14 metaphors – such as “sustainable development”; “eco-efficiency”; “monitoring what matters”; “environmental diplomacy” and then provides a short note about the expression, how it has been used and how the author of the following chapter has written about the concept. Authors includes Chad Holliday on Du Pont’s goal for sustainable growth; Hélène Teulon and what is life-cycle thinking; David Gee on meeting needs, consuming resources; David Buzzelli the challenge of eco-efficiency; eco efficiency in the chemicals industry; and environmental management at Canon; plus others. Part 2 considers partnerships for change in Japan and Argentina, and Part 3 looks at “tools for change”. So we have government policy tools; management tools; design tools; analytical tools; financial tools; and technology tools. The financial

It is always a pleasure to read something by Alexander Gillespie and this book is no exception. The book is both a very good read and very informative. Gillespie presents a compelling argument as to why international environmental law appears doomed to fail to actually protect the environment. His basic thesis is that international environmental law is fatally undermined by the norms of other systems operating at the international level. Gillespie argues that these systems, which include markets, free trade and state sovereignty, are based upon norms, which militate against the protection of the environment and if anything promote its degradation. The point being made is that unless and until the basic norms operating in these other systems are changed international environmental law can not provide for the protection of the environment as, if it tries to do so it will be in competition with and inevitably overpowered by those other systems and norms. (Gillespie also presents some pretty convincing arguments as to how the existing norms could be changed.) While written by an international lawyer and most likely aimed at the international legal market the book should be accessible to all. Gillespie does not dwell on legal textual analysis or debate, but rather presents his analysis and a wealth of information in a clear and readable style, which allows the reader to focus on the basic argument above all else. If there is a fault with the book it is that the notes and references are presented as endnotes at the end of the book, rather than footnotes on each page. To those of us with lazy hands looking up the notes Social and Environmental Accounting

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tools section includes pieces on communicating your environmental policy to Wall Street from John Cusack and Tessa Tennant writes about NPI Global Care Investments. Louis Boorstin explains about the work of his unit in the International Finance Corporation (IFC) which is part of the World Bank’s effort to promote sustainable development, and comments that Lorraine Ruffing made in 1999 about the history of environmental accounting and reporting and the development of the Global Reporting Initative, are re-printed. The last section looks at party politics; community based currencies; the media; environmental activism; car sharing and symbolic acts. This book is designed to provide a “treasure chest of new ideas, innovations and action”, which it does admirably, with accompanying pictures and charts where necessary. Many of the authors have previously written frequently and thoughtfully about their particular topics. So what you are getting here is an impressive range of small tastes of a variety of different concepts. Very stimulating particularly if it encourages students and researchers to continue on to read these authors other writings. (SG)

social and environmental issues has developed and changed over recent years in different parts of the world. (RHG) THE GREENING OF BUSINESS: Environmental Management and Performance Evaluation: An empirical study in the Dutch dairy industry Anniek Mauser (Delft: Eburon), 2001, 284pp, €29.50

Interest in environ mental management within industry has steadily increased over the last twenty years; but books on how companies actually behave are still not that common and are very welcome. How do companies really green their businesses? How can environmental performance be assessed? And what are the drivers for companies to green their production processes and products. This book aims to fill in some of the gaps in our understanding by means of a case study on the Dutch dairy industry. It also considers the internal characteristics that can explain the differences in various companies’ environmental performance. The study is divided into two parts. Part I provides a theoretical framework, and Part II deals with empirical part of the research. The book begins with an overview of environmental management models from 1987 – 1999, and takes a closer look at six of them. Three main problems with using these models are identified: limited suitability for specific situations; insufficient reflection of organisational and strategic complexity; and the difficulty of operationalising them. This work helps form the main research question “what is the relation between intra organisational characteristics and an organisation’s environmental performance”. The variables that were assumed to influence an organisations greening were divided into three levels: the context of the company; the corporate HQ or business unit; and the production plant. Here two general variables are considered particularly important: the level of centralisation and the culture of the organisation. A clear distinction is made between environmental management indicators (EMIs) and environmental management. Four EMIs are considered important to this study; policy and strategy; organisational structure; communication; and management commitment. From this research model, a number of hypotheses are formulated from existing theories, and the literature review. A pilot study was conducted first

GOOD NEWS AND BAD: The media, corporate social responsibility and sustainable development SustainAbility (London/Paris/New York: SustainAbility/ UNEP/Ketchum) 2002 46pp £poa This new report takes a long look at the way in the media can and does influence how business, social responsibility and sustainable development are viewed by business, NGOs, government and the public. The report is motivated by a number of concerns that include: anxiety that the general media is not only ignorant about SD but is losing interest in the issues of SD in the run up to the next Earth Summit; anxiety that the media companies do not come close to balancing their power with their responsibility; and (if I read it correctly) a need to guide businesses in how to use the media to “get the message across”. This last point reflects, I think, the result of the link up with Ketchum who appear to be a US consultancy concerned that business should not fear the media (as if!!) and should use it to educate the public (as if they don’t already!). Like many of the prior Engaging Stakeholders series, this report is a bit patchy and a bit difficult to assess but has collated what looks like useful data and informed opinion on how the media’s portrayal of and interest in Social and Environmental Accounting

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amongst 13 multi nationals belonging to six different industry sectors. Then the second part of the book is concerned with the main case study and the empirical testing of the research model. The book concludes with some reflections on the greening of organisations; how we measure environmental performance; and the main drivers for the greening of industry. There is also a detailed discussion of the implications of the study; a review of the research model; and the managerial and policy implications. Copies of the research instruments are included in the Appendices. This is a very detailed book reflecting the many years of hard work that have gone into it. However it is not only relevant to those interested in how to take the environmental management debate forward, but also has relevance to any of us undertaking research. Its detailed and thorough description of how the research project was planned and undertaken with its theoretical and empirical insights makes this a very useful library acquisition. (SG)

This report is certainly worth reading for those interested in corporate social responsibility and business ethics. The report might even have a positive effect if the 400 member organisations of ABI (which account for about 20% of investments on the London Stock Exchange) ask companies about these issues. (NK) For the report contact [email protected]

INVESTING IN SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: Risks and Opportunities Roger Cowe with help from Andersen & Marsh companies, ABI Research Report No.4 (London: Association of British Insurers) 2001, 58pp

The authors of this book have all been involved in an innovative demonstration programme, `EcoReDesign™’, which was developed by the Centre for Design at RMIT University with funding from the Australian government. The Centre has also successfully collaborated with Australian companies to improve the environmental performance of their products by following design for environment principles (DfE). The aim of this book is to provide practical information for designers interested in minimising the environmental impacts of their products. So the book is essentially a workbook rather than an academic textbook. Chapter one provides some background information on design for the environment and refers to some of the most influential writers, designers and companies in the field. Chapter 2 provides a step-by-step approach to DfE, with the emphasis on using such tools as lifecycle assessment to undertake an initial assessment of environmental impact. Environmental assessment tools are discussed in Chapter 3 – ranging from simple qualitative methods to more complex, quantitative tools – with a short reference to environmental cost accounting . Strategies to reduce environmental impacts are presented in more detail in Chapter 4., with Chapter 5 highlighting some of the links between environmental problems and the everyday products we consume. Chapters 6-9 include more detailed strategies and case studies for particular product groups, including packaging, textiles and clothing, furniture, and electrical and electronic products. Chapter 10 looks at some of the emerging trends. With lots of references, further reading ideas to follow up on, extremely well laid out and very easy to read. Highly interesting and encouraging. (SG)

DESIGN + ENVIRONMENT: a global guide to designing greener goods Helen Lewis and John Gertsakis with Tim Grant, Nicola Morelli and Andrew Sweatman (Sheffield: Greenleaf Publishing) 2001, 200pp, £19.95/US$40.00

This report focuses on corporate social responsibility. It details how interest in these matters has grown in recent years through increased NGO and investor activity. The report presents a number of short cases of successes and failures in corporate social responsibility. Monsanto is presented as an example of destroyed shareholder value through ignorance of stakeholder views. On the success side it is mentioned how the Co-operative Bank benefited by £16 million from its ethical policies in the year 2000, despite turning down a number of clients which did not meet their ethical criteria. The greatest contribution of the report is on the sections on risk and the ABI Guidelines for Corporate Social Responsibility. For example, the Guidelines request that companies should state in their Annual Report whether “the Board takes regular account of the significance of social, environmental and ethical matters to the business of the company”. The Guidelines further request that companies should disclose whether the board has identified and assessed risks and opportunities arising from social, environmental and ethical matters and whether systems are in place to address these risks. Social and Environmental Accounting

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Vol.22 No.1 2002