The Evolution of the Sustainability Story: Strategic Sustainability Communication as Niche Construction

Figures & data

Table 1. Sample of reports/energy corporates, country and start of annual publication of environmental, CSR and sustainability reports.

Company	Country	First report published in …
RWE	Germany	1998
EON	USA	2004
GAZPROM	Russia	2005
ENEL	Italy	2009
KELAG	Austria	2005
OMV	Austria	2006
KEPCO	Korea	2005
Vattenfall	Sweden	2011
AGL	Australia	2007
Origin	Australia	2002
Royal Dutch Shell	Netherlands	1998
BP	UK	1998
Exxon Mobil	USA	2008
Reliance Industry	India	2004
PetroleoBrasil	Brazil	2018

Table 2. Frames & narratives of sustainability, analytical framework.

Issue specific frames (examples)	Master frame/narrative	Example/quote
Happy, bright future	Future orientation, 1a innovation 1b security	“Be a good corporate citizen”, “care for future generations”, with x energy fir a better life” (G, 2004)
Business innovation	2 Business orientation/management/stability	“Sustainability performance”, … is necessary to ensure sustainable economic growth, preserve prosperity, and combat poverty” (O, 2019)
Doing better than others	Competitor focus 3a economic advantage 3b notion of care	“Taking the lead in and profiting from, the transformation to a sustainable energy system across the value chain in northern Europe is a central part of X’s long-term strategy” (V, 2016)
Technological development, security	4 Technological innovations	“Necessary changes … can only be achieved through technological innovation” (D, 2019)
Corporate contribution to climate change action	5 Urgency (environmental/climate crisis)	“Climate change roadmap” (A, 2018)
Communities’ energy needs	6 Collaboration/partnerships	“Affected communities should have a say in our operations” (K, 2009)
Compliance with legal/regulatory expectations	7 Governance, regulations	“The necessary changes can only be made if governments, the public, and business work together” (O, 2019)

Table 3. Changes in framing over time.

Timeframe	Phase 1 (1990–2005	Phase 2 (2005–2011)	Phase 3 (2011-now)
	Environmental Responsibility (5)	People, planet & profit; business & management orientation (2, 1b)	Future orientation & innovation & opportunities (1a, 1b)
	Global warming & changing climate, urgency (1b, 5)	Collaboration, Public-private partnerships (6, 1b)	Progress, technological innovations, transformation (4, 1b)
	Future generations (5, 1b)	Competitor focus; doing better than others (3a)	Governance, regulation, system change (7, 1b)

Figure 1. Development of corporate reporting, 1990–2020.