Sustainability reporting by Australian local government authorities

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study investigates the Western Australian (WA) local government authorities’ sustainability reporting practices, in the absence of mandatory reporting guidelines, through content analysis of their websites. Calculations from comparing the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)’s disclosures with those of 140 local council websites were used to develop a sustainability reporting disclosure index. The findings indicate that sustainability reporting remains moderately practised by local government authorities, despite stakeholder demand for proactive disclosures. The discourse analysis shows that Western Australia’s strategic planning for sustainable development is the key force propelling councils towards sustainability reporting practices. The findings also suggest that WA local government authorities are increasing sustainability disclosures to legitimate their social and environmental initiatives. The findings have policy implications for regulators and/or government in Western Australia, with practical implications for local council authorities and/or managers in developing awareness of sustainable operations. The study also contributes to local government authorities’ growing awareness of sustainable service operations.

KEYWORDS:

• Sustainability reporting
• local government authorities
• content analysis
• website reporting
• Western Australia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Local Agenda 21 (LA21) is a programme to forge partnerships between local authorities, the private sector and the local communities that serve to work together, to plan and care for their surroundings towards sustainable development. The programme is based on Agenda 21 which is a global action plan towards development for the twenty-first century resulting from the Earth Summit in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992 (https://www.scribd.com/doc/14620188/Local-Agenda-21-A-Case-Study-on-Malaysia).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Md Moazzem Hossain

Dr Md Moazzem Hossain is an accounting academic at the School of Business and Governance, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia. He has previously worked for Curtin University and Edith Cowan University, Australia. His research interests include corporate social and environmental responsibility, sustainability reporting, biodiversity reporting, stakeholders’ engagement and corporate governance. He has published more than 23 papers in the reputable international journals and conference proceedings.