ABSTRACT
The issue of sustainability is one that is becoming increasingly important for organizations around the world. Sustainability is no longer a fad that can be dealt with on a surface level through voluntary disclosures in corporate annual reports. The meaning of sustainability itself is often contentious and has drawn much debate in the accounting literature (Bebbington, 1997, 2001). The ‘Brundtland Report’ defines sustainable development as development which ‘meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’ (UNWCED, 1987, p. 8). The issue of sustainability is gaining prominence in the agenda of governmental and non-governmental organizations which are increasingly putting pressure on companies to incorporate sustainable practices into their business operations. For instance, the European Union commissioned a project which involved academic institutions, businesses and governmental organizations in the development of a conceptual framework for sustainability and sustainable development. This resulted in the European Corporate Sustainability Framework (for a detailed description of this framework see Hardjono and de Klein, 2004). Similar initiatives have been undertaken in Australia and Canada (the Australian and Canadian initiatives are covered later in this chapter).
