Pustaka Ilmiah Universitas Padjadjaran

Abstrak

Just A Paper Tiger? – Exploration Of Sustainability Reporting As A Corporate Communication Instrument

One corporate communication instrument which is now gaining its popularity is the sustainability reporting. The advantages and possibilities of communicating with a sustainability report (SR) are often discussed in a more theoretical view, but a few empirical analyses regarding this are nowbeing conducted. This paper concentrates on the empirical analyses of communication process between companies and their stakeholders with the help of SR. The questions that emerge in this regard are: Who reads sustainability reports? Can sustainability reporting be an all-purpose tool inthe effort to attract and manage the interests of various stakeholder groups? Or is it just a matter of joining the trend by producing sustainability reports rather than finally using them to achievecorporate goals? Two case studies were conducted (Deutsche Telekom AG and Weleda AG) by interviewingmanagers and stakeholders of both companies during September 2003 and January 2004. The results of the research show that the communication with an SR can only be successful, notonly by producing a detailed, clear and structured report, but also most importantly by improving the engagement with the SR.