southampton

Module overview

Sustainability reporting is an organization’s practice of reporting publicly on its economic, environmental, and/or social impact, and hence its contributions - positive or negative – towards the goal of sustainable development. To ensure sustainable development, the United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015. Among the goals is SDG 12 on ‘Responsible Consumption and Production’. Target 12.6 of the SDG encourages companies to adopt sustainable practices and sustainability reporting. Coupled with this development, the Paris Agreement on climate change which is a legally binding treaty adopted by 196 countries and came into force in November 2016. The goal of the Paris Agreement is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably 1.45 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial level. Therefore, there is need to equip undergraduate students the with relevant skills to account for and organisations’ economic, environmental and social impacts. Students who successfully complete this module will be also able to analyse the sustainability performance of an organisation and recommend how the organisation can improve its sustainability performance.

Linked modules

Pre-Requisites: MANG1044

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

communicate ideas in a written format to a wider audience;
demonstrate negotiating skills.
communicate ideas and arguments orally and through formal presentations;
demonstrate numeracy and problem-solving skills;

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

preparation of greenhouse gas emissions statement and a sustainability report;
the importance of sustainability reporting to compacting global warming;
identification of sources and calculation greenhouse gas emissions;
appraise a greenhouse gas emissions statement and a sustainability report.

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

interpret sustainability performance of an organisation based on its greenhouse gas emission statement and sustainability report.
discuss importance of sustainability reporting to compacting global warming;
ability to identify the sources of and calculate greenhouse gas emissions;
prepare a greenhouse gas emissions statement and a sustainability report;

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching methods include

The module will be lecture-based with supporting in-lecture seminars.

Learning activities include

In-lecture exercises and review questions/problems
In-lecture case studies discussion
Weekly individual/group presentations and discussion based on selected and topic specific academic papers.
Weekly in-lecture (workshop style) solving or discussion of exercises and review questions/problems and case studies.

Study time
Type	Hours
Teaching	50
Independent Study	114
Total study time	164

Resources & Reading list

Internet Resources

The Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Directors’ Reports) Regulations.

Greenhouse Gas Protocol - A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard.

Journal Articles

Tauringana, V., & Chithambo, L (2015). The effect of DEFRA guidance on greenhouse gas disclosure. The British Accounting Review, 47(4), pp. 425-444.

Suttipun, M and Stanton, P. (2012). Determinants of environmental disclosure in Thai corporate annual reports. International Journal of Accounting and Financial Reporting, 2(1), pp. 99-115.

Tagesson, T., Blank, V., Broberg, P. and Collin, S. (2009). What explains the extent and content of social and environmental disclosures on corporate websites: A study of social and environmental reporting in Swedish listed corporations. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 16, pp. 352-364.

Tauringana, V. (2020). ). Sustainability reporting challenges in developing countries: Towards management perceptions research evidence-based practice. Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies.

Burritt R.L and and Schaletegger, S (2010). Sustainability accounting and reporting: Fad or trend?. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 23(7), pp. 829-846.

Textbooks

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) (2013). Environmental Reporting Guidelines: Including mandatory greenhouse gas emissions reporting guidance. Electronic copy available on internet..

Global Reporting Initiative (2020). Consolidated set of GRI standards. Global Reporting Initiative.

Pahuja, S (2009). Environmental Accounting & Reporting, Theory, Law and Empirical Evidence. New Century Publications.

Unerman, J, Bebbington, J. and O’Dwyer, B (2007). Sustainability Accounting and Accountability. Routledge, Oxford, UK.

British Standard ISO (2006). Greenhouse gases – Part 1: Specification with guidance at the organization level for quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emission and removals. British Standards Institution.

Assessment

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Group Coursework	30%
Exam	70%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Examination	100%

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Group Coursework	30%
Examination	70%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External

Sustainability Reporting