Bubna-Litic, Karen --- "Compliance and Enforcement Related to Mandatory Corporate Reporting Requirements: Is there a Future?" [2011] ELECD 331; in Paddock, Lee; Qun, Du; Kotzé, J. Louis; Markell, L. David; Markowitz, J. Kenneth; Zaelke, Durwood (eds), "Compliance and Enforcement in Environmental Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011)

Book Title: Compliance and Enforcement in Environmental Law

Editor(s): Paddock, Lee; Qun, Du; Kotzé, J. Louis; Markell, L. David; Markowitz, J. Kenneth; Zaelke, Durwood

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848448315

Section: Chapter 27

Section Title: Compliance and Enforcement Related to Mandatory Corporate Reporting Requirements: Is there a Future?

Author(s): Bubna-Litic, Karen

Number of pages: 24

Extract:

27. Compliance and Enforcement Related to
Mandatory Corporate Reporting
Requirements: Is there a Future?
Karen Bubna-Litic*

1. BACKGROUND
Australia is one of a number of countries that have introduced mandatory
environmental and social reporting by corporations. However, only two countries,
Norway and Australia l have introduced mandatory corporate environmental
reporting into the Director's Reports of the companies' annual reports in 1998.
Companies have been reporting on their environmental performance pursuant to
these provisions beginning with the 1998/1999 reporting year.
This article will focus on the compliance and enforcement of these provisions,
asking a number of questions: What was the purpose of introducing these
provisions? Have the companies complied with these provisions? Are the
provisions enforced? Has reporting resulted in improved environmental
performance of the corporation? Can enforcement of the provisions assist in
achieving sustainable use of resources? If not, do the reporting provisions have
any value?
Longitudinal studies have been done in both Australia and Norway and the
results have been well documented? This article will draw on these studies but
focus on the compliance and enforcement aspects of the laws. The author has
embarked on a pilot study using in-depth interviews of six Norwegian companies
to explore the question of whether the mandatory reporting provision has resulted
in a change in the company's decision-making and environmental practice and
what role the regulator should play in enforcement. This article will detail some
of the initial findings of this pilot study.
The "environmental laws" which ...