Beyond Information Disclosure: A Communication Perspective on Corporate Sustainability

With increased external pressure on firms to behave sustainably, disclosure of sustainability efforts and performance has become a central concern. Academic research to date, too, has focused on the notion of disclosure as accountability and reporting, studying when firms disclose what information to stakeholders, and whether the information is accurate, giving rise to questions of greenwashing and brownwashing. However, this notion of disclosure as information dissemination is arguably narrow in that it draws attention to communication formats associated with formal reporting. From a communication perspective, firms’ engagement with stakeholders is more comprehensive and includes many additional dimensions. For example, how do firms frame their sustainability actions and how do stakeholders interpret corporate communications? How do different forms of communication about sustainability, for example, dialogical modes or targeted messaging to particular groups, interact with more scripted disclosures? How does communication about sustainability relate to corporate and stakeholder action? Considering sustainability information within a broader communication framework invites such a broader set of questions. In this symposium, we aim to understand firms’ sustainability communications from this broader perspective. To do so, the panel brings together experts engaged in different literatures for an exchange about sustainability communication as a broader organizational practice. Panelists include scholars of corporate communication (to discuss the possible uniqueness of communication about sustainability), scholars specializing in reporting and disclosure (to address the information demanded and received by stakeholders), and scholars studying corporate sustainability practices (to address the relationship of communication with corporate strategy and action). By fostering discussion across areas of research, the symposium hopes to serve as a platform to take stock of different literatures and sketch out an agenda for more integrated research on sustainability communication.