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REPORTING ON CARBON EMISSIONS: CORPORATE STORIES OF IMPLEMENTATION, MOTIVATION AND CHALLENGE IN THE AGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE WAN NORHAYATI WAN AHMAD Doctor of Philosophy ASTON UNIVERSITY September 2016 © Wan Norhayati Wan Ahmad, 2016 Wan Norhayati Wan Ahmad asserts her moral right to be identified as the author of this thesis. This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and that no quotation from the thesis and no information derived from it may be published without appropriate permission or acknowledgement. 1 ASTON UNIVERSITY REPORTING ON CARBON EMISSIONS: CORPORATE STORIES OF IMPLEMENTATION, MOTIVATION AND CHALLENGE IN THE AGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE WAN NORHAYATI WAN AHMAD Doctor of Philosophy September 2016 THESIS SUMMARY The main purpose of this research is to investigate the climate change and carbon reporting practises of UK FTSE 350 companies. The objectives cover three main areas of investigation including the extent of carbon reporting in the first mandatory year as compared to a voluntary year; the common stories told in companies’ climate change and carbon disclosure; and the dynamic of carbon reporting implementation, including the motivations for disclosure, the problems and issues faced and the disclosure implementation approach. Using storytelling as a theoretical lens, this research explore the content of disclosure, presentation and the motivation for disclosure using the storytelling concept. The data for this study was gathered through two sources: companies’ disclosure in annual reports, sustainability reports, websites and other online reporting; as well as interviews. The findings reveal that the introduction of Mandatory Carbon Reporting Requirements (MCRR) does improve the content and presentation of the companies’ carbon disclosure in annual reports, thus fulfilling the objective of the legislation in encouraging reporting and promoting transparency. The study has also found that the common story themes reported in companies’ disclosures relate to stories of climate change, emissions performance and reduction, and companies’ achievements in climate change and related areas. The findings of the study also demonstrate that maintaining a good reputation, complying with regulation, fulfilling stakeholders’ expectation, improve efficiency and cost saving, and projecting morality of management are the main motivations for climate change and carbon disclosure. It was also found that data collection and accuracy are perceived to be the most challenging issues faced by companies in disclosing their emission data, especially if they operate internationally. Last but not least, the findings show that companies will consult or choose to outsource their carbon disclosure or data collection to third parties when they do not have sufficient in-house resources and expertise. Key words: carbon, emission, Greenhouse Gas (GHG), carbon reporting, storytelling 2 DEDICATION This work is dedicated to The Most Merciful Allah and my beloved family and friends; for without their assistance, I may not reach this destination. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the Almighty and the Most Merciful for without His blessing I would not be able to achieve what I have today. I am so grateful that I can always depend on You as You always listen to my prayers, anytime and anywhere. Indeed, You are the best Helper of all. I am sincerely and heartily grateful to my supervisors Professor Stuart Cooper, Dr Nunung Nurul Hidayah, and Professor Alan Lowe for their continuous support in accomplishing my PhD journey. Thank you for all your patience and understanding despite the fact that I might not be one of your best supervisees. To Nurul, thank you for being such a wonderful teacher and friend too. I am deeply indebted and thankful to my family, especially my beloved husband Azharudin and kids, Aidi, Hakim and Auni for standing by me through my ups and downs; showers me with your never ending love, comfort and cherish me when needed; being patience with my stress, and your understanding and tolerance with my limited time spent with you. For my kids, I am sorry for the hard time that you have, for having both stressed parents who are struggling to get to the finish line of their PhD. For my husband, my heartfelt thanks for your love, motivation, ideas and assistance whenever I am in need. I am truly blessed to have all of you and I love you whole heartedly and wish that He will grant us happiness and barakah together till Jannah. To my parents and family, I appreciate your understanding and sacrifice for letting us pursue our dreams. To my mum Che Pian Bt Che Pa, I love you so much and I am so blessed to have you and I know that I am always be in your prayers. In memory to my beloved father Wan Ahmad Wan Adam, I wish I could share this achievement with you too, but I believe you are much happier to be with your Creator. My prayer is always be with you. For my siblings, thank you for taking care of mum when we are away. May our bond is stronger each day. To my beloved friends, thank you for your support, motivation and for lending me your shoulder to cry on. I am forever grateful that you cross my life and share the unforgettable moments together. To all Astonians, Selly Oakians and all other Brummies sisters: thank you and you will always be in my heart. May our ukhuwwah last till Jannah. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS THESIS SUMMARY ........................................................................................................... 2 DEDICATION ..................................................................................................................... 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ..................................................................................................... 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................... 5 LIST OF ABBREVIATION ................................................................................................. 10 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. 11 LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 13 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 13 1.2 Context of the Research ............................................................................................ 13 1.3 Problem Statement .................................................................................................... 17 1.4 Research Aim and Research Questions .................................................................... 20 1.4.1 Research Aim ..................................................................................................... 20 1.4.2 Research Questions ............................................................................................ 20 1.5 Motivation and Research Contribution ........................................................................ 20 1.6 Summary of the Research Approach and Methodology .............................................. 24 1.7 Thesis Outline............................................................................................................ 25 Chapter 1: Introduction.................................................................................................. 25 Chapter 2: Literature Review ......................................................................................... 26 Chapter 3: Theoretical Framework ................................................................................ 26 Chapter 4: Research Method ........................................................................................ 26 Chapter 5: Carbon Reporting - Voluntary versus Mandatory ......................................... 27 Chapter 6: Stories in Climate Change and Carbon Disclosure ...................................... 27 Chapter 7: The Dynamic of Climate Change and Carbon Reporting: Motivation, Implementation Approach and Issues. .......................................................................... 27 Chapter 8: Discussion ................................................................................................... 28 Chapter 9: Conclusion................................................................................................... 28 5 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................... 29 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 29 2.2 Changes made by the organization to their carbon disclosure in response to the introduction of MCRR .......................................................................................................................... 29 2.2.1 Voluntary Reporting and the Needs for Mandatory Reporting .............................. 29 2.2.2 Impact of Mandatory Requirements...................................................................... 35 2.3 Common stories and messages communicated by organizations’ carbon disclosure . 37 2.4 Motivations and challenges in disclosing carbon emission .........................................
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