BUACC5933: Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Report

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This report delves into the critical concepts of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability within the context of the Australian accounting profession. It explores the profession's stance and initiatives regarding CSR, highlighting its commitment to sustainability reporting and the development of relevant skill sets. The report emphasizes the interconnectedness of CSR, ethical considerations, and economic, environmental, and social sustainability. It examines the role of accountants in promoting transparency, managing risks, and contributing to environmental and social accounting. Furthermore, the report uses BHP Billiton as a case study to illustrate the practical application of CSR principles, analyzing its environmental and social accountability through its sustainability reports and examining its approaches to climate change, resource management, and community engagement. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of CSR and sustainability in maintaining environmental and social aspects within companies.
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BHP BILLITON
BUACC5933
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability
9/11/2019
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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Discussion........................................................................................................................................2
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................8
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Introduction
CSR used to maintain sustainability in the organization. Sustainability is the process that
maintains the various systems and processes related to the environment and economy of the
business organization (Northey, et al., 2013). Corporate Social Responsibility defines the
commitment of the company to maintain the environmental issues and social issues. CSR is
greatly related to sustainability in the business as it used to maintain the sustainability issues in
the organization. Most of the companies used the CSR to maintain the societal and
environmental issues related to the business. The CSR includes several approaches that change
according to the requirements of the company. CSR is used as reputation management that also
sustains the profits of the company. Sustainable business is that business which has a less
negative impact on the environment. Sustainable business basically includes three things people,
profit and planet. The companies which are environmentally friendly and do not harm any
environment are considered as a sustainable organization. In this essay the sustainability report
of the BHO Billiton Company will be stated (Aras, et al., 2010).
Discussion
The various resources of CSR focus on sustainability and manage the moral obligation to
the society. The CSR also relates to the ethical concepts that are connected with economic
sustainability, environmental sustainability, and social equity. CSR gives a large impact on
society and maintains all the system related to the organization. Sustainability is one of the main
approaches that are used in the management of organizations. This aspect increases the value of
the economic, social and environmental issues. Sometimes, this process can create several
challenges in the organization (Delmas and Blass, 2010). It also improves the relations of the
organization externally and manages risk management.
In the Australian profession, the CSR and sustainability are closely related with each
other. In the organizational area, some uses the CSR and its strategies and some use the
sustainability and its strategies (Bonn and Fisher, 2011). It is clear with the statement they both
replace with each other, as the concept of both is same. The Australian profession is much more
related with the CSR and sustainability as the organizations of Australian take the ethical and
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societal issues seriously and need to manage them properly so that the issues are reduced from
the business. Some organizations get confused among sustainability and CSR as the work
process of both the aspects are same. However, there is much more difference in both aspects.
As sustainability, maintain a balance in resource usage and supplies in the business. The
several society needs are included in this process of sustainability whereas the CSR focuses on
managing the stakeholder interests. The CSR is mainly related to ethics and the proper balance
among the short and long-term supply management. The CSR and sustainability have several
differences that are related to some key points that are vision that defines that CSR look
backward and sustainability looks forward. The other key point s related with the targets, which
define, that CSR tends to target opinion forms and politicians and sustainability targets the whole
value chain, another key point is business in which CSR relates with the compliance and
sustainability is about business. The last key point is management in which CSR gets managed
through proper communication and sustainability relates to operations and marketing (Danciu,
2013).
Corporate social responsibilities help the companies in regulating the business model
effectively and help in accounting sustainably. The economic, social, societal and environmental
aspects are dealt by the companies in an effective manner through the proper CSR. A good
company has a responsibility towards its stakeholders and society. The CSR also helps in setting
the standards for ethical behavior and for the competitive advantage (Moneva, et al., 2017).
The Australian accounting profession makes the effective report on sustainability so that
they can measure, communicate, understand the environment and the governance goals and make
changes accordingly. The sustainability report is also helpful in managing the risk effectively and
generating the savings. The reputation of the company has increased through the sustainability
and corporate governance and the brand loyalty of the companies also increased. With the help
of this report the external stakeholders of the company can also enable the tangible and
intangible assets and also analyze the true value of the company.
The CSR report of the company improves the transparency of the business reports and
helps in maintaining the quality report of the company. For creating more sustainable outcomes
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for the stakeholders CSR report was produced by the Australian profession so that they can
create more value in the market (Moneva, et al., 2017).
The financial accountability is also measured through the accountant so with the help of
the sustainability and the CSR report they also contribute to the social and environmental
accounting. The Australian accounting professions have taken many initiatives in improving the
environment of the country as they put the major focus and interest in the social and
environmental issues (Adams, 2014).
There are certain roles which were played by the accounting profession in the
sustainability and the CSR report. The accounting profession takes the major decision in the
company which is related to the business environment. The accountant clarifies to the directors
of the company that they have to obtain social license before operating anything from the
environment. Any activities or operation done by the companies should not harm the
environment. It also plays an essential role in maintaining the transparency of the company. The
risk management and the key drivers which are changing in the environment was managed
properly by this professional accountants.
The accounting profession of Australia also plays a major role in the company by
maintaining the triple bottom line, sustainable development and the ethics and governance in the
companies. The accountant must ensure in the company whether the product and services which
are offered by the company should be secure to the environment and should not be against
human rights. It also plays the major role in the management accounting system’s as it focuses
on the certain information such as water, flow of energy, materials, and wastes, etc.
(Balachandran, et al., 2011).
The accountant profession is involved in the environmental practices and also does
environmental accounting of their companies. They provide many pieces of evidence that the
company is making the product and services which are effective to the society. They also play a
role in developing sustainability in the market. They provide effective information to the
company which helps in making the business strategy related to sustainability (Schneider, et al.,
2013). It helps in taking the relevant decisions in relation to nature, society and the company.
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They also play the major role in collaborating with the wellbeing of the community and the
stakeholders by maintaining the transparency in the accountability.
BHP Billiton is the leading resources company which extracts the oil, mineral, and gas.
BHP Billiton has the headquartered in the Melbourne, Australia. The BHP Billiton gives the
more value to the sustainability. The sustainability approach of the company is integrated into
everything they do. the company is environmentally friendly and responsible for providing the
products which are safe for the health too. The company respects the human rights and they do
all the operations and the activities of the company considering that the sustainability in the
company can be maintained.
The sustainability report of the company is depended on some standards which help in
implementing and developing the operations of the management system. The company also has
the risk management standards which manage the risk of the company. All the approaches made
by the BHP Billiton Company are very effective as they are not harming the environment. The
company basically deals with the natural system which includes the biodiversity, land, water
resources, etc. so the company knows very well how to protect their natural environments and
keep the water fresh and the air clean from the dust. BHP Billiton is adopting the changes
climate and reducing the carbon emissions (Peloza, 2019).
There is some sustainable risk also which has analyzed in the sustainability such as risk
related to the safety, environment, and health. Under the mining operations many rockfall
incidents happen so the safety is not in the hands of the company. It is the risk which the
company faces and has an adverse impact on the people, and the reputation of the company. Due
to the high radiation many health issues are faced by the employees such as illness, fatigue,
which creates financial compensation (Epstein and Roy, 2013). The company uses natural
resources which have an adverse impact on water resources, biodiversity, air, and ecosystem
services. So to manage this sustainable risk the company has maintained the sustainable and CSR
report which helps in protecting and conserving the environment.
The BHP Billiton majorly focuses on the emissions of greenhouse gas and energy use.
They also contribute to enhancing biodiversity by delivering benefits to the local community and
the environment. The company has properly managed their environmental issues and focuses
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more on natural resource management. The company has also managed the water very properly
and share resources in an effective way. The company has controlled the risk of the material in
an effective way and focuses majorly on three areas (Brine, et al., 2017).
The company has to face the strategic issue in responding to the climate changes. So the
company BHP Billiton has decided to focus on three major areas which are adaption, mitigation,
and low emission technology. The company has also made social investment to the environment
and committed to giving the US$50 million. The company conserves the natural environment
and also uses the natural environment for the benefit of the future generation. The company has
decided to engage in those projects which will bring the benefit to the environment and the
society (Lodhia and Martin, 2014). The company is engaged in the large scale projects which
enhance the development planning and empower the people to manage the natural environments
effectively. The company was also supporting the many projects which help in generating the
tons of carbon credits. The company was also facilitating tin the rich diversity which facilitates
the conservation of the Valdivia Coastal Reserve.
The company BHP Billiton also deals in the petroleum products so they have maker the
partnership with the CSIRO which helps in saving the green turtles which are breeding on the
grounds of the Raine Island. The company has made much social investment in the major
communities of the world. The company major priority is safety so they engage in those
activities which help in protecting and conserving the environment (Perez and Sanchez, 2009).
Conclusion
From the above essay is concluded that Sustainability and the CSR report are very
essential in any company as it helps in marinating the environment and the social aspects also. In
this essay, the sustainability of the BHP Billiton Company has stated which majorly focuses on
the emissions of greenhouse gas and the energy use so that the environment remains more
sustainable. It has been analyzed that the Australian profession is much more related with the
CSR and sustainability of Australian companies to take the ethical and societal issues seriously
and need to manage them properly so that the issues are reduced from the business. There are the
certain roles which were played by the accounting profession in the sustainability and the CSR
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report which was clearly stated in this essay. The company BHP Billiton conserves and prevents
the natural environment and also uses them for the benefit of the future generation.
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References
Adams, C. A. (2014). Sustainability and the company of the future. Reinventing the Company in
the Digital Age, 411-430.
Ameer, R., & Othman, R. (2012). Sustainability practices and corporate financial performance:
A study based on the top global corporations. Journal of business ethics, 108(1), 61-79.
Aras, G., Aybars, A., & Kutlu, O. (2010). Managing corporate performance: Investigating the
relationship between corporate social responsibility and financial performance in
emerging markets. International Journal of productivity and Performance
management, 59(3), 229-254.
Balachandran, K., Taticchi, P., Hogan, J., & Lodhia, S. (2011). Sustainability reporting and
reputation risk management: an Australian case study. International Journal of
Accounting & Information Management.
BHP Billiton. (2015). BHP Billiton facing £5bn lawsuit from Brazilian victims of dam disaster.
Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/06/bhp-billiton-
facing-5bn-lawsuit-from-brazilian-victims-of-dam-disaster Accessed on: 15 September
2019
BHP Billiton. (2018). Sustainability report 2018. Retrieved from:
https://www.bhp.com/-/media/documents/investors/annual-reports/2018/
bhpsustainabilityreport2018.pdf Accessed on: 15 September 2019
Bonn, I., & Fisher, J. (2011). Sustainability: the missing ingredient in strategy. Journal of
business strategy, 32(1), 5-14.
Brine, M., Brown, R., & Hackett, G. (2017). Corporate social responsibility and financial
performance in the Australian context. Economic Round-up, (Autumn 2007), 47.
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Cubby, B. (2010). BHP mines set to damage life-giving swamps. Retrieved from:
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/bhp-mines-set-to-damage-lifegiving-swamps-
20100217-odzf.html Accessed on: 15 September 2019
Danciu, V. (2013). The sustainable company: new challenges and strategies for more
sustainability. Theoretical and Applied Economics, 20(9), 7-26.
Delmas, M., & Blass, V. D. (2010). Measuring corporate environmental performance: the trade‐
offs of sustainability ratings. Business Strategy and the Environment, 19(4), 245-260.
Epstein, M. J., & Roy, M. J. (2013). Making the business case for sustainability: linking social
and environmental actions to financial performance. Journal of Corporate Citizenship,
(9), 79-96.
Garrett, J. (2013). Papua New Guinea's huge Ok Tedi gold and copper mine used to be a name
synonymous with environmental disaster. Retrieved from:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-07/an-radio-doco3a-ok-tedi/4455092 Accessed on:
15 September 2019
Lodhia, S., & Martin, N. (2014). Corporate sustainability indicators: an Australian mining case
study. Journal of Cleaner Production, 84, 107-115.
Moneva, J. M., Rivera-Lirio, J. M., & Muñoz-Torres, M. J. (2017). The corporate stakeholder
commitment and social and financial performance. Industrial management & data
systems, 107(1), 84-102.
Northey, S., Haque, N., & Mudd, G. (2013). Using sustainability reporting to assess the
environmental footprint of copper mining. Journal of Cleaner Production, 40, 118-128.
Peloza, J. (2019). The challenge of measuring financial impacts from investments in corporate
social performance. Journal of Management, 35(6), 1518-1541.
Perez, F., & Sanchez, L. E. (2009). Assessing the evolution of sustainability reporting in the
mining sector. Environmental management, 43(6), 949-961.
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Schneider, J., Ghettas, S., Merdaci, N., Brown, M., Martyniuk, J., Alshehri, W., & Trojan, A.
(2013). Towards sustainability in the oil and gas sector: benchmarking of environmental,
health, and safety efforts. Journal of Environmental Sustainability, 3(3), 6.
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