Accounting in Organisation and Society: Sustainability Report Analysis

This report provides a comparative analysis of the sustainability reporting practices of three major logistics companies: FedEx, DHL Supply Chain, and Schneider Logistics. It examines their environmental and social performance disclosures based on their latest annual reports. The report discusses the reasons why each company provides sustainability reporting, focusing on factors such as stakeholder communication, long-term value creation, and adherence to General Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards. It evaluates the social and environmental disclosures of each company, highlighting their investments in community welfare, disaster relief efforts, energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste reduction initiatives. The report also identifies similarities and differences in their reporting practices, such as the adoption of GRI standards, the format of disclosures, and the focus of their social contributions. The conclusion emphasizes the growing importance of sustainability reporting and suggests areas for improvement in Schneider Logistics' reporting practices to align with industry standards.

Running head: ACCOUNTING IN ORGANISATION AND SOCIETY
Accounting in Organisation and Society
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction:............................................................................................................................................2
2. Reasons of providing sustainability reporting for FedEx, DHL Supply Chain and Schneider Logistics: 2
3. Evaluation of sustainability reports of FedEx, DHL Supply Chain and Schneider Logistics:..................3
4. Similarities and differences among the reports of FedEx, DHL Supply Chain and Schneider Logistics: 4
5. Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................................5
References:..................................................................................................................................................6

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1. Introduction:
Sustainability reporting helps in providing meaningful information about environmental,
economic, governance and social performance of a business organisation. This type of reporting is
significant for almost all types of business organisations operating in the global industrial sectors (Amran,
Lee and Devi 2014). The current report would focus on two aspects of sustainability reporting that
include environmental performance and social performance of the three selected organisations, which are
FedEx, Schneider Logistics and DHL Supply Chain. These organisations operate in the global logistics
industry in different nations of the world. Therefore, this report would shed light on the environmental as
well as social disclosures made by these organisations in their latest annual reports in 2017 and then they
would be compared with each other to find out the similarities and differences in their sustainability
disclosures.
2. Reasons of providing sustainability reporting for FedEx, DHL Supply Chain and Schneider
Logistics:
Sustainability reports are published on the part of three stated organisations due to the following
purposes:
FedEx:
FedEx is an US multinational courier delivery service organisation that provides crucial
information to the internal as well as external stakeholders about the different sustainability actions with
the help of sustainability reporting. Moreover, it aims to assure the success of its customers, which are
present in the global markets. The management of FedEx sees sustainability reporting as a major factor,
which enables in creating long-term values for internal as well as external stakeholders. Finally, it follows
General Reporting Initiative (GRI) for creating values related to safety, trust, respect, excellence and
reliability (Investors.fedex.com 2018).
DHL Supply Chain:
DHL Supply Chain is a German supply chain management and third party logistics service
provider, which provides reports on GRI with the goal of achieving effective standards in areas related to
safety, environmental management, efficacy, safety and governance. More precisely, DHL Supply Chain
publishes sustainability report for providing positive societal as well as environmental outcome. Hence, it
intends to take into account the different issues of business sustainability related to four important sectors.

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These issues take into account accountable business activities, economic development coupled with
secured and safe workplace (Annualreport2017.dpdhl.com 2018).
Schneider Logistics:
Schneider Logistics is a provider of intermodal, truckload and logistics services in US, which
functions as a responsible citizen by focusing on fuel efficiency, energy conservation and freight
consolidation. The sustainable business operations have allowed the organisation to carry out better work
with minimised emissions. Moreover, it has active involvement in community outreach at the time of the
Schneider Foundation back in 1982 by sponsoring programs for strengthening well-being, community
health and positive change (Investors.schneider.com 2018).
3. Evaluation of sustainability reports of FedEx, DHL Supply Chain and Schneider Logistics:
FedEx:
In terms of social responsibility, FedEx invests in programs in order to ensure the welfare of the
global communities by providing financial assistance, in-kind charitable shipping as well as volunteerism.
It has committed to invest nearly $200 million in 200 global communities by the end of 2020. The global
reach and unmatched logistics skills have allowed the organisation to provide necessary resources at
times of need (Cho et al. 2015). In 2016, the organisation has donated above $5.67 million in terms of
cash and in-kind support to humanitarian organisations. Moreover, assistance has been provided in relief
efforts for 15 disasters including support for the European migrant crisis along with earthquakes in
Ecuador and Japan and wildfires in Canada (Barkemeyer, Preuss and Lee 2015).
In terms of environmental reporting, FedEx has made adequate disclosures regarding direct as
well as indirect consumption of energy in terajoules, direct as well as indirect greenhouse gas emissions
in CO2e metric tons, intensity of emissions and other important pollutants in air in metric tons. In order to
minimise the usage of fuel cost and related greenhouse gas emissions, efficiencies have been
implemented by introducing FedEx Fuel Sense Program along with replacing many old airplanes with
higher fuel-efficient models. Such initiatives have helped the organisation in saving above 153 million jet
fuel gallons and 1.5 million metric tons of CO2e emissions. Moreover, it has optimised its truck routes,
encouraged good habits of driving, upgraded vehicle fleet to effective models while finding alternative
technologies and fuels (Ehnert et al. 2016). Finally, adequate disclosures regarding conformance to GRI
could be found from the annual report of the organisation.
DHL Supply Chain:

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In terms of social reporting, the organisation has developed a team of disaster management for
the international community by introduction of its Group Program, GoHelp. Moreover, it provides
educational support for the weaker and economically backward classes of the international community
and thus, equal opportunities are offered in terms of employment (Fonseca, McAllister and Fitzpatrick
2014). This is mainly conducted by collaborating with the international Teach For All network that
recruits as well as trains graduate students with the help of its independent partner organisations at the
national level. Finally, it helps in aiding the refugees and charitable organisations by assisting them in
their local projects.
In terms of environmental reporting, the organisation has concentrated on modernising its air fleet
so as to keep in line with the changes in sustainability reporting expected to occur in the future years.
Moreover, with the increase in technical modifications as standard procedure in European Union, the
organisation has decided not to report such developments in detail (Junior, Best and Cotter 2014). In
2017, DHL has initiated minimum standards for its heavy trucks like speed limiting devices, automatic
transmissions and anti-idling systems for increase in carbon efficiency. Moreover, adequate disclosures
are made in terms of lighting systems, air pollution, clean delivery solutions and E-mobility, which is
about to become necessary in the industry in future.
Schneider Logistics:
In terms of social reporting, Schneider Logistics has active involvement in community outreach
at the time of the Schneider Foundation back in 1982 by sponsoring programs for strengthening well-
being, community health and positive change. Support has been extended to the armed forces, as 25% of
the company associates have military background.
In terms of environmental reporting, focus has been kept always on fuel efficiency, energy
conservation and freight consolidation. Moreover, it has managed to reduce waste by using 12,000
batteries yearly, 160,000 oil gallons yearly and 93,000 retreaded tire casings with the help of smarter
recycling. However, not adequate disclosures regarding its environmental reporting could be found from
its annual report.
4. Similarities and differences among the reports of FedEx, DHL Supply Chain and Schneider
Logistics:
Similarities:

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 All the organisations have been extending support to the social community by developing
sustainable business practices and financial assistance.
 The organisations have concentrated on waste minimisation through energy efficient techniques
for maintaining environmental sustainability.
 Freight consolidation has been provided with adequate importance by all the three organisations.
Differences:
 Both FedeX and DHL have disclosed their social and environmental disclosures by complying
with GRI, while Schneider has not adopted this initiative yet, since it is not mandatory under US
GAAP (Kozlowski, Searcy and Bardecki 2015).
 In case of FedEx, the impact of all the materials and technologies have been represented in
tabular format supported by relevant notes, while DHL has not represented in tabular form;
instead, they are written in separate sections. No such disclosures could be found in case of
Schneider Logistics.
 Both FedEx and DHL have extended financial help, education programs and donations to the
economically backward classes and disaster victims, while Schneider has concentrated on
providing employment to the retired individuals of the armed forces.
5. Conclusion:
From the above discussion, it is inherent that sustainability reporting is becoming crucial for all
types of business organisation irrespective of their size, nature and location. However, it could be
observed that both FedEx and DHL have conformed to the regulatory requirements by making adequate
disclosures, while Schneider needs to improve its reporting practices by keeping in mind the future
reporting changes.

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References:
Amran, A., Lee, S.P. and Devi, S.S., 2014. The influence of governance structure and strategic corporate
social responsibility toward sustainability reporting quality. Business Strategy and the
Environment, 23(4), pp.217-235.
Annualreport2017.dpdhl.com., 2018. [online] Available at:
https://annualreport2017.dpdhl.com/downloads-ext/en/documents/DPDHL_2017_Annual_Report.pdf
[Accessed 3 Aug. 2018].
Barkemeyer, R., Preuss, L. and Lee, L., 2015. On the effectiveness of private transnational governance
regimes—Evaluating corporate sustainability reporting according to the Global Reporting
Initiative. Journal of World Business, 50(2), pp.312-325.
Cho, C.H., Laine, M., Roberts, R.W. and Rodrigue, M., 2015. Organized hypocrisy, organizational
façades, and sustainability reporting. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 40, pp.78-94.
Ehnert, I., Parsa, S., Roper, I., Wagner, M. and Muller-Camen, M., 2016. Reporting on sustainability and
HRM: A comparative study of sustainability reporting practices by the world's largest companies. The
International Journal of Human Resource Management, 27(1), pp.88-108.
Fonseca, A., McAllister, M.L. and Fitzpatrick, P., 2014. Sustainability reporting among mining
corporations: a constructive critique of the GRI approach. Journal of Cleaner Production, 84, pp.70-83.
Hahn, R. and Lülfs, R., 2014. Legitimizing negative aspects in GRI-oriented sustainability reporting: A
qualitative analysis of corporate disclosure strategies. Journal of business ethics, 123(3), pp.401-420.
Investors.fedex.com., 2018. FedEx - FedEx - Annual Reports . [online] Available at:
http://investors.fedex.com/financial-information/annual-reports/default.aspx [Accessed 3 Aug. 2018].
Investors.schneider.com., 2018. Schneider National Inc. - Investors - Financials . [online] Available at:
https://investors.schneider.com/investors/financials/default.aspx [Accessed 3 Aug. 2018].
Junior, R.M., Best, P.J. and Cotter, J., 2014. Sustainability reporting and assurance: A historical analysis
on a world-wide phenomenon. Journal of Business Ethics, 120(1), pp.1-11.

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Kozlowski, A., Searcy, C. and Bardecki, M., 2015. Corporate sustainability reporting in the apparel
industry: An analysis of indicators disclosed. International Journal of Productivity and Performance
Management, 64(3), pp.377-397.
Lozano, R., Nummert, B. and Ceulemans, K., 2016. Elucidating the relationship between sustainability
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pp.168-188.