Corporate Sustainability Indicators: an Australian Mining Case Study

Abstract

Corporate Sustainability Indicators (CSI) provide the potential to integrate economic, social and environmental information. This research developed CSI for a major Australian diversified resources company and engaged with expert stakeholders in determining the indicators' value and explanatory capacity. It was found that these CSI integrate the company's reported economic, social and environmental issues into specific usable trend markers for business and environmental analysts. The findings provided support for these indicators at a general, as well as at a specific, project level. This paper highlights that the use of these indicators will assist in the management of the company and in informing stakeholders, particularly with regard to corporate impacts on the environment, climate and broader society. It is also suggested that for corporate sustainability indicators to be effectively utilized, there is a need for consensus among organizations and their stakeholders in relation to the use of these indicators.