CLIMATE CHANGE-RELATED CORPORATE
GOVERNANCE DISCLOSURE PRACTICES: EVIDENCE
FROM AUSTRALIA
A Thesis Submitted
in Fulfilment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Shamima Haque
M.S.S. (Economics) University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
B.S.S (Honours) (Economics) University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
School of Accounting
RMIT Business
RMIT University
September 2011
i
Declaration
I, Shamima Haque, certify that the work completed is mine alone, that this document
has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic institution, that the
content of this thesis is the result of work which has been carried out since the official
commencement date of the approved research program, that any editorial work
undertaken by a third party is acknowledged, and relevant ethics procedures and
guidelines have been followed.
Shamima Haque
September, 2011
ii
Acknowledgements
First of all, I am grateful to almighty Allah who has sent me here on earth to learn and
grow and blessed me in so many ways as through special people who are part of my
life.
My deepest gratitude for support and encouragement throughout my doctoral study
goes to my supervisor, Professor Craig Deegan. This project could not be competed
without the input and guidance provided by him. I am deeply appreciative for the
excellent direction and support I have received from him throughout this entire
process. He was not only a superb mentor, but also too kind for words. More
importantly he has always been inspiring role model. It has been my privilege to have
him as my supervisor.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Associate Professor Robert Inglis
who has reviewed this thesis and has given me time, patient council and
encouragement. I am also deeply grateful to the survey and interview participants,
who graciously shared their time, knowledge and wisdom with me. I am also grateful
for the prestigious international scholarship (IPRS) RMIT University provided me to
move forward on this dissertation.
I am grateful to my distinguished colleagues in the post-grade research lab at RMIT
University for their selfless support. I had the good fortune to make very good friends
at RMIT University. It would be impossible to list all the outstanding individuals that
I have met here. I was blessed with the constant flow of smart, progressive and fun
individuals without whom life here would have been colourless. Some of them
deserve special mention: Thi Viet Hoa Tran (Beautiful Hoa), Dr. Hui Chung Liang
(Nicole), Afsaneh Hazeri Baghdadabad,
Fahreen Alamgeer, Kornkanok Duangpracha
(Noo), Lin Xiong, Rui Bi, Jorge Arbelaez, and Tafadzwa Mugwagwa (Taffy) who
helped me to push myself intellectually and academically. We pursue different things,
have different backgrounds, and were born in quite different countries (Vietnam,
Taiwan, Iran, Bangladesh, Thailand, China, Colombia, and Zimbabwe) and yet we
share so much in common. I know that I could always talk to them-and get the best
advice. Specially, Hoa—her ‘intensive care’ during the critical last months (through
her special green tea, good conversation, and humour) soothed me considerably.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge the support, patience and encouragement
provided by my family. I am very grateful to my husband Dr. Muhammad Azizul
Islam (Tito) who has been with me every step of the way, providing me with
friendship and extraordinary level of support, encouragement and understanding
during the endeavour. I would like to thank my parents who have always encouraged
me to pursue my dreams through higher education. My father Skeikh Shamsul Haque
and mother Hasna Banu Khanam, and my brothers and sister (Rajib, Shajib and
Shapla) provided me their unfailing love, supports, patience and understanding. I
would never have been able to complete this without my family by my side.
Finally, I thank all of my friends in Bangladesh and Australia, for love, support and
friendship.
iii
Thesis Related Research Outcomes
Refereed Publication
Haque, S. and Deegan, C., 2010, ‘An Exploration of Corporate Climate Change-
related Governance Practices and Related Disclosures: Evidence from
Australia’, Australian Accounting Review Journal, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 317-
333.
Refereed Conference Papers
Haque, S. and Deegan, C., 2009, ‘An Exploration of Corporate Climate Change-
related Governance Practices and Related Disclosures: Evidence from
Australia’, Accounting & Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand
(AFAANZ, Adelaide, Australia) 5-7 July.
-----European Accounting Association Conference (EAA, Istanbul, Turkey) 19-21
May.
Haque, S., Deegan, C. and Inglis, R., 2010, ‘Towards the development of a best
practice index for the disclosure of organisations’ climate change-related
corporate governance practices’, Accounting & Finance Association of
Australia and New Zealand (AFAANZ, Christchurch, New Zealand) July 4-6.
Haque, S., Deegan, C. and Inglis, R., 2011, ‘Climate change-related corporate
governance information: an explanation of the difference between the supply
of and demand for such information’, Critical Perspectives on Accounting
(Florida, USA), 10-12 July.
------ Accounting & Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand (AFAANZ,
Darwin, Australia), 3-5 July.
------The RMIT Accounting for Sustainability Conference, (Melbourne, Australia),
27 May 2011.
iv
Table of Contents
Declaration ..................................................................................................i
Acknowledgements .................................................................................. ii
Thesis Related Research Outcomes ...................................................... iii
Table of Contents .................................................................................... iv
List of Tables .......................................................................................... vii
List of Figures ........................................................................................ viii
Summary .................................................................................................... 1
Chapter One: Introduction ...................................................................... 4
1.1 Introduction ....................................................................................... 4
1.2 Significance of the study ................................................................... 4
1.2.1 Research objectives ....................................................................................... 7
1.3 An overview of the development of the three research stages .......... 7
1.3.1 Stage one ....................................................................................................... 7
1.3.2 Stage two ....................................................................................................... 9
1.3.3 Stage three ..................................................................................................... 9
1.4 Research methods for the three stages: an overview ...................... 10
1.4.1 Stage one ..................................................................................................... 10
1.4.2 Stage two ..................................................................................................... 11
1.4.3 Stage three ................................................................................................... 11
1.5 Organisation of remaining chapters ................................................ 12
Chapter Two: Emergence of Climate Change as a Corporate
Environmental Issue of Concern ........................................................... 14
2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................... 14
2.2 Climate change as a major environmental issue: causes and effects
............................................................................................................... 14
2.2.1 Climate change and the business sector ...................................................... 15
2.3 Climate change-related policies, pressures and corporate responses
............................................................................................................... 18
2.4 Climate change as a major environmental issue of concern:
Australian context .................................................................................. 21
2.4.1 Impact of climate change within Australia ................................................. 21
2.4.2 Climate change and the Australian business sector .................................... 23
2.4.3 Climate change-related policies in Australia .............................................. 24
2.5. Climate change-related corporate governance practices ................ 25
2.6 Chapter conclusion .......................................................................... 27
Chapter Three: Environmental Accounting Research and the Issue of
Climate Change ....................................................................................... 28
3.1 Introduction ..................................................................................... 28
3.2 What is environmental accounting? ................................................ 28
