Accounting for Sustainability and the Environment in the US: Environmental and Social Reporting

Abstract

Sustainability accounting and reporting has gained much attention from many U.S. multinationals and their stakeholders. The trend has become more rampant recently and was almost non-existent before the 1970s. It necessitated the research into the overview or historical analysis of sustainability accounting and reporting in the U.S. as the first part of the paper following the introduction. This paper addresses the aspects of sustainability reporting and assurance, starting with a brief analysis of corporate social responsibility and sustainability. It is followed by analyzing several elements of sustainability reporting, standardization, and assurance; sustainability Reporting, guidelines in sustainability reporting, and assurance of sustainability reporting. This study then conducts a survey of sustainability accounting reporting for Five U.S. Companies: 3M, American Express, Citi Group, Exxon Mobil, and Verizon Communication. This paper highlights inconsistencies in sustainability accounting and reporting, emphasizing the importance of third-party assurance and independent verification of major US corporations' sustainability reports.