Web 2.0 for sustainability reporting: Approach to refining communication on sustainability

Abstract

Making use of web 2.0 principles for sustainability reporting provides a promising digital approach of sustainability online communication using the principles of current web 2.0 applications. Web 2.0 inspired sustainability reporting may overcome the limitations of orthodox reporting methods as it provides an array of specific capabilities to improve the way of communicating sustainability issues both, for companies (reporters), and their various stakeholders (report readers), e.g. along interactivity, customisation, reporting à la carte, stakeholder dialogue, and participation. This paper gives an outline on this up-and-coming sustainability reporting approach along two perspectives: (i) Media-specific trends in sustainability reporting are observed. (ii) New opportunities web 2.0 applications are offering for sustainability reporting are identified. Finally, web 2.0 inspired sustainability reporting represents a promising approach as is has the potential to elevate sustainability reporting from a rather managerial closed-shop and one-way company controlled exercise to a more stakeholder-driven process providing a variety of mechanism for dialogue, feedback, interactivity, and customization.