Page 159 - Fink Babič, Sonja, Borut Kodrič, Roberto Biloslavo. 2018. Indeks okoljske uspešnosti in okoljsko poročanje podjetij predelovalne dejavnosti v Republiki Sloveniji. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem.
P. 159
Summary 159
panies’ environmental performance through the Index of Environmental
Performance over a four-year period, and at the same time ensure that we
could monitor the values of the same environmental indicators over the
entire four-year period, we had to confine ourselves to those pollutants
that are detected in most companies, and to omit those that are prevalent
in certain industries, while not recognized in others. We selected the fol-
lowing environmental indicators: contaminant waste for the earth, chemi-
cal oxygen demand (COD) for water and entire dust for air, and formed the
Index of Environmental Performance separately for air, water and waste.
In doing so, we followed recommendations from the ISO 14001 envi-
ronmental standard on how to monitor pollutant emissions from various
media (water, air, waste). In Slovenia, companies must report their envi-
ronmental data to the Slovenian Environment Agency, ARSO. Thus, the
ARSO database represents the only source of data where the emissions
data of all companies and liable entities (polluters) are collected and reg-
ulated. Unprocessed data from the ARSO database is the only source of
publicly available data in Slovenia, where we can get an insight into the
raw data emissions of individual pollutants, and for individual compa-
nies. For the purposes of our research, such information forms the basic
source of data, since it is unprocessed and presented for individual com-
panies and thus enables us to assess the environmental performance of in-
dividual companies.
Assessing the quality of environmental reports
Contemporary society is deeply concerned about environmental prob-
lems. Thus, reports on environmental protection have become a part of
requirements and expectations. Environmental reporting may be under-
stood as the most sensitive part of sustainability reports, as Fink Babič
and Biloslavo (2011, 2012) found in their research, where companies from
all industries disclose much more extensive and complete information
from a social context, while environmental reporting is extremely modest
and rather insufficient. This could be a consequence of the fact that wider
sustainability reporting makes it easier for businesses to bypass sensitive
environmental disclosures at the expense of highlighting their positive
contribution to other, less problematic areas of sustainable development.
Besides the deficiency in environmental reporting, we have also have
some thoughts about its credibility. Environmental reports are voluntary
and they are not standardized. Consequently, the availability of objective
and comparable data in reports is reduced, while data accessibility, exten-
siveness and quality vary significantly from company to company. As em-
panies’ environmental performance through the Index of Environmental
Performance over a four-year period, and at the same time ensure that we
could monitor the values of the same environmental indicators over the
entire four-year period, we had to confine ourselves to those pollutants
that are detected in most companies, and to omit those that are prevalent
in certain industries, while not recognized in others. We selected the fol-
lowing environmental indicators: contaminant waste for the earth, chemi-
cal oxygen demand (COD) for water and entire dust for air, and formed the
Index of Environmental Performance separately for air, water and waste.
In doing so, we followed recommendations from the ISO 14001 envi-
ronmental standard on how to monitor pollutant emissions from various
media (water, air, waste). In Slovenia, companies must report their envi-
ronmental data to the Slovenian Environment Agency, ARSO. Thus, the
ARSO database represents the only source of data where the emissions
data of all companies and liable entities (polluters) are collected and reg-
ulated. Unprocessed data from the ARSO database is the only source of
publicly available data in Slovenia, where we can get an insight into the
raw data emissions of individual pollutants, and for individual compa-
nies. For the purposes of our research, such information forms the basic
source of data, since it is unprocessed and presented for individual com-
panies and thus enables us to assess the environmental performance of in-
dividual companies.
Assessing the quality of environmental reports
Contemporary society is deeply concerned about environmental prob-
lems. Thus, reports on environmental protection have become a part of
requirements and expectations. Environmental reporting may be under-
stood as the most sensitive part of sustainability reports, as Fink Babič
and Biloslavo (2011, 2012) found in their research, where companies from
all industries disclose much more extensive and complete information
from a social context, while environmental reporting is extremely modest
and rather insufficient. This could be a consequence of the fact that wider
sustainability reporting makes it easier for businesses to bypass sensitive
environmental disclosures at the expense of highlighting their positive
contribution to other, less problematic areas of sustainable development.
Besides the deficiency in environmental reporting, we have also have
some thoughts about its credibility. Environmental reports are voluntary
and they are not standardized. Consequently, the availability of objective
and comparable data in reports is reduced, while data accessibility, exten-
siveness and quality vary significantly from company to company. As em-
