Business Sustainability in Asia

Get familiar with business sustainability in Asia

Business Sustainability in Asia offers 12 chapters that cover different aspects of business sustainability with a keen focus on its implications in Asia. Anyone who is involved with business sustainability and corporate governance, the financial reporting process, investment decisions, legal and financial advising, assurance functions, and corporate governance education will be interested in this book.

It examines business sustainability performance, reporting and assurance and their integration into strategy, governance, risk assessment, performance management, and the reporting process of disclosing governance, ethics, social, environmental, and economic sustainable performance. The book also highlights how people, businesses, and resources collaborate in a business sustainability and accountability model.

• Develop an awareness and understanding of the main themes, perspectives, frameworks, and issues pertaining to corporate governance and business sustainability in Asia

• Covers a variety of issues relevant to business sustainability in Asia

• Authored by an expert who has written extensively on the subject

• Understand why organizations worldwide recognize the importance of sustainability performance

If you’re a business leader, executive, auditor, or student looking to familiarize yourself with this emerging subject, Business Sustainability in Asia has you covered.

Foreword xix

Preface xxi

Acknowledgments xxv

List of Abbreviations xxvii

Chapter 1 Introduction to Business Sustainability 1

1 Executive Summary 1

2 Introduction 1

3 Definition 2

4 Themes of this Book 3

5 Attributes 5

6 Principles 5

7 Dimensions of Sustainability Performance 6

8 Value Relevance of Sustainability Performance 9

9 Emergence of Business Sustainability in Asia 10

10 Sustainability Reporting and Assurance 12

11 Professional Organizations Influencing Sustainability 14

12 Best Practices of Sustainability Performance, Reporting and Assurance 16

13 Managerial Implications of Sustainability Programs and Activities 17

14 Conclusions 18

15 Chapter Takeaway 18

Endnotes 19

Chapter 2 Sustainability Principles, Theories, Research and Education 23

1 Executive Summary 23

2 Introduction 23

3 Institutional Background 24

4 Sustainability Principles 25

5 Sustainability Theories 28

6 Sustainability Standards 34

7 Global Implications of Sustainability Principles, Theories and Standards 36

8 Sustainability Research 38

9 Business Sustainability Education 46

10 Conclusions 47

11 Chapter Takeaway 48

Endnotes 49

Chapter 3 Institutional Settings in Asia Relevant to Business Sustainability 53

1 Executive Summary 53

2 Introduction 53

3 Global Move Toward Sustainability Performance, Reporting and Assurance 53

4 Institutional Settings in Asia 54

5 Institutional Settings in Asia Relevant for Business Sustainability 68

6 Conclusions 69

7 Chapter Takeaway 70

Endnotes 70

Chapter 4 Drivers and Sources of Business Sustainability Initiatives in the World Including Asia 75

1 Executive Summary 75

2 Introduction 75

3 Global Mandatory Business Sustainability Initiatives 76

4 Global Voluntary Business Sustainability Initiatives 77

5 Drivers and Sources of Business Sustainability Initiatives in Asia 88

6 Analysis of Drivers and Sources of Business Sustainability in Asia 117

7 Conclusions 118

8 Chapter Takeaway 118

Endnotes 118

Chapter 5 Financial Economic Dimension of Sustainability 127

1 Executive Summary 127

2 Introduction 127

3 Shared Value Creation 128

4 Financial Economic Sustainability Performance 129

5 Forward-Looking Financial Reports 130

6 Value Relevance of Financial Economic Sustainability 131

7 Financial Economic Sustainability Reporting in Asia 132

8 Conclusions 154

9 Chapter Takeaway 155

Endnotes 155

Chapter 6 Governance Dimension of Sustainability 163

1 Executive Summary 163

2 Introduction 163

3 Governance Dimension of Sustainability Performance 164

4 New Paradigm for Corporate Governance 165

5 Drivers of Corporate Governance 166

6 Corporate Governance Functions 171

7 Emerging Issues in Global Corporate Governance 179

8 Global Convergence in Corporate Governance 180

9 Corporate Governance in Asia 182

10 Corporate Governance Reporting and Assurance 220

11 Conclusion 221

12 Chapter Takeaway 222

Endnotes 223

Chapter 7 Social Dimension of Sustainability 233

1 Executive Summary 233

2 Introduction 233

3 Social Performance Dimension of Sustainability 233

4 Corporate Social Responsibility in Asia 236

5 Best Practices of CSR 250

6 CSR Issues 253

7 CSR Reporting and Assurance 256

8 Conclusions 257

9 Chapter Takeaway 257

Endnotes 258

Chapter 8 Ethical Dimension of Sustainability 263

1 Executive Summary 263

2 Introduction 263

3 Business Ethics 264

4 Professional Codes of Conduct 266

5 Workplace Ethics 267

6 Corporate Culture 269

7 Business Ethics in Asia 270

8 Ethics Reporting and Assurance 284

9 Conclusions 287

10 Chapter Takeaway 287

Endnotes 288

Chapter 9 Environmental Dimension of Sustainability 293

1 Executive Summary 293

2 Introduction 293

3 Global Environmental Initiatives 294

4 Environmental Initiatives in Asia 298

5 Environmental Key Performance Indicators 306

6 Environmental Management Systems 306

7 Environmental Reporting and Disclosure 307

8 Environmental Assurance and Auditing 309

9 Environmental Best Practices 309

10 Conclusions 312

11 Chapter Takeaway 313

Endnotes 313

Chapter 10 Business Sustainability Performance Reporting and Assurance 317

1 Executive Summary 317

2 Introduction 317

3 Financial and Non-Financial Key Performance Indicators 318

4 Sustainability Reporting 323

5 Sustainability Assurance 325

6 Global Status of Sustainability Performance Reporting and Assurance 327

7 Sustainability Reporting and Assurance in Asia 329

8 Best Practices of Sustainability Reporting and Assurance 339

9 Relevance of Sustainability Information 345

10 Conclusions 346

11 Chapter Takeaway 347

Endnotes 347

Chapter 11 Emerging Issues in Sustainability Performance, Reporting And Assurance 353

1 Executive Summary 353

2 Introduction 353

3 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines 354

4 Effective Implementation of Sustainability 356

5 Sustainability Risk Assessment and Management 357

6 Future Trends in Sustainability Performance 362

7 Future Trends in Sustainability Reporting 363

8 Future Trends in Sustainability Assurance 371

9 Emergence of Benefit Corporations in the United States 373

10 Emergence of Profit-With-Purpose Companies and the Shared Value Concept 376

11 Challenges and Opportunities in Business Sustainability in Asia 377

12 Planning for Business Sustainability 379

13 Management Accountants’ Role in Sustainability 384

14 Global Collaboration and Leadership for Sustainability 386

15 Conclusions 387

16 Chapter Takeaway 387

Endnotes 388

Index 393

ZABIHOLLAH REZAEE is the Thompson-Hill Chair of Excellence, PhD coordinator, and Professor of Accountancy at the University of Memphis and has published more than 225 articles and 10 books.

JUDY TSUI, FCA (Canada), FCPA (HKICPA), FCPA (Australia), FCA (ICAEW), is Senior Advisor of the Institute for New Economic Thinking and Board Director and Chair of Education Strategy Committee of Wuhan College in China. In addition, she is a Fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and serves as the Vice Chair of the China Committee.

PETER CHENG is the former Dean and Professor of the Faculty of Management and Hospitality at the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong. He previously taught at The University of British Columbia, University of Chicago, Purdue University, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

GAOGUANG ZHOU is an assistant professor of Accounting at Hong Kong Baptist University. His research interests include auditing, corporate finance, and corporate social responsibility.

In the global corporate environment, the profit maximization paradigm has given way to a viewpoint that emphasizes creation of shared value for all stakeholders. This shared value approach makes room for a complex understanding of what constitutes value in the 21st century. As a result, a new holistic business model has been developed that focuses on five dimensions of sustainable performance: economic, governance, social, ethical, and environmental (EGSEE). This EGSEE model is revolutionizing the way businesses conceive of and report on accountability. Today, this transformation is most visible and relevant in Asia.

Business Sustainability in Asia applies the EGSEE sustainability model to an analysis of the key players across Asia, including Mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and more. Through a careful consideration of global, regional, and local trends in sustainability, this book provides insights into how the corporate landscape has evolved and will evolve in the developed and up-and-coming economies of Asia.

As the business paradigm has shifted, the public has increasingly demanded that businesses report on key performance indicators that reflect the EGSEE sustainability performance and values. Such comprehensive reporting, integrating the values of corporate social responsibility with traditional financial performance measures, has emerged on the global stage as part and parcel of international guidelines and, in some cases, requirements. How do these enhanced compliance and reporting trends change the process of doing business in Asia and worldwide? What are the best practices and takeaways for leadership as Asian economies grow in importance? Business Sustainability in Asia provides answers to these and other important questions, bringing tangible benefits to executives, board members, auditors, lawmakers, and others interested in issues of global corporate sustainability.

THE GLOBAL MOVE TO SUSTAINABILITY HAS ARRIVED IN ASIA

In Asia, sustainability practices have grown substantially over the past decade, and the continent's business leaders are poised to become global leaders in sustainability initiatives. Following the global trend, Asian businesses focus on economic, governance, social, ethical, and environmental (EGSEE) sustainability dimensions. Business Sustainability in Asia applies this paradigm to the economic powerhouses in Asia, from Japan and Mainland China to India and Vietnam. For each jurisdiction, the authors consider:

• Global, regional, and local sustainability requirements and expectations
• Best practices for maximizing firm value by improving sustainability
• Balancing short-, medium-, and long-term sustainable performance
• The interrelated nature of financial performance and long-range sustainability.

Business leaders will benefit from this book's description of best practices performance measures, reporting standards, and drivers of sustainability initiatives in Asia and worldwide. As we work to understand and promote sustainability worldwide, we need this thorough treatment, with its timely focus on Asia, to properly recognize, measure, and report on all of the EGSEE dimensions of business sustainability.