Purpose - This paper aims to suggest that companies have ethical reasons
to report about biodiversity issues and to investigate whether
companies act on these reasons by examining the extent of biodiversity
reporting in Denmark. Design/methodology/approach - For the first
purpose, desk research was conducted using consequentialist ethics,
while for the second purpose, data were gathered from the 2009-2011
annual reports, CSR-type reports and homepages of 24 Danish large-cap
companies. Findings - Philosophically, it is shown that biodiversity
preservation and reporting is an ethical issue, even on the assumption
that biodiversity does not possess intrinsic value. Empirically, it is
shown that Danish companies score poorly overall, both quantitatively
and qualitatively, with regards to reporting on biodiversity. Research
limitations/implications - Even though the importance of biodiversity
can be justified on different assumptions, biodiversity reporting is
under-researched offering potential for future research on a globally
important issue. Practical implications - Justifying the preservation of
biodiversity from an instrumental viewpoint might convince accounting
audiences that are sceptical of normative ethical argumentation based on
intrinsic value. The relative lack of biodiversity reporting in Denmark
shows the need for the State and accounting standard setters to address
this issue together with business and other stakeholders.
Originality/value - Few studies theorize on why there is a need for
environmental reporting. Those that do are based on non-instrumental
considerations. This paper gives philosophical arguments for
biodiversity reporting normally outside the scope of accounting. It
emphasizes how even those who deny that biodiversity has intrinsic value
are morally obliged to account for biodiversity. The argument also
provides novel reasons for why thinking about discount rates should be
governed by pure preference considerations. Empirically, this is only
the second paper examining biodiversity reporting and the first about
the Danish context.