As this thesis comes to an end, I will summarize the purpose and some main findings of my study. The purpose of this study was not to evaluate the case companies in general and rank them in an order, but to focus on the environmental discourse that is communicated on their websites. The main focus was in comparing the frequency of environmental communication and ways of communication on the websites of the six case companies which all belong to the industrial sector. It was noted that all six companies presented environmental information, however, the frequencies varied. Two of the high-disclosure companies, Stora Enso and Neste, also had the most frequent environmental discourse on the websites, but the third high-disclosure company, Metsä Group, failed to communicate on environmental matters as much. In contrast, one of the low-disclosure companies, Ahlström-Munksjö, showed frequent environmental communication on the website, and Konecranes extremely little.
We saw that some companies have a clear focus on environmental matters, and it seemed to be a core value as well as a selling point, while other companies focused on efficiency and services, and the core values seemed to differ. The results also confirmed that companies in stigmatized industries must disclose more on environmental matters than companies that are in a more neutral industry, as they face more pressure from stakeholders. Another finding was the use of five different frames when communicating environmental matters. These were the natural resource frame, technical frame, regulatory frame, social frame, and endorsement frame. These different frames indicated that climate change was seen both as a threat and as an opportunity for the company, and the frames also showed that companies acknowledged their position in society and aimed to legitimize their operations when faced with stakeholder pressure.
There are some limitations in this study that should be noted. Firstly, the writers of the texts in each company’s website and the communication strategies are not known and cannot be evaluated. The writer itself might influence the discursive effects of the text, and industry and company size may also affect the communication. Secondly, I acknowledge that corporate websites are updated regularly, which is why the data had to be retrieved on the same date for all six corporate websites. This also means, that there might be information in this thesis that does not exist on the respective websites at a future date, which is why this thesis should be considered in its own time-context. Thirdly, one must note that the case companies in this thesis are from Finland and they all communicate in Finnish. These are, however, internationally operating companies who communicate just as much, if not more, in English as well, which is why the data were considered appropriate for this study. Other media, such as social media, were not considered in this study. Aside from my analysis, it was noted that, for example YIT, was very present on social media and often shared sustainability information on these platforms as well. Furthermore, the analysis of data was partly done by discourse analytic means, which is never an exact method and the researcher’s interpretation must be considered. Another person might have found different language patterns in the data and thus formed different frames. This should, fortunately, only encourage more similar multidisciplinary studies.
There may be difficulties in limiting similar studies to focus on only one aspect of the sustainability theme, as there seems to be an endless amount of combinations that could be observed. Future research could focus on companies in a different country or even compare environmental communications between similar companies in different countries.
A comparison could also be made between companies in hugely different industries or companies of different sizes. In a multidisciplinary study with an economic focus, the relation between the amount of environmental communication and market capitalization could be
observed to determine whether environmental communication actually increases the value of a company. Compared to the majority of previous research on CSR, this study focused on the linguistic aspect of environmental communication and how environmental sustainability can be presented through language. An even more focused study could observe the usage of a single environment-related keyword in corporate communications, such as renewable or (environmentally) sustainable. The time-frame for this thesis was limited to six months, but further studies could also examine the development of environment-related communication through several years as a corpus study.
As we saw in the beginning of this thesis, society attributes great importance to companies that communicate their social responsibility activities and performance. It was also noted that if the value of the company is created by non-financial performance, such as sustainability, the company will be more inclined to disclose more and higher quality information about these issues to stakeholders. Corporate communications, especially on corporate websites, was seen as a way for the company to legitimize its operations and to secure its place in society. Voluntary environmental disclosure and educating the audience on environmental matters may have a great impact on the society and global environment at largest. It cannot be argued that large businesses have not contributed to severe natural destruction, however, their potential to positively influence political decision-making cannot be underestimated either. This multidisciplinary study is a small contribution in the understanding of how some companies’ voluntary environmental disclosure can motivate others to act more sustainably, communicate better and, in the end, make a positive impact.
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APPENDICES
Appendix A
The 34 indicators of the GRI G4 standards. Information retrieved from www.globalreporting.org/standards, Oct. 7, 2020.
G4 Disclosure Disclosure Title
Materials
G4-EN1 Materials used by weight or volume
G4-EN2 Recycled input materials used
Energy
G4-EN3 Energy consumption within the organization G4-EN4 Energy consumption outside of the organization
G4-EN5 Energy intensity
G4-EN6 Reduction of energy consumption
G4-EN7 Reductions in energy requirements of products and services Water
G4-EN8 Water withdrawal by source
G4-EN9 Water sources significantly affected by withdrawal of water
G4-EN10 Water recycled and reused
Biodiversity G4-EN11
Operational sites owned, leased, managed in, or adjacent to, protected areas and areas of high biodiversity value outside protected areas
G4-EN12 Significant impacts of activities, products, and services on biodiversity
G4-EN13 Habitats protected or restored
G4-EN14 IUCN Red List species and national conservation list species with habitats in areas affected by operations
Emissions
G4-EN15 Direct greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1) G4-EN16 Indirect greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 2) G4-EN17 Other indirect greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 3)
G4-EN18 Greenhouse gas emissions intensity
G4-EN19 Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
G4-EN20 Emissions of ozone-depleting substances (ODS)
G4-EN21 Nitrogen oxides (NOX), sulfur oxides (SOX), and other significant air emissions
Effluents and Waste
G4-EN22 Water discharge by quality and destination
G4-EN23 Waste by type and disposal method
G4-EN24 Significant spills
G4-EN25 Transport of hazardous waste
G4-EN26 Water bodies affected by water discharges and/or runoff Products and Services
G4-EN27 Extent of impact mitigation of environmental impacts of products and services
G4-En28 Reclaimed products and their packaging materials Environmental Compliance
G4-EN29 Non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations Transport
G4-EN30 Significant environmental impacts of transporting products and other goods and materials for the organization's operations, and transporting members of the workforce
Overall Expenditures
G4-EN31 Total environmental protection expenditures and investments Supplier Environmental Assessment
G4-EN32 New suppliers that were screened using environmental criteria G4-EN33 Negative environmental impacts in the supply chain and actions
taken Environmental Grievance Mechanisms
G4-EN34 Number of grievances about environmental impacts filed, addressed, and resolved through formal grievance mechanisms
Appendix B
Basic information on the six case companies used in this study. Company information retrieved from www.nasdaqomxnordic.com, www.morningstar.com and company websites:
www.storaenso.com, www.neste.com/en, www.metsagroup.com/en, www.ahlstrom-munksjo.com, www.yitgroup.com and www.konecranes.com. Retrieved on Jul. 7 2020.
Market
Stora Enso Oyj is a Finnish paper and biomaterials company. Its operations are organized into six divisions: Consumer Board segment provides high-quality virgin fiber carton board;
Packaging Solutions division provides fiber-based board materials and corrugated packaging products and services that are designed
Packaging Solutions division provides fiber-based board materials and corrugated packaging products and services that are designed