Corporate management and reporting of environmental and social matters in New Zealand: the rules, evidence and analysis

Empirical studies consistently highlight the commercial gains achieved by corporations
that have long-term strategies and plans founded on principles of environmental and social
sustainability. Hence the ability of companies to appropriately manage and report on business
risks and environmental and social matters is receiving increasing attention from investors, other
stakeholders, and policy makers. New Zealand has recently strengthened its corporate governance
recommendations around the management and reporting of business risks and environmental and
social matters, and there are further corporate statutory and listing rules that may apply to this
form of reporting. This article examines the role and impact of this integrated legal framework,
with a focus on the rules governing the provision of management discussion and analysis. It finds
that the overall quality and usefulness of corporate reporting on environmental and social risks
are below best practice and the regulatory pressures on companies to improve the quality of this
form of reporting are weak. The article concludes that listed corporations and policy makers in
New Zealand have yet to fully absorb the financial, reputational, and other consequences when
environmental and social risks are inadequately managed and reported.