ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING IN AUSTRALIA: THE PAST, THE PRESENT ANDTHE FUTURE

This paper provides an overview of Australian environmental reporting. Specifically, the topics to be considered include: a brief consideration of trends in environmental reporting together with an overview of industry initiatives to encourage environmental reporting; an overview of regulation pertaining to environmental reporting; an overview of trends towards the practice of sustainable development reporting with particular reference to triple bottom line reporting; an examination of social accounting and social auditing; an investigation of the linkage between social and environmental reporting and financial accounting; and, projections about the future of social and environmental reporting.