Using web-based disclosures to establish social legitimacy : the analysis of Australian forestry companies

![CDATA[This paper seeks to explore the extent to which Australian forestry companies report their environmental practices, and whether or not they attempt to apply the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines, despite the absence of sector specific indicators for their industry. In order to assess the legitimacy of Australian forestry companies, a web document analysis approach was employed to examine the sustainability practices of the six forestry companies listed on the Australian stock exchange (ASX) through an interpretive lens. The findings of the research indicate that while all forestry companies display an implicit understanding of the importance of sustainability to their stakeholders, only a few actually report comprehensively on these issues and follow the GRI guidelines. Most companies use subliminal images and texts to indicate that they are responsible social institution, yet their implementation of the GRI reporting criteria is limited at the present in Australia. The results of the study also suggest that most of the forestry entities turn to the web to disclose their social and environmental information than in actual hard copy document. Data collection process focused on analysing secondary data. Further research could expand the data analysis through the collection of primary data as well. This study provides two specific contributions. First, it demonstrates the extent to which the Australian forestry industry has responded to the call from the GRI to implement the sustainability reporting guidelines in order to facilitate transparency and accountability which in turn "provides [their] stakeholders with a universally-applicable, comparable framework from which to understand disclosed information" (GRI, 2007) Secondly, the study reveals ways in which companies use web resources to have a greater influence on the perceptions of stakeholders, in particular through the use of images, accessibly and available public company data.]]