Environmental Reporting: Comparing Mining Companies Listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) Against the Companies Listed on the ZSE and Externally

The pace of embracing integrated reporting varies from one firm to another and also depends on the jurisdiction. This is because, generally, there is no universal legal cohesion for firms to practise integrated reporting. Among various industries, mining activities have the greatest potential of contributing towards negative environmental damage. Against the understanding that integrated reporting contributes towards achieving the United Nations' sustainable development goals, the purpose of this study was to compare the extent of environmental sustainability reporting between mining companies listed at the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) only against those listed on both the ZSE and externally. The objectives were to establish whether the mining companies listed only on the ZSE or those listed on both the ZSE and externally lead in reporting environmental information, and establish if company size influenced the extent of environmental information reporting. Using quantitative content analysis, the study found out that these companies were reporting on environmental sustainability to some extent but with some variations. The results indicated that companies listed both in and outside Zimbabwe took the lead in the extent of environmental sustainability. The findings also proved that company size for those companies listed on the ZSE did not influence the extent of sustainability reporting. The extent of reporting environmental issues was only directly influenced by company size for those companies listed outside Zimbabwe. The study recommended that the Zimbabwean government must encourage more environmental sustainability audits through government agencies like the Environmental Management Agency, and the Ministry of Environment and Tourism to ensure that the true picture of sustainability is revealed.