Water disclosure in the mining sector: An assessment of the credibility of sustainability reports

Sustainable water resource management is a major challenge for mining companies. The objective of this article is to analyze the credibility of the information disclosed by companies in this sector as well as the strategies used to justify their water performance. To meet this objective, a qualitative content analysis of 58 Global Reporting Initiative (GRI; G4) reports was carried out. This article demonstrates a strong propensity for mining companies to disclose information that does not comply with the GRI guidelines. Moreover, the use of external verification has no impact on the quality of the information disclosed. This study also highlights several neutralization and obfuscation techniques used to justify negative information related to water performance. The results of this study have important managerial implications, particularly with regard to the effectiveness of reporting compliance with GRI standards.