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The Role of Disability and Accessibility in Corporate Sustainability Reporting

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 October 2020

Christian Vogelauer ,
David M. Herold Open the ORCID record for David M. Herold [Opens in a new window]  and
Elmar Fuerst
Christian Vogelauer
Affiliation:
Vienna University of Economics and Business, Institute for Transport and Logistics Management, Austria
David M. Herold*
Affiliation:
Vienna University of Economics and Business, Institute for Transport and Logistics Management, Austria Griffith University, Business Strategy and Innovation, Australia
Elmar Fuerst
Affiliation:
Vienna University of Economics and Business, Institute for Transport and Logistics Management, Austria
*
Address for correspondence: David M. Herold, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Institute for Transport and Logistics Management, Welthandelsplatz 1, 1020 Vienna, Austria. E-mail: dherold@wu.ac.at
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Abstract

Although companies increasingly focus on the social dimension in corporate sustainability, there seems to be a lack of understanding how and to what extent disability and accessibility frameworks and activities are integrated in corporate sustainability reports. In this article, we aim to close this gap by (a) analysing the disability and accessibility (D&A) activities from the largest 50 companies in Europe based on their corporate sustainability reports, and (b) advancing a simplified conceptual framework for D&A that can be used in corporate reporting. In particular, we provide an overview about corporate D&A reporting and associated activities according to three identified areas: (a) workforce, (b) workplace, and (c) products and services. Our findings are twofold: First, the majority of the companies address D&A in their corporate sustainability reports mainly under the diversity umbrella, but lack a detailed debate about the three identified areas. Second, we found that existing frameworks for D&A are hardly used because either they are not focused on corporate reporting or seem too difficult or complicated to complete. Thus, our framework not only represents a first opportunity to foster the implementation of a D&A framework within the social dimension of corporate sustainability reports, but also presents a holistic yet flexible management tool that takes into account the most critical elements while shaping implementation, directing evaluation and encouraging future planning of D&A initiatives. As such, this study contributes to and extends the limited amount of research of D&A activities in the social dimension in corporate sustainability reporting.

Keywords

disabilityaccessibilitysocial sustainabilityframeworksustainability reporting
Type
Article
Information
International Journal of Disability Management , Volume 15 , 2020 , e4
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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