Social Proximity and Environmental NGO Relationships in Corporate Sustainability Reports

This study demonstrates how three Finnish companies constructed their stakeholder relationships with environmental NGOs (ENGOs) in terms of social proximity in their sustainability reports between 2003 and 2012. The study identifies five types of stakeholder relationship between ENGOs and corporations constructed in the reports: monetary, management system, collaborative, dialogue and conflicting. Within these relationships the level of constructed social proximity and level of trust vary. The results indicate that, within the 10 years we examined, a change has occurred in the ENGO relationships constructed in corporate sustainability reports: they have shifted from being non-stakeholder relationships to more socially proximate, collaborative ones. However, social proximity is primarily constructed through projects that have little or nothing to do with core business operations. Thus the construction of more socially proximate ENGO relationships is just one way a corporation can seek legitimacy for its environmental management.