PhD Scholarship Opportunity (Wwhat does Sustainable Financial Reporting Mean for Aquaculture)

Job Details

Sustainability reporting is increasingly an expectation for many companies worldwide, with both shareholders and investors (Lombardi, 2021), and government (GRI and SASB, 2021) requesting details on environmental and social performance alongside the usual economic disclosures. The Australian government recently released its policy for climate-related disclosures, and mandatory reporting of climate-related financial disclosures (Australian Government, 2024) to sit alongside the existing expectations for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting and carbon accounting (Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, 2021). For many companies there is considerable uncertainty about what and how much to disclose (Ilhan et al., 2023). As a result, some companies may be inadvertently reporting inappropriate or incomplete information that can lead to misunderstandings regarding their sustainability, adversely influence perceptions of the industry in the community and with investors, and even set themselves up to fail with respect to future reporting and improvement ambitions.

This project will firstly review the key sustainability issues (environmental, social and economic) associated with both current and developing aquaculture industries based on industry, government and community expectations and perceptions as outlined in the published literature (Aim 1). It will then consider what mandated Sustainable Financial Reporting requires and how that relates to the key issues identified (Aim 2) before addressing how performance (environmental, social and economic), and particularly improvements in sustainability performance is currently captured and reported for Blue Economy industries (Aim 3). Finally, the project will consider how sustainability performance measurement and reporting might be improved with a view to helping the various sectors better understand their key sustainability focus areas, where improvements in performance might be realistically obtained, and how best to monitor, manage and communicate those improvements internally for action and externally for disclosure (Aim 4). The final objective will be a set of recommendations for aquaculture industries on reporting sustainability performance and establishing performance goals that will "make sustainability disclosure sustainable" (Fisch, 2018) and ensure both ethical and meaningful reporting. This project will provide industry, government, sustainability managers and potential investors with a much better understanding of just what sustainability means with respect to aquaculture, where changes can realistically be made to improve sustainability across the full value chain and a comparative understanding of sustainability across the food sector broadly and the aquaculture sector specifically.

• AIM1 – What are the issues? This will be achieved through a combination of literature review and targeted stakeholder interviews.
• AIM2 – What are current reporting expectations? This will be determined by reviewing both financial reporting frameworks used globally in the aquaculture sector and more broadly.
• AIM3 – How is sustainable performance (environmental, social and economic) measured currently? This will be captured through review of currently available industry sustainability reports, and targeted stakeholder interviews (i.e. industry and government sustainability managers as well as sustainability auditors).
• AIM 4 – Recommendations for improvement. The data from the previous 3 chapters will be used to recommend improvements with respect to both measurement and reporting. These recommendations will be tested with industry and government representatives to provide a validated summary of priorities, as well as a hierarchy usefulness and ease of implementation.

The overarching objective being to give industry a roadmap and the tools to undertake Sustainable Financial Reporting most effectively, with an underpinning strategic framework that is both useful and informative, aligns to the company's vision and values and is not just a box ticking exercise. Sustainability reporting is not only a compliance requirement but also a means for companies to better understand their business and value chain, clearly differentiate themselves from others and show that they are a responsible investment opportunity. This project will give the aquaculture sector greater clarity on how to do that.

Fisch, J.E., 2018. Making sustainability disclosure sustainable. Geo. LJ, 107, p.923.
Ilhan, E., Krueger, P., Sautner, Z. and Starks, L.T., 2023. Climate risk disclosure and institutional investors. The Review of Financial Studies, 36(7), pp.2617-2650.
Lombardi, R. (2021). The Corporate Sustainability Reporting and Disclosure. SIDREA Series in Accounting and Business Administration, pp.31–77. doi:
GRI and SASB (2021). A Practical Guide to Sustainability Reporting Using GRI and SASB Standards. [online].
Australian Government The Treasury (2024). Climate-related financial disclosure: exposure draft legislation | Treasury.gov.au. [online] treasury.gov.au.
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (2021). National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007. [online] legislation.gov.au.

Whilst this project can be undertaken independently, a broader project application is currently being prepared for funding. This project aims to provide clearer guidance for industry, regulators and auditors on sustainability governance in Australia. We hope that by the time the student is ready to commence we will have secured that funding and can advise how this project will intersect with that broader research team, and what additional resources would be available as a result. The funding application includes a scholarship top-up and the broader project would provide significant additional network and collaboration opportunities as part of that broader initiative.

If you are interested in this project, please contact me directly to discuss what stage we are at and what resources are available.

Requirements

Applicants should review the Higher Degree by Research minimum entry requirements.

Ensure your eligibility for the scholarship round by referring to our Key Dates.

Additional eligibility criteria specific to this project/scholarship:

• Applications are open to Domestic/ International/ Onshore applicants

The project is competitively assessed and awarded.  Selection is based on academic merit and suitability to the project as determined by the College.

Additional essential selection criteria specific to this project:

• Hons degree or related relevant and recognised experience in related field (e.g. aquaculture, resource management, financial accounting, resource economics)
• Understanding of sustainability as that relates to natural resource management

Additional desirable selection criteria specific to this project:

• Understanding of current sustainable financial reporting expectations and frameworks
• Understanding of aquaculture and related industries in Australia and development opportunities
• Interest in sustainability as that relates to marine resource management

Contact Information