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Environmental Reporting: Comparing Mining Companies Listed on the

Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) Against the Companies Listed on the ZSE and
Externally

Article · March 2023

DOI: 10.31920/1750-4562/2023/v18n1a3

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African Journal of Business and Economic Research (AJBER)
(Online) ISSN 1750-4562 (Print) ISSN 1750-4554

Indexed by SCOPUS, UGC CARE List, IBSS, EBSCO, ProQuest,

ABDC, SAJE, COPERNICUS, ERIH PLUS, CABELL, Sabinet
and J-Gate
Vol. 18, (Issue 1), March 2023
pp 53 – 72

Environmental Reporting: Comparing Mining

Companies Listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange
(ZSE) Against the Companies Listed on the ZSE
and Externally
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31920/1750-4562/2023/v18n1a3

Varaidzo Denhere
College of Business and Economics
University of Johannesburg, South Africa
vdenhere23@gmail.com

&

David Mhlanga
College of Business and Economics
University of Johannesburg, South Africa
dmhlanga67@gmail.com

Abstract

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
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 Environmental Reporting: Comparing 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.

Keywords: Company size, Environmental reporting, Externally listed, Mining

companies, Reporting extent, Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.

1. Introduction

Among different economic activities conducted in an economy,

mining activities have the greatest potential of contributing towards
negative environmental damage in the form of soil erosion;
deforestation; formation of craters; loss of diversity; contamination of
soil, ground and surface water; and global warming (Miklosik &
Evans, 2021; Ponce & Mcclintock, 2014). Consequently, society is
becoming increasingly aware and more sensitive to the significance of
environmental sustainability. Hence, the issue has become a global
concern (Miklosik & Evans, 2021; Toscano & Grieve, 2020; Mhlanga
& Denhere 2020; Ndlovu & Dzomira, 2021; Mhlanga 2021, Mhlanga
2022)). The increasing awareness and sensitivity to sustainability issues
have also raised expectations for corporates to be responsible for
protecting the environment. Considering this, the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP, 2021) highlights that corporates

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Denhere & Mhlanga (AJBER) Volume 18, Issue1, March 2023, Pp 53 - 72

are forced to show their commitment towards achieving the

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by publishing environmental
sustainability reports. According to Mawanza and Mugumisi (2014), in
most Zimbabwean firms, sustainability back then was still an issue of
peripheral concern. In 2014 sustainability was not yet law in the
country but was fast becoming a de facto law written and enforced by
the community in their capacity as customers (Mawanza & Mugumisi,
2014). With corporates wanting to be listed on the Zimbabwe Stock
Exchange, a requirement to fulfil various corporate governance
disclosures and transparency practices were necessary and obliged
them to produce annual audited financial statements according to the
International Standards on Auditing (ISA) and the International
Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) (Korera, Schutte & Oberholzer,
2020; ZSE, 2014). The country saw the introduction of the National
Code of Corporate Governance of Zimbabwe (NCCGZ) as a
voluntary code based on an ―apply or explain‖ principle in April 2015
(Korera et. al., 2020; Institute of Directors Zimbabwe (IoDZ), 2015).
This provision still left room for laxity in the application of the
Integrated Reporting Framework by firms in Zimbabwe.
The lack of universal legal cohesion to enforce integrated
reporting in some jurisdictions brings about inconsistency in
environmental sustainability reporting. It is worth noting that
numerous studies have been conducted on environmental
sustainability reporting from different perspectives globally.
Furthermore, in Zimbabwe, some studies (Mawanza & Mugumisi,
2014; Kokerai, Schutte, & Oberholzer, 2020) were conducted with
general findings that the corporates had not yet fully embraced
transparent sustainability reporting. However, mining activities having
the greatest potential of contributing towards negative environmental
damage (Miklosik & Evans, 2021), some studies have been conducted
in this space but outside Zimbabwe. Among them is one by Iredele
and Moloi (2020) which examined the extent to which integrated
reporting has influenced the level of corporate environmental
disclosure (CED) among mining firms listed on the Johannesburg
Stock Exchange (JSE) as well as determining variation in the level of
CED on account of corporate governance attributes and firm-based
characteristics. Miklosik and Evans (2021) also conducted a similar
study in which they explored how mining companies listed on the
Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) include topics related to the
environment and its protection in their annual reports, and this is in a
developed economy. Both studies cited above were conducted in

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 Environmental Reporting: Comparing Mining …

countries that have embraced the integrated reporting framework for

all stock exchange-listed companies in their jurisdictions. In
Zimbabwe, Ndlovu and Dzomira (2021) also conducted a study that
mainly focused on ascertaining the level of adoption and disclosure of
environmental information among all the companies listed on the
ZSE from different industries. Being a small stock exchange market
due to the prevailing national economic challenges, out of the 64
companies listed on the ZSE in 2020, only four were into mining
(Mhotseka, 2021). From these, there were two other companies listed
on both the ZSE with one listed on the New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE) and another on the ASX (Mhotseka, 2021). This study was
motivated by this scenario where some companies incorporated in
Zimbabwe are also listed externally.
Against this backdrop, the purpose of the current study is to
compare the extent of disclosure of environmental information
among mining companies only listed on the ZSE against those listed
on external stock exchanges but also incorporated in Zimbabwe for
the year 2020. At the time of collecting data for this study, the latest
published financial reports were for the year 2020.
The objectives of the study were to:

 establish whether the mining companies that are 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.
The following are the research questions of the study:
 Which ones between the mining companies listed only on the ZSE
and those listed on both the ZSE and externally lead in reporting
environmental information?
 Did company size influence the extent of environmental
information reporting?

2. Literature Review

2.1 Sustainability reporting

Sustainability reporting is defined as the disclosure and

communication of environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals
as well as a company‘s progress in achieving them (Boston College
Centre for Corporate Citizenship, 2021). This definition refers to the

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Denhere & Mhlanga (AJBER) Volume 18, Issue1, March 2023, Pp 53 - 72

reporting of three issues, but this study only focuses on the

environmental aspect of sustainability reporting.
The concept of sustainability reporting has seen several shifts in
terms of its development and focus (Hahn & Kuhnen, 2013; Kolk,
2010). During this shift, reporting research and practice progressively
considered the social and environmental aspects concurrently in a
common report published alongside traditional reports by the end of
the 1990s. According to Hahn and Kuhnen (2013), this trend can be
associated with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) development of
voluntary standard-setting which is now considered the de facto
global standard for sustainability reporting. Currently, there is no
binding law that requires companies to report on sustainable issues,
but different companies have the freedom to choose to follow the
GRI Standards of reporting, unless the stock exchange on which they
are listed obliges them to do so. The GRI is a non-governmental
organisation that has developed a common reporting framework
called GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (G3) to guide
companies in their preparation of sustainability reports. This
framework can be employed in all jurisdictions to provide the basis
for assessing the social and environmental impacts of a company.
According to the GRI (2020), the two main parts of the G3
framework are the following: ‗Defining Report Content, Quality and
Boundary‘ which guides how companies should select issues and
report on them within the G3 framework; and ‗Standard Disclosures‘
which sets out three categories of disclosure items, namely profile
disclosures asking for general information about the company;
disclosure on Management Approach (DMA) expanding the profile
disclosures into six specific topics (Environment, Economic, Labour
Practices and Decent Work, Human Rights, Society, and Product
Responsibility); and performance indicators requiring quantitative and
qualitative disclosure on specific issues with 79 indicators divided as
follows: Economic (9), Environmental (30), Labour Practices and
Decent Work (14), Human Rights (9), Society (8) and Product
Responsibility (9) (Global Reporting Initiative, 2009). There is not
necessarily a standard presentation prescribed by the G3 but, at the
end of the GRI-based report, there must be a GRI Content Index
listing all G3 disclosure items contained in the report (GRI, 2020).
The GRI Standards have expected reporting requirements for
each of the following environmental indicators: materials; energy;
water; water and effluence; biodiversity; emissions; waste;
environmental compliance; and supplier environmental assessment

57
 Environmental Reporting: Comparing Mining …

(GRI Standards, 2020). It is these reporting requirements that would

be checked in the mining companies‘ annual reports to determine the
extent of environmental sustainability reporting in this study. Despite
the efforts to standardise sustainability reporting, through the GRI,
there are still significant differences observed in the annual reports
about the content and quality of different companies even if they are
conducting the same business (Hahn & Kuhnen, 2013). Herzig and
Schaltegger (2006) and Hahn and Kuhnen (2013) share the view that
by disclosing sustainability information, companies aim to increase
transparency and enhance brand value, reputation and legitimacy.
Considering this, sustainability reporting is being increasingly
acknowledged as a principal factor contributing towards corporate
sustainability (Lozano & Huisingh, 2011).

2.2 Theoretical Literature Review

2.2.1 Stakeholder theory

The stakeholder theory is viewed as a theory that stresses capitalism

through the interconnected relationships between the business and its
stakeholders, that is, the business and ―its customers, suppliers,
employees, investors, communities and others who have a stake in the
organisation‖. The main argument from the stakeholder theory is that
the firm should strive for the creation of value for all the stakeholders
not only the owners of the company (Mainardes, Alves, & Raposo,
2011). As a result of this, managers should put effort to ensure that all
the groups are satisfied and not only those with a stake in the
company (Fontaine, Haarman, & Schmid, 2006). Fontaine et al.
(2006) further posit that managers of the company must be able to
manage and integrate the relationships and interests of the interested
groups of stakeholders.
One of the principles of this theory views the duty of the firm as
considering the interests of the stakeholder as the ethical duty of the
company (De Colle, 2010). There is also a principle of corporate
legitimacy which argues that stakeholders should participate in all the
decisions of the organisation that affect their welfare because the
organisation should operate in a way that is beneficial to these
stakeholders (Mishra & Mishra, 2013). The other principle is fiduciary
which reasons that managers should try their best to act in the interest
of all the stakeholders for the organisation to survive. To fulfil the
stakeholder theory, Zimbabwe came up with a National Code of

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Corporate Governance (NCCGZ) (Korera, 2020). The code has

provisions that speak to stakeholder theory, especially the
relationships among the stakeholders. The other aspect which shows
that in Zimbabwe the stakeholder principle is taken seriously
emanates from the African value of ‗Ubuntu‘ which encourages
individuals and companies to be generous to society. However,
despite the applicability of the theory in Zimbabwe, several obstacles
hinder the proper application of the theory.

2.3 Empirical Literature Review

The threats of climate change have made the discussions on

sustainability grow in recent years, especially studies that try to
investigate sustainability reporting (Mugova & Mudhenda, 2015; Tilt,
Qian, Kuruppu, & Dissanayake, 2020; Korera, 2020; Cicchiello,
Fellegara, Kazemikhasragh, & Monferrà, 2021). Tilt, Qian, Kuruppu
and Dissanayake (2020) investigated the extent of environmental
sustainability reporting in sub-Saharan Africa. The intention was to
bridge the gap concerning appreciating the extent of sustainability
reporting in sub-Saharan Africa. Tilt et al. (2020) discovered that, in
sub-Saharan Africa, there are many barriers to reporting. However, it
was also discovered that institutional mechanisms like voluntary
reporting frameworks are helping in the provision of important
bridges between embedding informal norms and changes to
regulatory requirements. Another study by Mugova and Mudhenda
(2015) investigated the challenges associated with corporate social
responsibility implementation and sustainability in Zimbabwe.
Mugova and Mudhenda (2015) discovered that developing nations
have difficulties in corporate social responsibility implementation and
sustainability compared to economically developed nations.
Ortas, Gallego‐Alvarez and Etxeberria (2015) also revisited the
influence of companies‘ financial factors on the extent of corporate
environmental sustainability reporting. The study by Ortas et al.
(2015) discovered that the combination of the various theories of
corporate sustainability reporting like the legitimacy theory and agency
theory among others provided a better understanding of the structure
of the dependencies of the factors found such as company size,
leverage, return on assets, research and development spending, market
capitalisation, market return as well as the commitment to
environmental reporting. Korera (2020) also evaluated the extent and
the determinants of disclosure and transparency in the annual reports

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of Zimbabwean Firms. Korera (2020) used the National Code of

Corporate Governance of Zimbabwe guidelines as a benchmark for
the development of a comprehensive disclosure and transparency
index. The study by Korera (2020) discovered that few firms were
incorporating sustainability reports or corporate social responsibility
reports in their annual reports, even though the number was
increasing from 2014 to 2016.
Koseoglu, Uyar, Kilic, Kuzey and Karaman (2021) explored the
connections among corporate social responsibility performance,
reporting and external assurance in the hospitality and tourism
industry. The study used the global reporting initiative framework.
The results from the panel data analysis revealed that corporations
with high corporate social responsibility in the hospitality and tourism
industry had a higher propensity to publish corporate social
responsibility reports. The other finding by Koseoglu et al. (2021) was
that the adoption of the global reporting initiative framework was
related to a higher corporate social responsibility achievement. In
addition to that, Koseoglu et al. (2021) also discovered that firms with
higher corporate social responsibility and those who adopted the
global reporting initiative framework had a high probability of making
their corporate social responsibility reports externally. Walt (2018)
also concluded that most reporting frameworks like the global
reporting framework are proving to be too complex and costly for
small to medium enterprises. Consequently, small to medium
enterprises should have a concise set of sustainability indicators.

3. Methodology

3.1 Approach

This study employed quantitative content analysis which focuses on

counting and measuring (Oleinik, 2011; Miklosik, Evans, Hasprova, &
Lipianska, 2019). The approach involved counting and analysing
words and concepts that have to do with the environment identified
within the texts (Kim & Kuljis, 2010; Miklosik & Evans, 2021). This
study analysed 2020 annual financial reports for the mining companies
incorporated and listed on the ZSE as well as reports for other mining
companies incorporated in Zimbabwe but listed on external stock
exchanges, the NYSE and the ASX. This is the approach also
employed by Miklosik and Evans (2021) in their study. The current
study used the approach for analysing the contents, context, and

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implications regarding environmental indicators within the identified

mining companies‘ annual reports. The integrated reports provided
secondary data and the reports are in the public domain. Hence, no
ethical consideration was required. Regarding reliability, the study
employed secondary data which is in the public domain and can be
accessed by anyone who wishes. When the research is repeated, using
the same data, under the same conditions, the results can be
reproduced.

3.2 Environmental information relevant topics

Following the approach employed by Miklosik and Evans (2021), the

current study identified content related to environmental and
sustainability topics by searching for relevant keywords from the
companies‘ annual reports. The updated GRI Standards (2020) were
employed to identify the following nine (9) environmental
information indicators: material, energy, water, biodiversity, emissions,
effluent, waste, compliance and supplier assessment. After analysing
some annual reports for the mining companies under study, it was
noted that the terms ‗environment‘ and ‗rehabilitation‘, also related to
environmental sustainability, kept recurring, and they were added to
the nine. Therefore 11 environmental indicators in the identified
mining companies‘ 2020 environmental sustainability reports were
employed in the study to determine the extent of environmental
reporting. Literature on the environmental aspects of the social license
to operate in Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwean Environmental
Management Act (Chapter 20:27) complimented the GRI Standards
in identifying the contents, context and implication of the
environmental content found in the companies' annual reports. While
the Miklosik and Evans‘ (2021) study excluded some indicators based
on certain criteria, the current study did not exclude any indicator
because, according to the GRI Standards (2020), the indicators
concern any organisation‘s impacts on living and non-living natural
systems including land, air, water and ecosystems.

3.3 Population and sample

The economic crisis in Zimbabwe had a bearing on the population

size of mining companies listed on the ZSE. The following two
company categories were included in the study: those listed on the
ZSE only and those listed on both the ZSE and external stock

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 Environmental Reporting: Comparing Mining …

exchanges. Only four mining companies were listed on the ZSE at the
time of data collection for this study. Therefore, this study did not use
any sampling method but employed the whole population since the
number of mining companies incorporated in Zimbabwe and listed
either on the ZSE or externally in 2020 was very small. The mining
companies included in this study are Bindura Nickel Corporation
Limited; RioZim Limited; Zimplats Holdings Limited; and Caledonia
Mining Corporation. These were ranked based on market
capitalisation which, according to Chen (2018), is related to company
size apart from sales or total assets figures.

3.4 Data collection and analysis

For the current study, data were collected from the 2020 financial
reports which were the latest published financial year reports available
for each company at the time of data collection. These were accessible
from the different company's websites. A record of the total mentions
of environmental-related keywords in line with the environmental
standards according to the GRI and literature was done. A careful
analysis of the context of each environmental indicator was done with
the occurrence categorised as related to the environment. The total
number of keywords mentions related to the GRI G3 (2020)
environmental standards were recorded, and the number of counts of
each environmental indicator (Materials; Energy; Water; Water and
effluence; Biodiversity; Emissions; Waste; Environmental compliance;
and Supplier environmental assessment) (GRI Standards, 2020), for
each of the mining companies was determined and compared with the
companies under study. The numbers of counts for each of the
environmental indicators were employed to describe the extent of
environmental sustainability reporting in the different companies and
to show the differences in the two categories of the mining companies
in the study. Further, the density of environmental-related keywords
mentions relative to the annual report‘s size as well as market
capitalisation were used to compare the extent of environmental
sustainability reporting among the different companies.

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4. Findings

4.1 Relevant Environmental Indicator Keywords Mention

Varied lengths of the annual reports for the four companies were
noted, ranging from 100 to 220 pages. Table 1 indicates the total
number of environmental keyword indicators per company's annual
report and the total number of pages for each company‘s annual
report.

Table 1: Collected data per environmental keyword

Environmental Total Mentions of Keywords Per Report/Per Company in 2020
Indicator Keywords
Bindura RioZim Caledonia Zimplats Total
Nickel Limited Mining Holdings mentions of
Corporation Corporation Limited keywords
Limited for the four
companies

Materials 26 56 06 114 202

Energy 10 18 25 64 117
Water 16 13 56 124 209
Biodiversity 02 19 14 34 69
Emissions 02 09 16 87 114
Effluent 05 11 60 28 104
Waste 03 40 51 54 148
Compliance 06 13 20 62 101
Environment 13 10 34 31 88
Rehabilitation 03 26 13 34 76
Supplier Environmental 00 00 11 06 17
Assessment
Total number of 86 215 306 638 1245
environmental
keywords mentions
per company
Total Number of 102 100 124 220 546
report pages per
company
Environmental 0.843 2.150 2.468 2.900 2.280
keywords
density/annual report
page
Source: Author‟s Analysis

4.2 Comparing the Reporting Extent of Environmental Issues in

Mining Companies Listed on the ZSE

Table 1 shows the two mining companies listed on the ZSE – Bindura
Nickel Corporation Limited and RioZim Limited. Their total number
of report pages are 102 and 100 respectively. Also, their total numbers

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 Environmental Reporting: Comparing Mining …

of environmental keyword mentions are 86 and 215 respectively. Both

companies did not report on the Supplier Environmental Assessment.
Regarding the environmental keyword density per the report page,
RioZim has a higher density of 2.15, and Bindura Nickel Corporation
has 0.84. There is an environmental keyword density difference of
1.31 per report page. Comparing these two companies, RioZim
reported more on environmental sustainability issues than Bindura
Nickel Corporation in 2020. There is currently no standard on the
keyword density recommended but, when comparing the two
companies, Bindura Nickel is expected to do more in terms of
reporting considering the wide margin between the two.

4.3 Comparing the Reporting Extent of Environmental Issues in

Mining Companies Listed on External Stock Exchanges

Table 1 also shows the two mining companies incorporated in

Zimbabwe but listed outside Zimbabwe. These are Caledonia Mining
Corporation listed on the NYSE and Zimplats Holdings Limited
listed on the ASX. Their total numbers of report pages are 124 and
220 respectively. Also, their total numbers of environmental keyword
mentions are 306 and 638 respectively. Unlike the two companies
listed on the ZSE, both companies reported on Supplier
Environmental Assessment. Regarding the environmental keyword
density per the report page, Zimplats Holdings Limited has a higher
density of 2.90 and Caledonia Mining Corporation has 2.45. The
keyword density margin between these two is 0.45 compared to 1.31
per report page for the Zimbabwe-listed companies. Comparing these
two companies, Zimplats Holdings Limited reported more on
environmental issues than Caledonia Corporation in 2020.

4.4 Ranking of the Reported Environmental Issues by the Four

Companies

Table 2: Ranking of the reported environmental issues by the four

companies
Ranking in Environmental issue Total mentions in The density of
descending order reported the four companies mentions per
(1 245 pages) total reports
pages
1 Water 209 0.168

2 Materials 202 0.162

3 Waste 148 0.119
4 Energy 117 0.094

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5 Emissions 114 0.092

6 Effluent 104 0.084
7 Compliance 101 0.081
8 Environment 88 0.071
9 Rehabilitation 76 0.061
10 Biodiversity 69 0.055
11 Supplier environmental 17 0.014
assessment
Source: Author‟s Analysis

Table 2 shows the ranking of the reported environmental issues by all

four mining companies in the study. From a total of 1 235 pages from
all four reports, the top five most reported were: water with 209
mentions and a density of 0.168 mentions per page; materials with
202 mentions and a density of 0.162 mentions per page; waste with
148 mentions and a density of 0.119 mentions per page; energy with
117 mentions and a density of 0.094 mentions per page; and
emissions with 114 mentions and a density of 0.092 mentions per
page. The last report was a supplier environmental assessment with a
total of 17 mentions from 1 245 pages and a density of 0.014. The
findings also indicate that, from a total of 1 245 pages from the four
reports, the total mention of environmental keywords was 546 with a
density of 2.280 mentions per page.

4.5 Comparing the Reporting Extent of Environmental Issues in

Mining Companies According to Market Capitalisation in
both Categories of Companies

Table 3: Mining companies included in the study by market capitalisation

Mining companies incorporated in Zimbabwe Mining companies incorporated in Zimbabwe but listed
and listed on the ZSE outside Zimbabwe

Company Ranking by Market Keywords Name of Ranking by Market Keywords Stock

Name Market Capitalisation Density company Market Capitalisation Density Exchange
Capitalisation (ZWL$) Capitalisation (USD) (2020)
(2020) (2020) (2020)
Bindura 1 6.22B 0.843 Zimplats 1 1.42B 2.900 ASX
Nickel Holdings
Corporation Limited
Limited
RioZim 2 3.4B 2.150 Caledonia 2 0.14B 2.280 NYSE
Limited Mining
Corporation
Source: Adopted African Financials, (2021)

Table 3 shows the ranking of the four companies by market

capitalisation in the two categories. Of the companies listed on the
ZSE, the one with the higher market capitalisation of ZWL$6.22B,
Bindura Nickel Corporation Limited, had a lower environmental
keywords density of 0.843 per page, whereas RioZim with a lower

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 Environmental Reporting: Comparing Mining …

market capitalisation of ZWL$3.4, almost half of its counterpart, had

a higher environmental keywords density of 2.150 per page, a density
two and half times that of its counterpart. These results, therefore,
show that, for the companies listed on the ZSE, the company size did
not directly influence the extent of environmental sustainability
reporting. The opposite is true for the other two companies listed
outside Zimbabwe. Zimplats Holdings Limited with a higher market
capitalisation of US$1.42B had an environmental keyword density of
2.900 per page while Caledonia Mining Corporation with a lower
market capitalisation of US$0.14B had a lower environmental
keyword density of 2.280 per page. The margin in market
capitalisation between these two is almost ten times but the margin in
keyword density is 0.62. Therefore, in this category, the findings show
that the size of the company influenced the extent of environmental
sustainability reporting because the bigger company reported more
than the smaller company.

5. Discussion of Findings

This study employed quantitative content analysis to assess and

compare the environmental sustainability reporting by mining
companies listed on the ZSE against those listed externally. Guidance
on the keywords to check for, from the companies‘ annual reports,
was obtained from the GRI G3 Standards of (2020), the contents of
the reports and some relevant literature such as the social licence to
operate and environmental legislation from Zimbabwe. The nine
standards from the GRI (2020) and an addition of two other words,
‗rehabilitation‘ and ‗environment‘ which were commonly used in the
annual reports, were employed in determining the extent of reporting
environmental sustainability reporting by counting their number of
mentions in the reports. The results reveal that, at least, the mining
companies incorporated in Zimbabwe communicate environmental
issues based on their operations to their stakeholders through their
annual reports. With the lengths of their annual reports varying, the
density of environmental-related keywords had to be used to compare
their extent of reporting (Table 1). It was also found that, out of the
four companies, only Zimplats declared in their scope that they
adopted the GRI Reporting Initiative Standards as the basis of
disclosure of sustainability information. Indeed, the report adhered to
the GRI Index in reporting because, at the end of the report, Zimplats
indicated the reporting levels that they met in their report. Generally,

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Denhere & Mhlanga (AJBER) Volume 18, Issue1, March 2023, Pp 53 - 72

they indicated that they fully reported on materials, energy, water,

emissions and compliance.
Caledonia indicated that the 2020 report was their inaugural ESG
report. The report did not necessarily adopt the GRI Standards of
reporting but it stated that each significant topic in the report was
mapped to relevant global and industry frameworks and standards to
ensure applicability and a comprehensive reporting foundation.
Bindura Nickel Corporation did not indicate the adoption of any
specific framework in terms of reporting sustainability issues but the
table of contents of the report had a section on Corporate
Governance with a sub-section on social and environmental
responsibility. Also, RioZim did not indicate the adopted
sustainability reporting framework but had a sub-section on health,
safety and environment in its table of contents. These observations
could have a direct bearing on the extent of reporting on
environmental sustainability by each of the four companies. As shown
in Table 1, Zimplats which adopted the GRI Standards had the
highest extent of environmental sustainability reporting, followed by
Caledonia which had also started to relate their reporting to some
ESG. Failure to indicate the adopted sustainability reporting
frameworks by the other two companies showed a lack of
commitment towards the Sustainable Development Goals agenda of
which Zimbabwe is a member. This kind of attitude suggests mere
regulatory compliance with the local environmental regulatory
requirements. Since this study aimed at comparing the extent of
reporting on environmental sustainability issues between mining
companies incorporated in Zimbabwe and listed on the ZSE and
those listed externally, findings indicate that companies in both
categories were reporting to some extent with some variations. Those
companies listed outside Zimbabwe took the lead in the extent of
reporting and at least indicated the frameworks that they employ in
their reporting. Regarding the stakeholder theory applied to this study,
it is those companies that are listed outside Zimbabwe that are making
a lot of effort to ensure that all the stakeholders are satisfied. These
are striving for the creation of value for all the stakeholders not only
the owners of the company as indicated by Mainardes et al. (2011).
The companies listed only on the ZSE still have to do a lot in terms
of managing and integrating the relationships and interests of the
interested groups of stakeholders as posited by Fontaine et al. (2006).
The findings also prove that for those companies listed on the ZSE
company size did not influence the extent of reporting. The extent of

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 Environmental Reporting: Comparing Mining …

reporting environmental issues was only directly influenced by

company size for those companies listed outside Zimbabwe.

6. Conclusion and Policy Implication

Mining activities over the years proved to have the greatest potential
of contributing towards negative environmental damage. On the other
hand, society is increasingly becoming aware and more sensitive to the
significance of environmental sustainability. Hence the current study
sought to investigate the extent to which mining companies report on
environmental sustainability issues in Zimbabwe. Using quantitative
content analysis to assess and compare the environmental
sustainability reporting by mining companies listed on the ZSE
against those listed locally and externally, the results indicated that
companies listed both in and outside Zimbabwe took the lead in the
extent of environmental sustainability reporting. The findings also
proved that, for those companies listed on the ZSE, company size did
not influence the extent of reporting. The extent of reporting
environmental issues was only directly influenced by company size for
those companies listed both in and outside Zimbabwe. To avoid
inconsistencies and variations in reporting, this study recommends
that the government of Zimbabwe should do 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.

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