Corporate Perceptions of Web Based Environmental Communication: An Exploratory Study into Companies in the Australian Minerals Industry

Abstract

This study seeks the views of environmental and communication managers in three mining companies on the use of the World Wide Web (Web from this point onwards) for environmental communication. Prior literature on web based environmental communication has a primary emphasis on the content of environmental disclosure on websites. It is highlighted in this paper that one must move beyond merely analysing websites for environmental information in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the practice of web based environmental communication. However, very few studies to date have sought the opinions of corporate executives on the web based environmental communication practice of their companies. This study addresses this gap in the literature by obtaining “first hand knowledge” of web based environmental communication in Australia’s minerals industry thorough its interviews.