The practice turn in environmental reporting : A study into current practices in two Australian commonwealth departments

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore environmental reporting in the Australian Commonwealth public sector through the focus on departments with a primary responsibility for social and environmental issues. Design/methodology/approach – The research moves beyond the existing theorisation for environmental reporting through a legitimacy theory perspective and adopts Bourdieu's theory of practice. The practices of the two selected departments for this study are assessed through interviews and documentary data. Findings – The findings suggest that the practice of environmental reporting in a research context moves beyond legitimacy considerations with the internal context being critical in explaining current practices. It is in this regard that the theoretical perspective provides useful insights in understanding environmental reporting in the Australian commonwealth public sector. Research limitations/implications – The paper calls for further studies that go beyond desk‐based analysis of environmental disclosure and utilise field studies and varying theoretical perspectives which focus on the practices that lead to the production of environmental reporting via various media. Practical implications – This paper provides insights into how internal actors influence the practice of public sector environmental reporting which has practical implications for the development and enhancement of environmental reporting in many jurisdictions. Originality/value – The paper develops a theoretical perspective for environmental accounting that provides a comprehensive account of environmental reporting in a specific context. This approach could be utilised in different contexts and contributes towards extending the existing theorisation for environmental reporting.