Manipulating Disclosure to Repair Corporate Image After an Environmental Disaster: A Study of the Impact of the Dam Failure on Samarco’s Sustainability Reports

ABSTRACT The objective of this paper is to analyze how Sustainability Reports (SR) are strategically manipulated after the occurrence of an environmental accident, aiming at neutralizing damages and repairing the company’s image. This is a qualitative study, having collected data through a documental research technique, from consultations with the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources IBAMA’s reports, news published in the press, and SR published by Samarco S. A., involved in a major environmental disaster that occurred in November 2015. The analysis of the environmental disclosure of texts and images exposed the contradictions and inconsistency of the SRs in relation to the reports from official agencies and the news published in the media. We found that the environmental accident severely impacted the company’s environmental disclosure, modifying reporting patterns based on deterrence strategies with a view to omitting, and at the same time repairing the objective reality. Thus, the company resorted to defensive arguments through which it sought to evade responsibility, with the manipulation of negative environmental disclosure, in order to divert the outside public's attention from adverse information.

摘要：本文旨在分析环境事故发生后，企业如何通过策略性操纵可持续发展报告（Sustainability Reports, SR），以抵消事故造成的损害并修复企业形象。本研究为质性研究，采用文献研究法收集数据，数据来源包括与巴西环境与可再生自然资源研究所（Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, IBAMA）的报告磋商内容、媒体刊发的新闻报道，以及卷入2015年11月重大环境灾难的萨马科公司（Samarco S. A.）发布的可持续发展报告。通过对文本与图像中的环境披露内容进行分析，本研究揭示了可持续发展报告与官方机构报告及媒体新闻之间存在的矛盾与不一致性。研究发现，此次环境事故对企业的环境披露工作造成严重冲击，企业调整报告范式，采用威慑型策略以掩盖负面信息，同时试图重塑符合自身利益的客观现实形象。为此，该企业诉诸辩护性说辞，通过操纵负面环境披露内容逃避责任，从而将外界公众的注意力从负面信息上转移开来。