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Sustainability Ratings and the Disciplinary Power of the Ideology of Numbers

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  • Mohamed Chelli
  • Yves Gendron

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to better understand how sustainability rating agencies, through discourse, promote an “ideology of numbers” that ultimately aims to establish a regime of normalization governing social and environmental performance. Drawing on Thompson’s (Ideology and modern culture: Critical social theory in the era of mass communication, 1990 ) modes of operation of ideology, we examine the extent to which, and how, the ideology of numbers is reflected on websites and public documents published by a range of sustainability rating agencies. Our analysis indicates that the ideology of numbers promotes a relatively narrow vision of corporate social and environmental responsibility. That is, it establishes some areas of visibility while leaving in the shadow certain aspects of the ways in which companies fulfill, or fail to meet, their social and environmental responsibilities. The ideology of numbers also exerts power by identifying those companies that are deemed to be worthy of inclusion, or not, in a supposedly socially responsible corporate elite. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2013

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  • Mohamed Chelli & Yves Gendron, 2013. "Sustainability Ratings and the Disciplinary Power of the Ideology of Numbers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(2), pages 187-203, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:112:y:2013:i:2:p:187-203
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-012-1252-3
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    11. Juan Carlos Matallín-Sáez & Amparo Soler-Domínguez & Emili Tortosa-Ausina, 2016. "Does socially responsible mutual fund performance vary over the business cycle? New insights on the role of ethical strategy focus and green industry idiosyncratic risk," Working Papers 2016/03, Economics Department, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón (Spain).
    12. Marc Orlitzky & Céline Louche & Jean-Pascal Gond & Wendy Chapple, 2017. "Unpacking the Drivers of Corporate Social Performance: A Multilevel, Multistakeholder, and Multimethod Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(1), pages 21-40, August.
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    14. Alexander, David & Blum, Véronique, 2016. "Ecological economics: A Luhmannian analysis of integrated reporting," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 241-251.
    15. Ester Clementino & Richard Perkins, 2021. "How Do Companies Respond to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings? Evidence from Italy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(2), pages 379-397, June.
    16. Monk, Alexander & Perkins, Richard, 2020. "What explains the emergence and diffusion of green bonds?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    17. Janne Järvinen & Matias Laine & Timo Hyvönen & Hannele Kantola, 2022. "Just Look at the Numbers: A Case Study on Quantification in Corporate Environmental Disclosures," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 175(1), pages 23-44, January.
    18. Clementino, Ester & Perkins, Richard, 2020. "How do companies respond to environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings? Evidence from Italy," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103046, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    19. Tregidga, Helen & Laine, Matias, 2022. "On crisis and emergency: Is it time to rethink long-term environmental accounting?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).

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