Title: Hijacking ‘Sustainability’ (Accounting): The Case of ‘ESG’ and the IFRS Foundation

Biography:

Charles H. Cho is Professor of Sustainability Accounting and the Erivan K. Haub Chair in Business & Sustainability at the Schulich School of Business, York University. His research interests include Social and Environmental Accounting; Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); and Accounting and the Public Interest. Professor Cho has published his work in leading academic and currently serves as an Editor of Accounting Forum and the Accounting and Business Ethics Section Co-Editor of the Journal of Business Ethics. He is actively involved in the academic community as a Council member of the Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research (CSEAR) and Chair of its International Associates Committee; is regularly invited as plenary keynote speaker at international conferences and professional events; and solicited by the media. Recently, he was selected as one of the “Top 50 Academic and Research Support Project” from the Republic of Korea’s Prime Minister and Minister of Education and was recognized as one of the top 2% most cited scholars within discipline worldwide (34^th in the world and 1^st in Canada) in the Accounting field for 2019.

Abstract

‘Sustainability’ has recently become ubiquitous – so ubiquitous that this movement has led to possible misconceptions and misunderstandings of its very mean meaning, at least in the context that it should be embraced. Of higher concern is the now apparent (mis)appropriation – and hijacking – of the entire concept and field, with the advent of trendy keywords and acronyms such as ‘ESG’ and initiatives such as the creation of the International ‘Sustainability’ Standard Board by the IFRS Foundation. This presentation will delve into these concepts and insights and provide a clearer, broader and a more complete and accurate picture of this space.