Workplace responsibility for employee mobility? A review of sustainability reporting frameworks

Abstract

Employers significantly influence employee travel habits through their policies and benefits, impacting workforce selection, equality of opportunities, and the environment. This study analyses what the fast-growing body of business sustainability standards and reporting frameworks (also known as Corporate Social Responsibility or Environment-Social-Governance (ESG) reporting) require from employers with respect to employee mobility. Analysing 29 leading frameworks using document analysis methods, our findings reveal that the majority (n = 19) do not address employee mobility in their reporting requirements. Among those that do (n = 10), their focus is notably limited, primarily centred on greenhouse gas emissions calculations. Only two frameworks emphasise employer responsibility for preventing transport injuries as part of workforce health and safety management. None of the frameworks mandate reporting on efforts to create an accessible workplace for all potential employees, regardless of abilities or car ownership. These results highlight a significant disparity between the limited expectations expressed in reporting frameworks and the far-reaching impacts of workplace mobility policies. We critique the GHG protocol's methodology concerning business travel and employee commuting on practical and normative grounds. We recommend that future reporting frameworks adopt broader requirements for employer transport policies, in the expectation that higher standards will trigger greener and more inclusive employer policies.