SABMiller plc: The Case for Sustainability

This case study focuses on the emerging global issue of sustainability and integrated reporting for organizations. With the pressure on the environment from climate change, increasing global population, and depletion of natural resources, accountants are ideally positioned to support their organizations’ efforts to adopt sustainable business practices and to measure and report sustainable business activity. The case introduces the students to sustainable business reporting frameworks and provides them the opportunity to analyze SABMiller’s sustainability reports. Students learn about sustainability core key performance indicators, the importance of cost/benefit analysis in developing sustainable business practices, the role of the professional accountant in sustainability reporting, and the importance of the assurance function to provide third-party reliability for sustainability reports to investors. Three sections of this course were taught to undergraduate and graduate accounting students at four universities. The students’ perceptions of the case study were assessed upon completion of the case. The results of the assessment were positive indicating the effectiveness of the case study.