Hur ett globalt detaljhandelsföretag framställer sig som ett hållbart företag

: Longitudinell diskursanalys av H&M:s hållbarhetsrapporter år 2002 och 2018

Abstract

Discourses are societal discussions where social phenomena are being defined. In the context of sustainability reporting it means that discourses shape the image of what people percieve as a sustainable company. Consequently it is important how a global company constructs the image of a sustainable company. Issues of sustainability get increasingly more attention. Sustainability reporting is a tool for companies to communicate their sustainability performance to their stakeholders. Retail companies with production outsourced to developing countries are often held responsible for the actions of their suppliers. The aim of this study is to show the discourses used by a global retail company in the sustainability reports in order to construct the image of a sustainable company, as well as to show how these discourses change over time. The study has a qualitative approach designed as a case study. The empirical material consists of H&M’s sustainability reports covering 2002 and 2018. The method is discourse analysis. The result of the study shows that H&M’s way to construct the image of a sustainable company has changed over time. The most distinct discourse change is the ambition to lead the fashion industry to sustainability and to give a positive contribution to the environmental and socio-economical challenges the planet faces. The study provides knowledge of how H&M constructs the image of a sustainable company over time. Discourses in sustainability reports shape the image of a sustainable company and thereby influence the way people percieve what a sustainable company is. That is why it is important to analyse the discourses the global retail company H&M uses.