Analysis of Compliance Levels and Comparison of Disclosure of GRI 2021 Sustainability Report on New and Renewable Energy Companies

The purpose of the current study is to collect and evaluate data on whether and to what extent the renewable energy companies within Greece disclose non-financial information in line with global and international standards. Renewable energy has grown rapidly over the last 20 years as a key aspect of the transition to a less energy-intensive and more sustainable energy system. However, constant competition between companies, finances, taxes, politics and other factors have in many cases created environmentally harmful situations. Even though technology is advancing and supporting these companies, even though international laws for the environment and the safety measures for operations have become stricter, it was, nevertheless, impossible to avoid these situations. The concerns of the public, but also of the renewable energy companies to control, monitor and measure the impacts from their operations to the environment and the life of society around the sites of their operations, lead many companies to publish sustainability reports. This report is published by a company or organization concerning the economic, environmental and social impacts caused by its everyday activities and demonstrates the link between its strategy and its commitment to a sustainable global economy. A framework with specific economic, environmental and social indicators to support reporting for renewable energy companies is corporate social responsibility (CSR) together with the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI). GRI is an independent international organization that has pioneered sustainability reporting. It is very important to determine the extent to which these enterprises really contribute to sustainable development.

The development of renewable energy in Indonesia is still in a relatively fledgling state, yet it is forecast to increase. The Government of Indonesia has formulated and implemented several strategic programs, compiled under several binding frameworks, namely the National Energy Policy and the General Plan for National Energy. The government is committed internationally to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions as part of its Nationally Determined Contributions. However, unearthing the dynamics of renewable and sustainable energy in Indonesia requires a detailed stakeholder analysis of all relevant and major actors. This paper aims to provide a stakeholder analysis of actors in the renewable and sustainable energy sector in Indonesia as a whole, using a Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental (PESTLE) analysis methodology. The results have indicated that existing policies are not yet perfect, given that the renewable energy industry is still quite minimal, especially in the current conditions of falling oil prices. In the future, it is hoped that the government can formulate a breakthrough policy to improve existing policies in the renewable energy sector, such as by giving ease to investors in the renewable energy sector, including the effective and efficient supply chain management of renewable energy.

This study aims to investigate the effect of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on financial performance as measured using Return on Assets (ROA) in the renewable energy sector in Indonesia. The research method uses purposive sampling with the object of research being renewable energy companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in 2021-2022. Data sourced from annual reports and sustainability reports. Data analysis was carried out with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results showed that: (1) CSR has a significant positive effect on SDGs; (2) SDGs have a significant positive effect on financial performance; (3) CSR has a significant positive effect on financial performance; and (4) SDGs function as a mediating variable between CSR and financial performance. These results suggest the importance of companies to increase CSR disclosure and commitment to SDGs to improve their financial performance.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has emerged as a globally accepted framework and standard for companies regarding CSR contribution and disclosure practices. The Global Reporting Initiative has been hailed as the de facto standard in transparency and sustainability reporting systems worldwide. Compliance with GRI has become imperative and has a far-reaching influence on making a business accepted globally. The study attempted to establish the relationship between level characteristics such as firm size, industry profile, legacy, shareholder dispersion, and firm performance as measured through ROCE and stock return and the extent of sustainability reporting captured by the disclosure index. A detailed analysis of the 77 nonfinancial services companies’ annual reports for four years is performed after 23 financial services companies are excluded from the nifty 100. The results of a thorough examination of sustainability reports from a few chosen organisations showed that social and environmental reporting is more comprehensive than economic and environmental reporting. A further significant discovery of this investigation is that Indian enterprises must prioritise full reporting using the sustainability reporting framework established by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), as they do not report on environmental indicators. The regression results revealed that market capitalisation consistently influences all three levels of compliance, i.e., economic, environmental, and social disclosures. The industry profile predicts environmental disclosures and social disclosures. The return on capital employed predicts economic disclosures, not environmental and social disclosures. The legacy of a firm is found to be a significant predictor of all three disclosure dimensions. Shareholder dispersion influenced only the environmental disclosures; no impact was seen on economic and social disclosures. Stock return is another independent variable that predicts economic and social disclosures. This study will assist policymakers in making companies more compliant with sustainability reporting in the Indian context.

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to investigate the factors that influence the adoption of new sustainability reporting (SDG) and external assurance (EXTA) practices. This study also examines the relationship between sustainability reporting activity and corporate economic performance for a sample of 99 companies in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries that addressed SDGs in their sustainability reports published in 2019.Design/methodology/approachUsing a two-stage analysis, this study examines how firms’ characteristics and corporate governance variables affect SDG and economic performance, as well as the firm’s decision to adopt EXTA statements for a sample of companies in that addressed SDGs in their sustainability reports published in 2019. The authors collected data from the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) Sustainability Disclosure database and the Bureau van Dijk for Orbis database.FindingsThe results show that the variables firm size, profitability, big 4 auditors and government ownership significantly affect SDG and economic performance. The results also reveal that firms operating in the manufacturing sector are positively correlated with SDG and the firm’s decision to adopt EXTA statements. Furthermore, the results indicate that board independence positively affects SDGs and EXTA.Research limitations/implicationsThe results can be particularly relevant and timely in helping large GCC companies promote their engagement to sustainable development practices by adopting more sustainable long-term strategies and policies. The findings could also guide managers in the strategic direction to identify firms’ characteristics and corporate governance features essential to promote sustainability reporting, an increasingly important performance indicator for investors and to enhance their confidence in the capital market. The results may also have practical implications to policymakers and other regulators in GCC countries to define effective frameworks that promote sustainable development reports and the use of EXTA.Originality/valueThe results make significant contributions by providing new insights to the existing literature on sustainability reporting in emerging markets by examining a unique perspective on the influence of firms’ characteristics and corporate governance features on the adoption of new sustainability reporting practices. The authors further add to the previous literature on the relationship between a firm’s economic performance and sustainable reporting by providing evidence from large companies in GCC countries, which might benefit from the adoption of multiple conceptual lenses, in this case, legitimacy and stakeholder theories. Lastly, through the empirical findings, this study provides economic validity to the 2018 joint initiative of the GRI and the United Nations Global Compact to strengthen corporate actions to achieve the United Nations SDGs.

PurposePrevious studies have argued that the incapacity of the majority of SR stakeholders to identify the different types of assurance processes contributes to the existence of an expectation–performance gap and affects the credibility of such reports. To improve this situation, the Content Index Model was updated by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) in its latest sustainability reporting guideline – “G4”. This paper aims to assess, using a qualitative exploratory approach, whether this updated Content Index Model changes the expectation–performance gap of stakeholders on assurance processes for GRI sustainability reports. This paper also assesses whether this Content Index Model improves the credibility of the assurance processes for GRI sustainability reports, considering participants’ points of view.Design/methodology/approachThis paper used a qualitative approach to obtain participants’ perceptions in relation to the objectives of the paper. Two questions were used to assess whether the updated Content Index Model improves stakeholders’ understanding in regards to the assurance process of GRI sustainability reports, thus changing the expectation–performance gap and improving the credibility of GRI sustainability reports. The following questions were asked: Does the Content Index Model help SR stakeholders to better understand the scope of the assurance processes? and Why? Does the Content Index Model presented help to improve credibility of assured SR? and Why?FindingsResults obtained demonstrate that the updated Content Index Model improves SR stakeholders’ understanding regarding the scope of the assurance processes conducted, thus reducing their expectation–performance gap on assurance processes and improving the credibility of SR. Participants also commented on the relationship among transparency, understand ability, trust and credibility.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, participants were responsible for identifying the group that best represents his/her professional experience. The fact that participants have professional experience in more than one of the groups identified in this research (assurers, reporters and readers) could have impacted on their perceptions regarding the assurance process. Second, the interviews do not rely on practical experience with the updated Content Index Model, rather, they rely on participants’ perceptions regarding the hypothetical use of this Content Index Model. Third, descriptive statistical analyses in this paper aim to illustrate participants’ perceptions rather than to develop robust statistically significant conclusions. Fourth, the main author of this paper developed the Content Index Model, and this may have impacted the responses of the participants and/or the analysis of data. Also, the specific geographic area where interviews were conducted, the selection technique used and the non-statistical significance of the analyses presented in this paper must be carefully interpreted and cannot be generalised to a broader context based on this paper alone. Finally, interviews were developed and conducted before May 2013, before the GRI officially launched the GRI G4 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines.Practical implicationsAs the GRI is the most commonly used sustainability report framework to date, this study has the possibility to affect all companies that publish their sustainability reports based on the GRI framework and all assurance providers currently providing assurance services for such report. Also, findings would be very useful for sustainability reports’ readers worldwide.Originality/valueAs sustainability reports are the most common instruments used by organisations to provide accountability about the environmental and social performance, and assurance is the most common instrument used by organisations to improve credibility of such reports; it is important to assess whether those instruments are achieving their goals and understand the role played by the GRI G4 Content Index Model in this context. As the GRI G4 was recently launched, there is no study published yet assessing the effectiveness of its new content index model.

The present study documents a positive market reaction to mergers and acquisition (M&A) deals involving renewable energy companies. Acquirers record positive post-deal cumulative risk-adjusted returns upon taking over a renewable energy target, especially if the former also operates in the renewable energy sector. Such deals often involve purchases of majority equity stakes financed with acquirers’ stock rather than cash. Acquirers of renewable energy firms tend to be more profitable and cash-rich than their industry peers, yet they are less likely to be serial acquirers and channel cash reserves towards M&As. We evidence that the quality of corporate governance in the energy sector may play a substantial role in shaping the choice of targets; a director’s outside affiliations increase the likelihood of takeovers of non-energy firms, while the presence of outsiders on board appears to incentivize diversification into renewable energy. While acquisitions of renewable energy firms feature lower-than-average acquisition premia and generate positive short-term stock returns, they are found to exercise an overall negative short- and medium-term impact on the combined entities’ operating performance. Overall, capital markets appear to attach a sizeable premium to risky deals involving renewable energy firms, possibly in expectation of wealth accrual in the long term.

Purpose: This study aims to analyze the readiness of sustainability reporting in the regional governments of Bantul and Sleman by measuring their level of compliance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, particularly the GRI 200 (economic) and GRI 300 (environmental) standards. The assessment is conducted by measuring the percentage of alignment between the information presented by the regional governments on their respective websites and the information required by the GRI indicator standards. Research methodology: This study uses secondary data in the form of public information available on the websites of the Bantul and Sleman Regional Governments. Results: The research results show significant efforts in revealing economic and environmental performance. However, there are still shortcomings in the completeness and clarity of information. Some GRI indicators, such as GRI 202, 204, 205, 206, 301, 304, and 305, have not been fully disclosed. Both regional governments have disclosed a lot of data on waste management (GRI 303), but still need improvements in systems, human resources and infrastructure to increase transparency and accountability Limitations: This study only uses content analysis from official local government reports, so there are data limitations. Future research could add interviews or surveys with stakeholders to understand the challenges and opportunities in implementing sustainability report. Contribution: This research helps understand sustainability reporting practices at the local government level, provides recommendations for improvement, and supports the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Since 2015 exists at EU level the obligation for certain enterprises to prepare a sustainability report. This concerns particularly the DAX 30 organizations, which had to adapt their corporate reporting till 2017, including the adaptation of the existing reporting on social and ecological contents. Siemens, for instance, already presented in 2000 a “Corporate Citizenship Report” (CCR). Beside the CCR there is a wide range of terms for sustainability reporting, such as “CSR-Report”, “Sustainable Value Report” or “Sustainability Report”. Beside the variation of the report titles, also regarding the focal issues an ambivalent interpretation occurs. A large part of the reporting enterprises orientates itself on the reporting standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Also the integration of ecological and social subjects in the annual business report is practiced. The present publication compares the sustainability reports of all DAX 30 enterprises and discusses the content differences. Beside the report titles, it investigates the correlation between titles and content. Scope of the contribution is to find out whether a clear border can be pulled between CSR reports and sustainability report and if so which are the assessment criteria.

The study aims to evaluate the extent to which food and beverage companies in Indonesia are implementing the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) performance indicators in their sustainability reports. Specifically, the study aims to identify patterns and trends in the implementation of GRI indicators, as well as assess the quality and consistency of sustainability reporting. The object of the study is the sustainability report of 23 companies in the food and beverage sector in Indonesia published in the period 2021 to 2023. The focus of the research lies in the analysis of all G3 (79 indicators) and G3.1 (84 indicators) indicators contained in the sustainability report. The data analysis technique used is a qualitative method with content analysis. Based on the analysis of the implementation of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) performance indicators on food and beverage companies in Indonesia, significant variations in the level of disclosure among companies were found. The results of the analysis of economic, environmental, social, and product responsibility indicators show that economic indicators in general have a fairly high score, with Economic Performance reaching a percentage of 70%.

This research is motivated by the role of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), a think tank in the energy and environmental sectors. IESR has a significant role in encouraging Indonesia-Australia renewable energy cooperation between the period 2018 to 2023, IESR has participated to support an increase in the application of renewable energy in Indonesia. The benefits of this research as a simple form of formulating how cooperation between Indonesia and Australia through the role of IESR to strengthen bilateral relations in the renewable energy sector. Meanwhile, this research also shares information related to several cooperation programs applied by IESR in cooperation between Indonesia and Australia through the renewable energy sector. The author uses journal search websites such as Google Scholar to search for literature related to IESR's role in renewable energy cooperation. The author also uses the Harzing; Published or Published application to detect the findings of relevant scientific publications and can measure related impacts through this understanding, this research can contribute to the development of an effective IESR role in the future. The author identifies several aspects related to IESR's role in renewable energy cooperation. First, IESR's role in facilitating the implementation of cooperation programs and information exchange in the renewable energy sector between Indonesia and Australia. And secondly, the role of IESR's cooperation evaluation is to encourage urgency in the renewable and sustainable energy sector..

Community participation (CP) is emphasized in the planning and implementation of the various projects and sector. Renewable energy (RE) sector like other sectors requires community participation for its effectiveness and efficiency. This review aims at exploring the community participation in the renewable sector in Tanzania. Five themes were identified for through literature review where a Seven-Step Model for comprehensive literature review was used. These themes include (i) access to information on RE resources; (ii) community awareness of the RE technologies and related policies, laws, and regulations; (iii) RE as the source of employment opportunities; and (iv) RE as an alternative to fossil fuels and for poverty alleviation. These study revealed that despite the different efforts taken by the government and other energy stakeholders the community still lack enough information and awareness about renewable energy technologies, institutional and regulatory framework. However, the interesting issue is that renewable energy sectors play an important role in providing employment opportunities to the local communities. Moreover, the use of renewable energy has contributed to poverty alleviation. For instance, hydropower has an increase in electricity supply, solar energy has improved the local households’ standard of living, education and health services. It is recommended that the government and other energy stakeholders should cooperate to provide more information and awareness of renewable energy technologies to the community. This should be accompanied by the introduction of the national policy and law which is specifically for renewable energy to enable its development. Community participation (CP) is emphasized in the planning and implementation of the various projects and sector. Renewable energy (RE) sector like other sectors requires community participation for its effectiveness and efficiency. This review aims at exploring the community participation in the renewable sector in Tanzania. Five themes were identified for through literature review where a Seven-Step Model for comprehensive literature review was used. These themes include (i) access to information on RE resources; (ii) community awareness of the RE technologies and related policies, laws, and regulations; (iii) RE as the source of employment opportunities; and (iv) RE as an alternative to fossil fuels and for poverty alleviation. These study revealed that despite the different efforts taken by the government and other energy stakeholders the community still lack enough information and awareness about renewable energy technologies, institutional and regulatory framework. However, the interesting issue is that renewable energy sectors play an important role in providing employment opportunities to the local communities. Moreover, the use of renewable energy has contributed to poverty alleviation. For instance, hydropower has an increase in electricity supply, solar energy has improved the local households’ standard of living, education and health services. It is recommended that the government and other energy stakeholders should cooperate to provide more information and awareness of renewable energy technologies to the community. This should be accompanied by the introduction of the national policy and law which is specifically for renewable energy to enable its development.

Sustainable development implies development that meets the need of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. As a result of the global upsurge of interest in sustainable development, the sustainability reporting system has emerged. Sustainability reporting enables the creation of long-term value for organizations. It is forward-looking and includes quantitative and qualitative reporting measures. It is a key platform for communicating the organization’s economic, social, environmental and governance performance, reflecting positive and negative impacts. It can be undertaken by all types, sizes and sectors of organizations. Through the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Framework, the GRI works to increase the transparency and exchange of sustainability-related information. The present study conceptually reviews sustainability reporting and its benefits for the entities. Here, an attempt has been made to examine the development in the Indian regulatory environment for sustainability reporting along with finding out trend, application level and status of the sustainability reporting practice of Indian entities as per the GRI reporting framework. The findings reveal that the development of the corporate governance standard is maturing in India. Amendments in laws and changes in the regulatory mechanism are creating pressure on entities to respond to and communicate for their sustainability concerns. With globalization, Indian companies are increasingly realizing that they have much to lose by not following sustainability reporting. In fact, many respected companies already get their sustainability reports audited by a third party to ensure its credibility. Sustainability reporting is therefore a vital step of managing change towards a sustainable global economy—one that combines long-term profitability with environmental care and social justice.

Sustainability Report (SR) has become one of the main reports of the world's leading companies. In 2005, it was found that more than 250 top companies listed on the Fortune 500 had prepared SR separately from the Annual Report. The development of the number of SRs in each country varies. In the developed countries, awareness to compile and issue SR is supported by government regulations so that SR becomes mandatory. In developing countries, SR is still voluntary because there is still no regulation that requires companies to compile and issue SR. The Carrots & Sticks report, compiled and published by KPMG, United Nations Environment Program, Unit for Corporate Governance in Africa & the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), provided details on the development of mandatory and voluntary instruments in implementing Sustainability Reporting (SR) in various Countries throughout the world from 2006 to 2016. Therefore, this research aims to find out the development of the mandatory and voluntary instruments (government policies) related to SR in the world. This type of research is a literature review. The research instrument used consists of a tabulation containing the development of the mandatory and voluntary instruments (government policy) related to SR in the world, then the researcher conducted an analysis of these findings. The results show that there is an increasing enthusiasm for the application of SR throughout the world. There is an increase in commitment and efforts to achieve transparency and accountability. In countries that have an interest in SR, there has been a significant development, such as 19 countries in 2006, 32 countries in 2010, 45 countries and regions in 2013, and 71 countries and regions in 2016. Indonesia is one of the countries in the Asia Pacific region that has given attention to SR and has its regulations. SR regulations have grown from 180 in 2013 to 400 in 2016, with government regulations dominating 80% of all regulations. Mandatory instruments dominate more than voluntary instruments. Application of SR 30% is for large companies that have been listed on the stock exchange. SR reporting by public companies has covered all sectors on the stock exchange. This development was greatly influenced by the role of the government which encouraged companies to disclose information about sustainability in their annual reports. "Social" reporting instruments show a faster development than "environmental" reporting instruments.

Purpose This paper aims to analyse sustainability reporting practices and the influences of local and global norms for sustainability reporting in the Indo-Pacific region. A comprehensive sustainability reporting index is developed to benchmark company reporting against major global reporting frameworks and local frameworks. Design/methodology/approach The content analysis was conducted on 2019/20 and 2020/21 sustainability and annual reports produced by the top 50 listed companies in four distinctive countries in the Indo-Pacific region: Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. A total of 249 reports were collected and analysed. Findings Through the lens of Integrative Social Contract Theory (ISCT), this study reveals that issues garnering global attention, which are also included in the local standards, are most likely to be reported, especially in the social dimensions related to employee health and well-being, as well as diversity and equity. While companies are keeping up with the global standards related to sustainability issues, the presence and comprehensiveness of key local frameworks significantly influence the extent of sustainability reporting in emerging Indo-Pacific economies. However, certain aspects of reporting, such as the implementation and training of the OHS system, gender diversity in leadership and renewable energy use, are not covered by the local frameworks but receive considerable attention in corporate reporting practice. These aspects have been integrated into the ethical principles that companies consider as crucial ethical norms, or hypernorms, irrespective of local influences. Practical implications The substantial impact of local expectations also suggests that global sustainability reporting guidelines may need to better incorporate the nuanced complexities of local or country-specific situations and challenges faced by companies. In addition, while Indo-Pacific companies are actively engaging with critical hypernorms related to workplace safety, equal leadership opportunities for women and clean energy, more attention and support are needed for equally important areas, such as age diversity and the circular economy, as companies embrace the global momentum. Originality/value Previous research on sustainability reporting in the Indo-Pacific region is patchy in both volume and scope, which is symptomatic of limited access to data and the slower uptake of the practice in developing countries. However, the growing economic and geopolitical importance of this region means that it is an important context to explore. This research takes a cross-country approach to examining sustainability reporting in the region, aiming to benchmark company practices against global and local frameworks. It reveals an integrative approach that companies in this region have adopted to harmonise global standards with the diverse array of local reporting norms and standards.