Corporate governance and sustainability reporting in the Australian resources industry: an empirical analysis

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to evaluate the impact of corporate governance on sustainability reporting by investigating companies operating in the Australian resources industry.Design/methodology/approachThis study investigates the relationships between the total sustainability disclosures and, separately, the three aspects of sustainability disclosures – economic, environmental and social – and corporate governance mechanisms proxy by various attributes of board composition. The sustainability disclosures were scored using Ong et al.’s (2016) index.FindingsSignificant positive correlations were found between the extent of sustainability disclosures and the proportion of independent directors, multiple directorships and female directors on the board.Originality/valueUnlike traditional content analysis methods, this study adopts a newly developed Global Reporting Initiatives-based reporting index that identifies companies with good sustainability performance by aligning companies’ disclosures to their sustainability performance.