CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE LEGAL DISCIPLINE OF THE NON-FINANCIAL INFORMS (BRAZIL AND EUROPEAN UNION)

Abstract

From the theoretical reference of the sustainability, the article analyses the question of the incorporation of both social and environmental order considerations to the business and operations carried out by the companies, through the public dissemination of the performances in such areas. The research, focused on the quality, under a exploratory profile, and based in the bibliographic and documental review techniques, such as the data collection, is herein developed with the goal of identifying and analyzing, comparatively, the normative treatment applied to the scope of the public divulging of non-financial reports (the so called sustainability informs or reports), accordingly to both the Brazilian and European perspectives. As noted, in Brazil, there is no legal obligation to publish the sustainability reports, although the publishing is recommended to the companies by BM&FBOVESPA (administrative institution of the capital market), since December of 2011, through an instrument that characterizes a “soft” Law. On the other hand, in the European Union (EU) scope, there has been a recognition of the necessity to increase the transparency of social and environmental information by certain corporate societies and groups of companies, which is considered an imperative element for their social responsibility. Therefore, both the European Parliament and the European Union Counsel edited directives (2013/2014), regarding the subject of the publishing of non-financial information. The legislative acts in question are destined to all the members of the EU, compelling them to intervene in the national legal structures (“hard” Law) in order to transpose, to the respective structures, under mandatory character and established deadline, the general norms that consecrate certain common parameters regarding the subject.