The Dimension of Sustainability: A Comparative Analysis of Broadness of Information in Italian Companies

Sabrina Spallini,Antonio Nisio,Virginia Milone,Patrizia Romanazzi

doi:10.3390/su13031457

Sabrina Spallini, Antonio Nisio + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031457

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Abstract

In recent years, sustainability has become one of the key dimensions of business performance. The results obtained in terms of sustainability must be adequately communicated in suitable reports, the quality of which is determined by several factors. One of these, the breadth of information provided, plays a significant role. The aim of this paper is to measure the broadness of non-financial information in sustainability reports and correlate this to some selected variables that refer to corporate governance, i.e., the presence of an internal sustainability committee and of female directors; the characteristics of the report e.g., Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) citation; company features, number of employees, revenues, and Return On Assets ROA. For this purpose, 134 Italian companies were studied and a score based on the conformity of the NFD (non-financial disclosure) with the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) standards was created. To test the research hypotheses, univariate analysis and multivariate regression analysis were performed. The results showed different behaviors by the companies in terms of sustainability policies. The GRISC (Global Reporting Initiative Score) has a greater concentration on mean values. Positive correlations were found between GRISC and the presence of an internal sustainability committee, SDG citation in the NFD and company size. This study offers support for policy makers and practitioners as it provides a measure of the breadth of sustainability information and relates this to the variables analyzed. The latter depend on regulatory interventions or company policies which are implemented, or could be implemented, to improve the extent of the NFD.

Highlights

The social and economic context in which companies operate has become unprecedentedly dynamic, discontinuous, and complex
Applying the GRISC calculation to the 134 sustainability reports analyzed revealed an average score of 0.4507. This means that the companies which make up the sample analyzed on average provide information equal to 45.07% of that required by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
We analyzed the extent of non-financial information provided by Italian companies obliged to report their activities in the ESG area by Legislative Decree 256/2016

Summary

Introduction

The social and economic context in which companies operate has become unprecedentedly dynamic, discontinuous, and complex. In order to face these new challenges, companies are profoundly changing their mission and vision by assuming and embracing new values that greatly impact company culture. The focus of their actions ranges from stakeholders and the competitive context [1] to the environment and the whole of society. To this end, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become increasingly significant both at European and international level [2,3,4,5].

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