Corporate Sustainability Reports Research Articles

Quality of Carbon Emissions Disclosure on Corporate Sustainability Report Gojek Period 2020 and Goto Period 2021 – 2022

The high level of air pollution which is increasing from year to year causes air quality to decline. One of the causes of the increase in air is the growth in the number of motorized vehicles which causes an increase in the amount of emissions released in the form of Carbon Monoxide (CO), Hydrocarbons (HC), Nitrogen Oxide (NO). This shows that climate change is occurring. Climate change is one of the environmental problems that is currently of concern to stakeholders. The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is a non-profit organization that operates focused on addressing environmental issues. CDP works by publishing information sheets which are useful as a guide for companies to disclose greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from the company's business activities. The company publishes a sustainability report which reveals carbon emissions. GoTo is a merger between Gojek and Tokopedia where in 2020 Gojek published a sustainability report. Scoring of carbon emission disclosures both quantitatively and qualitatively was carried out in this research. During the 2020-2021 period, the highest level of suitability and quality of disclosure was obtained by GoTo. Quantitatively, the climate change category has high disclosure quality. Qualitatively, the GHG emissions calculation category has the highest disclosure quality.

Corporate Sustainability Reporting and Stakeholders’ Interests: Evidence from China

This paper examines whether the adoption of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) by listed firms could enhance the alignment between corporate sustainability reporting and stakeholders’ interests in China. Drawing on content analysis of the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reports of 48 selected listed firms and a questionnaire survey of 409 respondents, this study shows that most of the sampled firms with GRI adoption have more sustainability activities identified in the content analysis than their peers that do not follow the GRI guidelines in the same industries; both groups of firms have a similar pattern of disclosure frequency in light of the six dimensions developed in this study; and there is a disconnect between the stakeholders’ needs and the sustainability reporting practice of the sampled listed firms. The findings reflect that the current corporate social responsibility reporting practice could be interpreted as a strategic response to the government’s policy priorities, rather than a direct attempt to address stakeholders’ concerns.

Позитивные стратегии в корпоративных отчетах по устойчивому развитию

This article explores the paradoxical discourse of sustainability reporting, which is characterized by significant costs associated with sustainable practices yet lacks direct economic benefit from such investments. The paper aims to resolve this paradox through a linguistic lens and seeks to understand the motivations behind the publication of sustainability reports. The primary value of the study lies in assessing the role of these reports within corporate communication: whether they genuinely and objectively provide information on sustainability or are more akin to tools of public relations and marketing. The article tests this assumption by analyzing the use of optimistic linguistic strategies in corporate sustainability reports compared to other types of official documentation. The research underscores the importance of establishing unified standards for sustainability reporting, which could lead to greater transparency within corporations.

Clustering of Companies Based on Sustainability Performance using ESG Materiality Approach: Evidence from Indonesia

The framework for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure has become crucial throughout the world.  Globally,  various ESG reporting frameworks have emerged,  but there are still few companies in Indonesia that are involved in ESG. This research aims to develop an ESG performance assessment instrument based on material aspects of sustainability for all industries in Indonesia. The data was obtained by extracting 472 corporate sustainability reports in Indonesia during 2021 and ESG indicators were determined through focus group discussions and inter-rater reliability tests. The ESG performance assessment in this study adopted the methodology of the Refinitiv Institute and the ESG indicator weights were modified according to the new ESG indicators.  A total of 65 ESG indicators were analyzed and these showed that the majority of companies in Indonesia have relatively satisfactory ESG performance and a moderate level of transparency in reporting important ESG data to the public. Cluster analysis with the K-means algorithm shows that each company needs to improve performance on at least one ESG pillar. The results of this research support the initiatives that have been taken by global regulators and stock exchanges to require companies to disclose ESG information in the future.

Do nonfinancial reporting practices matter in SDG disclosure? An exploratory study

Purpose The Agenda 2030 have drawn a lot of interest in academic studies. This necessitates accounting research on nonfinancial reporting and sustainable development goals (SDG) disclosure in an under-investigated context. The purpose of this study is to examine the contribution of nonfinancial reporting practices to SDG disclosure by 120 companies from 12 African nations for the years 2016 to 2020. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a content analysis to gauge how much information are disclosed on SDG by the selected firms. The authors carried out content analysis using the global reporting initiative frameworks to determine the level of SDG disclosure across the companies by examining the selected nonfinancial reports. Findings Sustainability reports account for 50% of such SDG disclosure making it the highest. This is followed by corporate social responsibility report which accounts for 23%, while environmental reports account for 20% and Chairman’s statement accounts for 7%. The result is expected since corporate sustainability report has been the major channel for disclosing activities relating to social and governance issues in recent times. Practical implications The results of this study demand that corporate entities in Africa take responsibility for their actions and exert significant effort to achieve the SDG. While the government has the main responsibility, corporate entities must support the SDG to be realized. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the few studies that examines nonfinancial reporting practices with a focus on SDG disclosure. In addition, this study offers novel insight into how accounting research contributes to nonfinancial reporting practices and SDG disclosure.

Does Corporate Sustainability Reporting Influence Financial Performance? Evidence from Kenyan Listed Companies

Corporate sustainability reporting is currently a prominent issue in the global business world, with companies worldwide actively publishing sustainability reports to meet the demands of different stakeholders regarding social, environmental, economic, and governance concerns. The existing literature has proved that companies that participate aggressively in corporate sustainability reporting tend to have higher firm value, experience tremendous growth rates in terms of size and profitability, have a high capital and asset base, are lowly geared, and gain a competitive edge in the industry in which they operate. The study examines the link between corporate sustainability reporting and the financial performance of firms listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange. Corporate governance, social, environmental, and economic pillars were used as indicators of corporate sustainability reporting. The Global Reporting Initiative framework will be employed to establish the corporate sustainability reporting scores and construct the sustainability reporting index. Financial performance was measured by return on assets. The study is anchored on the stakeholder theory supported by legitimacy and the tripled bottom-line theories. The target population comprises sixty-seven companies listed in Kenya. Secondary data was collected from the company integrated reports, published accounts, and the accounts filed with the Nairobi Securities Exchange for the period 2011 to 2020. The study adopted a cross-sectional correlational research design. Descriptive statistical tests carried out include mean, standard deviation, kurtosis and skewness. Correlation analysis was done to test and establish the direction of the relationship between the study variables. Regression analysis was employed to test the hypotheses of the study. Generally, the study findings are that corporate sustainability reporting had a significant positive effect on financial performance. The empirical results of this study showed that corporate sustainability reporting led to improved financial performance among listed companies, although sustainability reporting in Kenya was purely voluntary. Therefore, Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority should consider making corporate sustainability reporting compulsory for all listed companies. Further research can be extended to include non-listed companies and the application of other sustainability reporting frameworks. Keywords: Corporate Sustainability Reporting, Financial Performance, Global Reporting Initiative, Nairobi Securities Exchange.

Challenges and Opportunities in the Implementation of the EU Directive on Corporate Sustainability Reporting

The development of companies in a sustainable manner is a desire of both company’s management and regulators who make sustained efforts to develop and standardize non-financial reporting. In the context in which the new European Directive regarding sustainability requires companies to report in accordance with the mandatory standards of sustainable reporting of the EU, including an external assurance of sustainability reporting that is necessary, the present research aims to analyze the perception of professional practitioners, members of the Chamber of Financial Auditors of Romania (C.F.A.R.) regarding the challenges and opportunities of implementing the European Directive on Corporate Sustainability Reporting. The main objective is to identify the main areas of concern regarding the efforts to train auditors in carrying out assurance missions related to non-financial situations, considering the new European Directive on non-financial reporting and, respectively, the adjacent developments carried out by the IASB and EFRAG in the sphere of the standardization of non-financial reporting. The present research proposes an analysis of the associations between the main defining elements of the auditor's capabilities (technological factor, human factor, audit processes) and, respectively, the defining elements of the auditor's profile outlined under the legislative framework, governmental monitoring and control mechanisms or the characteristics the economic environment, which influences the audit opinion. The main results obtained underline the fact that auditors are not yet prepared to provide assurance services in relation to sustainability reports, both from the perspective of defining and implementing robust audit processes, and from the perspective of the low degree of adequacy of the audit systems used or from the perspective of human factor knowledge and skills gaps. So, this reality confirms a state of fact that must concern professional bodies and, at the same time, governmental bodies in terms of the degree of involvement in auditor training activities and, respectively, the promotion of professional guidelines.

The Sustainable Development Goals and Large Spanish Companies: An analysis of their commitment based on their Non-Financial Reporting

This paper aims to analyse the level of commitment with the SDGs of large Spanish companies based on the information published in their Non-Financial Statements and their letters from the chairman. To achieve this objective and identify potential explanatory factors, a balanced sample of 58 Spanish companies, 29 listed and 29 unlisted, in 2019 has been used. The results of this study evidence: i) the greater commitment with the SDGs of companies which are exposed in the stock markets and those which are larger; ii) the relevance of the diversity into the boards of directors, in order to integrate the largest and the widest number of interests as well as those values and principles which are intrinsically associated to women directors; and iii) the greater emphasis on those SDGs related to well-known issues by these organizations, thanks to their greater experience in non-financial reporting, publishing documents such as corporate social responsibility or sustainability reports.

The European Directives Regarding the “Non-financial Statement” and the “Corporate Sustainability Reporting”: A New Step Towards a European Economic Criminal Law for the Protection of Human Rights?

The protection of the truthfulness and transparency of corporate information is a classic pillar of the economic criminal law. Criminal provisions aimed at punishing false accounting and other false corporate communications have been present for a long time in the criminal and commercial laws of the Member States of the European Union and other countries. The paper considers the future evolution of this traditional approach to economic criminal law in regard of the new wave of the European regulation on corporate information, particularly, of the European Directives about the “non-financial statement” (Directive 2014/95/EU) and “corporate sustainability reporting” (Directive 2022/2464/EU).

Blockchain Innovation for Sustainable Supply Chain Management under EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) Regulation

This paper explores the transformative role of blockchain technology in advancing the sustainability of supply chain management within the context of the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) regulation. As companies grapple with an expanded scope under the CSRD, encompassing a broader array of reporting entities, the need for robust and innovative solutions becomes increasingly evident. Blockchain, with its inherent characteristics of transparency, security, and decentralized consensus, emerges as a promising tool to address the multifaceted challenges associated with sustainable supply chain management. The paper investigates the role of blockchain in fostering sustainability across various dimensions of the supply chain, including ethical sourcing, environmental conservation, and the empowerment of local communities. The “Fashion Passport” project represents a case study of blockchain solutions to the fashion industry, with a specific focus on traceability. By utilizing blockchain, the “Fashion Passport” project aims to verify the authenticity and origin of garments throughout the supply chain. Through this case study, the paper aims to elucidate how blockchain technology acts as a catalyst for positive change, empowering businesses to align their operations with sustainable practices.

Analysis of the Quality of Assurance Statements on Corporate Sustainability Reports on the Stock Exchanges of Several Countries in the World in 2020-2022

While sustainability reporting has experienced notable advancements in recent years, a discernible gap persists between the progress in reporting practices and the corresponding assurance measures. This paper emphasizes the degree to which the contents of sustainability assurance statements align with the essential elements mandated by the ISAE 3000 and AA1000AS assurance standards. A content analysis was performed for the assurance statements of twenty-four (24) public listed companies listed on 24 different exchanges over a three-year span from 2020 to 2022. This analysis employed a quantitative approach involving scoring to assess the alignment of the content with the requirements of the assurance standards. The research instrument used were based on the minimal content elements of ISAE 3000 and AA1000 AS and developed by previous studies. The results of this study describe variability in the quality of assurance statements based on assurance standards, assurance provider, country of origin, industry sector, and content element. This research contributes to the existing literature in sustainability assurance through content analysis offering a nuanced global perspective through a large sample size and utilizing a streamlined research instrument derived from previous studies, enhancing the precision and conciseness of the analysis.

Investigating the Relationship Between Corporate Sustainability Reporting and Firm Performance: Evidence from Emerging Economy

Investigating the Relationship Between Corporate Sustainability Reporting and Firm Performance: Evidence from Emerging Economy

Corporate Sustainability Reporting and Financial Performance of Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria

This study investigates the relationship between corporate sustainability reporting and the financial performance of deposit money banks in Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study were to determine whether economic, social, and environmental sustainability reporting affects financial performance in Nigeria using return on assets (ROA) as a measure of corporate financial performance. The study's data were sourced from annual reports of sampled banks from 2013-2022. Using the panel least squares regression technique, the study found that economic and environmental sustainability reporting has a negative and positive insignificant effect on the performance respectively.  However, social sustainability reporting was found to be negative and statistically significant. Based on the findings, the study recommends amongst others that enabling legislation should be put in place to mandate enhanced sustainability practices among all deposit money banks in Nigeria as well as facilitate meaningful evaluation and measurement of economic, social, and environmental impacts in all areas of bank operations in Nigeria.

Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Implementation in The Achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Study of CSR Activities at PT Bio Farma (Persero) West Bandung

This study aims to analyze and examine the impact of CSR programs that are oriented and support the sustainable development program of PT Bio Farma (Persero). This research also focuses on analyzing the influence of CSR variables on SDGs with ROE as an intervening variable. This type of research is explanatory research with a quantitative approach. The data source comes from secondary data in the form of financial reports and corporate sustainability reports published on the company's official website from 2018 to 2021. The results of this study indicate that PT Bio Farma (Persero) has partially implemented the GRI Standards with a total score of 66%. In addition, the results of data analysis show that: 1) CSR has a significant positive effect on SDGs; 2) CSR has no significant effect on ROE; 3) SDGs has no significant effect on ROE; 4) The effect of CSR through SDGs on ROE is not significant.

Corporate Sustainability Reporting in Southeast Asia: A Scoping Review

This research aims to map developments, factors and theories used in corporate sustainability reporting in Southeast Asia. The method used is a scoping review adopted from Arksey & O'Malley. Use of secondary data from six databases, namely Sage, Wiley, Emeral, Taylor & Francis, Springer and Proquest. The scope of this research is countries in the Southeast Asia region with an observation period of eight years (2015-2023). The results obtained were 40 articles which illustrate that companies in Southeast Asia generally have implemented sustainability in their reports but it is voluntary but companies that have registered on the stock exchange are mandatory. The country with the most research is Indonesia, while the least or none is Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos. It was found that 8 factors influence sustainability reporting in Southeast Asia and 12 theories used, where the most dominant are legitimacy theory and stakeholder theory, the most published articles are in the Emeral database, the most used method is quantitative, the year of most publications is 2023, There are 6 journals with quality A and 12 journals with quality B. Social Responsibility Journal is the dominant journal with 7 articles.

The SDGs in sustainability reports among companies in Ecuador, Colombia, and Chile

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) linked to the 2030 Agenda have been widely accepted by public and private companies, with many choosing to incorporate them within the framework of their social responsibility initiatives. This research article aims to find out how the SDGs are reflected in corporate sustainability reports and in which business activities they stand out the most. To this end, using a sequential explanatory methodology, the authors analyzed 12 sustainability reports issued in 2021 by large companies in Colombia, Chile, and Ecuador to verify their alignment with the SDGs. The reports showed evidence of a diverse range of programs associated with at least three SDGs, thus highlighting the importance of fulfilling not only the needs based on each company’s field of expertise but also those of its audiences and the community in general. The most prevalent SDGs were “decent work and economic growth” (SDG 8) and “gender equality” (SDG 5), followed by “responsible consumption and production” (SDG 12). This paper contributes to a growing interest among academia in the research on sustainability communication evidenced in annual reports.

Sustainable development goals: Sustainability reporting challenges in the United Arab Emirates context

AbstractDrawing on legitimacy theory, this study examines the extent of corporate engagement with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) through assessing the corporate disclosure quality of SDG‐related information in a mandated setting environment, focusing on the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Based on corporate sustainability reports for 132 UAE publicly listed companies in years 2020 and 20,221, we use a scoring methodology incorporating the GRI standards related to the economic, environmental and social impacts of corporate operations. Results of the study reveal that UAE companies use mandatory sustainability reports as a legitimacy tool through a symbolic action superficially integrating SDGs targets into their corporate operations and activities. However, in year 2021 the results show that some companies act substantively by adopting substantive organizational structural changes to integrate SDGs in their business operations and reporting behavior. Unlike previous studies, the paper contributes to the literature and practice by examining the corporate disclosure quality of SDGs in a mandated setting environment. This mandatory context offers an opportunity for a comprehensive analysis of company endeavors regarding their symbolic execution aimed at projecting a surface display of commitment to SDGs, versus their substantive implementation, which leads to significant enhancements in corporate sustainability reports. The findings of this study offer valuable practical implications for regulators and policymakers regarding the implementation of mandatory sustainability reporting. While such reporting may not necessarily result in significant changes in terms of integrating SDGs targets into business strategies and operations, it could potentially lead to the adoption of “SDG‐washing” practices by companies.

Do shareholders appreciate the audit committee and auditor moderation? Evidence from sustainability reporting

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the association between sustainability reporting (SR) and firm value considering the moderating effect of audit committee (AC) quality and auditor tenure on this association.Design/methodology/approachThe data for the study comprise 41,500 firm-year observations worldwide between 2007 and 2018 drawing on ten main sectors. The authors run a country-industry-year fixed effect regression and address endogeneity concerns with further methodologies.FindingsFirst, the authors find that SR is significantly and positively associated with both firm value and industry-adjusted firm value. Further tests revealed that the baseline findings hold for SR assurance and the Global Reporting Initiative framework as well. Second, the moderation analysis outlined the significant moderating role that the AC assumes. More specifically, AC independence and expertise were found to strengthen the value relevance of SR. Third, the market also appreciates the moderation of auditor tenure in SR.Practical implicationsInvestors appreciate greater corporate transparency which means that sustainability reports are likely to reduce information asymmetry and thereby agency conflicts. In addition, the moderation analyses imply that shareholders consider AC quality while they attach value to corporate sustainability reports. Hence, the structure of the auditing function appears to perform an implicit assurance role in the value relevance of sustainability reports. In line with these implications, corporations can review and re-design their auditing function and decide whether or not they will attest to sustainability reports given that AC independence and expertise and auditor tenure predict this decision.Originality/valueThe study highlights the audit function’s growing role beyond financial reporting and suggests implications for ACs and auditors in ensuring shareholders about the credibility of SR.

The Powerpoint Imagination: visualization and managerial vocabularies in sustainability reports

Sustainability reporting has been established as a dominant but problematic communication practice in global sustainability management. In this paper, we challenge the commonplace view of reporting as the simple and textual transmission of information, by interpreting corporate sustainability reports as visual artefacts that encourage particular views of environmental issues. We discuss visualization as a key practice in communication and rhetoric, asking what visual managerialism looks like in corporate reports, focusing on a corpus drawn from the Swedish United Nations Global Compact. We engage in a three-stage rhetorical critique to identify three kinds of visualizations: numerical, diagrammatic, and pictorial, establishing how they emphasize communicative characteristics such as logic, simplicity, and clarity. We consolidate these characteristics with the term ‘Powerpoint Imagination,’ arguing that they construct environmental problems in terms of a technocratic solutionism, i.e., efficiency, standardization and control. We discuss some issues with the Powerpoint Imagination by contrasting it with other images from sustainability reports, concluding with implications for future research.

Some Thoughts on the New EU-Directive on Corporate Sustainability Reporting

Sustainability is on everyone´s lips. It is also increasingly influencing Union legislation. Recently, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive came into force. The Directive also contains requirements regarding sustainability reporting on social issues. These are concretised by the specific disclosure requirements developed by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG). This article takes a critical look at the Directive and in particular its content with regard to labour law issues, but also at the role of EFRAG in substantiating the reporting obligations of companies.