Sustainable Development Reporting Research Articles

Following Your Own Course. Development of the Russian Sustainable Development Reporting Standard and its Prospects

At present, there are several initiatives in Russia aimed at organizing, stimulating, and developing the concept of sustainable development. The principal approach is the domestically developed Standard for Sustainable Development Reporting (a draft of which the editorial board got access to), which is being created at the request of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. Positive Changes Journal has compiled an in-depth analysis of this document, encompassing the perspectives of all interested parties. Being unaffiliated with any of these groups, yet possessing all necessary information, we can afford to examine the situation from an objective standpoint, analyze it, and propose pertinent contributions to the standard in development.

Sustainable Development Reporting in Emergency Situations

Sustainable Development Reporting in Emergency Situations

How cultural factors influence sustainable development reporting in Poland

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the connection between cultural factors and sustainable development reporting in Poland. Methodology/approach: We use a case study to explore in depth the object of our study – the reporting of non-financial information. The analysis was conducted from multiple perspectives based on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. Findings: The research suggests that the attitudes of stakeholders and companies towards the development of SDG reporting and the use of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) are neutral. Poland’s performance on Hofstede’s dimensions is consistent with the frequency and type of GRI indicators companies use in their reports. Research limitations: A limitation of our research is that we only examine one area of non-financial reporting, and we only refer to companies in the WIG20. Additionally, we only study one year. Practical implications: This paper will be useful to academics and practitioners to enable an understanding of cultural dimensions in the context of sustainable development reporting. Originality/value: Our research explains the reluctance to report social areas. Our research analyzes the sustainable development reports of companies from the Warsaw Stock Exchange WIG Index. We determine which social indicators are reported by companies and which are not, and using Hofstede’s theory, we explain the reasons for the lack of disclosures.

Analiza i audyt sprawozdawczości zrównoważonego rozwoju dla sieci handlowych i kierunków ich doskonalenia

In the modern world, the issue of achieving a sustainable economic development model is becoming more and more urgent. One of its components is compliance with the Goal of sustainable development by companies and verification by state authorities and independent auditors of companies in matters of environmental sustainability. Thus, consideration of modern methods of submission and audit of sustainable development reports (SDR), analysis of opportunities for their improvement becomes relevant. In this work, attention is paid to companies engaged in retail trade, taking into account the peculiarities that they face when submitting the SDR. The purpose of the research was to conduct an analysis of the most common methods of reporting on sustainable development and to develop an effective model (and recommendations for it) for auditing and analyzing sustainable development reporting. Modeling became the main method when writing the paper, taking into account the developed model of analysis and verification of the SDR. The article proposed a new model of verification of non-financial information in sustainability reporting and its graphical display in the audit report. On its basis, it becomes possible to build a new methodology for the audit of the SDR. In addition, the most common international methods of SDR were analyzed, namely the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). The authors concluded that the GRI is the most universal of the three, while the SASB is focused only on investors. IIRC, being similar to both described above, is an intermediate option. Nevertheless, submission according to the SASB system is the most effective for trade networks, taking into account the peculiarities of the functioning of this type of companies and the level of their influence on the external environment. The results of the conducted research and the data presented in the article make it possible to evaluate the modern methods of submitting financial statements in a new way and provide a basis for building new standards for the audit of these reports.

Sustainability Reporting Trends: A Systematic Literature Network Analysis

Compiling and submitting sustainable development reports is a key area for reforming corporate reporting in light of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. In recent years, the share of companies that report sustainable development and corporate social responsibility has grown significantly. Thus, the study of the definition of the conceptual apparatus is important. The article aims to study the quantitative and qualitative structure of the documentary flow of scientific periodicals, the main areas of research, and development trends and. It also presents the results of a systematic review of publications on “sustainability reporting”.
 The study used bibliometric analysis of scientific periodicals from the Scopus scientometric database between 2011–2021. The scientific papers selected by the keyword “sustainability reporting” were exported for processing in the VOSviewer and R (bibliometrix package) computer programs. Based on the results of quantitative analysis, 625 publications were accepted, most of which were scientific articles. The main areas of research on sustainability reporting in accounting are sustainable development, sustainability, decision‑making, sustainability reporting, and accountability.
 The study also made it possible to identify the authors and research schools that have made the most significant contribution to this topic, and to establish geographical clusters in the context of countries around the world that work closely with each other and the highest‑rated journals.
 The originality of this study is that it helps to create a conceptual framework. It should guide the definition of future research, and it is designed to provide qualitative new insight into the role of sustainable development reporting. The article provides an opportunity to fill the gaps in quality research on sustainable development reporting. The main conclusions of this article will help researchers to expand their knowledge in this area through retrospective analysis of the research results.

Research methodology for corporate disclosure of business social responsibility: conceptual approach

The article analyzes the social responsibility of business and the quality of its reflection in corporate reporting. The purpose of the study is to develop methodological solutions for conducting an up-to-date study of the social responsibility of Russian large businesses, based on the information contained in their financial and non-financial statements. The study uses the methods of abduction, meaningful analysis of the current state of the social sphere; logical analysis of research made by scientists and interested organizations in the field of social sphere and business social responsibility, which were assessed on the basis of the social reporting study; logical content analysis of financial and non-financial reporting standards in terms of requirements for disclosure of social aspects; expert analysis of social reporting of Russian companies in various industries, linguistic analysis to analyze the use of certain terms and concepts in financial and non-financial reporting of companies. The information base of the study includes the International Financial Reporting Standards, Sustainable Development Reporting Standards, Basic Performance Indicators of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP); financial and non-financial reporting of companies in the material production industries. As a result of the study, the methodological solutions for the analysis and assessment of the Russian economic entities` social responsibility were substantiated and proposed. On the basis of the analysis of trends in the social sphere along with the identified opportunities and threats for its further development caused by the evolution of digitalization, economy and ecology, a block of the most important problems was formed. Participation in the solution of such problems characterizes the social responsibility of business. The paper proposes certain stages of researching the social responsibility of business. With this article, the authors open a series of publications that will comprehensively and systematically study the problems of accounting, analysis and assessment of the economic entities` social responsibility in a rapidly changing environment and emerging new challenges for society and business, including the development of a research methodology, assessment of the composition, completeness and quality of the information base, taking into account industry-specific features of the studied objects, and analytical methods and procedures.

Methodology for researching corporate disclosure of business social responsibility: Information base and stages of implementation

This article continues a series of publications on the issues of accounting, analysis and assessment of the corporate social responsibility in a rapidly changing environment when society and business face new challenges. The authors provide methodological solutions to the problem of studying the social responsibility of Russian public companies based on the analysis of data disclosed in their financial and non-financial statements. The research uses abduction methods; logical analysis; logical content analysis of financial and non-financial reporting standards in terms of requirements for disclosure of social aspects; expert analysis of social reporting of Russian companies; linguistic analysis in order to identify the practice of using certain terms and concepts in the financial and non-financial reporting. The analysis of corporate reporting standards made it possible to propose a new model for analyzing disclosures in the field of corporate social responsibility. The authors reveal the most important issues of the corporate social responsibility by assessing the trends in the social sphere, identifying opportunities and threats for its further development connected with the evolution of society, economy and ecology, ongoing digitalization processes. Procedures of researching business social responsibility are developed and fully described. The documentary base of the research includes International Financial Reporting Standards, Sustainable Development Reporting Standards, Basic Performance Indicators of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) as well as financial and non-financial reports of Russian companies operating in production industries. The results of the research are the proposals to apply the multi-stage approach, which makes it possible to assess the social responsibility of certain economic entities through the prism of global tasks the country and the world community face with. The analysis of the complex problems of business and civilization allows us to identify five top problems in the light of which the social responsibility of large companies should be assessed, as well as to build a logical connection between these top problems and the key topics of disclosures in corporate reports.

CONVERGENCE OF REPORTING ON QUALITY COSTS AND THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT REPORTS OF MACHINE-BUILDING ENTERPRISES

The convergence of reporting information on quality costs and reporting on sustainable development of machine-building enterprises, the study of theories and terminology of corporate social responsibility and the role of quality costs in its context as well as reporting standards in the field of sustainable development regarding disclosure of non-financial information. Methodology. Analysis of the theoretical foundations and terminology of corporate social responsibility and the role of quality costs in its section, reporting standards in the field of sustainable development regarding the disclosure of non-financial information, the convergence of reporting information on quality costs and reporting using the methods of theoretical generalization, grouping and comparison. The convergence of quality cost reporting and sustainability reporting is based on synthesis and system analysis methodology. Results. The development of theories and terminology of corporate social responsibility and the role of quality costs in its context was summarized. The principles of ensuring sustainability, which include a comprehensive approach to the assessment of management decisions in managing the enterprise and the effective use of all material and non-material resources of the enterprise, were considered. Forecasting a decrease in integral indicators of enterprise sustainability has a direct impact on the number of quality costs. It was established that the traditional financial reporting of enterprises does not disclose all data on quality costs. A comparative characterization of the standards of sustainable development reports regarding the disclosure of non-financial information was carried out. An attempt to converge quality cost reporting and sustainability reporting using internationally recognized sustainability reporting has been made. The conditions for improving analytical support for quality cost management have been determined. The problems of displaying data on quality costs, mainly due to incomplete disclosure of information in the financial statements of enterprises, were identified. The possibilities of expanding reporting information on quality costs in the existing practice of sustainable development reporting were outlined. Scientific novelty. It is proposed to shift from financial accounting to sustainability accounting by adjusting the main reports, which should include profits and losses, to show how quality-related costs and revenues can directly affect the financial performance of the enterprise. Practical significance. The results of this study contain practical recommendations regarding the convergence of reporting information on quality costs and existing reporting on sustainable development in the implementation of economic activities of machine-building enterprises.

Sustainable Development Reporting in Accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines: An investigation of Selected Nigerian Firms

Sustainable Development Reporting in Accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines: An investigation of Selected Nigerian Firms

Accounting and Verification of Sustainable Enterprise Development Reporting

Accounting and Verification of Sustainable Enterprise Development Reporting

Research on Factors Affecting the Disclosure of Sustainable Development Report: Experimental at Vietnam National Petroleum Group

This research analysed with data from 265 managers from head level upwards working in 60 oil trading companies in the Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) spread across the country to examine factors affecting the disclosure of sustainable development reports. The following methods of descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s Alpha, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) are employed in this study. The empirical results show that enterprise size, growth opportunities, legal basis, business sector and profitability are factors that have a varying positive impact on disclosing sustainable development reports. The managerial viewpoint, though influencing the impact, is not statistically significant for disclosing sustainability development reports. The results provide a scientific basis for managers to make appropriate decisions in improving the disclosure of sustainable development reporting information.

Integrated Reporting and Sustainable Development Reporting - Comparison of Guidelines IIRC and GRI G4

Integrated Reporting and Sustainable Development Reporting - Comparison of Guidelines IIRC and GRI G4

Adoption of sustainable development reporting by universities

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to study the issuance of sustainable development reports by French universities, based on two dimensions proposed by Ansariet al.(2010): extensiveness and fidelity.Design/methodology/approach– Three complementary data sources were used: an extensive literature review, exploratory interviews with sustainable development (SD) officers from French universities, and the four editions of the Responsible Campus Guide (Guide des Campus Responsables). The empirical data collected were then subjected to a dynamic multi-level analysis drawing on three theoretical frameworks.Findings– Four different profiles of universities appear, suggesting that the many isomorphic pressures exerted on universities influence the characteristics (extensiveness and fidelity) of their SD reports.Research limitations/implications– Further research is required to explore whether these findings are generalisable to business schools and universities in different contexts.Practical implications– This study will be of interest to other higher education institutions seeking to embark on a similar sustainability reporting track. It is also a way to observe the characteristics of SD reports, to analyse what and how first-time reporters communicate.Originality/value– This paper adds to existing research by focusing on a managerial innovation that is still relatively new in French universities. Its second contribution lies in its comparative approach introducing a distinction between early and later adopters of SD reporting. It also contributes to extending the existing theorisation of SD reporting.

Sustainable Development Reporting: Evidence from Thailand

The aims of this research are to investigate the extent of sustainable development (SD) reporting in the 2005-2012 annual reports of listed companies in the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and to determine the relationships between corporate characteristics and the level of SD reporting. The sample size was 100 SET-listed firms in the SET. In addition, this research utilized content analysis by word count to quantify the level of SD reporting. The findings indicated an increase in the SD reporting level among the sampled SET-listed firms during the study period. The disclosures on economic aspect were the most prominent, followed by social and environmental reporting. Moreover, the levels of SD reporting varied between small and large firms and between state and private companies. The research results also showed the associations of company size, industry type, ownership status and corporate social responsibility accomplishments to the level of SD reporting.

Effects of corporate governance on sustainable development reporting in Thailand

The aims of this research are to investigate the extent of sustainable development reporting (SDR) by listed companies in the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), to determine the differences in the intra-group SDR scores, and to test for the relationships between corporate governance and the SDR scores. The study population was top-100 SET-listed companies and the research data were collected from their 2011-2013 annual reports. The results showed that the SET-listed sampled companies earned an average SDR score of 33.5 (out of a total of 70) during the study period of 2011-2013; and that state-owned companies had higher scores on SDR than private firms. In addition, significant relationships existed between the variables of family ownership, audit type and industry type and the SDR scores. The limitations include the sole dependence on the annual reports as the credible source of data, the length of study, and the type of research information. This research study is the first that attempts to examine the influence of corporate governance on SDR in the Thai context.

A Review of Dutch Corporate Sustainable Development Reports

ABSTRACTThere is increasing pressure on corporations for sustainability reporting. However, current patterns in corporate sustainability reporting are not well understood. Additional research is needed to identify the contents of current reports and to provide a basis for improvement. The aim of this research is to analyze the sustainable development reporting patterns of Dutch companies. A content analysis of Dutch sustainability reports was conducted. The findings show that the contents of Dutch sustainability reports vary widely. While some areas in these reports are well developed, others – such as the use of cross‐cutting indicators, linking sustainability initiatives with broader public policy, future reporting directions, systematic presentation of data, and discussion of non‐conformances – require significant improvement. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

A review of Canadian corporate sustainable development reports

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to present the results of a content analysis of Canadian corporate sustainable development reports.Design/methodology/approachA comparison of existing content analyses of corporate sustainable development reports was conducted. Based on the comparison, eight key areas were identified for further research in the content analysis of Canadian corporate reports. A total of 89 reports were reviewed in the content analysis.FindingsThe content analysis highlighted several interesting trends in Canadian reporting. For example, the analysis highlighted that relatively few corporations explicitly identify the audience for the report, include an endorsement from the board chair, provide details on specific standards used for managing the supply chain, discuss linkages to public policy, or use third‐party assurance. The analysis also highlighted the wide variety in report structure.Research limitations/implicationsThe content analysis did not address all issues related to corporate sustainable development reporting. Numerous areas for further research were identified, such as focusing on how companies decide on what to include in the reports, how the reports are used, the accommodations made for specific audiences, challenges in auditing the reports, and future directions of company reporting.Originality/valueThe content analysis focused on several areas that have been highlighted in previous studies as well as areas that have not previously been investigated. The analysis is based on a larger sample size than the most recent Canadian studies. The research will be of interest to both research and practitioners in corporate sustainable development reporting.

KiwiGrow1– a New Approach to Sustainable Development Reporting

Social responsibility reporting and triple bottom line sustainability reporting are becoming more common, as businesses and organisations respond to factors such as pressures from stakeholders, the demands of ethical investors, and high profile instances of corporate ethical failure. Despite the availability of helpful guidelines, such as those of the Global Reporting Initiative, this reporting faces challenges which critically undermine its credibility as a means to assure sustainable development: uncertainty about the purpose and required content of the reporting, variable quality and comparability, lack of centrality to corporate decision-making, doubts about the impacts and effectiveness of reporting, and concerns about the paradigm on which reporting should be based. KiwiGrow™ is a collaborative accreditation system for management services for sustainable development, based on accurate and consistent implementation of a new, universal model for ecosystem health. The 28-sector KiwiGrow framework for assessment of community and environmental health arose from the search for system qualities that could completely describe the health of human-dominated ecosystems, and which were equally applicable in social, economic, environmental and cultural contexts. Healthy ecosystems are nurturing, supportive, stable, contributing, responsive, directed, and adaptive. Consideration of these seven qualities in the four major contexts provides a robust, easily understood framework for ‘quadruple bottom line’ sustainability reporting, in line with New Zealand's new local government legislation. This article presents a critique of current corporate sustainability reporting practice, and shows how KiwiGrow could underpin a new, revitalised, accountability for sustainable development.

KiwiGrow—a New Approach to Sustainable Development Reporting

Social responsibility reporting and triple bottom line sustainability reporting are becoming more common, as businesses and organisations respond to factors such as pressures from stakeholders, the demands of ethical investors, and high profile instances of corporate ethical failure. Despite the availability of helpful guidelines, such as those of the Global Reporting Initiative, this reporting faces challenges which critically undermine its credibility as a means to assure sustainable development: uncertainty about the purpose and required content of the reporting, variable quality and comparability, lack of centrality to corporate decision-making, doubts about the impacts and effectiveness of reporting, and concerns about the paradigm on which reporting should be based. KiwiGrowTM is a collaborative accreditation system for management services for sustainable development, based on accurate and consistent implementation of a new, universal model for ecosystem health. The 28-sector KiwiGrow framework for assessment of community and environmental health arose from the search for system qualities that could completely describe the health of human-dominated ecosystems, and which were equally applicable in social, economic, environmental and cultural contexts. Healthy ecosystems are nurturing, supportive, stable, contributing, responsive, directed, and adaptive. Consideration of these seven qualities in the four major contexts provides a robust, easily understood framework for ‘quadruple bottom line’ sustainability reporting, in line with New Zealand's new local government legislation. This article presents a critique of current corporate sustainability reporting practice, and shows how KiwiGrow could underpin a new, revitalised, accountability for sustainable development.

Briefing: Sustainability reporting: an anchor, not the answer

Although there is a considerable increase in the number of organisations producing social or sustainable development reports, the truth is that most stakeholders are simply not interested. In response, the Ashridge Centre for Business and Society has undertaken research to find out how companies can ensure successful social or sustainable development reporting. This briefing paper outlines the findings and offers insights into how leading companies ensure successful reporting