Global Reporting Initiative Research Papers (original) (raw)

Recent research on social and environmental (SE) reporting has focused on corporations, rather than public sector agencies. Also, there has been little interest in ascertaining the views of preparers of accounts regarding SE reporting.... more

Recent research on social and environmental (SE) reporting has focused on corporations, rather than public sector agencies. Also, there has been little interest in ascertaining the views of preparers of accounts regarding SE reporting. This study analysed why a group of "better practice" organisations reported on SE matters. The researchers conducted semistructured interviews with key preparers in the various organisations and found that their reporting was informed by the latest GRI and aimed at mostly internal stakeholders. The annual report was only one of the media used for disclosure and adoption was driven by a key individual in the organisation.

Abstracts in English, Southern Sotho and XhosaThere is a paucity of research on corporate governance (CG) in state-owned entities (SOEs), specifically with reference to disclosure practices in sustainability reporting (SR). Extant... more

Abstracts in English, Southern Sotho and XhosaThere is a paucity of research on corporate governance (CG) in state-owned entities (SOEs), specifically with reference to disclosure practices in sustainability reporting (SR). Extant research mainly focused on private entities, and rarely used hybrid research approaches and methodologies, and sector-specific concepts, with a focus on theory- and framework development. Therefore, the current research was primarily aimed at exploring CG and SR disclosure practices of South African Schedule 2 SOEs. The main RO was to investigate the evidence of an association between selected CG variables and SR performance indicators of South African Schedule 2 SOEs. Supplementary to the main RO, the study also explored the nature and scope of the disclosure practices SOEs’ in reporting on CG and sustainability, the extent of SOEs’ adherence to performance standards, and possibility of a trend in the disclosure practices regarding CG and SR. To address g...

Sustainable development or sustainability concept has become increasingly relevant in corporate executive's agenda after Brundtland Report was launched in 1987. Social and environmental accounting and reporting plays a relevant role in... more

Sustainable development or sustainability concept has become increasingly relevant in corporate executive's agenda after Brundtland Report was launched in 1987. Social and environmental accounting and reporting plays a relevant role in this context to analyse sustainability performance of the organizations. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) sustainability reporting guidelines were developed as a way of helping organizations to report on their environmental, social and economic performance and to increase their accountability. However, evidence from practice seems to show a different reality. Some organizations that label themselves as GRI reporters do not behave in a responsible way concerning sustainability question, like gas emissions, social equity or human rights.

... Furthermore, Floropoulos (2004), who examined the voluntary disclosure of environmental information in the financial ... The author states that disclosure of environmental information has been noticed in annual ... the National... more

... Furthermore, Floropoulos (2004), who examined the voluntary disclosure of environmental information in the financial ... The author states that disclosure of environmental information has been noticed in annual ... the National Statistical Service of Greece to conduct a survey on the ...

Sustainability reporting (SR) has become a standard practice for many organisations worldwide. The purpose of this paper is to explore and develop our understanding of the global airline industry's SR practices. Content analysis was... more

Sustainability reporting (SR) has become a standard practice for many organisations worldwide. The purpose of this paper is to explore and develop our understanding of the global airline industry's SR practices. Content analysis was employed to map which reporting frameworks the global commercial airline industry has recently used to report their nonfinancial impacts. Additionally, comparisons were made in the application of SR between geographical regions. The results indicate that two-thirds of the global airline companies had not published sustainability reports online (reporting period 2019). The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) was the most widely used reporting instrument from the five major non-financial reporting organisations' frameworks. Also, over two-thirds of the reports had used the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a reference framework or referenced SDGs in other ways. This paper provides one of the broadest overviews of global airline SR practices. It is expected that the results will be of interest to practitioners and scholars in aviation SR.

Purpose -Institutional governance theory is used to explain voluntary corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting in the context of a market governance system in the absence of climate change public policy. We hypothesise that GHG reporting... more

Purpose -Institutional governance theory is used to explain voluntary corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting in the context of a market governance system in the absence of climate change public policy. We hypothesise that GHG reporting is related to internal organisation systems, external privately promulgated guidance and EU ETS trading.

Research linking accounting to the emerging concept of sustainability surfaced in the early 1990s and has received continuing attention in academic and professional accounting literature. This paper tracks this brief history through to... more

Research linking accounting to the emerging concept of sustainability surfaced in the early 1990s and has received continuing attention in academic and professional accounting literature. This paper tracks this brief history through to the release of the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in August 2002, consolidating the various approaches into a sustainability accounting framework. The result is a comprehensive reporting model that presents an enormous challenge to business organisations, requiring a significant commitment of resources to achieve widespread implementation. Failure to meet this challenge enables business organisations to continue to avoid accountability for their continuing unsustainability. The paper concludes with a personal view as to how implementation of the sustainability accounting framework could proceed.

The objective of this paper is to examine the nature and extent of sustainability reporting practices by the listed companies in Bangladesh. In order to fulfill this objective, the research has examined the content analysis of annual... more

The objective of this paper is to examine the nature and extent of sustainability reporting practices by the listed companies in Bangladesh. In order to fulfill this objective, the research has examined the content analysis of annual report (2015-2016) and website of the top 50 listed companies (according to market capitalization). Based on Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G4 guidelines, the study investigates three broad areas i.e. economic, environmental and social with 40 indicators. The findings of the study demonstrate that organizations in Bangladesh address few sustainability issues. Companies focus more on community development which is 90%, followed by employment and employee benefits (67%). The level of disclosures in website is meagre where only 26% of the sample companies disclose at least one indicator. Organizations' attention on issues like environment, human rights and product responsibility is limited in relation to other issues. The extent of disclosure is also poor that is 66% of the companies use less than 25 sentences in sustainability reporting. Moreover, only 16% of the sample companies use separate sustainability reporting section. The limited disclosures on sustainability issues may be because of voluntary sustainability reporting in Bangladesh.

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the best-known framework for voluntary reporting of environmental and social performance by business worldwide. Using extensive empirical data, including interviews and documentary analysis, we examine... more

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the best-known framework for voluntary reporting of environmental and social performance by business worldwide. Using extensive empirical data, including interviews and documentary analysis, we examine GRI's organizational field and conclude that since its modest beginnings in 1999 GRI has been by several measures a successful institutionalization project. But the institutional logic of this new entity, as an instrument for corporate sustainability management, leaves out one of the central elements of the initial vision for GRI: as a mobilizing agent for many societal actors. This emergent logic reflects GRI's dominant constituency – large global companies and financial institutions and international business management consultancies – and not the less active civil society organizations and organized labor. We attribute these developments to factors such as building GRI within the existing institutional structures; the highly inclusive multistakeholder process; and the underdeveloped base of information users. From the institutional theory perspective, this case shows how the process of institutionalization is deeply affected by initial strategies of the founders, and how it reproduces existing power relations. From the governance perspective, this case leads us to question the power of commodified information to mobilize civil society and to strengthen governance based on partnerships.

Comparatively less research has examined the effect of corporate governance (CG) elements on environmental sustainability reporting performance (ESRP) in South Asian (SA) countries. Further, no study in literature documents a crosscountry... more

Comparatively less research has examined the effect of corporate governance (CG) elements on environmental sustainability reporting performance (ESRP) in South Asian (SA) countries. Further, no study in literature documents a crosscountry examination of CG and ESRP in this region. The study takes three SA countries (Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan) and 88 listed organizations' sustainability reports during the years 2009–2016 from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) database. The study considers a variety of mixed theoretical frameworks—i.e., agency, resource dependency, stakeholder, legitimacy and political cost theories—to indicate which ownership (foreign, institutional, director and family) and board characteristics (independence, size, diversity and committee) affect ESRP practices in the world's most environmentally vulnerable region. Our empirical results indicate ESRP has a positive association with foreign and institutional ownership, board independence, and board size. Moreover, we find director share ownership significantly relates with ESRP. In contrast, our results also reveal no association between ESRP and family ownership, female directorship, and CSR and environmental committees. We conclude that more family control, a lack of female participation, and the unavailability of resourceful management personnel primarily impedes ESRP practices in the SA countries' organizations. These findings have both theoretical and practical implications for academia, policy-makers, and corporate managers in this region.

The focus of the paper is on consideration of how to use indicators to monitor sustainable development in a relevant and useful manner. Integrated information on sustainable development of a company is very essential for decision-making... more

The focus of the paper is on consideration of how to use indicators to monitor sustainable development in a relevant and useful manner. Integrated information on sustainable development of a company is very essential for decision-making since it is very difficult to evaluate the performance of the company on the ground of too many indicators. The objective of the work was to design a model for obtaining a composite sustainable development index (I CSD ) in order to track integrated information on economic, environmental, and social performance of the company with time. Normalized indicators were associated into three sustainability sub-indices and finally composed into an overall indicator of a company performance. This was applied by determining the impact of individual indicator to the overall sustainability of a company using the concept of analytic hierarchy process.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to compare the sustainability disclosure methods-instruments practiced by the two most widely employed indexes/instruments (DJSI World and GRI-G3 Guidelines). The paper suggests that the newly created... more

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to compare the sustainability disclosure methods-instruments practiced by the two most widely employed indexes/instruments (DJSI World and GRI-G3 Guidelines). The paper suggests that the newly created triple bottom line (TBL) reporting practices need to undergo further standardization and enforcement to avoid, or give early warnings about, future corporate mismanagement that leads to socio-economic consequences detrimental to investors and consumers in general. Design/methodology/approach -This paper utilizes sample firms from the DJSI World Index and the GRI-G3 Sustainability Guidelines membership list to draw inferences on sustainability indicators of performance. The authors compare the GRI reporting guidelines with the disclosure indicators of the DJSI World. Findings -The authors' findings suggest that TBL reporting has made enormous progress over the last two decades. However, the two widely used sustainability reporting instruments/indexes (DJSI World and GRI-G3 Guidelines) differ in disclosure practice-methods and the authors recommend that further standardization and enforcement is necessary. The authors' view is that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) should become actively involved with the issue of standardization and enforcement of corporate socio-environmental disclosures. The paper presents evidence that investors have neither rewarded nor penalized firms for adhering to or violating sustainability matters in their corporate decisions. Practical implications -The authors argue for further standardization and enforcement with regard to the disclosure methods of the two widely used (GRI and DJSI) sustainability indicators in order to avoid future corporate mismanagement that leads to (systemic) economic and socio-environmental consequences detrimental to citizen investors and consumers in general. Originality/value -The research is of interest to academicians and practitioners who are interested in the theory and practice of sustainability reporting or TBL reporting. The findings suggest that this newly created disclosure instrument needs to undergo further standardization and enforcement for meaningful and accurate disclosure of economic-social and environmental performance. The authors' view is that the SEC and FASB should become actively involved with the issue of standardization and enforcement of socio-environmental disclosure of corporate sustainability.

The purpose of this article is twofold. First, evaluation scoring systems for triple bottom line (TBL) reports to date are examined and potential methodological weaknesses and problems are highlighted. In this context, a new assessment... more

The purpose of this article is twofold. First, evaluation scoring systems for triple bottom line (TBL) reports to date are examined and potential methodological weaknesses and problems are highlighted. In this context, a new assessment methodology is presented based explicitly on the most widely acknowledged standard on non-financial reporting worldwide, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines. The set of GRI topics and performance indicators was converted into scoring criteria while the generic scoring devise was set from 0 to 4 points. Secondly, the proposed benchmark tool was applied to the TBL reports published by Greek companies. Results reveal major gaps in reporting practices, stressing the need for the further development of internal systems and processes in order to collect essential non-financial performance data. A critical overview of the structure and rationale of the evaluation tool in conjunction with the Greek case study is discussed while recommendations for future research on the field of this relatively new form of reporting are suggested.

Nowadays, sustainable development is widely considered as the leading paradigm for future growth. Over the last years, research has provided a business case for sustainability, showing it pays in terms of superior financial, operative and... more

Nowadays, sustainable development is widely considered as the leading paradigm for future growth. Over the last years, research has provided a business case for sustainability, showing it pays in terms of superior financial, operative and competitive performance. Nevertheless, at business level, sustainability is often equated to eco-efficiency. The key to corporate sustainability

This paper argues that the Integrated Reporting (IR) framework developed by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) is double-edged from a critical sustainability perspective. The paper is based on qualitative content... more

This paper argues that the Integrated Reporting (IR) framework developed by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) is double-edged from a critical sustainability perspective. The paper is based on qualitative content analysis of public documents from four leading non-financial reporting organisations: the IIRC, the Accounting for Sustainability Project, the Global Reporting Initiative and the King Committee on Corporate Governance in South Africa. This analysis shows that IR moves away from three key tenets of prior social and environmental reporting frameworks by privileging: (i) communication over holding organisations accountable, (ii) organisational over social sustainability and (iii) the entitlements of providers of financial capital over other stakeholders. Yet, IR is also a practical attempt to shift financial capital from a short-term to long-term investment horizon. As critical social and accounting theorists have argued, extensive short-term investment is a threat to environmental and social sustainability. Hence, IR has the potential to progress sustainability goals if it forms part of a broader re-organisation of capital markets to reward longer term perspectives.

Companies commonly issue sustainability or corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports. This study seeks to understand worldviews of corporate sustainability, or the corporate message conveyed regarding what sustainability or CSR is and... more

Companies commonly issue sustainability or corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports. This study seeks to understand worldviews of corporate sustainability, or the corporate message conveyed regarding what sustainability or CSR is and how to enact it. Content analysis of corporate sustainability reports is used to position each company report within stages of corporate sustainability. Results reveal that there are multiple coexisting worldviews of corporate sustainability, but the most dominant worldview is focused on the business case for sustainability, a position anchored in the weak sustainability paradigm. We contend that the business case and weak sustainability advanced in corporate sustainability reports and by the Global Reporting Initiative are poor representations of sustainability. Ecological embeddedness, or a locally responsive strategy that is sensitive to local ecosystems, may hold the key to improved ecological sensemaking, which in turn could lead to more matur...

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to analyse voluntary disclosures of intellectual capital (IC) items in the sustainability reports of Portuguese companies. The paper aims to highlight the level, pattern and determinants of IC... more

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to analyse voluntary disclosures of intellectual capital (IC) items in the sustainability reports of Portuguese companies. The paper aims to highlight the level, pattern and determinants of IC disclosures in those sustainability reports; and the potential for sustainability reports to be a medium for IC disclosures. Design/methodology/approach -An index of voluntary disclosure of intangibles is constructed and deployed to analyse IC disclosures in the sustainability reports for 2006 of Portuguese firms, published on the web site of the Portugal's Business Council for Sustainability Development. Four hypotheses are tested about associations between that disclosure index and firm-specific variables. Findings -Disclosure of information about IC is more likely in sustainability reports of firms that have a higher level of application of the Global Reporting Initiative framework, and are listed companies.

This article responds to call for normative research on social and environmental accounting (SEA) and call for active engagement in the process of designing SEA systems. More specifically, our investigation focuses on the study of... more

This article responds to call for normative research on social and environmental accounting (SEA) and call for active engagement in the process of designing SEA systems. More specifically, our investigation focuses on the study of boundary setting for triple bottom line (TBL) reporting, an issue that has been given more attention by practitioners than by researchers. The study reviews the consequences of boundary setting for the discharge of organizational accountability, from which it develops a framework to investigate TBL reporting boundaries and then reports on an empirical survey of best practice. It concludes that organizations are strategically setting and disclosing their boundaries instead of discharging their accountability and argues that such strategies have far-reaching consequences, because reporting boundaries are not only reflective of organizations but also have a constitutive role in their definition. A further consequence is that it calls into question the use of voluntary labeling, such as ''in accordance'' with Global Reporting Initiative; one implication being that further research into technical developments in TBL reporting could contribute to the discharge of organizational accountability.

Las memorias de sostenibilidad o informes de responsabilidad social de las empresas surgen como información voluntaria que busca evidenciar las acciones de las organizaciones desde tres ámbitos: económico, ambiental y social. En el caso... more

Las memorias de sostenibilidad o informes de responsabilidad social de las empresas surgen como información voluntaria que busca evidenciar las acciones de las organizaciones desde tres ámbitos: económico, ambiental y social. En el caso colombiano se han venido dando unas tendencias propias relacionadas con estas dinámicas. Por lo cual la presente investigación pretende analizar la evolución de las memorias de sostenibilidad desde la perspectiva contable a partir de la revisión del
contexto colombiano; centrándose en las de las empresas del sector real supervisadas por la Superintendencia de Sociedades con base en los lineamientos del Global Reporting Initiative [GRI] como estándar de mayor aceptación en el mundo. Para ello, se analizan las memorias de sostenibilidad, teniendo en cuenta características financieras, sectoriales, jurídicas y ambientales, a través de inferencias estadísticas. Del análisis
empírico efectuado se evidencia una evolución cuantitativa en el número de memorias de sostenibilidad presentadas por las empresas del sector real, de igual forma que la cantidad de activos e ingresos, entre otras variables, que influyen positivamente en la posibilidad de presentar memorias de sostenibilidad.

This paper presents: (1) a comparison between different tools that have been developed to assess and report upon academic institutions’ sustainability efforts; (2) a modification of one of these tools, the Global Reporting Initiative... more

This paper presents: (1) a comparison between different tools that have been developed to assess and report upon academic institutions’ sustainability efforts; (2) a modification of one of these tools, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Guidelines, for use in universities; and (3) a tool developed by the author, the Graphical Assessment of Sustainability in Universities (GASU), that offers a condensed graphical overview of the myriad of indicators from the GRI modification. The GASU was designed to facilitate the analysis, longitudinal comparison and benchmarking of universities’ sustainability efforts and achievement.

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the best-known framework for voluntary reporting of environmental and social performance by business worldwide. Using extensive empirical data, including interviews and documentary analysis, we examine... more

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the best-known framework for voluntary reporting of environmental and social performance by business worldwide. Using extensive empirical data, including interviews and documentary analysis, we examine GRI's organizational field and conclude that since its modest beginnings in 1999 GRI has been by several measures a successful institutionalization project. But the institutional logic of this new entity, as an instrument for corporate sustainability management, leaves out one of the central elements of the initial vision for GRI: as a mobilizing agent for many societal actors. This emergent logic reflects GRI's dominant constituency -large global companies and financial institutions and international business management consultancies -and not the less active civil society organizations and organized labor. We attribute these developments to factors such as building GRI within the existing institutional structures; the highly inclusive multistakeholder process; and the underdeveloped base of information users. From the institutional theory perspective, this case shows how the process of institutionalization is deeply affected by initial strategies of the founders, and how it reproduces existing power relations. From the governance perspective, this case leads us to question the power of commodified information to mobilize civil society and to strengthen governance based on partnerships.

More and more organizations join the sustainability reporting world . The main drivers are the success of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Guidelines 2002 and the increasing pressure of traditional and new stakeholders . The... more

More and more organizations join the sustainability reporting world . The main drivers are the success of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Guidelines 2002 and the increasing pressure of traditional and new stakeholders . The emergence of ethical investment and the relevance of sustainability indexes (Dow Jones, FTSE4GOOD, KLD, etc.) are the expression of the shareholders increasing interest in sustainable development impact of the company's activities. This situation shows the need of evaluating the incidence of the sustainability performance of the companies in their market value. Different academic studies have tried to show that sustainable (environmental friendly) organizations usually obtain additional profits . The objective of this paper is analysing the existence of a positive relationship between the incorporation of a company in a sustainability index (DJSI) and its market value. Most of the studies carried out are based on unifactorial models. This paper is based on the sustainability matter is a multivariate problem, and a factor analysis is used to gather the sustainability performance of a sample of European companies included in the DJSI. Sustainability performance is evaluated using sustainability reports (or corporate social reports) published by companies.

To reveal all the patterns that exist in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting, content analysis must provide an answer to the following three questions: (1) Which CSR topics are disclosed? -a question regarding content; (2)... more

To reveal all the patterns that exist in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting, content analysis must provide an answer to the following three questions: (1) Which CSR topics are disclosed? -a question regarding content; (2) What is the extent of disclosures on the different CSR topics? -a question regarding extent; (3) What types of CSR disclosure are made? -a question regarding quality. In this paper, we develop a content analysis framework that simultaneously addresses these three questions.

Social Accounting is an instrument of measuring organizational performance that takes a comprehensive approach (usually including social, environmental and economic factors). Conventional financial accounting is increasingly seen as... more

Social Accounting is an instrument of measuring organizational performance that takes a comprehensive approach (usually including social, environmental and economic factors). Conventional financial accounting is increasingly seen as insufficient in revealing the full picture of a business’ performance (Mook 22; Mook and Sumner 160). By ignoring negative social/environmental externalities, conventional accounting (CA) influences our values and behavior – directing our attention only to financial performance and not other factors. Using academic literature, I investigate the core issues of conventional and social accounting, and especially the latter’s ability to produce genuine sustainability data that is of high quality. The specific SA systems that will be analyzed below are the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Consumer Co-operative Sustainability and Planning Scorecard. There are serious criticisms, which I outline below, of GRI and GRI-like systems as mere management tools intended to protect corporate brands. Although SA systems may face credibility issues because, for example, they allow high flexibility in terms of material issue selection, it is also true that civil society stakeholders have not shown enough interest in using them or trying to make these systems more reliable. Co-operative enterprises claim to have broader objectives than just financial success, which makes them and Social Accounting apt for each other, according to some scholars. Using empirical data from an online survey and in-depth interviews of co- operatives in Ontario, I explore the obstacles co-operatives face in implementing SA systems, which include costs, time requirements, lack of understanding of its benefits, and others.

El turismo es uno de los sectores que ha incidido positivamente en el crecimiento económico de Colombia en los últimos años. No obstante, ello no se ha evidenciado en la asunción de acciones de Responsabilidad Social Empresarial -RSE- por... more

El turismo es uno de los sectores que ha incidido
positivamente en el crecimiento económico de Colombia en los
últimos años. No obstante, ello no se ha evidenciado en la asunción
de acciones de Responsabilidad Social Empresarial -RSE- por parte
de las organizaciones del sector.
En gran parte, dicha limitación se origina en la diversidad de
iniciativas reguladoras enfocadas en el tema. Por ende, a partir de
la metodología cualitativa este documento busca contribuir a la
reflexión en cuanto a RSE en la hotelería, caracterizando de manera
sintética las principales iniciativas reguladoras y desarrollando un
análisis crítico a partir de la información obtenida en entrevistas a
dichos actores, tomando como referencia la óptica radical humanista
propuesta por la Escuela de Montreal.
Los principales resultados evidenciaron un tejido social en
construcción alrededor de la RSE hotelera en Colombia, así como,
una ausencia de iniciativas especializadas que estén adaptadas al
marco local y que permitan desarrollar a partir de la autonomía de
las organizaciones un accionar que impacte positivamente a los
actores sociales del sector

Since its conception in 1999, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has become a leading template for voluntary sustainability reporting by companies. Emerging on the crest of the debate about corporate social responsibility, appropriate... more

Since its conception in 1999, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has become a leading template for voluntary sustainability reporting by companies. Emerging on the crest of the debate about corporate social responsibility, appropriate roles for business, government, and civil society in the sustainability transition, and private forms of global governance, it is also a descendant of 1970s social movements. Drawing on extensive empirical data collected through interviews and documentary analysis in four countries, the institutional entrepreneurship framework is used to analyse three types of tactics deployed by GRI champions: discursive, material and charismatic. Central to GRI entrepreneurs' success was maintaining balance between the individual and collective interests of their diverse constituencies, between inclusiveness and efficient pursuit of technical objectives, and between building a new institution and not challenging existing institutions and power relations. This strategy, though perhaps appropriate under the circumstances, left a legacy of unresolved tensions. How these are resolved will determine GRI's future shape and function.

Currently, many interest groups demand that the social and environmental aspects be considered as a variable key to understand the performance and strategic position of companies. The objective of the paper is to analyze the disclosure of... more

Currently, many interest groups demand that the social and environmental aspects be considered as a variable key to understand the performance and strategic position of companies. The objective of the paper is to analyze the disclosure of environmental indicators by oil companies. It is an exploratory and descriptive research. The oil companies publish their sustainability reports and use the environmental indicators of the Global Reporting Initiative. However, the level of the environmental indicators disclosed is not what is expected, nor is there a proactive approach that is conducive to the demands of stakeholders. The results of the study show a moderate disclosure in aspects such as emissions, effluents, waste and biodiversity that are essential for the sector. The oil industry is responsible for a significant share of greenhouse gas emissions, and controlling these emissions is vital to contribute to a low carbon future. In addition, relevant indicators such as materials and energy have a lower disclosure.

Sustainability reporting is now a mainstream activity of global corporations and is an important issue of the decade. Transparency and accountability for stakeholders are most demanding issues in pharmaceutical sectors. Companies or... more

Sustainability reporting is now a mainstream activity of global corporations and is an important issue of the decade. Transparency and accountability for stakeholders are most demanding issues in pharmaceutical sectors. Companies or Industries can't survive without sustainable growth. Since, most of the stakeholders are aware of recent problems such as community health, climate change, education and development, business sustainability etc., the demand for disclosures in these areas have also been remarkably increased. Global companies have started reporting on sustainability disclosure for both economic and non-economic activities such as Triple Bottom Line (TBL) reporting along with accountability of external and internal stakeholders towards the goal of sustainable development. This paper examines the sustainability reporting practices of pharmaceutical companies of top 10 economies across the globe. For this purpose, sustainability reports of pharmaceutical companies of top 10 economies based on Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Non-GRI guidelines for 5 years (2012 to 2016) were collected from the GRI-Database. The number of pharmaceutical companies along with country name that published sustainability reports has been classiiied into four categories such as companies with GRI reports published for 5 years, less than 5 years, Non-GRI reports and mixed reports (GRI &Non-GRI) a total number of sustainability reports published in the given time period were compiled and analyzed. The results revealed that the sustainability disclosures in Pharmaceutical sector are basically dominated by the countries like USA, Brazil, and China whereas, least performing in sustainability disclosure parameter are Canada, Italy, Germany and India.

This study examines intra-industry variation in CSR disclosure practice. Specifically, it investigates whether companies from industry sub-sectors with different CSR profiles have varying patterns of CSR disclosure. The industry analysed... more

This study examines intra-industry variation in CSR disclosure practice. Specifically, it investigates whether companies from industry sub-sectors with different CSR profiles have varying patterns of CSR disclosure. The industry analysed is the Australian food and beverage industry. The paper finds that companies from industry sub-sectors with higher CSR profiles engage in greater 'symbolic' disclosures. Further, the relationship between CSR profile and disclosure strategy was found to be influenced also by the centrality of the CSR issue under examination to the company's business. While the small sample size limits generalisability, these findings have implications for both CSR research and practice.

The paper is aimed at analyzing the contribution that the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) makes to the field of sustainability reporting. It provides an overview of the multitude of initiatives aimed at standardizing corporate social... more

The paper is aimed at analyzing the contribution that the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) makes to the field of sustainability reporting. It provides an overview of the multitude of initiatives aimed at standardizing corporate social responsibility efforts on a global scale and highlights the ways in which the GRI can be distinguished from other international initiatives. By evaluating GRI’s goals and its claims, the paper provides an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of this critical initiative. It includes a discussion of changes and new strategies that the GRI proposes as part of its recently introduced G3 Guidelines. The authors contend that, despite certain remaining challenges, GRI has much to offer a stakeholder community that has for many decades been starved of quality, measurable and accountable corporate social information presented in an accessible and understandable format.

Sustainable development or sustainability concept has become increasingly relevant in corporate executive's agenda after Brundtland Report was launched in 1987. Social and environmental accounting and reporting plays a relevant role in... more

Sustainable development or sustainability concept has become increasingly relevant in corporate executive's agenda after Brundtland Report was launched in 1987. Social and environmental accounting and reporting plays a relevant role in this context to analyse sustainability performance of the organizations. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) sustainability reporting guidelines were developed as a way of helping organizations to report on their environmental, social and economic performance and to increase their accountability. However, evidence from practice seems to show a different reality. Some organizations that label themselves as GRI reporters do not behave in a responsible way concerning sustainability question, like gas emissions, social equity or human rights.

The present study promotes arguments for reporting improvement to support stakeholders' confidence and proposes possible policies and strategies for social and environmental reporting, resulting from European companies' activity. We... more

The present study promotes arguments for reporting improvement to support stakeholders' confidence and proposes possible policies and strategies for social and environmental reporting, resulting from European companies' activity. We examined the information disclosed in annual reports and corporate social responsibility reports from a sample of the companies listed on the Euronext Stock Exchange over a three-year period. The purpose of the research is to support the idea that the quality of social and environmental information provided by companies is increasing as time passes and in relation to the present economic conditions. We conducted an exploratory study whose results are analysed and discussed in terms of financial and economic evolution within the present world crisis. They give us the possibility to design a new facet of the overall framework for reporting social and environmental information by combining theoretical requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards with their implementation in the reporting practice of European companies.

Abstract Purpose – This study aims to advance explanations of the communication level of labor disclosures of Indonesian listed companies. Design/methodology/approach – Year-ending 2007 Annual report disclosures of 223 Indonesia Stock... more

Abstract
Purpose – This study aims to advance explanations of the communication level of labor disclosures of
Indonesian listed companies.
Design/methodology/approach – Year-ending 2007 Annual report disclosures of 223 Indonesia Stock
Exchange (IDX) listed companies are analyzed. The labor practices and decent work disclosure
component of the 2006 Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines are used as the benchmark
disclosure index checklist.
Findings – The results show a low level of voluntary disclosure (17.7 per cent). The highest level of
communication is for issues related to skills management and lifelong learning programs for employees.
Very few companies disclosed information about health and safety committee and agreements, and
salary of men to women. Statistical analysis reveals that government ownership and international
operations are positively significant predictors of ‘‘labour’’ communication. Isomorphic institutional
theory partially explains the variability of these disclosures. Bigger companies also provide more labor
practices and decent work disclosures.
Research limitations/implications – The main implications of the findings are that Indonesian
companies are not clearly communicating labor responsibility issues as a key precondition of corporate
social responsibility (CSR). They may be obfuscating some information to protect their image and
reputation.
Originality/value – This paper provides insights into the disclosure practices of labor issues, a
specific social disclosure theme which is rarely examined in prior literature, under the umbrella of
institutional theory. The research also includes ‘‘goal factor’’ to be tested as one of the independent
variables.

Companies commonly issue sustainability or corporate social responsibility reports (CSR). This study seeks to understand worldviews of corporate sustainability, or the corporate message conveyed regarding what sustainability or CSR is and... more

Companies commonly issue sustainability or corporate social responsibility reports (CSR). This study seeks to understand worldviews of corporate sustainability, or the corporate message conveyed regarding what sustainability or CSR is and how to enact it. Content analysis of corporate sustainability reports is used to position each company report within stages of corporate sustainability. Results reveal there are multiple coexisting worldviews of corporate sustainability but the most dominant worldview is focused on the business case for sustainability, a position anchored in the weak sustainability paradigm. We contend that the business case and weak sustainability advanced in corporate sustainability reports and by the Global Reporting Initiative are poor representations of sustainability. Ecological embeddedness, or a locally responsive strategy that is sensitive to local ecosystems, may hold the key to improved ecological sensemaking which, in turn, could lead to more mature levels of corporate sustainability worldviews that support strong sustainability and are rooted in environmental science. This must be supported by government regulation.

El objetivo de esta investigación es analizar las memorias de sostenibilidad de los museos españoles y su adecuación a los criterios del Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Se examinan las memorias de Thyssen-Bornemisza, Guggenheim Bilbao... more

El objetivo de esta investigación es analizar las memorias de sostenibilidad de los museos españoles y su adecuación a los criterios del Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Se examinan las memorias de Thyssen-Bornemisza, Guggenheim Bilbao y Museo Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC). Los resultados muestran diferencias entre los museos que habían publicados memorias previamente y los que no lo habían hecho. Se concluye que el grado de cumplimiento de los diferentes criterios del GRI es desigual. Palabras clave: Responsabilidad social corporativa, memorias de sostenibilidad, museos, comunicación corporativa.

Purpose - Although the concept of Sustainable Human Resource Management (HRM) has been frequently discussed in recently, the measurement and dimensions of the concept are still vague. This study aims to explore Sustainable HRM practices... more

Purpose - Although the concept of Sustainable Human Resource Management (HRM) has been frequently discussed in recently, the measurement and dimensions of the concept are still vague. This study aims to explore Sustainable HRM practices and provide a guide to facilitate Sustainable HRM implementations and to measure its pertinent practices.
Methodology - The sample of this study consists of 36 sustainability reports of 29 firms listed on the BIST Sustainability Index. The reports belong to two consecutive fiscal years: 2014-2015 and 2015-2016. The researchers have conducted a content analysis to reports by using the indexing technique, in line with a coding guide adopted from The Global Reporting Initiative - Sustainability Reporting Guidelines-G4 (GRI-G4) principles.
Findings- This research has identified the discursive dimension of sustainable HRM in the context of Turkey. Following this purpose, the researchers have prepared a guide and posited the dimensions of Sustainable HRM elaborately. Moreover, the study has demonstrated the applicability of the triple reporting system to the Turkish setting.
Conclusion- Different stakeholder expectations require to take HRM with its macro and micro dimensions. Sustainable HRM stands out as a concept to respond to this demand. After its fast-paced introduction as of 2000, the concept has gained momentum specifically in the last decade. Conceiving the structure of Sustainable HRM with its economic, environmental, and social dimensions constitutes a critical step of meeting this expectation. This study has identified Sustainable HRM practices, which may guide companies to have a sustainable organizational form and provide researchers a measurement tool.

La expansión de la RSE debe ser evaluada para identificar si consigue la transformación hacia el desarrollo sostenible. En este capítulo se presenta un estudio de caso crítico que se enfocó en evaluar la articulación entre la estrategia... more

La expansión de la RSE debe ser evaluada para identificar si consigue la transformación hacia el desarrollo sostenible. En este capítulo se presenta un estudio de caso crítico que se enfocó en evaluar la articulación entre la estrategia de sostenibilidad y la estructura necesaria para su implementación. Por ello se evalúa la aplicación de dos iniciativas o instrumentos: la aplicación de sistemas de gestión medioambiental (ISO14001) y las memorias o informes de sostenibilidad con base en guías del GRI. Los resultados muestran que en el caso estudiado no hay una adecuada articulación entre la estrategia y la estructura, lo que hace ralentizar el impacto de estas iniciativas para la sostenibilidad.

2. Positive environmental effects of corporate sustainability reporting are identiªed in ; see also references cited therein. We do not intend to downplay such effects; yet our focus is on the rather different claim that corporate... more

2. Positive environmental effects of corporate sustainability reporting are identiªed in ; see also references cited therein. We do not intend to downplay such effects; yet our focus is on the rather different claim that corporate disclosure can empower various constituencies. We are grateful to an anonymous reviewer for asking us to clarify this important difference. . We slightly deviate from Fung et al.'s framework in conceptualizing "value" and "comparability" as separate categories.