Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Peters, Elaine

Titel

Corporate Non-Financial Disclosures : An Analysis of Corporate Sustainability and Social Responsibility Reporting Practices of South African Firms

Ort / Verlag

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Erscheinungsjahr

2017

Quelle

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The world is in a period of a great acceleration, characterised by complex changes in how individuals and businesses interact with the natural world. There is no doubt that in the midst of challenges such as climate change and financial instability, sustainability remains a fundamental aspect of business led growth in South Africa. The recent introduction of the King IV Report emphasises the need for inclusive capitalism to reach a mutually beneficial ideal between society, the environment and business. However, the ability to quantify sustainability performance through integrated reporting remains a challenge as the adoption of reporting guidelines and standards remains largely discretionary. This study aims to determine the current state of sustainability reporting and the ability to compare this performance between reporting entities.Publicly available integrated reports of 18 companies were studied using structured content analysis. The application of 91 Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) indicators was investigated and measured against an ordinal scale based framework, over a three-year period, to determine the extent of indicator application and the comparability of performance between industry peers.The results showed large inconsistencies in the application of GRI indicators despite their seemingly wide adoption. Comparability of performance was found to be near impossible. The findings serve to emphasise the need for South African businesses to raise their nonfinancial reporting capabilities and further align reporting practices, particularly for companies within the same industries.