The Content Analysis of Reporting on Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

The epitome of sustainable development resides in the process of transformation through which resource exploitation, investment direction, technological development orientation, and institutional changes are in harmony and lead to the enhancement of the potential to meet present and future human needs and aspirations, based on the motto “Leaving no one behind” (UN, 2015). This is materialised into the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, “Transforming Our World”, defined by 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with 169 related targets. The objective of the present research consists in addressing the need to determine to what extent a sample of companies listed on Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE) in the Premium Tier, and operating in different industry sectors, disclose information related to SDGs in their annual reporting. This investigation covers the period 2017 – 2019. The longitudinal analysis points out the progress in implementing the SGSs throughout the three years, whereas the cross – industry analysis underlines the similarities and differences in disclosing generated by the industry sectors. It is envisaged that the findings of this study are to increase awareness and stimulate debate among businesses, government and regulatory agencies, civil society members, and other stakeholders on aspects referring to sustainable development and the SDGs.

Is Financial Information Influencing the Reporting on SDGs? Empirical Evidence from Central and Eastern European Chemical Companies

“…Thus, all public reports of the companies available on their official websites were screened in full and reviewed [75,82], in order to identify the sustainable development goals that they are addressing, as well as the qualitative and quantitative targets, efforts, or measurements for each SDG [56,78]. By applying search queries for the occurrence of key words, such as "sustainable," "sustainability," "SDG," the textual analysis [75,76] was conducted in order to determine whether the sampled companies addressed the SDGs in their reports.…”

Disclosure Dynamics and Non-Financial Reporting Analysis. The Case of Romanian Listed Companies

“…The interest in carrying out studies regarding non-financial reporting and sustainability indicators of Romanian companies has registered an increasing trend lately. Thus, several studies have been conducted on listed companies during the last decade [2,4,47,64,78] and have shown great progress in obtaining a high level of environmental, social, and governance performance. The tendency of these companies to publish sustainability reports is increasing [2].…”

“…Studies [79][80][81][82] that have analyzed non-financial reporting practices in correlation with the activity sector observed that some sectors differ in the level of sustainability disclosure. From the cross-sectional analysis by industries conducted on sampled Romanian companies, in the period 2017-2019, Nechita et al [4] emphasizes the similarities and reporting differences influenced by the industrial branches. Hurghiş [1] shows that those companies operating in the financial field tend to present more information than companies in the health field.…”

“…Achieving the objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda requires a thorough and in-depth analysis of the directions in which progress has been made in sustainable development, as well as where challenges or threats in sustainable reporting occur, through continuous monitoring and assessment. The 2030 Agenda requires a complex approach in multiple dimensions, representing a frame of reference for the conservation and capitalization of natural and human resources and ensuring the protection of human rights [4]. In this regard, several international bodies have taken actions to raise awareness of companies and society of the need for sustainable development.…”

“…In this regard, several international bodies have taken actions to raise awareness of companies and society of the need for sustainable development. The United Nations, by adopting the 2030 Agenda, which includes 17 sustainable development goals and 169 associated tasks, guides the Member States (including Romania) on implementing and capitalizing on sustainable principles, an important step towards a sustainable future [4]. Romania's economy is going through important stages in terms of economic development [5], currently being challenged by sustainable development.…”