Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The present study seeks to assess the extent and level of sustainability reporting among Chinese companies. For this purpose, an Index developed under global reporting initiative (GRI) guidelines is used. A total of 19 companies from Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) 50 (China) producing sustainability reports within the time period 2006–2007 to 2010–2011 comprise the sample set. Content analysis is applied as a data collection tool. Descriptives are used to examine the concrete content of these sustainability reports at three levels: company-wise, industry-wise and category-wise. The company-wise disclosure analysis reveals that Baosteel has the highest disclosure score of 66.46 per cent followed by China Shenhua Energy (65.82 per cent) and then by Air China with 63.29 per cent score. Industry-wise analysis shows Automobiles & Transport industry has the highest disclosure score of 50 per cent. However, the Finance sector has the least disclosure score of just 22.26 per cent. Category-wise analysis shows that economic parameters are reported the most. Further, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) is applied for category-wise analysis and significant difference is found. Kruskal–Wallis test is applied for industry-wise analysis but no significant difference is found. This study attempts to provide an insight to corporate managers in China so that they can make rational policies for sustenance. However, since this article is confined to China only, future research involving other countries is recommended.

Keywords

Sustainability reporting global reporting initiative (GRI)SSE 50 content analysis

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Alon

, Lattemann

, Fetscherin

, Li

, & Schneider

A.M.

(2010). Usage of public corporate communications of social responsibility in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC). International Journal of Emerging Markets, 5(1), 6–22.

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (2010). Sustainability reporting matters, what are national governments doing about it? Retrieved 9 March 2015, from http://www.accaglobal.com/content/dam/acca/global/PDF-technical/sustainability-reporting/tech-tp-srm.pdf

Carroll

A.B.

(1996). Ethics and stakeholder management (3rd ed.). Cincinnati, OH: South-Western College Publishing.

Companies Bill. (2012). Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Retrieved 20 August 2014, from mca.gov.in/Ministry/pdf/The_Companies_Bill_2012.pdf

Daub

C.H.

(2007). Assessing the quality of sustainability reporting: An alternative methodological approach. Journal of Cleaner Production, 15(1), 75–85.

Erlandsson

, & Olinder

(2009). Environmental sustainability reporting—development in Sweden 1998–2008 (Bachelor Thesis, pp. 1–75). University of Gothenburg. Retrieved 21 July 2011, from http://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/2077/20810/1/gupea_2077_20810_1.pdf

Ernst & Young. (2014). Sustainability reporting—the time is now. Retrieved 27 August 2014, from http://www.ey.com/Pub  lication/vwLUAssets/EY-Sustainability-reporting-the-time-is-now/$FILE/EY-Sustainability-reporting-the-time-is-now.pdf

Evans. (2003, January). Corporate social responsibility—sustainability: The bottom line, accountancy.

Faisal

, Tower

, & Rusmin

(2012). Legitimising corporate sustainability reporting throughout the world. Australasian Accounting Business and Finance Journal, 6(2), 19–34.

10.

Frederick

W.C.

, Post

J.E.

, & Davis

(1992). Business and society: Corporate strategy, public policy, ethics (7th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

11.

Freeman

R.E.

(1984). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Boston: Pitman.

12.

Global Reporting Initiative. (2006). Sustainability reporting guidelines, Version 3. Retrieved 25 August 2013, from https://www.globalreporting.org/resourcelibrary/G3-Guidelines-Incl-Technical-Protocol.pdf

13.

Global Reporting Initiative. (2013). Carrots and sticks, sustainability reporting policies worldwide—today’s best practice, tomorrow’s trends. Retrieved 19 July 2014, from https://www.globalreporting.org/resourcelibrary/carrots-and-sticks.pdf

14.

Guthrie

, & Farneti

(2008). GRI sustainability reporting by Australian public sector organizations. Public Money and Management, 28(6), 361–366.

15.

(2014). Handbook of univariate and multivariate data analysis with IBM SPSS (2nd ed.). London: CRC press.

16.

Huang

, & Wang

(2010). Sustainability reports in China: Content analysis. International Conference on Future Information Technology and Management, Engineering (pp. 154–158). Retrieved 31 July 2011, from http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=05654711\

17.

Human Development Report (2013). The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World. Retrieved 13 August 2014, from http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/reports/14/hdr2013_en_complete.pdf

18.

Knoepfel

(2001). Dow Jones sustainability group index: A global benchmark for corporate sustainability. Corporate Environmental Strategy, 8(1), 6–15.

19.

Kolk

, Hong

, & van Dolen

(2010). Corporate social responsibility in China: An analysis of domestic and foreign retailers’ sustainability dimensions. Business Strategy and the Environment, 19(5), 289–303.

20.

KPMG. (2008). Sustainability reporting a guide (pp. 1–32). Retrieved 21 July 2011, from http://www.kpmg.com/AU/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/Sustainability-Reporting-A-guide.pdf.

21.

, Toppinen

, Tuppura

, Puumalainen

, & Hujala

(2011). Determinants of sustainability disclosure in the global forest industry. Electronic Journal of Business Ethics and Organization Studies, 16(1), 33–40.

22.

McWilliams

, & Siegel

(2001). Corporate social responsibility: A theory of the firm perspective. Academy of Management Review, 26(1), 117–127.

23.

OECD. (2012). China in focus: Lessons and challenges. Retrieved 11 July 2012, from http://www.oecd.org/china/50011051.pdf

24.

Perez

, & Sanchez

L. E.

(2009). Assessing the evolution of sustainability reporting in the mining sector. Environmental Management, 43(6), 949–961.

25.

Preuss

, & Barkemeyer

(2011). CSR priorities of emerging economy firms: Is Russia a different shape of BRIC? Corporate Governance, 11(4), 371–385.

26.

Quick

(2008). Voluntary sustainability reporting practices in Germany: A study on reporting quality. Portuguese Journal of Accounting and Management, 5(June), 7–35.

27.

Roberts

D. H.

, & Koeplin

J. P.

(2007). Sustainability reporting practices in Portugal: Greenwashing or triple bottom line. International Business & Economics Research Journal, 6(9), 29–40.

28.

Ruhnke

and Gabriel

(2013). Determinants of voluntary assurance on sustainability reports: An empirical analysis. Journal of Business Economics, 83(9), 1063–1091.

29.

Sahay

(2004). Environmental reporting by Indian corporations. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 11(1), 12–22.

30.

SIRAN, KLD & Social Investment Forum. (2008). Sustainability reporting in emerging markets (pp. 1–23). Retrieved 21 July 2011, from http://www.unpri.org/files/EMDP/2008%20SIRAN%20sustainability%20reporting%20in%20Emerging%20Markets.pdf

31.

Steiner

G.A.

, & Steiner

John F.

(2000). Business, government and society: A managerial perspective (9th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

32.

Wilson

S.R.

(2001). Corporation social responsibility: Putting the words into action. Paper presented at the RIIA-MMSD Conference on Corporate Citizenship.

33.

Zwetsloot

G.I.J.M.

, & van Marrewijk

M. N.A.

, (2004). From quality to sustainability. Journal of Business Ethics, 55(2), 79–82.

Sustainability Disclosure Practices: A Study of Selected Chinese Companies

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References