Abstract
The present study seeks to access the extent of sustainability reporting practices in Brazilian economy. Index developed under Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines is used. Content analysis is employed as a data collection tool. A total of 39 companies from Bovespa Index (Brazil) publishing sustainability reports, within the time period 2006–2007 to 2010–2011, comprise the sample set. Descriptives are used to examine the concrete content of these sustainability reports at three levels: company-wise, industry-wise and category-wise. Results reveal that the total mean percentage sustainability disclosure score of the leading Brazilian companies is 68.35 per cent. Company-wise analysis suggests that BRF has the highest disclosure score of 100 per cent. Category-wise analysis shows that economic parameters are reported the most. Industry-wise analysis shows that pulp and paper industry has the highest disclosure score of 87.97 per cent. The results of one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) suggest that the differences among various industries are insignificant. The outcomes conclude that though sustainability reporting is voluntary in Brazil, yet the country is progressively endeavouring in this field.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
