Reporting Sustainability in China: Evidence from the Global Powers of Luxury Goods

Abstract

In this study, we investigated sustainability reporting practices adopted by the ‘Global Power of Luxury Goods 2019’, which are the top 100 companies operating in the luxury sector listed by Deloitte. The analysis firstly focused on exploring sustainability disclosure and reporting practices, moving then to the examination of China-specific sustainability initiatives according to the Global Reporting Initiative(GRI) standards categories: Economic, environmental, and social. Adopting a theoretical perspective based on elements of institutional theory and stakeholder theory, we highlight how the development of sustainability reports by companies in the luxury sector is still a limited practice involving larger companies that have already invested in the implementation of sustainability strategies. The findings reveal how the reporting of China-specific sustainability initiatives is influenced by a set of factors such as company dimensions, company nationality, the management of the supply chain and operation in China, and the direct reference to China as a key market in terms of revenues. Finally, a cluster analysis shows how companies belonging to different relevant markets for the luxury sector demonstrate different homogeneous approaches by geographical area (isomorphism), with French and Chinese companies more engaged in reporting their sustainability initiatives in China.

Scoping the Evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Research in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Era

“…As successors to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the SDGs are expected to do better in addressing issues of sustainability. Moving well beyond the scope of the MDGs and the traditional "three-pillar" approach to sustainable development, the SDGs framework is intended to be universal, calling for integrative approaches that link human development and environmental sustainability [38]. As a policy framework guiding society towards long-term prosperity, the SDGs represent an important set of next steps in the evolution of transitions policy.…”

Do sustainability reporting conduct and corporate governance attributes relate? Empirical evidence from China

“…There is a growing amount of literature devoted to the effect of corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) on the bond between companies and their stakeholders. Notwithstanding the abundance of papers related to the subject matter, only a few papers are focusing on China (Galli & Bassanini, 2020;Kao et al, 2020;Kılıç et al, 2021;Yang et al, 2021). Although they study CSRD they are a way off of the topic as there are discussed linkages between CSR and financial performance (Yang et al, 2021), CSR and "company dimensions, company nationality, the management of the supply chain and operation in China" (Galli & Bassanini, 2020) and whether board's attributes portend the presence of a sustainability committee, and whether the foundation of sustainability committees prompts sustainability reporting conduct (Kılıç et al, 2021) while the linkage of corporate governance attributes and sustainability reporting conduct have awaited its researchers.…”

Sustainability in Fashion Brands

“…With reference to China-specific sustainability initiatives, the influence of specific factors is proved on sustainability reporting such as company dimensions, company nationality, the management of the supply chain and operation in China, and the relevance of China as a key market in terms of revenues. Finally, Galli and Bassinini [20] found the existence of different homogeneous approaches to sustainability reporting by geographical area (isomorphism) through a cluster analysis.…”

“…Furthermore, an emphasis on human development and training in the workplace is highlighted, demonstrating a shift in apparel companies from a reactive to a proactive approach towards sustainability. Similarly, Galli and Bassinini [20] investigate sustainability initiatives' reporting on the top 100 "Global Powers of Luxury Goods 2019" (Deloitte), with a special focus on China. They highlight that the adoption of sustainability reports by luxury companies is still limited and only refers to larger companies that have already embraced sustainability strategies.…”