Sustainability reporting in the light of corporate social responsibility development: economic and legal issues

Abstract

Independent audit assurance of sustainability reporting is the basis for increasing the credibility of the stakeholders, its transparency and reliability; it is a means of implementing legal liability of the company and the evidence of achievement of its legitimacy to the public. The bases for providing such assurance are the standards of implementation of audit tasks in the sphere of sustainable development. Comparative analysis of international practice as for assurance regarding the SR with local realities, based on the reporting database of Ukrainian GRI companies for the 2005-2014 years, witnessed the initial phase of such practices among Ukrainian companies, and the need to strengthen regulatory efforts to determine the legal status of SR auditing standards in Ukraine, ensuring a legal environment and the development of corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Effective Green Alliances: An analysis of how environmental nongovernmental organizations affect corporate sustainability programs

“…As with all types of reporting, it is imperative that corporate sustainability reports sustain a high level of reporting quality by ensuring the accuracy of the data. Meanwhile, the very assurance process requires the formation of a single legal framework, which is not yet widespread in the world (Sukhonos & Makarenko, ). Some researchers point out that ENGOs are vehemently driving for high standards and demands for sustainability reporting, whereas existing reports are often scrutinized and publicly reviewed negatively among ENGOs (Joensuu, Koskela, & Onkila, ).…”

“…One method to strengthen the credibility of corporations is auditable sustainability reporting (Sukhonos & Makarenko, ). Standardization frameworks provide confidence that reports are auditable when reports claim to adhere to a certain standard.…”

“…The GRI reporting framework, recognized as the most common standard for corporate sustainability reporting, is increasingly espoused by corporations headquartered in developing and developed countries alike, but the activity levels of different industries are unalike due to the engagement activities being different themselves (Laskar, Chakraborty, & Maji, ). As the most utilized initiative in the field of corporate sustainability reporting, the GRI coins the term “external assurance” for an array of approaches to evaluate reporting regarding sustainable development (Sukhonos & Makarenko, ). External assurance is attained through verification of third party audits to improve the quality and reliability of the corporate sustainability report (GRI, ).…”

“…In 2015, countries with most corporate sustainability reports auditable by independent auditors are from France (96% of all corporate sustainability reports), South Korea (86%), Greece (70%), Taiwan (70%), and the United Kingdom (61%; Sukhonos & Makarenko, ). The main reasons for the high prevalence of auditability for corporate sustainability reports are speculated to be due to regulatory mandate, which is likely the case for France, and requirements from supervisory institutions, which is likely the case for Taiwan and the United Kingdom (Sukhonos & Makarenko, ). Regulatory influence is found to be a significant factor in motivating corporations to report CSP performances (Christofi et al, ; Sukhonos & Makarenko, ).…”

“…The main reasons for the high prevalence of auditability for corporate sustainability reports are speculated to be due to regulatory mandate, which is likely the case for France, and requirements from supervisory institutions, which is likely the case for Taiwan and the United Kingdom (Sukhonos & Makarenko, ). Regulatory influence is found to be a significant factor in motivating corporations to report CSP performances (Christofi et al, ; Sukhonos & Makarenko, ). In countries that have so far abstained from mentioning corporate sustainability in regulations or guidelines, hardly any noticeable trends of corporate sustainability reporting is found to date.…”