Sustainability Reporting in the Public Realm—Trends and Patterns in Knowledge Development

Abstract

In the wake of increased awareness, as there has been an increasing need for sustainability reporting, research studies have evolved over time. Addressing the challenges and pathways of research in the particular realm of public entities was appropriate to enrich the scientific literature. Since prior studies either conducted a structured literature review on non-financial reporting formats or were focused exclusively on social and environmental accounting, and no bibliometric review has yet been conducted on sustainability reporting in the public sector, this study aims to fill this gap. The objective of the paper is to identify the trends and patterns in knowledge development in the area of sustainability reporting in the public sector to investigate its structure and derive inferences and insights. Bibliometric results reveal that research in this field is still at an early stage, showing an unsteady, slightly upward trend. The literature responded well to the need to enhance the understanding of the public institutions’ role in advancing non-financial reporting and evolved along with the continuous development of the related voluntary frameworks (e.g., GRI, <IR>). In this assent, further studies approaching the first mandatory regulation of non-financial information disclosure (Directive 95/2014/EU) are encouraged.

Understanding Sustainability Reporting in Non-Governmental Organisations: A Systematic Review of Reporting Practices, Drivers, Barriers and Paths for Future Research

“…Studies to synthesise, summarise, and identify trends on SR in NGOs for future research and formulation of policies are rare. For example, for-profit literature has identified a number of drivers and barriers of SR, but studies that explicitly articulates this for the third sector, especially the NGOs are either missing or limited in research [56][57][58]. While we agree with this ambiguity highlighted by [7], his study failed to provide a perspective on how this should be conceived (in NGO) in order to enhance the delivery of the positive change he argued for.…”

“…Prior literature in this area of research comprised a systematic review on social and environmental disclosure in higher education [52,53] or a structured literature review on corporate SR (private sectors) [41,54,55] or on SR in the public sector [56]. Studies to synthesise, summarise, and identify trends on SR in NGOs for future research and formulation of policies are rare.…”

What Can Urban Buses Learn about Sunshine Regulation Adopted in Other Sectors?

“…Moreover, public service providers (public companies and regulated private companies) are expected to create public value (sound benefits for society) in line with environmental, economic, and social sustainability principles. Therefore, sunshine regulation can act as a tool to foster social sustainability since it can provide non-financial disclosure to meet stakeholder's expectations and to ensure adequate levels of accountability [11].…”

Hacia la divulgación de información de sostenibilidad en el sector público

“…La presentación de información financiera tiene como objetivo lograr que los distintos usuarios puedan tomar decisiones mejor informadas, pero hace ya unos años que se considera insuficiente para satisfacer las necesidades de los distintos grupos de interés, habiendo surgido los informes de responsabilidad social, de gobierno corporativo y de sostenibilidad, como complementos fundamentales que permiten mostrar la gestión llevada a cabo desde una perspectiva que supera lo estrictamente financiero, abarcando áreas como lo social o lo medioambiental. La crisis financiera, el cambio climático y, más recientemente, la pandemia del COVID 19, han puesto todavía más de relieve la importancia de contribuir a la sociedad no sólo en términos económicos sino también sociales y medioambientales (Cohen, 2021;Stefanescu, 2021). En algunos países la información ha adquirido carácter obligatorio para las empresas, y han sido los propios organismos reguladores los que han tratado de dar respuesta a las demandas de información (Adams y Abhayawansa, 2022).…”

“…Sin embargo, la elaboración de informes de responsabilidad social o de sostenibilidad de las administraciones públicas está menos extendida, siendo este un reto que deben asumir en un futuro próximo (Shil y Chowdhury, 2018;Stefanescu, 2021). Los recientes desarrollos que están teniendo lugar a nivel internacional plasman la relevancia de la información de sostenibilidad en el ámbito de las administraciones, y la necesidad de llevar a cabo un proceso de normalización, similar al que está teniendo lugar en el sector empresarial (Manes Rossi et al, 2020;Stefanescu, 2021).…”