The reliability of sustainability reporting can impact sustainable development and should provide relevant information to financial analysts, investors, and other stakeholders by reducing information asymmetry between them and management. Nevertheless, its utility is often undermined by a lack of the disclosure information’s trustability. This paper aims to evaluate if the completeness of the sustainability report’s environmental quantitative information is a reliable indicator of the company’s real commitment to environmental sustainability. The paper analyzes the relationship between the report’s completeness and the environmental performance evaluated by data of an independent third party. Fifty Italian companies that have submitted complete data on CO2 emissions to the European Union Emissions Trade Scheme (EU ETS) in the six years from 2008–2013 and published sustainability reports have been evaluated. Results indicate that reporting completeness is not correlated with better environmental performance, and consequently with greater commitment to environmental sustainability, thus suggesting the potential existence of credibility gaps.

Calabrese, A., Costa, R., Levialdi Ghiron, N., Menichini, T., Montalvan, R. (2020). Does more mean better? Exploring the relationship between report completeness and environmental sustainability. SUSTAINABILITY, 12(24) [10.3390/su122410635].

Does more mean better? Exploring the relationship between report completeness and environmental sustainability

Calabrese A.;Costa R.;Levialdi Ghiron N.;
2020-01-01

Abstract

The reliability of sustainability reporting can impact sustainable development and should provide relevant information to financial analysts, investors, and other stakeholders by reducing information asymmetry between them and management. Nevertheless, its utility is often undermined by a lack of the disclosure information’s trustability. This paper aims to evaluate if the completeness of the sustainability report’s environmental quantitative information is a reliable indicator of the company’s real commitment to environmental sustainability. The paper analyzes the relationship between the report’s completeness and the environmental performance evaluated by data of an independent third party. Fifty Italian companies that have submitted complete data on CO2 emissions to the European Union Emissions Trade Scheme (EU ETS) in the six years from 2008–2013 and published sustainability reports have been evaluated. Results indicate that reporting completeness is not correlated with better environmental performance, and consequently with greater commitment to environmental sustainability, thus suggesting the potential existence of credibility gaps.
2020
Pubblicato
Rilevanza internazionale
Articolo
Esperti anonimi
Settore ING-IND/35 - INGEGNERIA ECONOMICO-GESTIONALE
English
CO2 emissions; Credibility gap; CSR; Environmental performance; Report completeness; Sustainability report
Calabrese, A., Costa, R., Levialdi Ghiron, N., Menichini, T., Montalvan, R. (2020). Does more mean better? Exploring the relationship between report completeness and environmental sustainability. SUSTAINABILITY, 12(24) [10.3390/su122410635].
Calabrese, A; Costa, R; Levialdi Ghiron, N; Menichini, T; Montalvan, Rav
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2108/266014
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