Global Alliances July 2022

Dear Readers,

Increasing legislative pressure and growing public concern about the global climate and the earth's carrying capacity have led to an increase in the demand for organisations to act in a sustainable manner. As a result, the number of organisations publishing information about their sustainability practises has steadily increased. One way in which organisations communicate these practises to their stakeholders is through sustainability reports, which are typically published annually alongside financial reports and detail the organization's "economic, environmental, and social impacts resulting from its daily activities."

In an effort to shed light on organisations' sustainability reporting, we focus on 1) sustainability practises and their evolution over time; 2) the coverage of economic, environmental, and social aspects in sustainability reports; and 3) the differences in sustainability reporting (and practises) across sectors.

Organizations are compelled to engage in sustainability by regulatory pressures, pressure from customers and employees, and pressure from management, as investment in sustainable practises may enhance financial performance. To implement sustainability in an organisation, it must be ensured that sustainability is incorporated into the overall strategy, that it has organisational support (including top-management and bottom-up support), that it involves all business units, that stakeholders are intrinsically and extrinsically motivated, and that sustainability performance data can be tracked. The adoption of sustainable practises is hindered by concerns regarding implementation simplicity and production risks.

We analyse various organisations' published sustainability reports. Financial services were the most prevalent industry, followed by the energy sector, the mining industry, and food and beverage products.

Based on this analysis, we draw the following conclusions, which are summarised below:

• Environmental, social, and economic sustainability are reported upon by organisations. On the operational level, it is proposed that organisations should differentiate between the three dimensions of sustainability, while on the strategic level, they should prioritise integrating the three dimensions.
• There is an equal distribution of environmental, social, and economic sustainability topics. It is proposed that Organizations should strike a balance between the social, environmental, and economic aspects of sustainability when selecting sustainability-related activities.
• The importance of economic sustainability topics within organisations is rising. Organizations are encouraged to capitalise on the economic potential of incorporating environmental and social sustainability into their activities.
• Regarding environmental sustainability, businesses report on their emissions and energy use. It is proposed that organisations expand their range of environmental sustainability metrics by, for example, reporting on fuel and paper consumption, waste, and emissions of certain gases.
• In organisation reports, biodiversity and renewable energy sources receive little consideration. It is proposed that Researchers investigate whether organisations view renewable energy and biodiversity as having sufficient potential and plan to adopt them in the future.
• In terms of social sustainability, businesses report on labour practises. In order to enhance their reputations as employers, it is proposed that organisations continue their labour practices-related efforts beyond existing regulations.
• Customers are the primary focus of organisations. Organizations are encouraged to consider their interactions with and value creation for all stakeholders.
• Sponsorships for social sustainability are centred on schools and education. It is proposed that organisations invest in the sustainability-related education of their employees.
• The reporting of economic sustainability is based on financial data. It is proposed that organisations include statements on how to sustain and improve economic results in their reports.
• The nature of sustainability actions is both general and context-specific. It is proposed that researchers should be more precise when describing and explaining the context of sustainability-related behaviour.

Santosh G.

Founder & Global Chairperson,

Global Council for the Promotion of International Trade

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Disclaimer

The Global Council for the Promotion of International Trade (India, the United States, the United Kingdom, and South Africa), the Global Council for Cluster Excellence and Research (GCCER), the Confederation of Indian Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (CIMSME), and UFirst Eduversity have started "Sustainomics", a new newsletter created in collaboration with the twelve global alliances.

The group utilizes data and information from the public, private and internal sources, including data from actual its open data access. While we consider information from external sources reliable, we do not assume responsibility for its accuracy.

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