Overcoming current practical challenges in sustainability and integrated reporting: insights from a Swiss field study

Type
01A - Journal article
Editors
Editor (Corporation)
Supervisor
Parent work
Umweltwirtschaftsforum
Special issue
DOI of the original publication
Link
Series
Series number
Volume
26
Issue / Number
Pages / Duration
35-46
Patent number
Publisher / Publishing institution
Springer
Place of publication / Event location
Edition
Version
Programming language
Assignee
Practice partner / Client
Abstract
A growing number of companies worldwide face practical challenges in their sustainability and integrated reporting. This is mainly due to two reasons. First, new voluntary reporting guidelines have been published, such as the Sustainability Reporting Standards of the Global Reporting Initiative, the guideline for integrated reporting by the International Integrated Reporting Council and the sector standards of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. Second, new binding reporting regulations have been adopted, such as Directive 2014/95/EU on non-financial reporting issued by the European Commission. This article analyzes current practical challenges in sustainability and integrated reporting and suggests tools to overcome them, based on desktop research, an experience-based consultancy view, and two case studies, from banking and tourism, respectively. The article is the result of a two-year research project funded by Innosuisse, the Swiss Innovation Agency. Reporting involves several major practical challenges: (i) identifying the issues with the greatest sustainability impact along the value chain, (ii) prioritizing sustainability topics in accordance with both the Global Reporting Initiative and the International Integrated Reporting Council, (iii) clarifying the sustainability context of corporate activities, and (iv) developing reports that can influence the decisions of key target groups with regard to purchasing and investments, for instance. Based on its analysis, the article makes several recommendations for the enhancement of sustainability reporting, including an analysis grid to identify sustainability issues along the value chain, a multicriteria analysis tool for the materiality criteria of the Global Reporting Initiative and International Integrated Reporting Council, and tools for target group-specific reporting. Case studies provide indicative evidence that the developed tools can help companies to enhance their sustainability reporting.
Keywords
Subject (DDC)
330 - Wirtschaft
Project
Event
Exhibition start date
Exhibition end date
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Date of the last check
ISBN
ISSN
0943-3481
1432-2293
Language
English
Created during FHNW affiliation
Yes
Strategic action fields FHNW
Publication status
Published
Review
Peer review of the complete publication
Open access category
Closed
License
Citation
BRAND, Fridolin Simon, Verena BERGER, Katharina HETZE, Jörg E. U. SCHMIDT, Marie-Christin WEBER, Herbert WINISTÖRFER und Claus-Heinrich DAUB, 2018. Overcoming current practical challenges in sustainability and integrated reporting: insights from a Swiss field study. Umweltwirtschaftsforum. 2018. Bd. 26, S. 35–46. DOI 10.1007/s00550-018-0474-y. Verfügbar unter: https://irf.fhnw.ch/handle/11654/42406