Chapter 13: Global Sustainability Reporting Initiatives: Integrated Pathways for Economic, Environmental, Social, and Governance Organizational Performance

Most global corporations and international organizations welcome the principles and values associated with sustainability and social responsibility. This trend appears to be reinforced by a growing field of research in “corporate social responsibility” and “sustainable capitalism” suggesting how “doing well by doing good” is a profitable possibility and a growing global trend (Freemantle, 2008; Haynes, Murray, & Dillard, 2013; Tavanti, 2014). As always, the devil is in the details and the real challenges emerge in the measurement of their actual sustainability performances in relation to those values and principles. Fortunately, sustainability reporting has become a common 21st century business practice. Most corporations and organizations operating internationally now produce an annual public reporting of their impact in nonfinancial, economic, environmental, social, and governance performance. Where once only a few “green” and “community-oriented” organizations would disclose their social responsibility performance, today sustainability reporting is an expected practice for companies worldwide. Sustainability reporting is a generic term usually including other correlated types of organizational disclosures also known as “Corporate Social Responsibility Reports,” “Global Citizenship Reports,” “Corporate Citizenship,” and “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Reporting.”