Paper short abstract:

The presentation discusses the implementation of corporate sustainability reporting, highlighting its role in managing environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects of businesses. It further explores the impact of diverse sustainability reporting tools on the overall state of transparency and accountability using the example of empirical data on the Bulgarian economy.

Paper long abstract:

Corporate Sustainability Reporting

(Empirical Insights from Bulgaria and the EU on the Contribution of Corporate Sustainability Reporting to Increasing Transparency and Public Accountability)

Keywords: corporate sustainability reporting, transparency, accountability, sustainable development

by Rumiana Jeleva, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IPS-BAS)

Research context and conceptualisation: The sustainability of societal development is a cardinal issue in the modern and especially in the late modern era. New risks in the context of globalisation and the increasing complexity of society give new urgency to the need for sustainable development. Society is increasingly dependent on complex technological systems that create potential risks. There is a growing need for humanity to manage and minimise risks. Sustainable development is a concept of risk management. Sustainable development sociology is a theoretical perspective for conceptualizing risk management. The sociology of sustainable societal development is understood as an interdisciplinary subject area which, with the help of correctly applied sociological tools, realizes a significant added value for understanding, theoretical conceptualization and practical research of sustainable development and for the application of sustainable behavior models in different spheres of societal life. A specific focus is the economic sphere, the activities and reporting of corporate sustainability by business companies in the EU and Bulgaria.

Methodology and analysis: The presentation discusses the importance and implementation of corporate sustainability reporting (also known as non-financial reporting), highlighting its role in managing environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects of businesses. To this end, the presentation first outlines the drivers of sustainability within the disciplinary framework of the sociology of sustainable development and illuminates specific tools for measuring sustainability based on institutional analysis, document review, and review of specialized literature. Second, the text presents empirical data and information based on quantitative and qualitative research conducted in Bulgaria in 2023 on the attitudes of managers in diversified economic activities to use sustainability reporting tools. These frameworks (standards on sustainability) and initiatives reflect the growing importance of non-financial reporting in Europe as companies face increasing pressure to disclose their environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance to investors, regulators and other stakeholders.

Findings and conclusion: The research findings and main conclusions highlight the contribution of corporate sustainability reporting to transparency, regulation and corporate social responsibility, as well as its impact on reducing the shadow economy by promoting legal and ethical business conduct. At the same time, the diversity of standards respectively frameworks is indicative of the lack of a uniform reporting practice even in Europe, making it difficult to validate the corporate sustainability reporting procedure.