Sustainability is an emerging issue on the agenda of economic, social and environmental problems at the global level. Enhancing sustainability involves a paradigm shift in different aspects, which requires the contribution of various actors. Governments and international organisations are the main actors as they introduce regulatory frameworks, standards and objectives to define the path to sustainability. In addition, sustainability concerns, institutional reasons and external pressures lead organisations (public and private) to new challenges, encouraging them to evolve towards greater engagement in sustainable or social responsible practices and greater interaction with society.
The call for accountability and transparency of organisations has produced a clear need to identify, measure and disclose their sustainable practices and impacts. In this regard, previous research has shown that an increasing number of organizations have responded to this call by voluntarily providing non-financial information (on sustainability or environmental, social and governance - ESG)) through corporate reports. Besides verifying a positive evolution in the level of information disclosure, several studies seek to identify the determinants and impacts of the extent and quality of non-financial information reporting, without reaching a consensus.
Regarding the quality of the non-financial reporting, there has been growing recognition worldwide of the need for organizations to provide reliable information related to sustainability. In order to improve the quality of sustainability-related information, several global standards have been issued over the last decades, such as those of the Global Reporting initiative (GRI), the UN Global Compact and International Standards Organization (ISO), with the main aim of guiding companies to voluntarily disclose non-financial information, both positive and negative. However, the trend is moving from voluntary reporting to mandatory. In fact, some bodies have already imposed the disclosure of non-financial information for some companies (e.g., the European Union, through Directive 2014/95/EU). In order to issue rigorous reporting standards, new sustainability reporting standard-setting bodies emerged, namely the IFRS Foundation’s International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and the EU´s European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG). However, regulation on sustainability reporting is still far from harmonization, but significant advances are expected in the disclosure of non-financial information which will bring important challenges for regulatory bodies, organizations and professionals in the fields of accounting, management, finance, and auditing.
The book aims to contribute to the field of accounting, finance and management by providing a high-quality vehicle for the diffusion of new knowledge and tendencies, using qualitative and quantitative methods.