Review article
SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING DURING THE PANDEMIC: CURRENT STATE AND EXPECTATIONS FOR THE FUTURE
Dubravka Krivačić
orcid.org/0000-0002-2830-655X
; Karlovac University of Applied Sciences, Karlovac, Croatia
Sandra Janković
orcid.org/0000-0003-0826-9461
; Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Opatija, Croatia
Abstract
Although COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions and limitations in the operations of business entities, it is debated that it could be a unique opportunity to intensify the development of long-term sustainable business practices. According to previous research on the response of business entities to the pandemic, it has been determined that they have given priority to social responsibility over achieving short-term profitability. Also, the focus was not shifted from the environmental dimension of sustainability, moreover, the continuity of their response to environmental issues proved to be an interesting indicator of the ability to adopt to different challenges. The need to further standardize non-financial reporting is also discussed. The proposal of the new EU Directive on corporate sustainability reporting expands the number of non-financial reporting entities, requires more detailed reporting, introduces the obligation of independent verification of published information, as well as digital access to information through a European Single Access Point. Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the current knowledge on the impact of the pandemic on sustainability reporting and to highlight the challenges that business entities face in the current environment. Also, the aim is to explore sustainability reports of business entities in Croatia and to determine which indicators of environmental and social responsibility are mostly published, with reference to disclosures during the pandemic.
Keywords
sustainability reporting; pandemic; indicators
Hrčak ID:
271681
URI
Publication date:
31.12.2021.
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