The world environmental performance in the next years to 2030 will prove to be crucial for the success of sustainable development as a new, alternative economic development model. 2030 configures as a checking point for the future of our planet. Indeed, by that date the United Nations sustainable development goals ((SDGs) launched in 2015 should be met. Moreover, by 2030 the emissions levels as of 2022 are to be halved in order to be compliant with the Paris Agreement (World Economic Forum, 2020). However, progress lags behind in both fields (J. D. Sachs et al., 2021; World Economic Forum, 2020), also due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Acceleration of current improvement trends is needed to ensure a sustainable and prosperous future for all. In this scenario, corporations, especially multinational ones, must play their part. They are called upon to manage the impact of their business operations responsibly. Further, they are urged to directly contribute to the SDGs by designing solutions able to solve global challenges, in cooperation with the public sector. It is therefore pivotal to rely on transparent corporate sustainability reporting, which serves as the channel to identify virtuous companies that investors can allocate their funds to. Nonetheless, transparency and trustworthiness of sustainability disclosure has been called into question by several researchers and members of the civil society. In this direction, the EU stepped in and adopted new regulation to enhance sustainability disclosure quality. Hence, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive entered into force in January 2023 to limit greenwashing. This master thesis addresses the need to provide valuable insights on how companies disclose on sustainability in general, and on the SDGs in particular. As more, the impacts on the business sector of recent wide-ranging events, such as the EU new Directive and the global pandemic, are investigated. All in all, this master thesis sheds light on SDGs and sustainability reporting under different angles. Firstly, it analyses how corporations report on their contribution to the SDGs to manage their legitimacy before stakeholders in the course of time. Secondly, it explores how companies report on the SDGs relative to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lastly, it examines whether and how the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive has impacted on sustainability reporting practices.
Le prestazioni ambientali mondiali nei prossimi anni fino al 2030 si riveleranno cruciali per il successo dello sviluppo sostenibile come nuovo modello di sviluppo economico alternativo. Il 2030 si configura come un punto di controllo per il futuro del nostro pianeta. Infatti, per quella data gli Obiettivo di Sviluppo Sostenibile delle Nazioni Unite (di seguito SDGs), lanciati nel 2015, dovrebbero essere raggiunti. Inoltre, entro il 2030 i livelli di emissioni del 2022 dovranno essere dimezzati per essere conformi all'Accordo di Parigi. (World Economic Forum, 2020). Tuttavia, i progressi sono in ritardo in entrambi i campi (J. D. Sachs et al., 2021; World Economic Forum, 2020), anche a causa della pandemia da COVID-19. Per garantire un futuro sostenibile e prospero per tutti, è necessario accelerare le attuali tendenze al miglioramento. In questo scenario, le imprese, soprattutto quelle multinazionali, devono fare la loro parte. Esse sono chiamate a gestire responsabilmente l'impatto delle loro operazioni commerciali. Inoltre, sono invitate a contribuire direttamente agli SDGs progettando soluzioni in grado di risolvere le sfide globali, in collaborazione con il settore pubblico. È quindi fondamentale affidarsi a una rendicontazione trasparente della sostenibilità aziendale, che funge da canale per identificare le aziende virtuose a cui gli investitori possono destinare i propri fondi. Tuttavia, la trasparenza e l'attendibilità della rendicontazione di sostenibilità sono state messe in discussione da diversi ricercatori e membri della società civile. In questa direzione, l'UE è intervenuta adottando una nuova normativa sul sustainability reporting, detta CSRd- Quest’ultima è entrata in vigore nel gennaio 2023 per limitare il greenwashing. Questa tesi di laurea magistrale risponde all'esigenza di fornire indicazioni sul modo in cui le aziende rendicontano sulla sostenibilità in generale e sugli SDGs in particolare. Inoltre, gli impatti sulle imprese dei recenti eventi di ampia portata, come la nuova direttiva europea e la pandemia, sono stati analizzati. Nel complesso, questa tesi di laurea magistrale fa luce sugli SDGs e sul reporting di sostenibilità da diversi punti di vista. In primo luogo, analizza come le aziende rendicontano il loro contributo agli SDGs per gestire la loro legittimità di fronte agli stakeholder nel corso del tempo. In secondo luogo, esplora come imprese rendicontano sugli SDGs in relazione alla pandemia COVID-19. Infine, si esamina se e come la Direttiva UE sul reporting di sostenibilità delle imprese abbia avuto un impatto sulle pratiche di rendicontazione della sostenibilità.
Legitimacy management through SDG reporting: a longitudinal study
TAVECCHIA, LORENZO
2022/2023
Abstract
The world environmental performance in the next years to 2030 will prove to be crucial for the success of sustainable development as a new, alternative economic development model. 2030 configures as a checking point for the future of our planet. Indeed, by that date the United Nations sustainable development goals ((SDGs) launched in 2015 should be met. Moreover, by 2030 the emissions levels as of 2022 are to be halved in order to be compliant with the Paris Agreement (World Economic Forum, 2020). However, progress lags behind in both fields (J. D. Sachs et al., 2021; World Economic Forum, 2020), also due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Acceleration of current improvement trends is needed to ensure a sustainable and prosperous future for all. In this scenario, corporations, especially multinational ones, must play their part. They are called upon to manage the impact of their business operations responsibly. Further, they are urged to directly contribute to the SDGs by designing solutions able to solve global challenges, in cooperation with the public sector. It is therefore pivotal to rely on transparent corporate sustainability reporting, which serves as the channel to identify virtuous companies that investors can allocate their funds to. Nonetheless, transparency and trustworthiness of sustainability disclosure has been called into question by several researchers and members of the civil society. In this direction, the EU stepped in and adopted new regulation to enhance sustainability disclosure quality. Hence, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive entered into force in January 2023 to limit greenwashing. This master thesis addresses the need to provide valuable insights on how companies disclose on sustainability in general, and on the SDGs in particular. As more, the impacts on the business sector of recent wide-ranging events, such as the EU new Directive and the global pandemic, are investigated. All in all, this master thesis sheds light on SDGs and sustainability reporting under different angles. Firstly, it analyses how corporations report on their contribution to the SDGs to manage their legitimacy before stakeholders in the course of time. Secondly, it explores how companies report on the SDGs relative to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lastly, it examines whether and how the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive has impacted on sustainability reporting practices.È consentito all'utente scaricare e condividere i documenti disponibili a testo pieno in UNITESI UNIPV nel rispetto della licenza Creative Commons del tipo CC BY NC ND.
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14239/3952