Abstract:
Sustainability Reporting (SR) appeared as a novel concept in the
modern world with the compliance of companies towards
sustainability practice. It is further identified through literature
that no prior studies explicitly deal with SR practices in Sri Lanka.
The purpose of this study is to explore the current SR practices in
the Sri Lankan context with reference to GRI-G4 guidelines.
Thorough content analysis was conducted by using 42
Sustainability Reports collected from the Sustainability Discloses
Database (SDD). Identification of compliances was done by
categorizing indicators as the reported indicators, not reported
indicators, and the not applicable indicators. The findings of the
content analysis depict that the information disclosed under
ninety-two GRI indicators does not fully comply with the GRI – G4
Guideline. The results further highlighted that the firms follow
GRI-G4 guidelines under economic, environment & social
categories while deviations are visible within the subcategories
from highest rate to lowest. This study contributes to extending
the literature on SR Practice in Sri Lanka whereas it has
implications to numerous sectors. As an emerging trend, the
national level policy makers can implement frameworks to ensure
companies’ contribution to SR by providing proper understanding
of how and to why major deviations should be mitigated to comply
with GRI-G4 Guidelines.
