scholarly journals The EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive and corporate narrative disclosure practices: the case of the fashion industry

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Lela Mélon ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Sustainability Science ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Financial Sustainability ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Policy Coherence ◽  
Crucial Issue ◽  
Global Sustainability ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
The Eu

The present work tackles the crucial issue of global sustainability and the challenge of policy coherence around sustainability, focusing on sustainability reporting in the fashion industry in the EU. As the legislative framework has grown increasingly rigorous, so has the importance of well-formed and carefully focused legislation. By examining non-financial (sustainability) reporting in the fashion industry and its challenges, this paper exposes the most plausible next steps to be taken in terms of requirements for non-financial reporting as well as changes to corporate purpose and behaviour. This paper engages with policy and legal considerations, practical behaviour and their analysis in relation to sustainability science, providing an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary understanding of the sustainability reporting and adjacent framework in the EU.

scholarly journals Circular Economy and Waste in the Fashion Industry

Laws ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Jacometti
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Chemical Substances ◽  
Waste Production ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
Global Concern ◽  
Textiles And Clothing ◽  
The Eu

The fashion industry has to play an important role in the path towards sustainability and the circular economy. Indeed, the fashion industry is a sector with a high environmental impact; it involves a very long and complicated supply chain, which is associated with large consumption of water and energy, use of chemical substances, water and air pollution, waste production and finally microplastic generation. In particular, textiles and clothing waste has become a huge global concern. Against this background, this paper aims at analysing the existing EU measures that have an impact on the development of sustainable practices and the transition to a circular economy in the fashion industry, with a particular focus on the EU revised legislative framework on waste adopted within the Circular Economy Action Plan of 2015.

From voluntarism to regulation: effects of Directive 2014/95/EU on sustainability reporting in the EU

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Ottenstein ◽  
Saskia Erben ◽  
Sébastien Jost ◽  
Carl William Weuster ◽  
Henning Zülch
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Information Quantity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
The Eu

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to examine the effects of the European Non-financial Reporting Directive (2014/95/EU) on firms' sustainability reporting practices, especially reporting quantity (i.e. availability of information) and quality (i.e. comparability and credibility).Design/methodology/approachTo test the main hypotheses, the authors select 905 treated firms from the EU 28 + 2 countries for a difference-in-differences regression analysis of dependent variables from the Refinitiv ESG database.FindingsThe results suggest that the Directive influences sustainability reporting quantity and quality. Treated firms provide around 4 percentage points more sustainability information (i.e. availability) than propensity score matched control firms and are 19 percent more likely to receive external assurance (i.e. credibility). However, we also find that the Directive is not the decisive factor in the adoption of GRI guidelines (i.e. comparability).Research limitations/implicationsThe analysis is restricted to large listed firms and does not account for small, mid-sized and private firms. Further, cross-cultural differences which influence sustainability reporting are controlled for but not investigated in detail. The authors derive several suggestions for future research related to the NFR Directive and its revision.Practical implicationsThe authors’ findings have practical implications for the future development of sustainability reporting in the EU and for other regulators considering the adoption of sustainability reporting.Originality/valueThis study is the first to provide evidence on the NFR Directive's reporting effects across multiple countries. It adds to the growing literature on the consequences of mandatory sustainability reporting. Additionally, this paper introduces a novel measurement approach sustainability information quantity that could benefit researchers.

Regional and sub-regional effects on development policies: The Benelux and the Nordic countries compared

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 34-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauri Siitonen
Keyword(s):  
Nordic Countries ◽  
Policy Coherence ◽  
Bilateral Aid ◽  
Norm Diffusion ◽  
Politiques Publiques ◽  
Regional Effects ◽  
Development Policies ◽  
Politica Publica ◽  
Donor Coordination ◽  
The Eu

This is a comparative study of development policy behavior, testing the Europeanization hypothesis and the idea of sub-regional identification. It examines development policies of three Benelux countries and four Nordic countries. The comparison was partly quantitative, drawing from OECD data, and partly qualitative, based on policy analysis of similarities and differences in development policies of the countries under examination. The examination provides some evidence in support of the Europeanization hypothesis as far as the EU goals towards growth in member states’ aid volume and commitment to policy coherence for development were concerned. The alternative explanation was found to be stronger in helping understand performance in multilateral aid and allocation of bilateral aid. Common to the countries under examination is that they approximate a corporatist type of political economy, which helps in understanding identification and norm diffusion within sub-regional schemes. Neither explanation proposed here succeeded in explaining commitment to donor coordination.Spanish abstract: Este estudio comparativo del comportamiento de la política pública de desarrollo prueba la hipótesis de Europeización y la idea de identifi cación subregional. Las políticas públicas de desarrollo de tres países de Benelux y cuatro países Nórdicos fueron examinadas. La comparación fue cuantitativa y cualitativa, basada en análisis de similitud de política pública y diferencias en las políticas de desarrollo. El examen provee evidencia que apoya la hipótesis de Europeización tan lejos como las metas de crecimiento de la UE en volumen de ayuda y compromiso de coherencia de política de desarrollo de los estados miembros eran considerados. Se encontró sólida en ayudar entender el desempeño de la cooperación multilateral y la asignación de cooperación bilateral. Los países bajo estudio aproximan un tipo corporativista de economía política, que ayuda entender la identifi cación y difusión de normas dentro de esquemas subregionales. Ninguna explicación propuestas explica el compromiso con la coordinación del donante.French abstract: Cett e étude comparative évalue l’hypothèse de l’européanisation et l’idée de l’identification sous-régionale. Elle examine les politiques de développement des pays membres de deux schémas européens sous-régionaux : les trois pays du Benelux et les quatre pays nordiques. La comparaison est en partie quantitative à partir des données de l’OCDE et en partie qualitative, car elle se fonde sur une analyse de politiques publiques des similarités et des différences dans les politiques de développement des pays étudiés. L’analyse apporte des éléments en faveur de l’hypothèse de l’européanisation dans la mesure où les objectifs de l’EU en matière d’augmentation du volume de l’aide et de l’engagement en faveur de la cohérence des politiques publiques pour le développement (CPD) sont concernés. Cependant, l’explication alternative est avérée car elle permet de comprendre la performance de l’aide multilatérale et l’allocation de l’aide bilatérale. Un point commun entre les pays étudiés est qu’ils s’approchent d’un modèle corporatiste d’économie politique qui aide à comprendre l’identification et la diffusion normative à l’intérieur de cadres sous-régionaux. Cependant, aucune des explications proposées ne réussit à expliquer l’engagement en matière de coordination des donateurs.

scholarly journals Why “Less is More” in Non-Financial Reporting Initiatives: Concrete Steps Towards Supporting Sustainability

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgina Tsagas ◽  
Charlotte Villiers
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Less Is More ◽  
Csr Reporting ◽  
Corporate Reporting ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Key Aspects

AbstractCalls are repeatedly made on corporations to respond to the challenges facing the planet from a sustainable development perspective and governments take solace in the idea that corporations' transparency on their corporate activity in relation to sustainability through voluntary reporting is adequately addressing the problem. In practice, however, reporting is failing to deliver truly sustainable results. The article considers the following questions: how does the varied reporting landscape in the field of non-financial reporting impede the objectives of fostering corporations' sustainable practices and which initiative, among the options available, may best meet the sustainability objectives after a decluttering of the landscape takes place?The article argues that the varied corporate reporting landscape constitutes a key obstacle to fostering sustainable corporate behaviour, insofar as the flexible and please all approach followed in the context of corporate sustainability reporting offers little to no real incentive to companies to behave more sustainably and ultimately pleases none in the long run. The case made is that “less is more” in non-financial reporting initiatives and hence the article calls for a revision of key aspects of the European Non-Financial Reporting Directive, which, as is argued, is more likely to achieve the furtherance of sustainable corporate behaviour. Although the different reporting requirements offer the benefits of focussing on different corporate goals and activities, targeting different audiences and allowing for a level of flexibility that respects the individual risks to sustainability associated with each industry, the end result is a landscape that lacks overall consistency and comparability of measurements and accountabilities, making accountability more, rather than less, difficult to achieve.The article acknowledges the existence of several variances relating to the notion of sustainability per se, which continues to remain a contested concept and variances between companies and industries in relation to how each is operating sustainably or unsustainably respectively. Such variances have so far inhibited the legislator from easily outlining through tailored legislation the individual risks to global sustainability in an all-encompassing manner. The end product is a chaotic system of financial reporting, CSR reporting, non-financial reporting and integrated reporting and little progress to increase comparability and credibility in order for companies to be held accountable and to behave in ways that do not harm the planet. A “clean up” of the varied initiatives in the terrain of non-financial reporting is recommended.

Corporate social responsibility and earnings management in the EU: a panel data analysis approach

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Panagiotis E. Dimitropoulos
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Panel Data ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Negative Association ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Eu

Purpose Over the past decades, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been considered as a significant corporate strategy and also has been documented as a main information dissemination mechanism of corporations to shareholders, creditors and other external stakeholders. This fact makes the CSR activities and CSR performance interconnected with the quality of firms’ financial reporting. The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of CSR performance on the earnings management (EM) behaviour using a sample from 24 European Union (EU) countries summing up to 121,154 firm-year observations over the period 2003–2018. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a multi-country data set with various dimensions of CSR performance including indexes regarding workforce, community relations, product responsibility and human rights protection. The empirical analysis is conducted with panel data regressions. Findings Evidence supports the negative association between CSR and EM indicating that high CSR performing firms are associated with less income smoothing and discretionary accruals, thus with higher financial reporting quality. Practical implications Regulatory agencies in the EU could use the findings of the study for the improvement of the accounting framework via enhancing the use and publications of social and environmental responsibility information and reports. Social implications Also, the current paper could be of interest not only to academic researchers but also to potential and existing investors in European corporations. The negative association between CSR performance and EM could be used by investors in assessing the risk of firms and the quality and reliability of their financial information. Originality/value This is the first study within the EU, which considers the multi-facet characteristics of CSR on the quality of accounting earnings and offers useful policy implications for regulators and investors.

A Procedural Idea of Environmental Democracy: the 'Débat Public' Paradigm within the EU Framework

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-106
Author(s):  
Alberto Nicòtina
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
National Level ◽  
Research Subject ◽  
Environmental Decision Making ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
Débat Public ◽  
Environmental Democracy ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Environmental Decision

The aim of this paper is to analyse the 'débat public' procedure, which finds its roots in the Canadian legal system and its most defined formulation in France, and which more recently has been circulating to Italy – first at the regional level and, since 2016, at the national level. The first part of the paper will thus be devoted to a historical overview of the débat public and to how it is implemented in each of the two legal systems. The second part will subsequently distil the 'paradigm', i. e. those distinctive traits that make the débat public an autonomous research subject, within the multi-layered legislative framework of environmental governance in Europe. Three main features of the paradigm will be pointed out (Participation, Effectiveness, Authority), thus highlighting how it can respond to the needs in light of which it has been designed, namely dealing with proximity conflicts and providing a forum for the construction of shared rational decisions in environmental decision-making. The paper eventually leads to the conclusion that the débat public, with its codified rules and procedures, represents the first and probably the most noticeable attempt towards the institutionalisation and generalisation of deliberative practices in environmental decision-making, thus towards developing a procedural stance in environmental democracy.

Tamed Transparency: How Information Disclosure under the Global Reporting Initiative Fails to Empower

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 74-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Dingwerth ◽  
Margot Eichinger
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Voluntary Disclosure ◽  
Information Disclosure ◽  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Global Reporting Initiative ◽  
Reporting Scheme ◽  
Corporate World ◽  
Four Levels ◽  
The Relationship

In this contribution, we explore the tensions that seem inherent in the claim that transparency policies “empower” the users of disclosed information vis-àvis those who are asked to provide the information. Since these tensions are particularly relevant in relation to voluntary disclosure, our analysis focuses on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) as the world's leading voluntary corporate non-financial reporting scheme. Corporate sustainability reporting is often hailed as a powerful instrument to improve the environmental performance of business and to empower societal groups, including consumers, in their relations with the corporate world. Yet, our analysis illustrates that the relationship between transparency and empowerment is conflictual at all four levels of activity examined in this article: in the rhetoric and policies of the GRI as well as in the actual reporting practice and in the activities of intermediaries in response to the organization's disclosure standard.

scholarly journals Conceptual provisions of information systematization to analyze the financial sustainability of the university

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 711-724
Author(s):  
Artem V. KRIVOSHEEV
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Financial Stability ◽  
Objective Assessment ◽  
Information Support ◽  
Financial Sustainability ◽  
Comparison Results ◽  
The University ◽  
High Degree

Subject. This article explores the need of public sector organizations, and universities in particular, to classify the source data to conduct a reliable and trustworthy analysis of their financial stability. Objectives. The article aims to develop information support for a comprehensive economic analysis of the financial stability of the university by determining the sources of data used to analyze its financial stability. Methods. For the study, I used the methods of analysis, synthesis, and comparison. Results. Based on the study of accounting (financial) reporting indicators, the article proposes to determine three levels of data systematization, i.e. managerial, departmental, and public ones. The article substantiates proposals to clarify the provisions of the Instructions on the preparation, presentation of the annual, quarterly accounting of State (municipal) budgetary and autonomous institutions for economic analysis of the financial stability of public sector institutions. Conclusions. The current state of the methods used to assess financial stability makes it difficult to widely disseminate and implement them in the analytical activities of public sector institutions, including universities. Practical application of the original developments by grouping data sources to analyze the financial stability of the university, as well as the division of these groups into levels will help provide the most objective assessment, which will have a high degree of confidence in the assessment of the financial sustainability of budgetary and autonomous institutions of higher education.

scholarly journals Development of the EU legal framework on non-financial reporting

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 160-183
Author(s):  
Milena Mitrović
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
The Eu
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