Sustainability Reporting Practices in Emerging Economies: A Cross-Country Study of BRICS Nations

In the backdrop of a growing geo-political and economic importance of emerging economies, the objective of this paper is to ascertain whether firms in emerging economy are willing to match their increased economic weight with greater social responsibility. Given the relative scarcity of research in Sustainability Reporting (SR) practices in BRICS, particular attention is to be given to firms from these countries. The research question is examined through the analysis of differences between firms from BRICS nations in terms of various indicators of sustainability reporting practices. This study aims to evaluate corporate sustainability reporting according to the GRI framework developed by the Global Reporting Initiative. The firms in the sample display clear evidence of a divide among emerging economies in SR practices. India, score the highest across all dimensions i.e. economic, environmental and social followed by China while Russian companies have poor score across all categories. The leading industry complying with GRI reporting practices in case of India is Computer Hardware & Software industry with sustainability score of 94.02% and in Brazil, it is Pulp & Paper with 87.97% sustainability disclosure score. In Russia, it is Oil & Gas with 60.84% and in the case of China it is Automobiles & Transport with 71.06% disclosure score and retail industry in South Africa with 62.84% disclosurescore.