Corporate Responsibility Reporting: A Content Analysis Of Non-Financial Reports Issued By The Top Ten Companies Listed On The Bucharest Stock Exchange Market

Over the last decades, an increasing number of researchers and practitioners have expressed their interest for sustainable development and sustainability. Since it was introduced in 1987, the concept of sustainable development was addressed by the United Nations through various ways, which are of reference not only to countries, but also to companies. Yet, there is still a lack of a clear understanding regarding how organisations should address sustainability, despite all the efforts to encourage businesses to improve their triple bottom line. Nowadays, corporate responsibility reporting has become common practice among world's largest companies, as individuals begin to consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in particular into their investment decisions. Nevertheless, adapting to a business environment where responsible investment becomes the norm poses a number of challenges to organisations. Although non-financial disclosure is gradually gaining momentum and receiving more and more attention in Europe, on the Eastern side of the continent there is still a considerable emphasis placed on financial reports. With a pro-foreign investment stance, Romania stands out at regional level, being among the top emerging markets. Also, trading on the Bucharest Stock Exchange Market (BVB) has become attractive to investors due to a number of reasons which include high dividends, a growing market potential and an increasing transparency of the issuers. Therefore, the aim of the present paper is to provide a content analysis of non-financial reports issued by the top ten companies listed on Bucharest Stock Exchange Market regarding the way they embed sustainability considerations into their business discourse.