Impact of Non-Financial Reporting Directive in Energy Industry: Case of Czech Republic

The objective is to assess the quality and quantity of non-financial disclosures required by Directive 2014/95/EU for companies operating in the energy sector in the Czech Republic before and after the introduction of the obligation of non-financial disclosure for large publicly traded companies. The information disclosed by companies is the subject of quantitative research. Non-financial information in the form of annual reports or sustainability reports before (2015, 2016) and after (2017-2021) the introduction of the duty of non-financial reporting was the subject of the analysis. The textual analysis of these reports was carried out using IRAMUTEQ software and used to assess the quality of non-financial reporting of Czech energy companies. The quality of disclosures was evaluated in two ways: the length of non-financial reports (number of words, sentences and pages) and the incidence and number of occurrences of identified words. A paired t-test was employed for the evaluation. It was confirmed that those companies that were required to report non-financial information related to their operations in 2017 increased their disclosures in areas with the strongest environmental impact. This method could allow stakeholders to assess the quality of disclosure and its evolution over time with relative ease. Implications for Central European audience: Companies should offer transparent information about the environmental impact of their activities and how they engage with employees and other partners. Non-financial reporting plays a crucial role in achieving this transparency. Given the substantial environmental footprint of companies in the energy industry, the objective of this paper was to assess whether companies operating in Central Europe provide stakeholders with pertinent information and to examine the impact of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive on the disclosed information.