Sustainability of Italian Listed Companies in Non-Financial Reporting

Because of air, water, and waste pollution of corporations and its effect on the environment and agriculture, environmental sustainability disclosure is growingly relevant for shareholders, governments, and regulators. Therefore, listed companies tend to have a strong motivation to build and improve sustainability practices, which are reflected in their values, strategies, and production processes. According to Corporate Social Responsibility Directive 2022/2464 (CSRD), amending European Non-Financial Reporting Directive (2014/95/EU), Italian Public Interest Entities listed on the Milan stock exchange are obliged to include a non-financial sustainability statement in their published annual company reports and explain the details of their corporate social responsibility projects. In the following case study, environmental aspects of annual sustainability reports of MIB (Milano Indice di Borsa) listed companies referring to the years 2019–2021 are examined and relevant keywords are analyzed. In a world of constant technological shifts, it is discussed how large companies can contribute to climate change mitigation with their various sustainability initiatives, such as waste and water management and reduction of pollutive emissions during the production process thanks to innovations, while still ensuring company competitiveness. The findings of this case study aim at helping non-financial statement readers, such as shareholders and analysts, to assess the quality of sustainability reports by providing empirical results that can help support their interpretation of non-financial statement information.