Sustainability Reporting: Recent Trends, Present Scenario and the Way Ahead

Traditionally, it was considered sufficient for businesses to produce and supply goods and services to fulfill the material needs of the members of society. In today’s time, however, in addition to the production of goods and services, companies are also expected to account for the way they impact the communities and natural environments where they operate. This raises the importance of accurately and transparently accounting for and reporting the multiple impacts of the activities of the business. Sustainability Reporting (SR) was introduced as a tool to measure the performance of a business on multiple dimensions, namely — economic, social and environmental. Globally, SR or Non-Financial Reporting (NFR) has gained popularity as an important device for companies to communicate the social and environmental effects of their activities to society. The chapter presents an overview of trends in Sustainability Reporting in the past and scrutinizes the present scenario as well as predicts the SR scenario for the future with a special focus on India. The study notes the trend towards merging of financial and “non-financial” reporting and predicts that it is expected to accelerate further in the next few years along with an increasing focus on the UNDP’s SDGs in these reports.