Sustainability Reporting and Company Financial Performance: Evidence from an Emerging Market

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to examine the level of compliance to the sustainability practices and investigate the impact of sustainability reporting on the financial performance of Public Listed Companies in Sri Lanka. Sustainability disclosures were measured using social, economic, and environmental sustainability initiatives, and the company performance was measured through Return on Equity (ROE), Return on Assets (ROA), and Return on Sales (ROS). The study becomes original by applying an appropriate index to measure the sustainability reporting compared to the existing indexes used in Sri Lanka and applying the latest GRI 20 guidelines. In addition, the panel data regression model was employed to analyse the data from 2012 to 2019. The results suggest that social sustainability reporting has a significant positive impact on company performance measured through ROE. Henceforth, company managers, directors, and investors should focus more on fulfilling and considering the Social Sustainability Guidelines.