The review of company response on sustainable development goals in finance sector companies in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Recently, sustainable development has become a buzzword in all types of industries since reducing the negative environmental impact of business activities has been identified as a source of competitive advantage for a business. Nowadays, Sustainability development goals are already a part of industries system and are changing the way entities travel. Among them Finance sector companies in Sri Lanka are increasingly concerned about Sustainability development goals due to achieve competitive advantages through this. This study’s purpose is to explore how Sri Lankan finance companies report on sustainable development goals (SDGs) and to identify company strategies toward SDGs. This study is conducted by analyzing the content of annual reports, websites and magazines issued by the listed finance companies in Sri Lanka. The sample includes 24 Commercial Banks for five years from 2017 to 2022. Qualitative content analyses are used to determine the nature of company responses to SDG and link to company strategies. Results show that finance sector companies have disclosed only a few SDGs in initial periods and by now tend to disclose all 17 goals in their reports and commitment to them is emphasized through strategies. Fund allocations for certain SDGs such as for SDG 4-Quality education gradually increased over the years. In reporting related information, companies have used GRI guidelines and included more pictures and images in addition to narratives. In Sri Lanka, there is a scarcity of publications on how businesses are addressing the SDGs. This study provides some answers to that question by focusing on how companies disclose information about SDGs and link them to SDG-focused sustainability strategies. And this paper suggests future research exploring the implementation of sustainable strategies.