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I och med att människor i dagens samhälle blivit mer insatta i hållbarhetsfrågor har efterfrågan på hållbara organisationerökat.Detta har medfört att många organisationer valt att frivilligt börja hållbarhetsredovisa för att visa att dem är bra samhällsaktörer och på så sätt uppnå legitimitet. Syftet med denna studie är att skapa förståelse för hur legitimitet kan eftersträvas i tjänsteföretags hållbarhetsredovisninggenom att beskrivahur hållbarhetsredovisningutvecklats över tid,samt identifiera bakomliggande orsaksfaktorer för varförrapporteringensförändring och utveckling skettmed tiden.För att besvara studiens syfte har en longitudinell studie på Sveriges fyra storbanker genomförts. Studien genomfördes genom både innehållsanalyser av hållbarhetsredovisningarna från dess att bankerna började hållbarhetsredovisa fram till den senast publicerade, samt genom intervjuer med tre av storbankerna. Utifrån Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI:s)kategorier om samhällsansvar (ekonomisk påverkan, miljöpåverkan och social påverkan) har förändringar i kommunikationen identifierats. Analysen visar att de bakomliggande faktorerna till varför förändring i bankernas hållbarhetsredovisning skett med tiden är på grund av att GRI:s riktlinjer förändrats, aktuella frågor i omvärlden och samhället har förändrats vilket medfört att vissa frågor fått ett större utrymme i bankernas hållbarhetsredovisning. Bankerna anpassar även innehålli hållbarhetsredovisningen efter vad deras intressenterefterfrågar och kraven som dem ställer på bankerna,vilket är i linje med den institutionella teorin.Vidare fångar bankerna även upp vad konkurrenterna redovisar om för att ta reda på vilket sätt som verkarbästatt göra det på. Redovisningen om den sociala påverkan har med tiden fått allt större utrymme i redovisningen, medan redovisningen om bankernas miljöpåverkan haft en nedåtgående trend. Detta har förklarats genom att intressenternas medvetenhet gällande hållbarhetsfrågor ökat och att dem nu efterfrågar mer social information frånorganisationerna än vad dem tidigare har gjort, då efterfrågan på miljöinformation var stor. En banks direkta miljöpåverkan bedöms även vara relativt begränsad givet deras faktiska verksamhet vilket också lett till att redovisningen om miljön minskat. / As people in today's society have become more aware of sustainability issues, the demand for sustainable enterprises has increased. This has resulted that many companies have chosen to voluntarily begin to implement the sustainability report to show that they are good actors in society and thereby achieve legitimacy. The purpose of this study is to create an understanding of how legitimacy can be pursued in service companies sustainability report by describing how sustainability reporting has developed over time and to identify the underlying causal factors for why reporting change and development has occurred over time. To address the purpose of the study, a longitudinal study of Sweden's four major banks has been conducted. The study was conducted through both the content analysis of sustainability reports, from when the banks began to sustainability report to the latest published, as well as through interviews with three of the major banks. Based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) categories of corporate social responsibility (financial, environmental and social impacts), changes in the banks communication has been identified. The analysis of the categories shows that the underlying factors why changes in the major banks Sustainability reports has occurred over time is due to the GRI’s guidelines have changed, current issues in the world and society have changed, which meant that certain issues have a larger space in the Sustainability reports. Banks also adapts the content of the sustainability report according to what their stakeholders demand and the requirements they place on the banks, which is consistent with the institutional theory. Further, the major banks also capture what their competitors has reported to find out what seems best. The report on the social impact has over time become more increasingly significant in sustainability accounting, while accounting for banks' environmental impact been on a downward trend. This has been explained by stakeholders' increasingly awareness regarding sustainability issues and that they are now demanding more information about organizations social impacts than they previously did, when the demand for environmental information was great. A bank's direct environmental impact is also expected to be relatively limited given their actual operations, which has also lead to decrease about the reporting of the environmental impacts.

Problem: Legitimacy is a resource that organizations depend on for their survival. According to legitimacy theory companies need to make sure that they are recognized as operating within the bounds and norms of society and sustainability reports is a way for companies to communicate this. Due to an addition to the Swedish annual accounting law in 2016, large companies are required to produce a sustainability report and to report the consequences that the company operations has on the environment, social conditions, employees, respect for human rights and counteracting corruption. Because companies are required to disclose these negative aspects, they need to do it strategically to not damage their legitimacy. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to understand how Swedish companies in the steel industry legitimize negative aspects of their operations in sustainability reports and to understand if there is a pattern between the type of negative aspect disclosed and the type of legitimation strategy used. Method: To achieve the purpose of our study, a qualitative method has been used. A multiple case-study with a document analysis has been conducted on the sustainability reports of Sandvik, SSAB, Boliden, LKAB and Outokumpu for year 2018. To conduct this study, legitimacy theory and Hahn & Lülfs (2014) legitimation strategies have been essential to fulfill the purpose. Results: Swedish companies in the steel industry use Hahn & Lülfs (2014) legitimation strategies and our new identified legitimation strategy, balancing, to legitimize negative aspects in their sustainability reports. We found four clear patterns between the type of negative aspect reported and the strategy used to legitimize the aspect. Conclusion: Our findings confirm that Hahn & Lülfs (2014) strategies to explain how companies legitimize negative aspects in sustainability reports are also applicable to the Swedish steel industry. The contribution to previous research on this topic is the new additional strategy that is used by the analyzed companies.

In 2017 changes (SFS 2016:947) for sustainability reporting in Sweden were made in the Annual Accounts Act (SFS 1995:1554). Since the regulation was recently imposed, there is little evidence for how it has impacted the content of sustainability reports. This study explores the use and amount of quantitative versus qualitative information before and after the regulation. This to explore how it has affected the content and thereby the identified quality factors: transparency, comparability, verifiability and assurance. A content analysis was performed where 17 companies from Nordic-Large cap were chosen and their sustainability reports were studied. The result show that the content of the reports differs, this since new information have been added, for example information about risks and policies. However, the content is also similar in many instances between the years, for example in terms of value words and the type of information provided in tables and charts. The factors of quality have been affected by these similarities and differences. Additionally, the study also show that the regulation has not reduced the amount of qualitative information in relation to quantitative information which has had a negative impact on the four quality factors.

Background and problem discussion: Society's increased concern about environmental pollution, the greenhouse effect, climate change and human rights violations have inspired business practices that take greater account of social responsibility. This has led to the fact that since 2017 it is mandatory for companies of a certain size to report non-financial information on how they deal with social and environmental issues in a sustainability report. An industry that has high pressure to report how they work for sustainable development is the aviation industry, but previous studies show that there is uncertainty about how to report sustainability and that it has led to a lack of quality in the reports. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to examine and add understanding of quality in sustainability reporting. The study also aims to compare sustainability reports over time and examine if the quality within sustainability reporting has changed. Method: This study uses a comparative and longitudinal research design. The study is based on a qualitative research strategy with quantitative elements using a qualitative content analysis. An encoding scheme is used to assess the companies' sustainability reports. Results: The study's empirical data shows that the quality of the sustainability reports within European airlines has improved considerably between 2015-2018, but there is still room for sustainability reporting to develop. Through a review of the companies‟ sustainability reports, you can see a clear direction that the sustainability reports are showing more and more similarities in terms of quality, and the companies have focused most on improving the reporting of trends over time as well as their performance in environmental issues. / Bakgrund och problemformulering: Samhällets ökade oro kring miljöförstöring,växthuseffekten, klimatförändringar och kränkningar av mänskliga rättigheter har inspirerattill affärsmetoder som tar större hänsyn till socialt ansvar. Detta har lett till att det sedan 2017 är obligatoriskt för företag av en viss storlek att redovisa icke-finansiell information kring hur de bemöter sociala och miljörelaterade frågor samt utmaningar i en hållbarhetsrapport. En bransch som har hög press på sig att redovisa på vilket sätt de arbetar för en hållbar utveckling är flygbranschen, men tidigare studier visar att det råder en osäkerhet kring hur man ska hållbarhetsrapportera och att det lett till en bristande kvalité på rapporterna. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka samt tillföra förståelse för kvalité inom hållbarhetsredovisning. Vidare syftar studien till att jämföra hållbarhetsrapporter över tid och undersöka om det skett någon förändring gällande hållbarhetsredovisningens kvalité. Metod: Denna studie använder sig av en komparativ samt longitudinell forskningsdesign. Studien utgår ifrån en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi med kvantitativa inslag där en kvalitativ innehållsanalys används. Ett kodningsschema används för att undersöka företagens hållbarhetsredovisningar. Slutsats: Studiens empiri visar att kvalitén på hållbarhetsredovisningen inom Europeiska flygbolag har förbättrats avsevärt mellan år 2015-2018, men det finns ännu stort utrymme för hållbarhetsredovisningen att utvecklas. Genom en granskning av bolagens hållbarhetsrapporter ser man en tydlig riktning mot att hållbarhetsredovisningarna visar alltmer likheter kvalitetsmässigt, och bolagen har lagt mest fokus på att förbättra redovisningen av trender över tiden samt deras prestationer inom miljömässiga frågor.

Bakgrund: Hållbarhetsredovisning har växt sig allt starkare genom åren och 2017 infördes en lag gällande just detta. Innan lagen, hållbarhetsredovisade majoriteten av stora företag i Sverige. Över åren har det även skett en förändring vad gäller innehållet i hållbarhetsredovisningarna. Sandvik är ett företag som har inkluderats i olika hållbarhetsindex genom åren. Men hur har Sandvik gått tillväga för att utveckla en sådan bra hållbarhetsredovisning och vad har intressenter och samhället för roll av utvecklandet? Syfte: Denna uppsats kan bidra till att fördjupa kunskapen om hur ett excellent företag har utvecklat och förändrat sin hållbarhetsredovisning longitudinellt under 11 år. Metod: Studien är byggd på en kvalitativ forskningsmetod. Datainsamlingen är gjord enligt mallar som är utformad av GRI:s ramverk och utifrån variabler som anses relevanta vid en undersökning av hållbarhetsrapporter. En person vid Sandvik har blivit intervjuad för att få en djupare förståelse i Sandviks hållbarhetsredovisning. Empirin består av en sammanfattning av nyckelorden i mallarna och intervjun. I analysen ställs empirin och intervjun mot teorier och tidigare forskning. Slutsats: Studiens resultat visar att Sandviks hållbarhetsredovisning har utvecklats under åren samt att resultatet kan tyda på att Sandviks intressenter och samhället har haft ett inflytande över Sandviks hållbarhetsredovisning. / Background: Sustainability reporting has grown stronger over the years. And 2017, a law was introduced concerning sustainability reporting. Before the law, the majority of large companies in Sweden developed sustainability report and there has been a change in the content of sustainability reports. Sandvik is a company that has been included in number of various sustainability indices over the years. But how did Sandvik develop such a good sustainability report and what is stakeholders and society’s role of the development. Purpose: This essay can help to deepen the knowledge of how an excellent company has developed and changed its sustainability report longitudinally for 11 years. Method: The study is based on a qualitative research method. The data collection is made by a template that is designed by GRI's frameworks and variables that are considered relevant in a research of sustainability reports. A person at Sandvik has been interviewed to gain a deeper understanding of Sandvik's sustainability report. The empirical data consists of a summary of the keywords in the templates and the interview. In the analysis, the empirics and the interview were set against theories and previous research Conclusion: The study results show that Sandvik's sustainability report has been developed over the years and that the results may indicate that Sandviks stakeholders and society have had an influence on Sandviks sustainability report.

<p>Background: The latest development within the business world has been characterized by deregulation and globalization which has made the company bigger and even more influential. The increased power has resulted in a shift of responsibility for the community from the public to the private sector. (Steinholtz och Löhman, 2003) There have been many trends regarding what accountability includes and how financial accounting can be complimented in a useful and reliable way. Some trends have come to stay whilst others have shown to be less successful or the world has not been ready for them. (Larsson, a, 2002) </p><p>Purpose: The purpose with this paper is to look at the historical development towards accounting for sustainability and to investigate what factors that might have hade an impact on this development. Besides this the paper aims to analyse how general acceptance can be achieved and how present practice look like. </p><p>Delimitations: The study regarding current practice is limited to the companies that have won the Swedish trial to the European Sustainability Reporting Awards (ESRA) competition for best sustainability report and best newcomer for 2001 and 2002. This is done to bring forward the predecessors within sustainability reporting. Method: The study is qualitative and built on secondary data. A selection of information from scientist, laws and practitioners have been used to enlighten the historical development that leads to accounting for sustainability. </p><p>Result: The acceptance regarding environmental reporting is a consequence of the attention it has received from nations, authorities and the public in general. When it comes to social reporting it hasn’t come to be as accepted amongst companies. Access to general guidelines that can be used by all companies is important for satisfying stakeholder’s information need. If organisations continue to bring forward role models, in time the sustainability report will be able to give useful information and be a compliment to financial reporting. The sustainability report should be seen as a communication tool that can be used to inform and legitimize the companies operations. This information is needed to be able to evaluate the company’s future position and sustainable development.</p>

<p>Bakgrund: Under slutet av 1900-talet uppstod ett intresse bland svenska företag att redovisa miljöinformation. I dag finns endast lagstadgade krav på att företag som bedriver tillstånds- eller anmälningspliktig verksamhet enligt miljöbalken skall ange detta samt ett antal andra relaterade uppgifter i årsredovisningens förvaltningsberättelse. Miljöredovisning är annars inte reglerat enligt svensk lag och det finns inte inom området någon enhetlig praxis. Hur redovisar de börsnoterad företagen miljöinformation? Följer de lagens krav? Använder sig företagen av de riktlinjer och standarder som finns, vid utformningen av sin miljöinformation?</p><p>Syfte: är att undersöka hur svenska börsföretag 2004 har redovisat miljöinformation i sina årsrapporter, samt eventuella separata miljö- eller hållbarhetsredovisningar.</p><p>Genomförande: Kvantitativ undersökning (dokumentundersökning) av 270 svenska börsföretags årsredovisningar</p><p>Resultat: De lagstadgade kraven som ställs på redovisning av miljöinformation följs illa, 69 procent bryter på något sätt mot kraven. Inte i något fall har detta kommenterats av revisorn i revisionsberättelsen. På grund av bristen av enhetliga riktlinjer redovisas miljöinformation på varierande sätt i företagen, vilket försvårar jämförbarheten företagen emellan. Den miljöinformation som redovisas håller generellt, med några undantag, hög kvalitet och är relevant i sin karaktär.</p> / <p>Background: During the late 20th century an interest for environmental accounting arose among the Swedish companies. Today there only exist legislated demands for companies that run businesses that require a permit, or require a report, according to the Swedish environmental Act. There is no other legislation or regulation in the field of environmental accounting. How do the listed companies in Sweden design their environmental accounting? Do they follow the law? To what extent do they use the guidelines and standards available when they put their environmental information together?</p><p>Aim: The aim of this thesis is to investigate how Swedish companies declares environmental information in their annual reports, and if any, in their environmental or sustainability reports.</p><p>Completion: A quantitative survey of annual reports from 270 Swedish listed companies.</p><p>Results: The legislated demands are scarcely followed, 69 per cent of the companies have broken against at least one of the demands. Due to the lack of uniformed guidelines, there is a remarkable difference in the information provided and therefore the comparability decreases. The environmental information provided is, in most cases, of high quality and is relevant as well.</p>

<p>This study deals with sustainability reporting in three governmental and three non-governmental Swedish companies in different industries. With increasing demands from the society regarding company’s CSR - Corporate social responsibility, the perspective of accounting gets broader and covers even non-financial information to meet not only the owners’ demands but also others stakeholders' requirements. Sustainability has become an important tool for creating company’s business value and a positive sustainable external image. Different requirements in the field of such accounting for state and non-state enterprises make the phenomenon interesting to study. The purpose of this study was to find out how the sustainability reporting differs between governmental and non-governmental Swedish companies and how it is influenced by the legitimacy and stakeholders’ perspective.</p><p>The six companies included in the case study were state-owned SAS, Vattenfall and TeliaSonera and non-governmental Peab, Alfa-Laval and RNB Retail and Brands. To understand the phenomenon and explain the empirical data the using of legitimacy and stakeholder theories were helpful. Furthermore, mandatory and optional regulations in the area were presented, as well as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines, which are becoming more recognized as a standard for sustainability reporting. The Empirical data was taken from interviewing the qualified people from the respective companies, corporate sustainability reports and other sustainability-related information. After the completed research it revealed that sustainability reporting is different depending on the type of company, its business and its stakeholders. The non-mandatory regulation in the area creates flexibility for the company, which gives companies greater capacity and opportunity for self-regulation within the CSR field.</p>

Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.