Background: The arctic ice is melting, and the world is faced with the most significant societal challenge so far, climate change. Companies worldwide have a significant impact on carbon emissions, and therefore, sustainability reporting is an essential tool to increase transparency. Sustainability reporting has an increasing role in the societal context since requested by stakeholders; stakeholders are also more engaged in companies conducting sustainability reports.   Purpose: This thesis aims to explore a case company and the connection between conducting a sustainability report and the potential change in organizational culture that follows. Therefore, the research aims to answer the question of how the change is perceived within the company.  Method: The thesis was conducted in a qualitative approach with an interpretivism paradigm. A single case study was used to gain deep insight and knowledge from a company that had just started its sustainability reporting journey. The research context was based in Sweden. The findings were collected through semi-structured interviews; employees on all company levels were interviewed to get results that represent the whole company.   Conclusion: The findings showed that changes were occurring within the organizational culture when the organization started its sustainability reporting. The main changes were increased stakeholder engagement and increased internal communication. The organization has experienced much growth lately. However, sustainability reporting cannot be singled out to be the only driver for the major changes occurring in the company.

Hållbarhetsfrågor får allt större betydelse i dagens samhälle, vilket även inkluderar företags arbete. Tidigare forskning om hållbarhetskommunikation har däremot mestadels ett konsumentperspektiv. Samtidigt anses hållbarhetsrapportering vara ett tillvägagångssätt för att kommunicera hållbarhetsarbete till fler intressenter. Inom hållbarhetsrapportering sker kommunikationen genom både textuell information och visuella element, såsom diagram, grafer och tabeller, ikoner, fotografier, infografik och layout. Tidigare forskning har framför allt genomförts om textuell information i hållbarhetsrapporteringen, samt separat för respektive visuellt element. En gemensam uppfattning är dock att respektive visuellt element kombinerat med textuell information är att föredra. Med anledning av bristfällig forskning av de visuella elementen i hållbarhetsrapporteringen samt dess betydelse, kommer studien därför undersöka hur och varför dessa används separat och gemensamt. Syftet med studien är därmed att undersöka företags användning av visuella element för att kommunicera hållbarhetsarbete genom hållbarhetsrapportering. I studien redogörs hållbarhetskommunikation, hållbarhetsrapportering och de fem visuella elementen som identifierats. För att besvara studiens syfte genomfördes en fallstudie med fem fallföretag från olika branscher, samt inriktade mot konsument respektive andra företag. Data samlades in genom en dokumentstudie av fallföretagens hållbarhetsrapportering upprättade under år 2020 eller 2020/2021, där de visuella elementen granskades. Dokumenten var ett komplement till studiens fem kvalitativa intervjuer med sex respondenter anställda på fallföretagen, med kunskap om hållbarhetsrapportering. Studiens resultat indikerar några gemensamma orsaker till användningen av visuella element i hållbarhetsrapporteringen såsom att förenkla för läsaren, samt en genomtänkt utformning. Kombinationen mellan visuella element och textuell information påvisas betydelsefull, men enligt studiens resultat bör visuella element ses som ett komplement i kommunikationen genom hållbarhetsrapporteringen. I huvudsak återfinns däremot skilda anledningar till användningen av respektive visuellt element samt helheten, vilket kan bero på olika branschtillhörighet, samt inriktad mot konsument respektive andra företag. / Sustainability issues are becoming more important in today’s society, which also includes companies’ actions. On the other hand, previous research regarding sustainability communication has mainly a consumer perspective. At the same time, sustainability reporting is a way to communicate sustainability activities to more stakeholders. Communication through sustainability reporting can be performed via both textual information and visuals, such as diagrams, graphs and tables, icons, photographs, infographics, and layout. Previous research has mainly been carried out regarding textual information in sustainability reporting, and separately about each visual. However, a common perception is that each visual combined with textual information is preferable. Due to inadequate research of the visuals in sustainability reporting, and its importance, the study will therefore examine how and why these are used separately and combined. The purpose of the study is thereby to examine companies use of visuals to communicate sustainability activities through sustainability reporting. The study presents sustainability communication, sustainability reporting and the five identified visuals. To answer the purpose of the study, a case study was conducted with five case companies from different industries and directed to consumers and other companies. Data were collected through a document study of the case companies’ sustainability reporting created during the year 2020 or 2020/2021, where the visuals were reviewed. The documents were a complement to the study’s five qualitative interviews with six respondents employed at the case companies, with knowledge about sustainability reporting.  The results of the study indicate some common reasons for the use of visuals in sustainability reporting, such as simplifying for the reader and well thought out design. The combination of visuals and textual information is indicated to be important, but according to the results of the study, visuals should be seen as a complement in communication through sustainability reporting. On the other hand, there are mainly different reasons for the use of each visual and itscomposition, which may be due to different industries, and aimed at consumers and other companies.

Bakgrund och problem: Tidigare studier visar att antalet hållbarhetsrapporter växer men att det finns stora brister i kvaliteten i form av relevans och trovärdighet. Den svenska stålindustrin brukar få mycket mediauppmärksamhet för sina stora utsläpp, som år 2019 stod för 12,16%, av landets totala utsläpp. Sedan 2017 har det varit obligatoriskt för företag som uppfyller särskilda kriterier att hållbarhetsrapportera. Således uppstår frågan om hur lagkravet påverkat kvaliteten i dem svenska stålföretagens hållbarhetsrapporter mellan åren 2016–2019. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att granska och mäta kvaliteten i svenska stålföretagens hållbarhetsrapporter för att sedan se hur dem har förändrats mellan åren 2016–2019. Detta för att se hur införandet av obligatorisk hållbarhetsrapportering år 2017 har påverkat kvaliteten i hållbarhetsrapporterna. Resultaten av studien kan förslagsvis användas som underlag vid jämförelser med andra branscher. Metod: I denna studie har en longitudinell forskningsdesign valts för att följa kvalitetsutvecklingen från år 2016 till och med år 2019. Studien använder sig av en kvalitativ innehållsanalys utifrån ett kodningsschema för att undersöka kvaliteten i form av relevans och trovärdighet i hållbarhetsrapporterna. Resultat och slutsats: Resultatet stöds av tidigare forskning och visar att kvaliteten ihållbarhetsrapporterna har ökat successivt över åren 2016–2019. Den lägsta nivån har höjts avsevärt i både relevans och trovärdighet samtidigt som CSR-aktiviteterna blivit mer homogena över tid. Företag som tillämpad GRI:s standarder får högre kvalitet i sina rapporter. Tydligare lagar och krav på innehåll och standarder kan leda till hållbarhetsrapporterna kan få ökad kvalitet och jämförbarhet. / Background and problem: Previous studies show that the number of sustainability reports is growing, but that there are major shortcomings in quality in the form of relevance and credibility. The Swedish steel industry usually receives a lot of media attention for its large emissions, which in 2019 accounted for 12.16% of the country's total emissions. Since 2017, it has been mandatory for companies that meet special criteria to report sustainability. Thus, the question arises as to how the legal requirement affected the quality of the Swedish steel companies' sustainability reports between the years 2016–2019. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine and measure the quality of Swedish steel companies' sustainability reports and then see how they have changed between the years 2016–2019. This is to see how the introduction of mandatory sustainability reporting in 2017 has affected the quality of the sustainability reports. The results of the study can be used as a basis for comparisons with other industries. Method: In this study, a longitudinal research design has been chosen to follow the quality development from 2016 to 2019. The study uses a qualitative content analysis based on acoding scheme to examine the quality in terms of relevance and credibility in the sustainability reports. Results and conclusions: The results are supported by previous research and show that the quality of the sustainability reports has increased gradually over the years 2016–2019. The lowest level has been raised significantly in both relevance and credibility, while CSR activities have become more homogeneous over time. Companies that apply GRI's standards get higher quality in their reports. Clearer laws and requirements for content and standards can lead to sustainability reports can increase quality and comparability.

MCom / Department of Accountancy / The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) concept emerged in the 1960s as an attempt to link businesses with their surrounding society and environment. Over recent years, CSR has been recognized as one of the significant concepts that are prioritized in both academic and professional practices, and this concept has also aided companies to achieve sustainable competitive advantages within their respective industries. This study is aimed at evaluating the nature and level of CSR disclosure in the South African banking institutions in comparison to Nigerian and United Kingdom banking institutions. Secondly, it aims to investigate the determinants of CSR disclosure of the South African, United Kingdom and Nigerian banking institutions. The study used data collected from the integrated reports of South African, Nigerian and the United Kingdom listed banks during the period from 2010 until 2018. In line with the Branco and Rodrigues’ (2006 and 2008) disclosure index, the study used 23 items of CSR disclosure to conduct the content analysis of the bank’s integrated reports to evaluate the nature and level of CSR disclosure. The study also made use of the regression analysis to identify the determinants of CSR disclosure used by South African, United Kingdom and Nigerian banks. The data collected for the regression analysis was split into three panels, namely, South African banks, Nigerian banks and the full sample. To identify these determinants, the study utilized STATA 15 and the fixed effects and random effects estimators to fit the regression models. The results of the content analysis show that South African and the United Kingdom banks mainly focused on the disclosure of CSR information relating to Human Resources while the Nigerian banks mainly focuses on the disclosure of CSR information relating to Product and Customers. The study also found that the overall level of CSR disclosure between the three countries does not differ significantly. With regard to the determinants of CSR disclosure, the banks’ leverage and the number of board members appear to be the main factors that have either a positive or negative impact, on the CSR disclosure in the South African banks. For Nigerian banks, the age of the banks is the only factor that appears to have an impact on the disclosure of CSR information. Furthermore, this study also found that the age of the bank is the main factor that has a positive impact on the disclosure of CSR information of the full sample (combined South African and Nigerian banks sample). Other factors including, bank size, return on equity, and ownership concentration were found to have no significant impact on the disclosure of CSR information of either South African or Nigerian banks. The study is subjected to the limitations of using manual content analysis and the use of integrated reports as the only source of data collected for the study. This study contributes to the limited literature on CSR disclosure within financial institutions. / NRF

Studiens syfte har varit att analysera och jämföra utvecklingen samt harmoniseringen av hållbarhetsrapportering av The Big 4 i Sverige och Storbritannien under fyra löpande år (2016–2019). Denna studie genomfördes eftersom hålbarhetsrapportering blir allt mer väsentlig och revisionsföretagen har den kunskap som krävs om ämnet. Därför blir det relevant att analysera The Big 4:s egna hållbarhetsredovisningar. EU har skapat ett nytt EU-direktiv år 2014 i syfte att främja hållbarhetsrapporteringen och dess harmonisering på regional nivå. EU-direktivet har påverkat Sveriges och Storbritanniens nationella lagar om redovisning. Med hjälp av innehållsanalys av årsredovisningar, separata hållbarhetsrapporter och information på The Big 4:s hemsidor har empirin till studien tagits fram. För att kunna tolka den insamlade empirin har institutionella teorin, intressentteorin, legitimitetsteorin och konceptualisering om harmonisering använts. Med hjälp av detta har vi kommit fram till tre olika resultat. Det första resultatet är att The Big 4 använder olika presentationsform i respektive land. Det andra resultatet är att innehållet i The Big 4:s hållbarhetsrapporter skiljer sig mellan de två länderna. Det tredje och sista resultatet är att alla företag som tillhör The Big 4 i Sverige och Storbritannien ingår i FNGC samarbetet. / The purpose of the study was to analyze and compare the development and harmonization of the sustainability reporting of The Big 4 in Sweden and the UK over four consecutive years (2016–2019). This study was done because of sustainability reporting is becoming increasingly important and auditing companies have the knowledge required on the subject. Therefore, it becomes relevant to analyze The Big 4s sustainability reports. The EU has created a new EU-directive in 2014 to promote sustainability reporting and its harmonization at a regional level. The EU-directive has affected Sweden's and the UK's national accounting laws. Using content analysis of annual reports, separate sustainability reports and information published on The Big 4s websites, the empirical data for the study has been developed. To be able to interpret the empirical data collected, institutional theory, stakeholder theory, legitimacy theory and conceptualization of non-financial reporting harmonization have been used. With this we have come to three different results. The first result is that The Big 4 uses different presentation form in each country. The second result is that the contents of The Big 4:s sustainability reports differ between the two countries. The third and final result is that all companies belonging to The Big 4 in Sweden and the UK are part of the FNGC collaboration.

Syfte: Hållbarhet blir mer och mer betydelsefullt i vår värld och investerare vill satsa på hållbara företag där pengarna arbetar för goda syften. Ett sätt att mäta hållbarhet är ESG-betyg, där företagen av värderingsföretag bedöms utifrån kriterier inom miljö, social hållbarhet och ägarstyrning. Utsläpp av växthusgaser och koldioxidutsläpp ses som relevanta mått att mäta hållbarhet med kopplat till miljö-delen av ESG-betyget. Ett problem som diskuteras är ESG-betygens tillförlitlighet. Forskning visar att större företag får högre ESG-betyg trots att de inte alltid har en bättre hållbarhetsprestation. Detta fenomen menar vi även kan appliceras på företagens verksamhetsålder. Syftet med denna studie är att förklara sambandet mellan företags verksamhetsålder och deras nivå av hållbarhet mätt genom ESG-betyg och koldioxidutsläpp. Metod: Denna kvantitativa tvärsnittsstudie kommer utifrån positivismen att bedrivas med ett deduktivt synsätt. Utifrån positivismen kommer studien även utgå ifrån objektivismen, de variabler och mått som är kopplade till i studien använda begrepp. Urvalet består av 4 277 globala företag med inrapporterade hållbarhetsrapporter år 2022 och sekundärdatat är inhämtat från databasen Thomson Reuters Eikon. Dataanalyserna gjordes i statistikprogrammet SPSS. Resultat & Slutsats: Studien visar på ett signifikant negativt samband mellan verksamhetsålder och ESG-betyg, äldre företag tenderar alltså ha ett sämre ESG-betyg. Studien visar även på ett signifikant positivt samband mellan verksamhetsålder och koldioxidutsläpp. Yngre företag tenderar alltså enligt denna studie att släppa ut mindre koldioxid i förhållande till sin storlek. Examensarbetets bidrag: Hållbara investeringar är viktigare än någonsin och ESG-betyg är ett sätt att mäta företags hållbarhet. Det är därför relevant att öka kunskapen kring vad som påverkar dessa betyg, och hur tillförlitliga de kan anses vara. Denna studie bidrar med kunskap kring huruvida verksamhetsåldern påverkar ESG-betyget och om detta stämmer överens med företagens faktiska hållbarhetsprestationer i form av koldioxidutsläpp. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Förslag till vidare forskning skulle kunna vara att göra en mer omfattande studie som innefattar flera år där man kan studera företagens utveckling. Ett annat förslag är att studera varje del i ESG-betyget mer ingående för att undersöka om det finns skillnader mellan de olika delarna. / Aim: Sustainability is becoming more and more important in our world and investors want to invest in sustainable companies where the money works for good purposes. One way to measure sustainability is ESG ratings, where the companies are assessed by valuation companies based on criteria within the environment, social sustainability and governance. Emissions of greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide emissions are seen as relevant metrics to measure sustainability linked to the environmental part of the ESG rating. One problem that is discussed is the reliability of ESG ratings. Research shows that larger companies receive higher ESG ratings even though they do not always have a better sustainability performance. We believe this phenomenon can also be applied to the business age. The purpose of this study is to explain the relationship between companies' business age and their level of sustainability, measured by ESG ratings and level of carbon dioxide emissions.  Method: Based on the positivistic research philosophy, this quantitative cross-sectional study is conducted with a deductive approach. The study is also conducted with the objectivism philosophy and the variables and measures used in the study. The selection consists of 4 277 global companies with reported sustainability reports in 2022 and the secondary data is obtained from the Thomson Reuters Eikon database. The data analyzes were done in the statistical program SPSS.  Result & Conclusions: The study shows a significant negative correlation between the age of the business and ESG rating. Older companies tend to have a lower ESG rating. The study also shows a significant positive correlation between business age and carbon dioxide emissions. Younger companies tend, according to this study, to emit less carbon dioxide in relation to their size.  Contribution of the thesis: Sustainable investments are highly relevant today and ESG ratings are a way to measure companies’ sustainability. It is therefore relevant to learn more about what affects these grades. This study does this by increasing the knowledge about how the age of the business affects ESG ratings and whether it is consistent with the companies' actual sustainability performance.  Suggestion for future research: Suggestions for further research could be to do a more extensive study that includes several years where you can study the development of the companies. Another suggestion is to study each part of the ESG rating in more detail to investigate whether there are differences between the various parts.

In society today, there is a great focus on sustainability and that companies should contribute to sustainable development. One way to do this is through transparency between the company and its stakeholders regarding how they work on these important issues. This is done through sustainability reports that can be designed in different ways, but this study focuses on those that follow the Global Reporting Initiative, which is the dominant framework globally.   Prior research has shown mixed conclusions regarding GRI and its usefulness. In these, both positive and negative aspects of the framework have been highlighted. This study examines what and how high and low ranked businesses based on SBI report to study the usefulness of GRI. In addition, various theories will be used to examine what may be the reasons for the similarities and differences between the groups. This result is also related to prior research that studied sustainability reporting in connection with the selected theories.   The study was conducted as a method where qualitative data was quantified through a quantitative content analysis. The sustainability reports of 32 companies were reviewed based on their GRI-index and data was then statistically tested using Chi-square-tests and a Fisher's exact test. The study shows that there is no significant difference in what the high and low ranked businesses report. This difference applies to the total number of indicators as well as within the different series, economic, environmental and social. Regarding how the companies report, the study shows that the low ranked businesses are more likely to report indicators for which they do not meet the requirements, this result is also statistically significant. The reasons for the similarities and differences that were identified can be discussed in relations to institutional theory, legitimacy theory and stakeholder theory.

Large European auto manufacturers are responsible for being at the forefront when the industryis advancing towards a more sustainable practice. However, there is a problem with assessing companies´ sustainability performance because it can be camouflaged through low-quality reporting, preventing stakeholders from scrutinizing companies’ commitment to sustainable development. Instead, a substantive reporting practice where companies show their actualsustainability performance through high-quality reporting is preferable. Nonetheless, existing research fails to explain the changes in sustainability reporting practices, as there is limited research focusing on European auto manufacturers and much of the research only covers one specific point in time. This thesis will investigate changes in the disclosure quality of 4 large European auto manufacturers over five years and answer how their sustainability reporting practices have changed by analyzing 20 sustainability reports through quantitative content analysis. The findings signal a move toward more substantive sustainability reporting where two companies significantly increased, and two had minor advancements. It indicates less camouflaging of sustainability performance which is crucial to promote sustainable development and provide incentives to transition towards sustainable practices. However, the information did not become more accurate, which caused concerns as auto manufacturers may have found other ways to camouflage sustainability performance.

Background: There is an increased demand for professions in sustainability assurance due to the forthcoming directives of CSRD coming in 2024. Currently, there is a lack of knowledge of what a sustainability auditor does to build audit comfort and ensure audit quality in a sustainability report. Therefore, it is important to devote time and attention to this developing industry as studies have found issues in reporting on sustainability.    Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to get a better understanding of how sustainability auditors may build their comfort in sustainability auditing despite its complexity, and variability and that they are challenging to fully comprehend due to a lack in standardization. This study aims to extend existing research by contributing with a deeper theoretical and empirical knowledge of sustainability auditing, based on structure as well as professional judgment.    Methodology: An explanatory purpose and an abductive approach have been applied to the method. The study is based on a qualitative research method as nine interviews have been conducted in a narratively and semi-structured way. These interviews, together with one participant observation have formed the empirics.    Conclusion: The thesis builds an understanding of the comfort theory in combination with sustainability assurance in the comparatively new area of practice within auditing. The findings show that the sustainability auditors find comfort in a combined use of professional judgment and structure, but today the professional judgment is mainly used to conduct the audit comfort because of the lack of structure.

The emissions of greenhouse gases need to be cut by 45% between 2010 and 2030 and reach net-zero by around 2050 (IPCC, 2018) to limit global temperature-rise to 1,5 degrees C. More companies are committing to net-zero emissions, but the overall emissions of greenhouse gases in the world are still going up, and previous research shows that there is an implementation gap and lack of plans in companies. This thesis examines the hindering and supporting factors for companies’ net-zero transition. It is also exploring how SBTi, sustainability reporting, and sustainability ratings influence the net-zero transition in companies according to sustainability practitioners. The key findings are that companies alone cannot do the net-zero transition; they are dependent on other stakeholders and factors such as investors, customers and suppliers. Investors and customers are strong drivers for some companies to make the transition to netzero, but they are also the strongest hindering factors not wanting to pay extra or sacrifice dividends for the transition in companies’ value chains. Companies are also dependent on their suppliers and customers to measure and cut their value chain scope 3 emissions. To reach net-zero, new ways of collaboration are needed across the value chain. Internally, the implementation has not started properly in many companies. The key hindering factor internally is money, the investments needed will impact the profits, and often bonuses of managers, and GHG emission reductions need to be valued on the same level as money. Investors and financial actors play a large role pushing companies to set net-zero targets through SBTi. SBTi is a key framework to make companies cut emissions in line with science, but its control mechanisms are weak. If the control mechanisms are strengthened through audits, accountability and litigation, SBTi has the potential to be a very strong supporting factor for companies’ net-zero transition. Sustainability reports and ratings are the way companies communicate their net-zero performance with their stakeholders, but the reports are a polished truth, and it is difficult to understand the net-zero performance in companies. Ratings such as CDP do not reward emission reductions enough, instead they reward processes and documents which can make the companies look greener than they are.