An analysis of university sustainability reports from the GRI database: an examination of influential variables

Abstract

In the business context, many papers have examined whether certain variables can affect sustainability disclosure practices. However, research on universities has mainly been addressed to explore the extent of sustainability information reported with little focus on determining the factors that may affect it. This paper analyzes the influence exerted by some variables concerning the extent of information reported in the university sustainability reports included in this study. To accomplish this task, data were collected using a content analysis of the university sustainability reports extracted from the GRI sustainability disclosure database. The findings reveal that sustainability disclosure practices by universities are explained by different factors, among which are institutionalization, geographical region, external assurance and leadership. Such results are supported jointly by the underpinnings of the institutional and legitimacy theories in response to coercive and mimetic pressures and by the need to improve reputation in society.

Keywords:

• GRI
• sustainability reporting
• disclosure
• universities
• content analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The GRI guidelines do not offer their own definition of sustainability. Such standards make reference to the concept of sustainability defined in the Bruntland Report.

2. Data extracted from 22 January 2018. These 188 reports have been published following the G1, G2, G3, G3.1 and G4 guidelines. At this point, we have to note that our sample is composed of 138 reports because the data was collected between January 2017 and March 2017 and according to the G3, G3.1 and G4 standards.