Injecting Green Innovation Reporting into Sustainability Reporting

¹ Department of Management and Humanities, Universiti Teknologi, Petronas
² Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics, Griffith University
³ Faculty of Economics and Business -University of Muhammadiyah Prof Dr HAMKA (UHAMKA)

Corresponding author: satire@utp.edu.my

Abstract

Reporting is a method for businesses to communicate with their various stakeholders. While the factors contributing to sustainability reporting and disclosure have been thoroughly investigated, the findings are inconclusive. Similarly, the non-financial reporting literature is disclosed of operational and non-operational activities related to ecological as well as social disclosure of firm. However, in recent years, stakeholders have increased their demand for green innovation practices (GIPs) to be included as a new component of ecological reporting. Thus, companies' proactivity in adopting green innovation reporting is reflected (GIR). This research propounds enhancing transparency in sustainability reporting by including corporations' GIPs, which will increase the transparency level of firm operations and instil greater stakeholder confidence. To accomplish this study, the legitimacy and signalling theories were used as an environmental solution.

Additionally, an exhaustive assessment of the literature was conducted in order to develop a GIR framework for enterprises to use when integrating GIPs into sustainability reporting. The outcome of this study indicates that current sustainability reporting takes a minimalist approach, with GIR being presented superficially. This non-financial reporting approach does not accurately reflect a company's genuine GIPs or the environmental effect of existing business operations. As such, this study calls for the integration of GIR into firms' sustainability reporting to accurately reflect their actual firm sustainable practices.