The Impact of Discretionary Sustainability Disclosures on Sustainability Performance: An Analysis of Firms in the Petroleum Industry and their Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Abstract

Corporate sustainability has become an increasingly significant area of focus for many companies today. One of the artifacts of this trend is the implementation of sustainability disclosures such as sustainability reports. This research paper was born out of a curiosity to achieve a better understanding of sustainability standards and sustainability performance among firms. Sustainability standards are forms of disclosure used by firms to communicate regarding their sustainability efforts and achievements. Intuitively, it may not be obvious whether an increased level of such disclosures could be linked with different levels of sustainability performance. This research attempt to examine sustainability standards as a new formats of sustainability disclosures to increase the breadth of the research field. This research pursued a mixed model data collection strategy including examining qualitative data and interviewing practitioners in the sustainability industry. This has enabled an appropriate gauge of the research question in a context rich and insightful manner. This research paper ultimately concludes that it could not establish any such relationship by examining the disclosure profile and performance of firms operating in the oil and gas industry. These findings contribute to the existing literature and debate by providing additional evidence and support for the side that have not found correlation and thereby weakening the side that claim there is a correlation between them. By applying new methodologies this further expands the credibility of the overall research topic regarding sustainability disclosures and sustainability performance.