Research Article Open Access

SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING IN FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS: A STUDY OF THE NIGERIAN BANKING SECTOR

Abstract

Transparency and disclosure practices of business organizations are key aspects of corporate governance. Business organizations are faced with the need to report on sustainability performance in economic, environmental and social terms. Financial institutions constitute providers of capital to other sectors of an economy. Thus, their sustainability performance is an important aspect of transparency and disclosures that should not be ignored. This study investigated sustainability reporting of Nigerian companies in the banking sector for the five-year period ended December 2014. A disclosure index was used to score the information content of corporate reports pertaining to sustainability indicators. There was an increase in the mean sustainability reporting scores of the banks across the five years. The economic indicators was skewed in favor of direct economic value generated, economic value distributed, estimated value of defined benefit plan obligations (liabilities). On the other hand, disclosures on climate change were few. Banks should focus on improving their environmental disclosures in areas of renewable materials used, greenhouse gas emissions and assessment of suppliers based on environmental risks.

Obiamaka A Nwobu, Akintola A Owolabi, Francis O Iyoha

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