Srusti Management Review (Jun 2019)
Growing Relevance of ‘Materiality’ in Sustainability Reporting
Abstract
‘Sustainability’ and ‘Sustainability Reporting’ (SR) have become buzz words in today’s corporate world. ‘Materiality’ has become an emerging topic in the area of sustainability disclosures. ‘Materiality’ means ‘priority’ (Deloitte, 2018). The concept of materiality has strong roots in financial reporting and plays an important role in disclosures. In order to help managers, auditors, and investors determine what information to disclose, verify, or use, the SEC, the accounting profession, and the courts have provided guidelines on what data should be considered “material.” (Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, 2012). The question that is addressed: ‘What material topics are identified by different stakeholder groups? Is it a critical one, both for reporters and report users (GRI, 2015)? The present paper is aimed at highlighting the role and importance of materiality in the context of SR. The paper is exploratory and descriptive in nature. SRs of Indian companies which are part of Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) have been reviewed to highlight the materiality assessment process adopted with respect to SRs.
