RECOGNISING SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH THE CORPORATE REPORTS A REVIEW OF DEVELOPMENT OF DISCLOSURES IN INDIA

Purpose: The stride of Sustainability has led to a new form of reporting called Sustainability Reporting. This form of reporting is being widely accepted and has recently surged amongst Indian corporates and researchers. This paper tries studying the evolution of Sustainability Reporting and its development In Indian context. It also attempts to identify the gaps in the available literature, for further research in this area. Design/Methodology: Using the literature published between 2011 and 2020 review is conducted in various aspects of Sustainability Reporting in India. Findings: As Sustainability Reporting became popular in India only two decades back, there are several gaps in the study in this area, leading to abundant dimensions for future research. The role of Policy makers, Regulators and Academicians in development of best practices in reporting also is highlighted. Practical implication: This study shall give a historical perspective of Sustainability Reporting in India and help researchers focus their study on critical areas that need to be researched. Originality/Value: Sustainability Reporting has drawn a large number of attentions amongst the financial stakeholders. There are several research/review being undertaken in this field. However, a review of the development of studies of Sustainability Reporting in India is one of its kinds. No previous research was found which systematically incorporates evolution and development of Sustainability Reporting in Indian context.


Methodology:-
This paper reviews the existing available literature in the years 2011 to 2020. Various research papers, review papers and case studies published in peer-reviewed Indian and international journals are collected using Google Scholar search engine. The key word searched is "Sustainability Reporting in India".
For understanding of the evolution and theories, cross reference and a specific keyword search was also adopted.
Few other published sources such as books, thesis, websites and corporate reports have also been referred to understand the contents and concepts. Sustainability Reporting according to Google scholar  2011-2020  110 publication  2001-2010  4  Before 2000 No studies

Studies in
Of these, only 65 papers were considered for this review, tending to its relevance to the topic and information needed.

Evolution of Sustainability Reporting
The term sustainability was coined late back in the 17th century by a German forester, but it gained popularity only around the 1980s, at the time when environmental depletion and its concern started raising. Scoones, (2007) says that the term sustainability alone cannot be described fully; it is paired with many words like sustainable development, sustainable cities, sustainable building, and sustainable livelihood and so on. One such paired word is corporate sustainability; this has been highly researched word in the past five years. There are various dimensions of corporate sustainability Meuer, Koelbel, & Hoffmann, (2020), one such dimension is aligning the social, environmental and economic goals with corporate strategies as corporate sustainability.
Sustainability reporting is a kind of value added reporting which consists of information on Economic, Environmental, Social and Governance issues of the organisation, (Nayak and Kayarkatte, 2020). This information can be integrated in the annual reports of the company or reported on the company website or can be published as a standalone report. There are several international principles/frameworks guiding such reporting practices. India has launched National Voluntary Guidelines to encourage corporations to embrace sustainability reporting. Sustainability reports also serve as a tool to corporate public relations as they satisfy the expectation of most of the 418 stakeholders. They also encourage corporate to engage in an increasing number of sustainable activities as SRs make organisations more responsible and accountable.
Some anti-environmental incidences during the 1970s and 1980s called for the responsibility of corporates and private sector towards environment. This led to the integration of reporting of financial information with environmental disclosure using CERES (Coalition of Environmentally Responsible Economies Principles), Busco and Sofra (2021). In most developed nations Sustainability Reporting first emerged from environmental reporting. Let us discuss the evolution of Sustainability Reporting. Fig. 1 shows the evolution of Sustainability Reporting over the last five decades. (Mohanty, 2018) in her article on Sustainability Accounting says that such non-financial reporting makes the organisations accountable and hence enhances trust worthiness. With this the there was a stride in the corporates reporting sustainability, some reported through websites, whilst others through annual reports. In the past decade, most large corporations have created a standalone sustainability reports. Company size, industry sector, political, social, culture, profitability are some factors responsible for the Sustainability disclosures, (Ali, Jedrzej and Zeeshan, 2017).

Theoretical background of Sustainability Reporting
Corporate reporting is based on and is supported by several theories such as Positive Accounting Theory, Signalling Theory, Agency Theory, Political Economic Theory, Stakeholder Theory, Legitimacy Theory and Contingency Theory. Although these theories provide a substantial base for reporting, there is no universal theory on which reporting is based. This depends on the situations, managerial preferences, organisational culture and climate, (Ahmed and M. El-Galfy, 2014). Sustainability Reporting is an emerging concept, but most of the theories backing corporate reporting have already provided a firm base for this reporting dimension. These theories help us understand by firms are opting for Sustainability Reporting. Let us look into some theories

Stakeholder Theory
Stakeholder theory has considerable importance in Sustainability Reporting. It suggests that business must consider all the constituent groups while conducting business, hence disclosing the impact and profit of the business to all stakeholders is important. Stakeholders both internal and external play as key drivers for reporting sustainability both in developed and developing countries, (

Legitimacy Theory
This theory argues that any business does not have direct access to any resources, but must have a licence to use it. The working of the organisation depends on the legitimacy/acceptance of society alone. So protecting this interest is of utmost importance, (Hahn and Kühnen, 2013). In order to anchor the company smoothly, they must report on various aspects related to the use of resources such as Men, Material, Machine and Money. It is a construct for CSR in India, (

Contingency Theory
Contingencies are uncertainties that affect the working of the organisations. There are both internal and external contingencies. Business need to work towards the internal contingencies that are under the control of the organisation. They should report their initiatives for the external contingencies, (Alves, De Sousa, Kannan and Jabbour, 2017).Some important contributors are, Lawrence And Lorsh, 1967, Schwiekart, 1985, Chapman 1997.

Social Contracts Theory
The stakeholders" acceptance of organisations value is more important (Deegan, 2014). The economic activities backed by strong profit motives mostly lead us to choose between what is ethical or not. There is quite a difference between what is legal and what is morally acceptable, social contracts theory distinguishes these and Integrative Social Contracts Theory helps us integrate ethics into economic activities. Donaldson, T., &Dunfee, T. (1995).
Many researchers strongly believe there is a connection between stakeholder theory, legitimacy theory and social contract theory, (Hahn, &Kühnen, 2013). Every theory supports the existence and development of Sustainability Reporting. There are some other theories supporting the SR like agency theory, institutional theory signalling theory which has not been researched much.

Sustainability Reporting in India -Review on Growth and development
Societal concerns, environmental protection and ethical considerations have roots embedded in cultural heritage and traditions of India. In modern days it is incorporated in firm foundation in the form of CSR, (Yadav, 2019). Indian environmental and labour laws date back to beginning of the 19th century, (Herremans, 2011 (Goel, 2018).Some of these notable contributions are highlighted in table 1. This

Studies in the impact of Sustainability Reporting on firm performance/ firm value
Long back, when sustainability concept was still emerging, there was no considerable impact on profitability [Kenneth et al., 1985] due to CSR disclosures, but the researchers now show a significant impact on profitability. In India, there are a few studies, but even they prove that Sustainability Reporting and firm performance are positively related (refer table 2).

Dimensions of Sustainability Reporting
Most of the SR reportsare in four dimensions, i.e Economic, Environmental, Social, Governance and other, while some organisation report only on three dimensions i.e. Environment, Social and Governance (ESG), (Palit, 2018). These are shown in fig.2 423 1. Annual reports are particular to the financial achievements and the status of the company. Economic dimension of the sustainability report focus on the financial highlights along with the stakeholder engagement, value chain, effective use of resources, awards and recognition of the company, distribution of profits etc. 2. Environmental aspects like the initiatives taken to control the emission, use of green energy, recycling of waste, treatment of effluents etc. are reported. Environmental reporting is done through the use of various ratios provided under the GRI framework. 3. Corporate social responsibility i.e., organisation commitment towards public welfare and its contribution in the development of the society is reported under the social dimension. It can also include creation of employment opportunities, employee engagement and turnover, educating and training the employees, welfare of employees etc. 4. Governance matters such as board membership, board composition, etc. are the part of annual reports, but the same is highlighted in the sustainability reports focussing more upon the sustainability initiatives by the board, CSR committee and others. Reporting on Governance matters helps the stakeholders understand the commitment of the organisation towards its vision and mission.
The tables following below show some research contributions towards each of these dimensions:   CSR disclosure by top 100 IT companies of India was studied, and most companies disclosed quite less information although they were engaged in many social development activities. It was suggested that companies should gearing (finance their websites for disclosing CSR activities. Corporate social disclosures improve with the involvement of consultancy firms and auditors, Characteristics of CEO s also impact the disclosure patterns, a study of 800 firm years proves this. Oware and Mallikarjunappa, (2020) The investigation of past literature shows that most corporates in India are reporting on stakeholder engagement, with reference to GRI governance guidelines which is a main part of corporate Governance. This helps in balancing the conflicts amongst the stakeholders, and also helps sustain the competitive environment. Sustainability Reporting has enhanced governance disclosures making the corporates globally dynamic and efficient.
Purohit, (2014) 2 Sustainability Reporting and mandatory CSR regulations have a significant impact on governance issues in India. It has improved gender parity and board composition. 3 Indian companies are moving towards significant corporate governance, with responsible and diversified boards, and new reforms. The mandatory CSR spending and reporting of sustainability has created grounds for better governance, but these reforms have not had a significant impact on profitability.
Goel, A robust auditing committee is best in promoting the Sustainability Reporting. Independent and engaged auditing committee will help in optimistic growth of quality and quantity of Sustainability Reporting and helps in solving legitimacy and agency issues,  (2017), used these stages and identified that most organisations across the globe are still at the second stage i.e. business centric. They call for regulators and government to regularise to upraise from this phase. • Indian firms are not disclosing all sustainability efforts. Policy makers can broaden the scope of sustainability reporting as Indian firms sustainability reporting is steered by regulations rather than stakeholders. Voluntary disclosure is most appreciated, but proper regulation and standardised practices can pave way for better sensible accountability, comparability and development, (Gray, 2001). • Indian firms are spending money in specific sustainability dimensions not covered under ESG parameters.
There seems to be a misalignment between the market expectation and Indian firm sustainability attributes, (Jha, 2020). And hence Indian firms are not receiving any financial benefits for Sustainable Investments. • Financial factors are proved to be a major factor constraining sustainability reporting (Mitra et al., 2015).
Lamberton, (2005) expresses concern regarding the commitment of huge resources towards sustainability reporting under the GRI framework. • Advocacy organisations have a great impact on building CSR framework, but their engagement in CSR activities is utmost importance, it also studies the development of stake holders involvement in the accounting and reporting aspects, (Clune and O"Dwyer, 2020). • It is found that sustainable development, Sustainability, ESG and CSR are considered almost equivalent although they have a separate theoretical background.

Gaps identified in the study
An editorial review of social and environmental accounting shows that though the social accounting/reporting is established, still there is a lot of scope for future research as many areas are to be opened up, (Laine, Scobie, Sorola and Tregidga, 2020). Some areas that are identified during our study are described as follows; New research can be undertaken in the area of SME Sustainability reporting. As highlighted by Gibassier  Reporting and firm value, market value, stock price, profitability, etc.There is a scope of studies in the changes needed for training finance and accounting students to prepare them for future reporting of externalities i.e., sustainability reporting, (Unerman, Bebbingtonand O"dwyer, 2018). There is a wide gap in the dimension of Role of Higher Educational Institutions in Sustainability Development and Reporting. In recent years many studies are found in the developed countries in this area.An accountant should broaden his knowledge of reporting sustainability issues, (Lamberton, 2005). UNGC PRME (Principles for Responsible Management) and UNSDG 6 related to Sustainability Education. In India, there are no studies found with regard to these areas.Sustainability Reports are now a part of corporate strategies. A study of Australian and UK companies reveal a significant impact of sustainability reports on management decision making and their integration with core strategic planning, (Adams and Frost, 2008). Sustainability report and its impact on core business strategies can also be studied.

Conclusion:-
The sustainability reporting has emerged as a highly researched area in the last decade. As we step into a new decade, with new and recurring challenges, sustainability has been gaining a wider acceptance. As for Corporates, the Shareholders, Managers and Regulators and the Gatekeepers help improve the ESG disclosure in environmentally sensitive industries, (Arif et. al., 2020). However, it is evident that in India most industries are taking up SR whether environmentally sensitive or not. A robust auditing committee is best in promoting the Sustainability Reporting. Independent and engaged auditing committee will help in optimistic growth of quality and quantity of Sustainability Reporting and helps in solving legitimacy and agency issues, (Arif et al., 2020). Business communities should adhere to the needs of the stakeholders, (Ghosh, 2015). The pandemic era has produced a new dimension in CSR and its reporting, where every organisation came forward to aid the economic revival of the country, and also have been reporting for the same. This is also proved in the study conducted, by analysing the contents of Indian companies, as they are address the rising concerns of the stakeholders, (Sharma, Panday and Dangwal, 2020).
As sustainability reporting is a new approach to accounting a lot of research should the focussed on this dimension. There is a wide gap in several dimensions of Sustainability Reporting. Hence, there is a high scope for research in this area.