STANDARDIZATION OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORTING

The aim of the article is to present standards, norms and guidelines being developed for standardization of social reporting aimed at communication on economic, social and environmental impact of market activities undertaken by companies. The article also focuses on the empirical research showing their practical implementation in the process of reporting concerning corporate social responsibility by companies included in the RESPECT Index. Considering the formulated purpose, the article assumes the following research hypothesis: the companies included in the RESPECT Index perceive the need to ensure the reliability and comparability of disclosed non-financial data, through the use of most common standards, norms and guidelines concerning the area of corporate social responsibility reporting. The realization of the article's purpose as well as the verification of the adopted research hypothesis is based on the review of the literature and documents containing recommendation concerning the reporting of corporate social responsibility as well as an analysis of the content of non-financial reports prepared by companies covered by the survey. Results of the research lead to the conclusion that regulations for corporate social responsibility reporting occupy a significant place in reports prepared by companies included in the RESPECT Index. Sustainability reporting guidelines and standards prepared by the Global Reporting Initiative are of particular importance in this field. However, it is necessary to take further steps to improve the quality of published reports and increase the level of their external verification, which give confidence that reporting data are reliable and can be basis for decision-making by stakeholders.

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LEGAL ACT

1. Directive 2014/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 amending Directive 2013/34/EU as regards disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large undertakings and groups (OJ L 330, 15.11.2014).

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