Sustainability reporting standardization: an incentive or a ceiling effect? : A qualitative case study of an oil and gas EPC based on GRI Sector Standards and their prospective implication for Sustainability reporting and Sustainability Performance

Abstract: The field of sustainability accounting and reporting has developed immensely during the past couple of decades. Various reporting guidelines, recommendations, and standards had hit the market recently. However, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has remained the most widely used framework for reporting sustainability and is considered a standard for reporting sustainability. Thus, using GRI 11: oil and gas standard as a proxy, the research was aimed to investigate, if standardization of sustainability reporting is perceived as an incentive, or poses a ceiling effect to potential sustainability reporting and performance. Thereby answering the following questions; (1) Is the organization willing to (or can) do more or less than that is required to be reported as per GRI Framework, in terms of reporting? (2) How does the company perceive the shift from GRI general standards to Sector-Specific Standards with respect to sustainability performanceA case study is conducted on an oil and gas EPC using qualitative research methodology. The data is collected through semi-structured interviews and three sustainability reports of the same organization. It was found that despite the apparent willingness of doing more than what is required to be reported by the standard, KPIs w.r.t. industry relevance are under-reported. Furthermore, it was found that GRI has proved to be an incentive for guiding the organization’s sustainability reporting. Even if the sector-specific standard/ guideline is considered a ceiling for sustainability reporting, the ceiling tends to be very high for the current performance of the organization.