The relationship between board of directors and sustainability reporting: An empirical study in German large listed firms

Abstract

To improve quality of sustainability reporting, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines have been issued and widely applied. Board of directors' characteristics can be seen as essential factors to facilitate the implementation of these practices. This paper aims to investigate the relationship between board of directors and GRI adherence in sustainability disclosures. The research uses Tobit regression for 388 observations from 97 German listed firms in the period from 2013 to 2016. The findings indicate significant negative relation between board size and GRI adherent level of sustainability reporting. Further analysis is implemented for environmentally friendly and sensitive industries. The results maintain the same for board size, and reveal positive impact of board committees on GRI adherence of sustainability reporting in sensitive industry.