Sustainability reporting in Vietnam: evolutionary or revolutionary? A case study of five public companies

Abstract

This study explores corporate sustainability reporting in Vietnam, whether it is evolutionary or revolutionary. The study centers on answering the questions of the patterns of sustainability reports (SRs) and the level of conformity in the SRs of these companies to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework. Five big publicly listed companies in Vietnam have been selected for the case study. The content analysis method was applied for the data analysis. The findings indicate that four aspects are contributing to the evolution in sustainability reporting practices in those five companies. These include the nascent application of the GRI framework, the use of external assurance, the reporting models, and the incorporation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals into the reporting process.