Pages: 3

The introduction presents the structure of the book, which develops the theme of non-financial reporting and argues that companies need to pursue sustainable development. Specifically, the book explains how companies can achieve sustainable environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and how important the role of the non-financial statement (NFS) is in this process. Moreover, it highlights the integrated report as an effective social communication tool that allows companies’ financial and sustainability performance to be evaluated through their appropriate disclosure of information concerning their financial, environmental, social, and governance performance. These aspects are particularly relevant for B Corps because they follow an innovative business model that allows them to be profitable and undertake corporate social responsibility activities simultaneously.

Pages: 20

This chapter illustrates the concept of sustainable development, focusing on United Nations’ policies and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The concept of sustainability has evolved and its scope and meaning broadened by embracing all categories of stakeholders. At present, it is a necessity for the long-term survival of organizations. Over the years, it has become necessary to develop a system of common goals to enable all parts of society to share in work that is moving in a more sustainable direction. The chapter begins by defining what sustainable development means. Then, the SDGs are presented and illustrated, with a focus on why a sustainable development plan that meets the needs of current generations while also preserving resources for future generations is needed. Social communication has also become increasingly important for organizations, especially following the introduction of Directive 2014/95/EU of the European Parliament and the Council and Legislative Decree 254/2016. To achieve the SDGs, it is becoming increasingly important to focus on stakeholders; therefore, it has become necessary to implement networking and dialogue with stakeholders. The chapter reports on the results of some studies of companies’ non-financial statements aimed at understanding how many and which SDGs are the most pursued and declared.

Pages: 22

This chapter investigates the historical evolution of corporate social responsibility (CSR). We consider CSR as a business practice that considers the impact that an organization has on society, on environment, on employees, and on other stakeholders. CSR considers an organization’s commitment to practice environmental and social sustainability. We focus on the main theories and events that transformed this concept from a voluntary choice to a necessity for companies’ long-term survival, especially in the post-pandemic period. CSR requires companies to develop new business models to meet social needs and address sustainability issues. CSR has received increasing attention in the literature, and many authors and institutions have provided different interpretations. This chapter analyzes the main definitions present in the literature to determine the concept’s primary characteristics. Subsequently, it illustrates CSR’s historical evolution, starting from its birth during the Industrial Revolution and moving to the present day. In the scientific debate, the concept of CSR initially focused on the well-being of workers. Later, it evolved and expanded its scope and significance to embrace all stakeholder categories.

Pages: 19

Corporate social responsibility requires communicating socially responsible activities to stakeholders. This chapter focuses on non-financial reporting as a tool for internal and external analysis, emphasizing the need for effective social communication with stakeholders that includes environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects. The chapter discusses the need to disclose non-financial information in different ways, including an integrated report, which is a document that allows organizations to disclose both their financial and sustainability performance. Furthermore, ESG principles are introduced and their role as pillars of the companies of the future is explained. The chapter includes the most adopted reporting frameworks to disclose companies’ ESG impacts and to show their positive and negative contributions to sustainable development.

Pages: 16

Benefit Corporations and B Corps are companies with an innovative business model that combines the needs of corporate social responsibility and business profitability. The literature often refers to B Corps without distinguishing between Benefit Corporations and Certified B Corps. This chapter illustrates the differences between these two categories of companies by highlighting that they share the common goal of contributing to the well-being of society and the environment. As described in the previous chapter, social communication is essential to compete and maintain a competitive advantage in the long term because stakeholders are increasingly interested in the socially responsible activities undertaken by companies. Benefit Corporations and B Corps have higher standards of transparency than traditional corporations. To communicate effectively with stakeholders, they must disclose non-financial information through a non-financial statement or sustainability report (Wray, 2015). The chapter illustrates the different social communication standards imposed on Benefit Corporations and Certified B Corps by law and B Lab. In recent years, many companies have increasingly disclosed financial and non-financial information through integrated reporting thanks to the developing trend toward integrated thinking.

Pages: 15

This chapter explores the case study of the Italian fashion industry, which has been repeatedly accused of exploiting marketing strategies to promote consumerism, thus posing sustainability challenges. Increased consumer attention to social and environmental sustainability created the need for companies to adopt greener business practices. Many fashion companies joined green fashion movements and adopted standards and codes of conduct to manage the impacts produced by their supply chain on society and the environment. However, the fashion industry needs a comprehensive plan to address sustainability and create long-term shared value. The Italian fashion industry can compete in international markets because it is developed in districts and is mainly composed of SMEs that are flexible and have a high degree of specialization. These companies are increasingly adopting the B Corps’ innovative business model to face sustainability challenges and achieve sustainable development and the United Nations’ SDGs. This chapter includes an analysis of Italian fashion B Corps to investigate how they communicate with stakeholders and identify which SDGs they pursue.

Pages: 4

The book concludes by reminding readers of the need for sustainable development in line with the policies of the European Union and the UN's 2030 Agenda. The global business environment requires organizations to adopt socially responsible strategies and activities to stay competitive in the long term and overcome future threats. Stakeholders’ increased attention to organizations’ activities requires them to be more transparent and to adopt sustainable governance that is in line with the triple bottom line approach. Non-financial reporting and integrated reporting are tools that allow companies to perform internal analyses to meet the needs of stakeholders and adopt corrective strategies to guide sustainable environmental, social, and governance performance. Specifically, the integrated report makes it possible to evaluate financial and sustainability performance through the disclosure of information of a different nature. The aspects of sustainable governance and financial performance are particularly relevant for B Corps because they have adopted an innovative business model based on the theory of shared value.