A comparative analysis of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting performance within and between major sectors in Hong Kong

Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting is a globally mainstream business practices to tackle social and environmental aspects for corporates. It not only provides positive financial returns, but also leading to social and environmental wellbeing, which is called achieving triple bottom line for the businesses. The development of CSR reporting in Hong Kong is fast, and it is applied generally on different sectors of companies. The aims of this study is to examine the current practices and implementation of CSR reporting in Hong Kong, which will be based on the methodology in analyzing the reporting performances within and between three major sectors in Hong Kong. The three selected sectors are Banking and Financial Services, Properties and Construction, and Utilities, and the companies’ reporting performances are assessed under seven core areas of aspects supported by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Apart from the quality of reporting performances, the disclosure level of the reporting is also reviewed, scaling at three categorized disclosure level from Low to High. The key findings of this research suggests that CSR reporting is already a mainstream business practices, as shown by the high averaged scoring from the reporting performances and also the adaptation of international reporting framework and guidelines. It also points out the differences in materiality aspects in companies between sectors, which business operations do scales and prioritize areas of issues differently. Mostly importantly, the findings suggested that the quantity of the report do not relative to the quality of report, showing a loose connection between the reporting performances and the disclosure level by the companies. To better the CSR reporting system in Hong Kong, raising the level of obligation on CSR reporting as mandatory requirement and providing sector focused reporting guidelines could be the way forward. Last but not least, promotion and enforcement the CSR reporting practices should shift from listing companies to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), pushing larger adaptation of the practices in the market.