IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i8p3380-d1632117.html

Assessment of the Compliance of Environmental Disclosures by Energy Companies Using GRI Standards with European Sustainability Reporting Standards: A Case Study

Author

Listed:
  • Łukasz Matuszak

    (Department of Accounting and Financial Audit, Poznań University of Economics and Business, Al. Niepodległości 10, 61-875 Poznań, Poland)

  • Ewa Różańska

    (Department of Accounting and Financial Audit, Poznań University of Economics and Business, Al. Niepodległości 10, 61-875 Poznań, Poland)

  • Elżbieta Izabela Szczepankiewicz

    (Department of Accounting and Financial Audit, Poznań University of Economics and Business, Al. Niepodległości 10, 61-875 Poznań, Poland)

Abstract

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has maintained the world’s most comprehensive and dominant sustainability reporting standards. While primarily voluntary, they were widely used by energy companies, especially in the environmental disclosure area. With the recent introduction of the mandatory European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), companies may face challenges transitioning from GRI to ESRS. In this context, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of the GRI Standards and the ESRS, focusing on their environmental disclosure requirements (‘E’). The purpose of our study is to evaluate the current level of environmental reporting by Polish energy companies based on GRI Standards, assess their compliance with the ESRS requirements under the ‘E’ pillar, and determine the role of GRI disclosures in facilitating the transition to the new standards. A case study approach was employed, using data manually collected from 2023 reports prepared according to GRI Standards by Polish energy companies. Content analysis and the GRI-ESRS Interoperability Index were applied. The findings reveal notable differences in the application of GRI Standards among the companies. The level of environmental disclosures based on GRI Standards is relatively low compared to ESRS requirements, suggesting that companies will face challenges in setting up systems to meet future reporting requirements. This study provides insights into current and emerging practices in environmental reporting, offering valuable implications for EU energy companies preparing their environmental reports in accordance with ESRS requirements.

Suggested Citation

  • Łukasz Matuszak & Ewa Różańska & Elżbieta Izabela Szczepankiewicz, 2025. "Assessment of the Compliance of Environmental Disclosures by Energy Companies Using GRI Standards with European Sustainability Reporting Standards: A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-22, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:8:p:3380-:d:1632117
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/8/3380/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/8/3380/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Elżbieta Izabela Szczepankiewicz & Przemysław Mućko, 2016. "CSR Reporting Practices of Polish Energy and Mining Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-17, January.
    2. Dominik Dienes & Remmer Sassen & Jasmin Fischer, 2016. "What are the drivers of sustainability reporting? A systematic review," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 7(2), pages 154-189, May.
    3. Halkos, George & Nomikos, Stylianos, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility: Trends in global reporting initiative standards," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 106-117.
    4. Dominik Dienes & Remmer Sassen & Jasmin Fischer, 2016. "What are the drivers of sustainability reporting? A systematic review," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 7(2), pages 154-189, May.
    5. Daniela Nicoleta Sahlian & Adriana Florina Popa & Ștefania Amalia Nicoară & Corina Graziella Bâtcă-Dumitru, 2023. "Examining the Causality between Integrated Reporting and Stock Market Capitalization. The Case of the European Renewable Energy Equipment and Services Industry," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-12, January.
    6. Elżbieta Izabela Szczepankiewicz & Windham Eugene Loopesko & Farid Ullah, 2022. "A Model of Risk Information Disclosures in Non-Financial Corporate Reports of Socially Responsible Energy Companies in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-34, April.
    7. Anna Bartoszewicz & Elżbieta Izabela Szczepankiewicz, 2022. "Evolution of Energy Companies’ Non-Financial Disclosures: A Model of Non-Financial Reports in the Energy Sector," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-32, October.
    8. Elżbieta Izabela Szczepankiewicz & Joanna Błażyńska & Beata Zaleska & Farid Ullah & Windham Eugene Loopesko, 2022. "Compliance with Corporate Governance Principles by Energy Companies Compared with All Companies Listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-28, September.
    9. David Talbot & Olivier Boiral, 2018. "GHG Reporting and Impression Management: An Assessment of Sustainability Reports from the Energy Sector," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 367-383, January.
    10. Hanna E. Czaja-Cieszyńska & Dominika Kordela, 2023. "Sustainability Reporting in Energy Companies—Is There a Link between Social Disclosures, the Experience and Market Value?," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-15, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mohammed Naif Alshareef, 2025. "Artificial Intelligence-Enhanced Environmental, Social, and Governance Disclosure Quality and Financial Performance Nexus in Saudi Listed Companies Under Vision 2030," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-39, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Miguel Pombinho & Ana Fialho & Andreia Dionísio, 2025. "Impression Management in Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting: An Analysis of Chief Executive Officer Letters in the Oil and Gas Sector," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(4), pages 4942-4962, July.
    2. Stefano Adamo & Clarissa De Matteis & Roberta Fasiello & Francesca Imperiale, 2025. "A Literature Analysis of Sustainability Reporting Quality," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(3), pages 4194-4215, May.
    3. Hanna E. Czaja-Cieszyńska & Dominika Kordela, 2023. "Sustainability Reporting in Energy Companies—Is There a Link between Social Disclosures, the Experience and Market Value?," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-15, April.
    4. Priya Gund & Meha Joshi & Deepti Chhabra, 2026. "Sustainability Reporting Quality: Antecedents and Its Impact on Firm Performance‐ From Bibliometric Analysis to a Framework Model," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(1), pages 730-756, January.
    5. Rosella Carè & Paolo Agnese & Massimiliano Cerciello & Simone Taddeo, 2025. "Does It Pay Off to Disclose Sustainability Information? The Effect of ESG Disclosure on ESG Controversies in European Banks," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 3294-3310, March.
    6. Jintao Lu & Licheng Ren & Siqin Yao & Jiayuan Qiao & Wadim Strielkowski & Justas Streimikis, 2019. "Comparative Review of Corporate Social Responsibility of Energy Utilities and Sustainable Energy Development Trends in the Baltic States," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-21, September.
    7. Karishma Jain & P. S. Tripathi, 2022. "Challenges of Sustainability Reporting from Managerial Perspective: A Review and Future Agenda," Metamorphosis: A Journal of Management Research, , vol. 21(2), pages 140-151, December.
    8. Aws AlHares, 2025. "RETRACTED: Evaluating Emission Reduction Policies and the Influence of Corporate Governance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-31, September.
    9. Mahdi Alhamami, 2023. "Do Corporate Governance Internal Characteristics Affect the Level of Sustainability Reporting in Saudi Arabian Banks?," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 18(3), pages 123-123, June.
    10. Mohammed S. Y. Omran & Mohammad N. S. Yaaqbeh, 2023. "Climate change and business accountability, empirical evidence on the roles of environmental strategy and environmental accounting," Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 1592-1608, October.
    11. Francesco Gangi & Jérôme Méric & Rémi Jardat & Lucia Michela Daniele, 2019. "Business for society," Post-Print hal-02382307, HAL.
    12. Krayyem Al‐Hajaya & Eba'a Amjed Almahameed & Nedal Sawan & Mohammad Saleh Altarawneh & Ahmed Eltweri & Rami Salem, 2025. "Audit Committees and the Quality of Standalone Sustainability Reporting, Considering the Moderating Role of External Assurance: Evidence From the Global Chemical Industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(5), pages 6210-6228, July.
    13. Louis Maximilian Ronalter & Merce Bernardo & Javier Manuel Romaní, 2023. "Quality and environmental management systems as business tools to enhance ESG performance: a cross-regional empirical study," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(9), pages 9067-9109, September.
    14. Aanchal Singh & Prakash Singh & Samik Shome, 2022. "ESG–CFP Linkages: A Review of Its Antecedents and Scope for Future Research," Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, , vol. 15(1), pages 48-69, June.
    15. Simone Pizzi & Lorenzo Coronella, 2025. "Are listed SMEs ready for the corporate sustainability reporting directive? Evidence from Italy," Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(4), pages 1730-1741, October.
    16. Pei‐Chi Kelly Hsiao & Charl de Villiers & Claire Horner & Hein Oosthuizen, 2022. "A review and synthesis of contemporary sustainability accounting research and the development of a research agenda," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(4), pages 4453-4483, December.
    17. Rubina Michela Galeotti & Mark Anthony Camilleri & Fabiana Roberto & Fabiana Sepe, 2025. "Stakeholder engagement disclosures in sustainability reports: Evidence from Italian food companies," Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(1), pages 260-279, January.
    18. Mariusz Zieliński & Małgorzata Adamska, 2022. "ESG Assessment from the Perspective of the Management Board and Trade Unions on the Example of the Opole Power Plant," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-21, October.
    19. Teresa Izzo & Antonella Russo & Gianluca Risaliti, 2025. "Integrated Reporting, Stakeholders' Perspective and Sustainable Disclosure: Systematic Insights From Empirical Research," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(4), pages 4978-5005, July.
    20. Agnieszka Janik & Adam Ryszko & Marek Szafraniec, 2020. "Greenhouse Gases and Circular Economy Issues in Sustainability Reports from the Energy Sector in the European Union," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-36, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:8:p:3380-:d:1632117. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask MDPI Indexing Manager to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.