Disclosure of ESG business sustainability components in non-financial reporting of companies: The problem of the chosen ones?

Ural State University, Ekaterinburg, Russia

^* Corresponding author: Tkachenko@usue.ru

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the problem of disclosing the components of ESG business sustainability in non-financial reporting of companies. The authors raise the question of the availability of non-financial reports, the problem of correlating the information provided by RAEX rating data and the presence or absence of public data on company websites. As in many foreign and Russian publications, the authors of the article emphasize that the practice of non-financial reporting has become typical for large business companies, while at the same time, the official Internet portals of many companies, even the leaders of the ESG rating, contain only occasional mention of projects and initiatives, not appear to be of a systemic nature. The undisputed leaders both in the RAEX rating and in the provision of non-financial reporting are companies belonging to the 1st level of MOEX listing. The authors of the article believe that in order for non-financial reporting to become a common practice not only for large business companies, but also for medium and small businesses, much remains to be done.