Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Communication in the Annual Reports of Financial Institutions: Evidence From Morocco

Abstract

To achieve sustainable development objectives, managers are encouraged to implement best practices in corporate social and environmental responsibility within their establishments. The main objective of this chapter is to assess the quality of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) communication for Moroccan financial institutions. This chapter is devoted to the content analysis of the annual reports of 14 financial institutions listed in Morocco regarding ESG strategies between 2017 and 2021. The reference assessment tool we used is the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards (2016), based on six principles. Each principle contains requirements and guidance on how to apply it. These principles are summarized in the following: Accuracy, Balance, Clarity, Comparability, Reliability, and Timeliness. The sample is composed of 14 financial institutions listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange. After checking the content of the annual reports of listed Moroccan financial institutions, we detected several shortcomings in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting behavior. Companies avoid disclosing information about negative events and performance. We saw this as a bad sign for stakeholders. The results showed a significant gap between the GRI standards and the content of the annual reports. These weaknesses mainly concern accuracy, comparability, and, timeliness, hence the need to carry out corrective measures to improve the quality of ESG practices within Moroccan financial institutions. One of the limitations of this research is its focus on financial institutions. However, it is possible to broaden the scope of the research by assessing the quality of ESG communication for nonfinancial companies.

Citation

Outmane, F., Zouhair, H. and Hamza, B. (2024), "Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Communication in the Annual Reports of Financial Institutions: Evidence From Morocco", Hunjra, A.I. and Hussainey, K. (Ed.) The Emerald Handbook of Ethical Finance and Corporate Social Responsibility, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 227-246. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80455-406-720241010