An Organizational Perspective of Sustainability Reporting in the Public Sector: A Scoping Literature Review

Abstract

In recent years, international bodies and public opinion have recommended that governments adopt social responsibility practices to inform and be accountable to citizens about their sustainability actions in environmental, social and economic fields (Galera et al., 2014) and restore citizens' confidence in public authorities (Crane et al., 2008; Shepherd et al., 2010). This chapter reviews the literature on measuring and reporting sustainable performance in the public sector. Analyzing 35 studies published in a period of 10 years (from 2012 to 2021), we address two specific research questions: How and to what extent have public organizations changed to integrate sustainability reporting (SR) systems? What are the enabling organizational factors in adopting SR in public organizations?

Citation

Flamini, G., Ceschel, F., Gnan, L. and Van, A.V.T. (2023), "An Organizational Perspective of Sustainability Reporting in the Public Sector: A Scoping Literature Review", Gnan, L., Hinna, A., Monteduro, F. and Allegrini, V. (Ed.) Reshaping Performance Management for Sustainable Development (Studies in Public and Non-Profit Governance, Vol. 8), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 89-109. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2051-663020230000008005