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This study aims to investigate the impact of diverse practices in sustainability reporting and assurance on the disclosure of sustainable development goals (SDGs). Specifically, the authors examine the disclosure of SDGs along two dimensions: disclosure breadth, denoting the number of goals mentioned, and disclosure depth, encompassing the extent of actions disclosed to advance these goals.

Using a panel Tobit regression analysis, the authors analyse the communication on progress questionnaires from 299 companies (resulting in 1,015 firm-year observations) participating in the United Nations Global Compact from 2017 to 2021.

The findings revealed that greater adherence to Global Reporting Initiative standards increases SDG disclosure breadth; external assurance using publicly recognised standards, more than proprietary methods, is associated with SDG disclosure breadth and depth; and the review of information by multiple stakeholders improves the depth of SDG disclosure more than evaluation by a panel of peers.

The originality of this study lies in its examination of the intricate interplay between sustainability disclosure and assurance practices, on the one hand, and the disclosure of SDGs, on the other. Uniquely, the authors consider the various levels of implementation of these practices, allowing for a comprehensive assessment of their influence on SDG disclosure.

The purpose of this paper is to understand whether and how the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) paradigm can be useful in social reporting in the context of nonprofit healthcare organizations. In other words, the study deals with non-financial reporting and information, allowing external stakeholders to comprehensively evaluate the organization’s performance and behavior, investigating internal stakeholder perception over ESG paradigm application.

The authors used a case study approach investigating four cases among nonprofit healthcare organizations in Italy. Analyses of available primary sources have been conducted, followed by semi-structured interviews. Interviews were then transcribed and coded in a joint blinded process by all authors. More specifically, three areas have been investigated: (1) factors motivating the development of non-financial disclosure practices; (2) the rationale behind the organization’s decision to include specific topics; and (3) the future perspective on the future of non-financial disclosure within the specific sector.

ESG may serve as a suitable framework to create comparable documents that can act as benchmarks for similar institutions. However, while nonprofit organizations (NPOs) can draw inspiration from ESG, the utility of these criteria should be thoughtfully tailored to align with the organization’s mission. The ESG using as a general guide, instead of implementing it as a real tool to assess performances, emerges as a positive practice. NPOs should not focus on fulfilling ESG requirements bur rather take inspiration from them. Otherwise, the risk is an excess of focus on the formal aspect rather than on its content.

The study contributes to a better understanding of social and ESG’ reporting activities and approaches in the healthcare sector by describing some case studies and the effect of sustainability in the social reporting of nonprofit healthcare organizations.