Högskolan i Skövde

Nowadays Swedish professional handball clubs carry out extensive sustainability work. In addition to engaging many people through the activities of the associations, they also contribute positively to society through external projects and activities. Despite the work being carried out, the clubs are not that involved in disclosing their work in a sustainability report. Sustainability reporting aims to report the organization's impact on sustainable development and is an expression of social responsibility. The study is based on the legitimacy theory and stakeholder theory's assumptions about expectations and interactions with society. The study is focused on clubs that are active in the top league of Swedish men’s handball, Handbollsligan. The purpose of this study is to understand the reasons why Swedish professional handball clubs do not report sustainability, even though the theories and previous studies point out many benefits to it.

The study has been performed in a two steps approach, a document study was performed first and then interviews. The document study of the club’s annual reports has shown a poor disclosure of sustainability information. Subsequently, interviews with representatives of the clubs have been carried out in order to generate an understanding of why the clubs do not report their sustainability work.

The study shows that none of the Swedish professional handball clubs have a sustainability report and have a lack of sustainability information in their annual report. The study highlights several reasons why the clubs do not have sustainability reports. It indicates that the clubs instead choose to communicate the sustainability work they perform via social media and through their websites. Other reason is a lack of knowledge of what a sustainability report is and contains, and the deficiency of the resources required for elaborating the report. Further the clubs also experience low expectations and demands from stakeholders regarding sustainability reporting. Norms within the field of activity and the culture within the clubs also form the basis for the lack of sustainability disclosure. The study's contribution is primarily a guidance and an increased understanding for the clubs within Swedish professional handball regarding sustainability reporting.