Sustainability reporting, in which firms can display their sustainability efforts regarding environmental, social and economic character, has developed through the years. Sustainability reporting is considered an important means of communication, where firms can portray a responsible organization through their work and activities regarding sustainability, to their stakeholders. Firms identify their stakeholders of essence for their organization as well as the content, in conjunction with the sustainability report.
We have made an attempt trying to answer the question how firms identify and engage their stakeholders, in regards to the sustainability report and if stakeholders can influence what is reported, through qualitative interviews with respondents from five Swedish listed firms.
The analysis indicates that firms identify their stakeholders in different ways. All the identified stakeholders were regarded as primary stakeholders, internal as well as external. It seemed like most attention were given to the stakeholders significant for the firms’ existence. These stakeholders could in some cases influence on how the report was written.
All firms that participated in the study were engaging with their stakeholders on a regular basis in different dialogues, which could take place by the initiative of the stakeholders’. The firms got reassurance in this way, that their work with sustainability and reporting were satisfactory to the stakeholders’ need of information. Though the result shows that stakeholders had very little influence over the sustainability report. Mostly the firms only did some modification under what was reported, under the already established sustainability areas.