Analysis of the use of Essential GRI (G3) Indicators in the Reports of Companies in the Sectors of Oil, Gas, And Biofuels; And Public Utilities In Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this article is to verify the degree of full adhesion and Effective Disclosure for business sectors in Brazil for oil, gas, and biofuel; and utilities, through sustainability reports prepared by the G3 version of the GRI Guidelines. The report of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is constituted by a set of principles and indicators of economic, social, and environmental concerns with emphasis on transparency, quality, and reliability. This paper develops a multi-case methodology using a qualitative approach and has an exploratory purpose concerning the compliance of the reports of Brazilian companies to the parameters of the GRI. We opted for the use of a non-probabilistic sample of Brazilian companies in two Brazilian sectors, namely oil, gas, and biofuel; and utilities. Then we obtained sustainability reports which provided the summary index of the indicators from the institutional page of each company on the internet. From these observations we found that some Brazilian companies are adhering to the use of indicators of Sustainability Reports proposed by GRI. Furthermore, we found that the fact that companies are part of the same economic sector implies they are at a similar level of adherence to the indicators. Also, we observed that despite the effort postulated by GRI to develop a quality model more consistent and complete for sustainability reports, its applicability in the Brazilian oil, gas, and biofuel; and utility industries still needs to be improved.