Purpose

This paper aims to commentate on the roles of sustainability reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic. It evaluates the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) framework, designed as a guide for best-practice in sustainability reporting, for its applicability to cover COVID-19 issues and, more generally, issues arising in crisis conditions.

Design/methodology/approach

The GRI’s COVID-19 communications and the GRI framework are reviewed using three common theories of reporting, namely, institutional, stakeholder and legitimacy theory. For each theory, the authors contrast expectations under business-as-usual conditions against crisis conditions to identify gaps and avenues to guide COVID-19 responses.

Findings

This commentary opines the GRI framework risks perpetuating incremental change towards the “new normal”, rather than motivating the urgent responses needed in a crisis. The GRI can play a significant normative role to guide immediate and short-term best practice in COVID-19 reporting. Findings motivate the need to report for vulnerable rather than powerful stakeholders and to recognise and celebrate proactive change.

Originality/value

This paper commentates on the suitability of a major sustainability reporting framework and its role in improving responses to the current COVID-19 crisis. Findings propose challenges to the GRI and GRI framework to motivate urgent responses and communication for the pandemic.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19和可持续发展报告：危机中报告框架的作用是什么？

目的

本文旨在评论COVID-19大流行期间可持续发展报告的作用。它评估了全球报告倡议组织（GRI）框架的适用性，该框架旨在为可持续发展报告的最佳实践提供指导，以适用于涵盖COVID-19问题，以及更广泛地说，由危机情况引起的问题。

设计/方法/方法

GRI的COVID-19通信和GRI框架使用三种常见的报告理论进行了审查，即机构，利益相关者和合法性理论。对于每种理论，作者将在通常情况下的期望与危机条件进行对比，以找出差距和途径来指导COVID-19的应对。

发现

这篇评论认为GRI框架可能会导致朝着“新常态”的方向不断变化，而不是激发危机中需要采取的紧急应对措施。GRI可以发挥重要的规范作用，以指导COVID-19报告中的近期和短期最佳实践。调查结果激发了为脆弱的利益相关者而不是强大的利益相关者进行报告的必要性，并认识到并庆祝积极的变革。

创意/价值

本文评论了主要可持续发展报告框架的适用性及其在改善对当前COVID-19危机的反应中的作用。调查结果提出了对GRI和GRI框架的挑战，以激发对大流行的紧急响应和沟通。