Klimatrelaterad hållbarhetsredovisning

: svenska och tyska företag i tre branscher

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze environmental sustainability reporting with focus lying on climaterelated factors. Three listed companies in Sweden and Germany are reviewed with the help of content analysis of the entities annual and sustainability reports and the specification takes place in a comparison between the environmental reporting of each company.  In this essay there has been a usage of both quantitative and qualitative research strategies and takes its premise in an abductive approach. Through content analysis and quantification of qualitative data the empirical base has been collected from companies in the pharmaceutical, business system and electronics industries. By combining three theories, specifically the legitimacy, stakeholder and harmonization theory the possibility of qualitative analysis and well-founded conclusions together with guidelines on further research are made possible. The essay concludes that the German companies are marginally better in terms of sustainability reporting and that industry practice is essential when it comes to accounting for climate- related sustainability factors