Stand‐Alone Sustainability Reporting Practices in an Emerging Market: A Longitudinal Investigation

This study investigates sustainability reporting practices in the emerging market of Turkey for a 10‐year period between 2004 and 2013. While there are several Turkish firms preparing sustainability reports consistently during the sample period, there is also a long road to be traveled with regard to consistent and complete reporting on sustainability. The most widespread framework used in sustainability reporting is the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework. One of the main features of the GRI framework is that it provides grades, known as application levels, for the extent of a company's sustainability initiatives and reporting. The number of reports containing GRI‐verified application levels and the levels of sustainability are both on the rise. Moreover, there is a slow increase in the number of externally prepared assurance reports on sustainability numbers. The majority of these reports were prepared by Big Four accounting firms. Finally, the outsourcing of sustainability reporting has become more prevalent during the sample period.