Social disclosure rating system for assessing firms' CSR reports

Purpose The paper aims to contribute to the development of a systematic social disclosure rating system for analysing firms' social performance through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports or similar social disclosures. The rating incorporates the comprehensive Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) 2002 reporting framework as the benchmark for measuring firm's social performance. Design/methodology/approach Literature review in the areas of CSR development, CSR reporting, CSR reporting frameworks, GRI 2002 Guidelines will be utilised in order to create social disclosures rating using GRI 2002 reporting framework. Findings The rating accommodates standardized measures of social performance based on the GRI 2002 Guidelines and enables comparison of CSR practices among companies, particularly firms' social accountability to society. Originality/value The contribution of the paper will fill the lack of standardized content analysis measures of CSR reports, particularly social aspects of CSR. It provides a comprehensive coverage of social indicators, which capture the wide range of issues in social theme of CSR.