University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

In general, the larger the organisation or the greater number of clients it has, the
greater the pressure it is under to give information (DiMaggio et al. 1983).
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As stated by DiMaggio and Powell, there are formal and informal pressures exerted
on organisations in the shape of force, persuasion or invitations to collude. Some
countries have altered their laws to cover recommendations from the European
Commission (EC), by introducing new rules on environmental information in
financial statements. These common legal requirements affect several aspects of
company organisation and structure (Weber 1958), although the results have not
been as expected, since the level of compliance with the current regulations is really
low, (Alciatore et al. 2006).
This situation has helped to develop environmental information given voluntarily by
the company (KPMG 2008). The purposes of this information have been questioned
in written works, also their capacity to justify company responsibility, due to the
company not being neutral and objective (Adams 2004; Deegan et al. 1996).
The information offered by companies does not always satisfy special interest groups,
and normally lacks objectivity (Gray 2006) and has poor content (EC, 2002). This
has led academics working with ethics and the environment in business to ask for
greater regulation of environmental information (Deegan 2002; Gray et al. 1987;
Bebbington 1999; Möbus 2005), likewise, they also want greater standardisation of
information (DeTienne et al. 2005).
Methodology
Research question
The main research question of this work is to find out if there is an isomorphic
process in reporting done by companies belonging to the same sector, the electricity
sector, through sustainability reports issued during the period 2005-2007. A content
analysis has been done with reference of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
indicators. The GRI is a centre that collaborates with the United Nations
environmental programme, which is a worldwide, working network of experts
belonging to various groups of stakeholders. These experts take part in work groups
and government teams who have drawn up a guide and some principles to contribute
to social and environmental reporting by companies. The institution hopes to create
an international reference framework for writing reports and annual reports that
include financial, social and environmental performance. The aim of the GRI is to
define and homogenise the content of the reports and annual reports to ensure the
correct quality of the information disclosed. Until now, over 1,500 companies have
adopted these principles (GRI, 2008). however, there are also academics who
question the role and objectivity of these organisations when disclosing the interests
of the different interest groups (Gray et al. 2005), and professionals who are reluctant
to apply these when drawing up the annual report (Adams et al. 2007).
Another research question of this work suggests that there is a lack in the reporting
done by these companies to meet the demands of the environment, specially talking
about quantity and quality characteristics. Conduct a content analysis of
environmental information provided by organisations requires a reference framework,