Reporting on sustainable development and the integration of financial and non-financial data: legal conditions in Poland and worldwide

Abstract

The idea of sustainable development is reflected in nearly all economic sectors which, along with the global advancement of new technologies, are developing at a very quick pace. Sustainable development is not an obstacle to this continued progress, but rather a call to maintain reason and moderation in order to reconcile areas of key importance to the humanity, that is economic growth and balanced distribution of profits. Owing to the widespread reach of this idea and to its presence in the development strategies of organisations in the business and non-profit sector, sanctioning reporting within this field, similarly to reporting financial data, seems like the natural consequence. Although reporting non-financial data and publication of integrated reports is becoming an increasingly common practice, undertaken by a growing number of organisations, the scale of this phenomenon invites the conclusion that it is still in its early stages. Numerous organisations publish such reports on their own initiative, as they are aware of the tangible advantages brought by such conduct. Still, many do not do it, probably due to lack of knowledge regarding all the important interrelations between financial and non-financial results, as well as due to insufficiently developed legal regulations pertaining to this area. Both the European Union and highly developed countries see the need and the advantages stemming from the complex legal regulation of this sphere, which is manifested in concrete legal acts. Although Poland too has regulations pertaining to this issue, the still low percentage of entities which publish reports on sustainable development and integrated reports, inspires reflections. Owing to this, the authors have reviewed legal regulations binding in Poland, in the European Union and in some selected countries in Europe and worldwide, based on which they have attempted to formulate a few de lege ferenda postulates.