Hur utvecklas svenska fastighetsbolags miljöredovisning mellan 2018-2025? En innehållsanalys av hållbarhetsrapporter om hur miljömässig hållbarhetsredovisning utvecklats före och efter införandet av CSRD

Sammanfattning

Since sustainability reporting first emerged, companies have struggled with issues related to the availability, quality and comparability of sustainability information. The introduction to Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) has increased the requirements for transparency, standardisation and compatibility in sustainability reporting.This study examines how Swedish real estate companies environmental sustainability reporting has developed before and after the implementation of CSRD. The purpose of the study is to map and analyze differences in environmental sustainability reporting before and after the implementation of CSRD, with focus on ESRS E1, Climate Change and ESRS E5, Resource Use and Circular Economy. The study's results are based on a qualitative content analysis of sustainability reports from five Swedish real estate firms. The material from the reports is analyzed using coding schemes that assess how quantitative, detailed and comparable the information is.The results show that environmental reporting has become more extensive, detailed and comparable over time. The development is especially seen after the implementation of CSRD, however the results show that some improvements had already begun before CSRD. This indicates that the development cannot be explained alone by the implementation. Instead, the findings suggest that institutional pressure and companies need for legitimacy could have contributed to changes in sustainability reporting practices.Overall, the study indicated that CSRD has contributed to more extensive, qualitative and comparable environmental reporting for Swedish real estate firms. However, the study is limited to five companies and only two ESRS standards which means the results cannot be generalised to the entire Swedish real estate sector.