CSR and Sustainability Reporting in India: The Way Forward

For over a quarter century, the term ‘Sustainability Development' (SD) has been at the forefront of all discussions and decisions on corporate strategy for growth & development in an organization and thus, the importance of greater transparency & integrity in Sustainability Reporting (SR) under the overall Corporate Reporting (CR). Reporting – both financial & non-financial, is not only essential for internal evaluation but also for the external valuation. Reporting on account of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or Sustainability Development initiatives in India is also mandated by law under Companies Act, 2013 for certain specified companies besides being having a moral obligation for voluntary disclosure to all stakeholders including the society at large. Through this paper, an effort is made to draw the link between Sustainability Reporting (SR) or Corporate Social Disclosures (CSD) and Corporate Reporting (CR) and their relevance to overall Corporate Governance (CG) by exploring the concepts and their interlinks beside highlighting the need & importance for both voluntary disclosures and mandatory reporting of CSR activities & expenditures under Companies Act, 2013. An intensive review of literature on relevant aspects of the topic has been undertaken and an analysis made in the context of both national & international companies operating in the country. The methodology adopted for the paper involve Literature Review Analysis (LRA). The objective of this research rather review is to convey the concerns of all stakeholders, including the society within which an enterprise exists or operate, to one of the most important players of the game (read financial expert) through simple explanation of the concepts and rationale behind CSR & SD so as “to increase the depth and scale of the commitment of Indian Companies towards Sustainability Reporting” (Kumar & Devi, 2015)