Sustainability reporting disclosure within pension insurance industry in Finland
Gu, Sisi (2024)
2024
All rights reserved. This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202404085909
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202404085909
Tiivistelmä
This thesis examines sustainability reporting in Finland's pension insurance industry, focusing on two large mutual pension insurance companies - Varma and Ilmarinen, evaluating their alignment with the Global Reporting Initiative standard to uncover their collective participation in sustainable practices. The research question explores how pension companies in Finland adhere to GRI standards in their reporting, with specific inquiries into the presentation of general disclosures, the economic, environmental, and social topics, and distinctions in their approaches to sustainable business practices.
The thesis employs a theoretical framework to emphasize factors influencing organizations, with a focus on stakeholders and EU regulatory directives. Sustainability reports, aligned with GRI, serve as communication tools for two pension insurance companies. GRI 1: Foundation 2021 provides a fundamental framework for transparent and consistent reporting, facilitating standardized articulation of ESG performance. GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 and GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 ensure vital non-negotiable information, emphasizing transparency and accountability. The GRI 200 series covers economic performance, GRI 300 environmental, and GRI 400 social performance, explored for their relevance in sustainability reporting, with the 2021 update focusing on GRI 2 and GRI 3, while the GRI 200 to GRI 400 series remain largely consistent with minor changes in topic-specific disclosures.
This multiple case study research analyses and compares sustainability reports from two companies, using secondary data collected from their annual reports on official websites. The methodology involves identifying case companies, gathering relevant materials for the year 2022, and organizing data into tables in an appendix for easy access. The subsequent chapter synthesizes key findings, individually scrutinizing each case company to address research questions and providing a holistic examination for the final question, leading to comprehensive and cohesive analysis in subsequent sections. To categorize and evaluate a sustainability report, a classification system featuring a rating scale ranging from 0 to 4 has been devised and implemented, complemented by the application of a corresponding weighting method.
As result, Varma and Ilmarinen display strengths and weaknesses across reporting criteria, with Ilmarinen slightly outperforming in overall compliance and specific environmental aspects, while Varma excels in certain economic aspects. Both organizations show areas for improvement in their sustainability reporting practices. Despite this, their adherence to the rigorous GRI guide lines is commendable. Varma and Ilmarinen exhibit a strong commitment to responsible investing and sustainability, participating actively in global initiatives addressing climate change, biodiversity, and environmental impact disclosure. As EU regulations like SFDR and ESRS evolve,
the anticipation is positive for both Varma and Ilmarinen to update their reporting practices in alignment with emerging guidelines in the coming years.
The thesis employs a theoretical framework to emphasize factors influencing organizations, with a focus on stakeholders and EU regulatory directives. Sustainability reports, aligned with GRI, serve as communication tools for two pension insurance companies. GRI 1: Foundation 2021 provides a fundamental framework for transparent and consistent reporting, facilitating standardized articulation of ESG performance. GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 and GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 ensure vital non-negotiable information, emphasizing transparency and accountability. The GRI 200 series covers economic performance, GRI 300 environmental, and GRI 400 social performance, explored for their relevance in sustainability reporting, with the 2021 update focusing on GRI 2 and GRI 3, while the GRI 200 to GRI 400 series remain largely consistent with minor changes in topic-specific disclosures.
This multiple case study research analyses and compares sustainability reports from two companies, using secondary data collected from their annual reports on official websites. The methodology involves identifying case companies, gathering relevant materials for the year 2022, and organizing data into tables in an appendix for easy access. The subsequent chapter synthesizes key findings, individually scrutinizing each case company to address research questions and providing a holistic examination for the final question, leading to comprehensive and cohesive analysis in subsequent sections. To categorize and evaluate a sustainability report, a classification system featuring a rating scale ranging from 0 to 4 has been devised and implemented, complemented by the application of a corresponding weighting method.
As result, Varma and Ilmarinen display strengths and weaknesses across reporting criteria, with Ilmarinen slightly outperforming in overall compliance and specific environmental aspects, while Varma excels in certain economic aspects. Both organizations show areas for improvement in their sustainability reporting practices. Despite this, their adherence to the rigorous GRI guide lines is commendable. Varma and Ilmarinen exhibit a strong commitment to responsible investing and sustainability, participating actively in global initiatives addressing climate change, biodiversity, and environmental impact disclosure. As EU regulations like SFDR and ESRS evolve,
the anticipation is positive for both Varma and Ilmarinen to update their reporting practices in alignment with emerging guidelines in the coming years.