The Comparison of Sustainability Reporting in the EU

Abstract

The aim of the thesis was to find out how sustainability reporting differs between the target companies Telia AB and Elisa Oyj. In addition, the purpose was to obtain information on how responsibility reporting has changed over the years and how the CSRD directive set by the European Union contributes to the development of reporting. The theoretical framework of the thesis covers two main topics, sustainability reporting and standards for sustainability reporting in the European Union. Chapter two discusses sustainability reporting and how the objectives set by the European Union and the directives have or will have an impact on sustainability reporting in the future. Chapter three deals with the standards of responsibility reporting that the target companies of the thesis mainly use in their responsibility reports. The fourth chapter compares Telia and Elisa, going through issues related to social, environmental, and administrative responsibility. The fifth chapter covers the differences in responsibility reporting between Telia and Elisa and how responsibility reporting has changed over the years 2021–2023. The study was carried out as a qualitative, comparative study using Telia's and Elisa's annual reports and their responsibility reports as data. The target companies were selected on a discretionary basis due to their location and size because the sizes of the companies contributed to the impact of the European Union CSRD directive on sustainability reporting. The results of the thesis showed that sustainability reporting and its frameworks had not significantly changed in 2021–2023. The biggest changes will come for sustainability reports in 2024, when Telia and Elisa move to using the ESRS standard in accordance with the requirements of the CSRD. There were no significant differences in Telia's and Elisa's reporting methods, with the main differences found in the factual content of the reports.