A LOOK AT INTEGRATED REPORTING IN THE LIGHT OF INTEGRAL ECOLOGY IN LAUDATO SI’

Abstract

The socio-environmental challenges are imposing themselves on humanity, which is why sustainability has become an increasingly studied topic today. The encyclical Laudato Si’ is the fruit of these studies. Through it, individuals, families and organizations are urged to adopt new behaviors with a view to using natural resources responsibly and protecting our common home. In particular, companies have a key role to play, mainly because of the negative externalities resulting from their activities. In response to growing expectations about their performance and the potential impact of the issue, they have generally sought to implement sustainable actions and projects, the products of which are published in an integrated report. That said, the aim of this paper is to analyze this report in the light of integral ecology, in order to highlight its potential to contribute to the realization of this central concept of Laudato Si’. In order to achieve this, the paper carries out a bibliographical survey based on studies in the fields of Accounting and Theology. The results obtained show, on the one hand, the important evolution represented by integrated reporting in the field of company communication, since it allows them to disclose to different stakeholders the performance achieved in the financial and non-financial spheres. These disclosures include data and information on financial, manufacturing, human, intellectual, natural and social capital. In this way, integrated reporting favors the fulfillment of integral ecology. The convergences between the two are important. On the other hand, the results also point to considerable obstacles that need to be overcome if integrated reporting is to progress and become an effective instrument for promoting sustainable and integral development. For this to happen, further progress is needed, particularly in the field of education.