An Analysis of Airline GRI and SDG Reporting

This study aims to increase our understanding of the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) topic-specific disclosures and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) addressed in the global passenger airline industry’s sustainability reporting (SR). Based on a quantitative content analysis of the industry’s sustainability reports from the financial year 2019 (FY19), this study reveals that airlines focused more on reporting environmental issues, especially emissions, than economic or social dimensions, demonstrating this emission-intensive industry’s responsiveness to stakeholders’ information needs. However, a closer look at the reported impacts shows that many topic-specific disclosures and SDGs, which industry associations have not identified as relevant to the industry, were also mentioned across the reports. Moreover, the results indicated a broader use of SDGs in Asia-Pacific reports than in European. The results are expected to interest practitioners and academics in assessing and developing the industry’s SR.