Sustainability Reports and Latin America: The Challenges of Social and Environmental Balances in Development Process for Human Rights

This chapter explores the quantity of published sustainability reports according to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) methodology in Latin America and its evolution between 2008 and 2017. The type of research is longitudinal and descriptive, since its purpose is to describe the followings variables: published reports and company size during the period 2008–2017. In this work, quantitative methodology is applied, it is supplemented with Pearson's chi-2 tests. The main findings are the following: (a) The larger the size of the company, the greater the chances are that the company publishes sustainability reports and (b) There is a decrease in the level of publication of sustainability reports in accordance with GRI guidelines by companies in Latin America, especially as of 2016. This chapter provides valuable information on the state of corporate sustainability in Latin America, highlighting both the advances and challenges that companies in the region face on their path to sustainability. The findings in this chapter can be used to inform policy, business strategies, and future research in this evolving field.