JOURNAL OF STRATEGIC INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY
Materiality Matrixes in Sustainability Reporting: An Empirical Examination
Author(s): Liad Ortar
Citation: Liad Ortar, (2020) "Materiality Matrixes in Sustainability Reporting: An Empirical Examination," Journal of Strategic Innovation and Sustainability, Vol. 15, Iss. 1, pp. 108-133
Article Type: Research paper
Publisher: North American Business Press
Abstract:
The purpose of this article is to critically explore the concept of materiality in sustainability reporting. Materiality is a concept adopted from financial accounting practice, in which it is used to differentiate between financially influential activities and those that carry no financial risk. As sustainability reporting is a concept rooted in stakeholder theory, materiality has been adapted to include stakeholders' perspectives in the prioritization process.
The findings presented in this article indicate that an empirical quantitative method for materiality is feasible. While there is still much to explore in the field of materiality in order to broaden the applications of this model, it does provide an important contribution as a scholarly starting point.
Social implications – The model proposed is this article has vast social implications mainly in the realm of sustainability reporting. As the article explains, sustainability reporting is currently in a phase of transition from a voluntary approach to a more regulated one. This transitional phase demands the exploration of alternative validated means of prioritizing the issues reported.