El mercado de verificación de las memorias de sostenibilidad en España: un análisis desde la perspectiva de la demanda
The assurance market of sustainability reports in Spain: An analysis from the demand perspective
Resumen
La verificación de las memorias de sostenibilidad ha experimentado una tendencia creciente a nivel internacional en las últimas décadas, propiciando la creación de un mercado cuyo conocimiento es todavía limitado. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar el mercado de verificación de las memorias de sostenibilidad en España desde el punto de vista de la demanda, identificando no solo las características de las empresas que contratan el servicio, sino también su estrategia y actitud ante la verificación. Para ello realizamos una encuesta a una muestra de 342 empresas que han registrado alguna de sus memorias de sostenibilidad en la base de datos de la Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).
Los resultados obtenidos ponen de manifiesto que son las grandes empresas que operan en sectores con mayor sensibilidad medioambiental y que cotizan en mercado secundario las que demandan un servicio de verificación externa en mayor medida. Además, el estudio de las características de empresa que determinan la demanda de verificación señala las diferencias en las presiones de los grupos de interés como principal factor determinante. No obstante, cuando las compañías toman la decisión de verificar sus memorias de sostenibilidad, su comportamiento sigue una línea similar en aras a incrementar la credibilidad y la confianza en la información de sostenibilidad, especialmente aquellas con un mayor impacto social y medioambiental.
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