The Sustainable Development Goals disclosure toward legitimacy: Evidence from Airlines in light of COVID-19

Abstract

Airlines are fundamental in integrating the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their corporate activities to support the UN agenda towards a world without poverty, environmental stress, and inequality. This study examines the potential changes related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the engagement with SDGs in corporate reporting by airline companies. We contribute to a limited body of empirical research on CSR reporting in the airline industry by extending the examination on whether and how airlines implement SDGs in corporate reporting. In doing this, we respond to calls for more research on contextual understanding of SDGs disclosure practices. We find that the level of SDG disclosure among the sample remains low, but airlines that do report tend to provide specific information, demonstrating their initiatives, actions, and outcomes. The majority of the disclosed information was specific rather than generic in both years. We demonstrate which SDGs have been reported the most by airlines, including changes between 2018 and 2020, and provide suggestions for future research.