Materiality Matrixes in Sustainability Reporting: An Empirical Examination

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.