The differences of each country adapting to environmental conditions are an inhibiting factor in realizing the SDG goals, causing global problems currently being faced, such as implementing peace and health. That implements sustainable development varied, as seen by the different main focuses of achieving the SDGs. According to data from the Indonesian Statistic Bureau (2021) referring to the 17 SDG goals, some indicators have not been conducted in Indonesia. In 2018, this indicator was the achievement of access to electricity (1.06%). In 2019 the indicators that have not been achieved were in the form of overcoming hunger (7.66%), health (5.18%), clean water (22.61%), poverty (10.19%), internet use (52.31%), peace (25.08%), and partnerships (27.75%). In 2020 these indicators were in the fields of education (1.71%), formal work (60.47%), inequality (38.54%), and sustainable cities (40.46%).

CSR implementation could affect the SDGs, promoting sustainable development since there is a link between the two (García-Sánchez et al., 2020). Based on Gunawan et al., (2020) by making SDGs a target for business and CSR activities, companies could get many benefits and keep social risks at a lower level. Additionally, CSR could be used as a driver in achieving sustainability because it pays attention to the balance of social responsibility and corporate financial sustainability (Abdelhalim & Eldin, 2019). That indicates the need to seek information on CSR activities related to the SDGs. Good CSR information related to the SDGs requires good reporting, where one of the factors is the type of industry of a company (Ali et al., 2017).

In the construction sector according to (Xia et al., 2018) CSR activities are seen as terminology that’s also able to help achieve sustainable development, where the social dimension in CSR is considered the most dominant, such as education, skill acquisition, social procurement/enterprise, and daily reconciliation. In the textile sector, CSR could be implemented well with the help of initiatives from the government (Li et al., 2020). Based on Agudelo et al, (2020) in the energy industry, CSR is an issue that is emphasized in response to social expectations of the SDGs implementation, which is used to maintain the social license in company operations. This emphasis includes aspects of human and labor rights, stakeholder engagement, environmental performance, and social impact. In the food sector, companies that implement CSR are considered superior because they care for environmental and social sustainability following the application of SDGs (Giudice et al., 2018).

Based on this background, this study wants to discuss the gap between CSR and SDG by analyzing the annual financial statements of non-financial companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in 2019 as well as the company’s sustainability reports from 2017 to 2019, which are an extension from the previous research (Gunawan et al., 2020). This research is expected to provide an updated overview regarding CSR implementation in Indonesia, which aligned with the SDGs indicators. Based on that, the objectives of this study are: (1) providing information on CSR in Indonesia that is aligned with the SDGs, (2) providing CSR activities that have been done by companies in the non-financial sector which are disclosed in annual financial and sustainability reports, and (3) provide an overview development of the number of sustainability report disclosures observed during the research period in the non-financial sector.

The sample used in this study focuses on the non-financial sector listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange with a total of 496 units of analysis consisting of 130 sustainability reports for the period 2017 to 2019 and 366 company annual reports in 2019. The content analysis method used was to analyze the sustainability report from 2017 to 2019 (three consecutive years) and the 2019 annual report to provide a complete analysis due to the lack of companies that disclose sustainability reports. The 2019 annual report content analysis shows that Indonesian companies tend to support the achievement of good health, quality education, gender equality, reducing inequality, peace and justice. In the sustainability reports for 2017 to 2019, companies disclose more CSR activities in line with SDGs good health, quality education, clean water and sanitation, economic growth, & partnership. The results from this analysis can be used to encourage companies to pay more attention to SDGs indicators that have not been achieved and try to map out CSR implementation that supports SDGs and links them to business activities. Then, the government should help provide guidelines that are still not maximally implemented by companies, and the government could appreciate companies that have supported SDGs to encourage company disclosure initiatives.

References:

  • Andrian,T.; Yuliana; Sulaeman,P;, and Agata, Y,  (2021). Sustainable Development Goal Disclosures in Indonesia: Challenges  and  Opportunities. Review of International Geographical Education (RIGEO), 11(3), 604-617.Doi:10.33403/rigeo. 800526
  • Google Image. 2021.