Heidi Janse van Rensburg, Miemie Struwig
Abstract
This paper compares a proposed set of sustainability ratios over two periods. The intention is to evaluate whether the proposed set of sustainability ratios were indeed used in practice. For the study, a quantitative content analysis of the integrated reports of FTSE/JSE Responsible Investment Top 30 Index companies for the years 2017 and 2022 was performed using a systematic review. A total of 43 sustainability ratios were reported by the participating companies in 2017 and 2022. Ten reported ratios showed an increase in reporting frequency in 2022 compared to 2017.
The ratio with the highest reported frequency in 2022 was for women in management, followed by women in the workforce, historically disadvantaged South Africans in management, emission percentage change, water usage change, employee turnover and energy usage change. Trend ratios (namely, water, energy, emissions and waste) were reported in isolation without context. Some sustainability ratios proposed in theory were found to be in monetary values (for example, Emission cost / Sales), however, it was found in practice that similar ratios were presented in units (for example, Emissions tonnes / Revenue). The results confirmed that the proposed set of 43 sustainability ratios could be a starting point for a useable set of sustainability ratios.