Investigating Web-Based Sustainability Reporting in Italian Public Universities in the Era of Covid-19

Giuseppe Nicolò, Natalia Aversano, Giuseppe Sannino and Paolo Tartaglia Polcini
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Giuseppe Nicolò: Department of Management and Innovation Systems, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano (SA), Italy
Natalia Aversano: Department of Management and Innovation Systems, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano (SA), Italy
Giuseppe Sannino: Economics Department, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Corso Gran Priorato di Malta, 81043 Capua (CE), Italy
Paolo Tartaglia Polcini: Department of Management and Innovation Systems, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano (SA), Italy

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 6, 1-12

Abstract: Universities are increasingly called to demonstrate to stakeholders their active commitment to responding to social and environmental issues through comprehensive reporting practices. Such expectations were further enhanced by the recent pandemic outbreak unleashed by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which has bolstered social pressures on universities to demonstrate their active engagement in supporting health systems in fighting against the virus as well as in ensuring adequate e-learning paths for students. Therefore, this study aims to investigate to what extent Italian public universities disclose sustainability information on their websites. The study is based on a well-established framework adapted from the literature. The category “Sustainability and COVID-19” has been added to also examine the extent to which universities disclose information regarding policies and strategies adopted to cope with the ongoing pandemic crisis. Results evidence that most of the sampled universities devote a specific section of their websites to disclose information on sustainability issues. Results also highlight a strong commitment to the disclosure of social issues. Particular attention is devoted to disclosing information about “Social Performance”; “Sustainability and COVID-19” and “Society Issues”. The results may be beneficial to both policymakers and university governors in gaining awareness about the potential of websites in engendering insights into the social issues that involve a university and a wider range of stakeholders.

Keywords: sustainability reporting; sustainable development; Italian universities; COVID-19; social and environmental disclosure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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