WIG-20 Warsaw Stock Exchange Companies: Are They Ready for Governance Matters Disclosures Based on EU Sustainable Reporting Standards?

Objective: To compare and assess the behaviours of students as consumers of food, cosmetics and clothing in order to understand attitudes to sustainability.Research Design & Methods: A survey was conducted in June 2022 using an online questionnaire. The link to the questionnaire was sent to a sample of n = 800 students studying in the Tricity area (Poland). 295 students completed the survey, representing a return rate of 36.9%. The responses received were analysed and conclusions were drawn.Findings: The study shows that the young consumers take sustainable criteria into consideration in their purchasing decisions depending on the particular products. They follow sustainable aspects to the greatest extent in shopping for food, and to the least extent in the case of clothes. In the case of food, issues such as natural ingredients, environmentally friendly packaging, and egg labelling proved to be relatively important. With cosmetics, natural ingredients and environmentally friendly packaging were relatively important, and to a lesser extent, that cosmetics have not been tested on animals. In the case of clothing, sustainable issues proved to be the least important, though environmentally friendly packaging was sometime considered.Implications / Recommendations: The consumers surveyed are insufficiently influenced by questions of sustainability in their consumer behaviours. This may prompt questions on the involvement of companies in introducing pro-ecological and pro-social changes to products and how they are produced, and consequently influence the pace and degree to which sustainable production and consumption are being brought about.Contribution: The article contributes to the literature on the attitude of young consumers to sustainable development. It indicates areas that should be improved with regards to the behaviour of students when making purchasing decisions.

This paper focuses on the economic dimension of sustainability by examining the stock exchange interface of financial markets, the influence of capital market stakeholders, and the instruments that contribute to a supportive fiscal framework. Only mature stock exchanges are present in sustainability indices; hence, comparative assessment of stock exchanges is limited and contributes to the complexity of conducting such a study. Utilizing multivariate analysis, this study investigates the potential for African stock exchanges to support sustainability. An empirical study was conducted on a selected sample of 15 African stock exchanges at the end of 2020 using collected 5-year interval data from Q1 of 2021. A total of 22 variables were selected based on their legitimacy to support sustainability. Using exploratory factor analysis, two key sustainability drivers of differentiation and classified exchanges were identified, i.e., hard and soft. K-means classification method verified the results and found that of the four identified homogeneous groups, one—the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Nigerian Stock Exchange, and the Egyptian Exchange—emerged on top. Two smaller groups had the potential to be strengthened, and the majority group lagged behind. The research demonstrated the importance of identifying key sustainability drivers and examined the materiality of the drivers within an African context.

Theoretical background: The concept of circular economy (CE) emerged in 1970 and gained popularity in the early 21st century, particularly in European Union (EU), China, and India. CE is a response to resource depletion and environmental degradation. As CE aims to maintain the usability of products and materials while minimizing waste, its incorporation into regulations and policies is driven by the need for sustainability and effective waste management. The study analyses main scientific papers from 1970 to 2024 to show changes in terminology, understanding, and interpretation of the main components of the idea of circularity. Purpose of the article: This paper examines the consistency of CE research principles with the regulatory framework, assessing the conceptual aspects and scope of the CE as presented in EU documents. Research methods: The research method was desk-based, using formal regulations and research frameworks based on the Scopus and Web of Science databases. Mainly academic studies and legal acts were evaluated. Main findings: Over time, the scope of the CE definition changes. Among other things, a significant increase in formal and legal regulations for companies can be seen from 2020 onwards. The number of studies has also grown rapidly in recent years. While the definition of CE has not changed significantly, there have been major changes in the key areas of activity and scope. We systemize the regulatory aspects of CE by: CE definition boundaries, values, targets and reporting. The original nature of this article is to organise the knowledge on CE contained in the literature and source documents of the European Union. The study will enable the promotion of knowledge on circularity by structuring the terminology and indicating the thematic scope of CE in different documents. Given the social context, the article can be used to raise awareness of the CE among consumers, enabling them to make more informed choices when selecting products and services.

The disclosure of value chains—particularly supply chains—in the European Union (EU) banking sector represents an emerging area of sustainability research. Triggered by the 2024 enforcement of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRSs), EU-listed banks are now required to report on value chain impacts as part of their sustainability disclosures. This regulatory shift has positioned value chain transparency as a key element in double materiality assessments. This study explores the data-driven potential within commercial banks’ supply chains, focusing on the Polish financial sector as a case study. The methodology combines a literature review with a case study analysis supported by a comparative analysis using the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Materiality Navigator tool. The findings indicate that banks currently do not consider upstream supply chain issues—such as data security, privacy, or systemic risk—as material, despite their relevance. However, by extending materiality considerations to upstream processes, the analysis uncovers significant data-driven opportunities related to supply chain transparency. This research contributes early empirical insights into how banks might develop value chain disclosures to understand accountability and data-driven potential better, offering implications for both academic inquiry and practice.

Objectives: A rapidly growing corporate use of social media can support corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability advocacy of listed companies enhancing the positive image of people with disabilities and social inclusion. Emphasizing CSR towards people with disability (D),...