Occupational health and safety disclosures in sustainability reports: an overview of trends among corporate leaders

The purpose of this study is to assess the comprehensiveness of voluntary occupational health and safety (OHS) disclosures of large business entities. We devise a composite disclosure index relying on well-established performance indicators and focus on the information found in the sustainability reports of corporations pertaining to the oil and gas, chemical, airline and construction industries, in an attempt to shed light on the current status and emerging trends of OHS reporting from a diverse group of business entities. Findings indicate that companies tend to place emphasis on their overall management approach to OHS but fall short in reporting quantitative and qualitative information beyond ‘conventional’ metrics of occupational injury rates. OHS issues within the supply chain and relevant monitoring systems-mechanisms in place are issues under-reported, while OHS training programs is an aspect inadequately analyzed in quantitative terms, being the least reported indicator in the sample reports. In contrast, companies from all four industries do seek assurance for the OHS information they report and place emphasis on the externally-developed management standards/initiatives they subscribe to, support or have adopte