Sustainability Report of tourist districts in Sicily: theories, evidence and proposals

The complexities of the current economic climate have gradually influenced the modus operandi of companies in terms of the significant attention paid to their relationship with society, cultures, territories, the natural environment, etc. In this context, there has been an increase in external demand for companies to demonstrate the sustainability of their activities in environmental, social and governance (ESG) terms. Conversely, there has been a corresponding increase in internal demand for companies to integrate sustainability objectives with their traditional economic and financial objectives (Bachiorri, 2017). As is well known, the acceptance of the sustainability paradigm has meant renewing and expanding reporting tools in order to cover all the various and variable relationships between companies and anthropogenic and natural systems. In this sense, in the field of Sustainability Accounting studies, there are several theoretical and regulatory proposals in place for sustainability reporting, including social, environmental and sustainability reports based on international standards, from those of the GRI to those of the SASB. In this field of study, sustainability reporting by companies in the hospitality and tourism sector, which are particularly affected by recurring environmental instability and rapid climate change, takes on particular importance. In particular, this paper aims to investigate the issue of corporate “measurement” of sustainable tourism through financial statements. More specifically, it aims to validate the possibility of the profitable use of sustainability reports in Sicilian tourism companies by using interorganisational network relationships as a vehicle for the dissemination of socially responsible and sustainable administrative practices. It is believed that these companies can better address critical issues, especially environmental, as well as social and governance issues, through super-company levels of integration. In this research perspective, we have chosen to use the experience of Sicilian tourist districts. From a methodological point of view, the paper chooses to administer a questionnaire to a sample of businesses that fall within one of the Sicilian tourist districts. The aim is to explore the degree of dissemination of sustainability reporting in companies in the selected district with the aim of identifying the disconnect between theory and practice on the subject studied and understanding whether and how inter-organisational network relationships can influence its design and implementation in support of “glocal” development. In line with what has been said about the research objective and the methodology followed, the aim of the paper is to propose a reporting model that is tailored to the administrative and environmental specificities of tourism businesses. In particular, the paper is divided into two parts. The first part is more general in nature. The expected results concern a comparative-descriptive analysis of theoretical and regulatory models of sustainability reporting for tourism businesses, providing an insight into the state of the art of sustainability reporting with specific reference to the hospitality and tourism sector.