Government-led Sustainability Reporting by China’s HEIs

This study investigates all sustainability reports published between 2012 and 2016 by China’s Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The aim of this paper is to investigate the characteristics of SR by China’s HEIs and what causes these traits. After theoretical frameworks are described, the general situation of Sustainability Reporting (SR) in China’s HEIs is outlined. Then, an assessment framework is constructed which is a modification of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Guidelines for use in HEIs, and the content analysis method is applied to analyze and assess the extent of reporting of various items of SR in China’s HEIs. Finally, this study outlined the characteristics of SR by China’s HEIs and addressed their causes. The findings show that SR by China’s HEIs is still in the initial stage in terms of not only the relative share of China’s HEIs releasing sustainability reports but also the establishment of SR standards and the reporting level; has an obvious regional characteristic; and is under the control of Chinese government. The results of the theoretical analysis show that these characteristics may be due to the lack of internal dynamics and insufficient external binding force. Furthermore, we conclude that SR by China’s HEIs is a government-led activity, and essentially it is determined by the administration-based education system. Also, the practice of the Shanghai government demonstrates an important leading and stimulating role played by the government in promoting SR by HEIs. We argue that the Chinese mode has a certain value and practical implications for many countries. The study provides necessary supplements to existing researches through identifying and exploring a different development mode of SR by HEIs.