Defining the content of sustainability reports in non-profit organizations: do stakeholders really matter?

The aim of the article is to investigate the role of stakeholder engagement and participation in non-profit organizations’ sustainability reporting, according to the literature on third sector and stakeholder theory. To verify the levels of involvement, we conducted an empirical survey, using content analysis, on a sample of 54 sustainability reports of non-profit organizations included in the Global Reporting Initiative database as of September 1st, 2012. In order to strengthen the results obtained from the content analysis, we shared our findings with the organizations of the sample. The survey showed that there were some criticisms regarding stakeholder participation in the targeted research field. These are considered in our conclusions. Questions for the future included whether stakeholder engagement is moving from being simply a way to consult and influence stakeholders to being an effective instrument for involving them in non-profit organizations’ reporting and decision-making processes, through mutual commitment.