Are companies really awaking in ESG? Analyzing ESG disclosure toward corporate sustainability text data

This research aimed to analyze the disclosure level of sustainability from annual reports (one report) and sustainability reports in Thai-listed companies during 2019–2022. We established a literature search using bibliometric analysis of 1601 extracted publications since 2005. Bibliometric analysis results showed that the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) is the most well-known sustainability standard. Thus, the author combined text and content analysis to evaluate companies' ESG disclosure across eight business sectors against the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) Universal and Topic Standards. The overall results from 121 sustainable indicators showed that firms are more aware of sustainability and net zero with a 10% growth rate annually since 2019. The most disclosure is from the technology sector, while the least is from the agriculture and food sector. Among E, S, and G, the most disclosure is derived from governance aspects, while the least is from social and people. Though this research obtained positive signs of ESG awareness, some ESG indicators now show the least disclosure, such as tax, conveying critical issues from management, and biodiversity as well as human rights.