CEO Statements in Corporate Sustainability Reports - Substantive Information or Background Noise?

The aim of this paper is to shed light on the question whether or to what extent corporate sustainability reports can actually serve as accurate and fair representations of corporate sustainability-related performance. It presents the results of a sentiment analysis of corporate sustainability reports and corporate financial reports. The analysis builds on previous research in the context of corporate financial reporting which has identified a robust relationship between corporate financial performance and the rhetoric that is used in corresponding corporate financial reports. If corporate sustainability reports are in fact accurate reflections of corporate sustainability performance, then this should also be reflected in the rhetoric used in these reports.