The relationship between sustainability reporting and financial performance: A study on banks operating in Turkey

With the growing global emphasis on sustainability, businesses have increasingly expanded their sustainability-related initiatives. Information on these efforts is presented through sustainability reports prepared by companies. The potential influence of sustainability reporting on a firm's financial performance can be assessed through indicators such as stock prices, profitability, or other financial metrics. The aim of this thesis is to examine the relationship between sustainability reporting and financial performance in order to provide insights for companies, shareholders, and other stakeholders regarding the advantages and disadvantages of sustainability disclosure. The research sample consists of nine banks included in the Borsa Istanbul Sustainability Index that publish sustainability reports and nine banks operating in Türkiye that do not issue such reports. The analysis results indicate that the publication of a sustainability report has a statistically significant relationship with the ROA and LEV values of banks, while no significant statistical relationship is found between sustainability reporting and banks' ROE values.