A high integration index shows that different carbon-related issues are being discussed in multiple parts of an integrated report and suggests higher levels of integration which, in turn, imply a higher-quality report. A lower index suggests that carbon disclosures are limited to specific parts of a corporate report. This implies that an organisation does not see issues such as climate change or energy usage as something which affects multiple parts of their business and, as a result, disclosures are limited to certain sections of their annual, integrated or sustainability reports only. It is possible that incorporating carbon disclosures in multiple sections of an integrated report makes it difficult to locate relevant information and to understand the respective organisation’s contribution to climate change. This is especially true if carbon disclosures are being discussed using complex language or lengthy sentences and paragraphs. As a result, a high-quality integrated report is not only characterised by the level of detail provided (quantity and density) or the extent to which financial and nonfinancial information are being incorporated in different sections of the report (integration) but also by how easy it is for stakeholders to access and understand the information contained in the report.
Test Readability