Corporate sustainability disclosure: systematic literature review of materiality, carbon, assurance, and ESG

Abstract

Corporate sustainability disclosure has become a major accountability instrument, yet prior studies in Indonesia remain fragmented by theme, sector, or company pair, and no integrated map of their development exists. This article systematically examined the development of research on the quality, materiality, and assurance of corporate sustainability disclosure. A qualitative systematic literature review was applied to twenty articles published in 2021–2026 and indexed in SINTA and other academic databases, and thematic content analysis grouped them by similarity of topics, methods, and research objects. Five themes emerged: conformity with the Global Reporting Initiative Standards, materiality assessment, carbon emissions and climate-related disclosure, assurance statement quality, and integrated environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices with corporate governance. Disclosure quality among Indonesian companies was uneven across sectors and tended to be lower than that of multinational companies, and assurance practices were inconsistent because different standards, such as AA1000AS and ISAE3000, were used. Regulators and professional associations should issue more uniform assurance guidelines and apply double materiality more consistently, while companies should strengthen ESG committees and integrate sustainability risk management into governance to improve disclosure credibility.