THE EVOLUTION OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AS A MODERATOR OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE PRACTICES – THE CASE OF CROATIA

As the global business context changes over time, corporate governance practices evolve. Especially through sustainability reporting of organizations the progress and implementation of sustainable development goals linked to the EU, national, and sectoral achievements can be monitored. The purpose of this paper is to determine the level of implementation of sustainable development goals in Croatia and to link national progress with the improvement of corporate governance practices in the segment of corporate sustainability reporting. Using the word cloud method on a sample of 100 largest Croatian companies, the level of transparency in organizational sustainability reporting will be investigated, measured by the application of the provisions of the revised CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) and the preparations for the challenges posed by the CSDDD (Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive). The research results show that the evolution of sustainable development, measured by the level of national implementation of sustainable development goals, has influenced the evolution of corporate governance practices in Croatia by incorporating social and environmental goals into the creation of added value for organizations. By highlighting the changes in the communication on corporate governance practices, the paper contributes to understanding of the interconnection between sustainable development and corporate governance, and consequently, to the development of improved and more sustainable corporate governance practices in Croatia.