US corporations and the corporate sustainability reporting directive. A textual analysis on 10-K filings

Purpose This research seeks to contribute to the ongoing debate on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) by providing novel insights non-European corporations’ reactions. Design/methodology/approach Utilizing a mixed approach, the analysis integrates Machine Learning (ML) techniques with econometric models, applied to a sample of 503 U.S. corporations. The data were extracted from the EDGAR database, which is the official repository of the US SEC. Findings While waiting for the final version of the Omnibus package to be adopted, the results indicate that only a small number of U.S. corporations have begun disclosing forward-looking information regarding the potential impacts of the CSRD. Additionally, the corporations most inclined to disclose such information tend to have more sophisticated governance mechanisms. Interestingly, no significant relationship was found between social and environmental indicators, highlighting unique aspects of the U.S. institutional context. Originality/value To the best of our knowledge, this is the first research about the relationship between the CSRD and non-European companies.