SUSTAINABILITY DISCLOSURE AND ECONOMIC VALUE ADDED OF LISTED COMPANIES IN NIGERIA

Economic Value Added (EVA) has gained acceptance as a true measure of performance for entities. However, extant literature reveals limited study of this concept, particularly studies investigating the nexus between Corporate Sustainability Disclosures (CSD) and EVA. This study investigated the effect of CSD on EVA and the moderating role of firm size in this relationship. The population of the study comprises 152 firms listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) as at 31 December 2021. A sample of 32 firms was selected across sectors based on the inclusion criteria that the companies would have been listed on the NGX through the period of the study – 2012 to 2021 (10 years) and would have published sustainability reports either integrated or standalone within this period. Ex-post facto research design was adopted. Data extracted from the sustainability and annual reports of the firms were content analysed. Data analysis employed descriptive and inferential (multiple regression) statistics at 0.05 level of significance. Results indicated a significant joint effect of CSD pillars – economic, environmental and social - on EVA. The individual effects were mixed. Firm size exerted significant moderating effect on the relationship. It is recommended that managers of firms should leverage on the insights from this study to craft sustainability policies that will positively impact their diverse stakeholders which by extension will impact their value creation potential while regulators such as the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria should broaden their advocacy and awareness creation among firms and other relevant stakeholders as the mandatory adoption of sustainability reporting draws closer to enable firms harvest the value -enhancing benefits of CSD