What are the drivers of sustainable development web-reporting in Portuguese local governments?

Abstract

Purpose Local governments (LGs) play a crucial role as policymakers and catalysts for change at the local level, making them well-positioned to connect the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda goals with local communities. Therefore, LGs should collect and analyze data to monitor progress toward the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and report on the outcomes. In this regard, webpages on the internet stand out as a valuable tool to enhance accountability in LGs and to promote stakeholder engagement with the community. Thus, this paper aims to analyze whether Portuguese municipalities disclose information regarding the SDGs on their websites, and to identify the main drivers of SDG web-reporting. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the theoretical foundation of legitimacy theory, this study examines the relationship between SDG reporting and the characteristics of several municipalities (such as geographical location, municipality size, financial performance, political ideology and gender), as well as adherence to some programs/networks/platforms (such as CESOP_Local and ODSLocal). The websites of 306 Portuguese municipalities were analyzed using the content analysis technique. A bivariate and multivariate statistical analysis was applied. Findings Bivariate analysis shows that coastal, larger and financially efficient municipalities are more likely to disclose SDG information on their websites due to visibility and stakeholder pressure. Contrary to extant literature, left-wing municipalities are not necessarily more inclined to embrace the 2030 Agenda. However, the presence of women in decision-making bodies and adherence to networks and sustainable programs positively influence SDG disclosure. In multivariate analysis, logistic regression identifies two significant factors impacting online SDG disclosure: the representation of women in municipal plenaries; and adherence to the CESOP_local network. Other factors show no significant influence, highlighting these two variables as the main drivers for SDG information disclosure. Practical implications The findings are in line with the literature review and lead us to conclude that SDG reporting in LGs is still in its infancy. Therefore, policymakers and regulators need to work together to implement and standardize sustainability reporting within LGs. Social implications Considering the significance of the gender variable, the findings could have implications for policy formulation, promoting gender diversity and its impact on the quality of SDG reporting. Originality/value Empirical research on SDG reporting remains limited, particularly within the context of LGs. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous studies have delved into the reporting of SDGs specifically in this Portuguese context.