State of Art of Social and Environmental Voluntary Disclosure

Environmental issues are increasingly on the main agenda of society, the need generated by the ecological imbalances that threatenthe life of man on the planet. On the one hand this is a threat and the other a great opportunity for all social actors. This paper presents a literature review focusing on the study in Social and Environmental Disclosure in business. The study is characterized as an exploratory and descriptive research. In selecting the articles was taken based on the keywords: social and environmental disclosure. Are analyzed articles considering internationally publication from 2001 until 2010. The results of the analysis of 23 selected articles showed that most articles were written by authors of the following countries: United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Italy, Australia, USA, Malaysia and Singapore. The main theories discussed were: Institutional Theory, Legitimacy Theory, Sociopolitical Theory, Stakeholder Theory and Theory of Voluntary Disclosure. In relation to the methodological procedures, two studies are theoretical and twenty-one publications are empirical studies (studies with the use of practical case studies, multiple case study, survey and experiments). Data collection was performed mostly by secondary data using the technique of content analysis. The analysis of the articles, it was found that the social and environmental disclosure can handle the most varied approaches, according to sector, country of origin and reports. There is also the lack of an agreed international methodology in the form and content of disclosure. This is particularly true regarding the characteristics of various sectors of the international economy.