Non-financial disclosure and ESG risks: a content analysis of sustainability reports in construction, trasportation and real estate sectors

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria have become a central component of corporate strategy, driven by growing societal expectations and increasingly stringent regulatory frameworks such as the EU’s CSRD and international reporting standards. This thesis examines how companies in the Construction, Real Estate, and Transportation sectors disclose ESG-related risks in their annual and sustainability reports. Through a textual content analysis of documents published between 2018 and 2022, the study evaluates the frequency of risk-related terms, the distribution of environmental, social, and governance risks, the temporal orientation of statements, and the semantic tone of the language used. The results reveal sector-specific differences in the depth and emphasis of ESG risk reporting, as well as a clear increase in future-oriented environmental risk disclosure over time. Overall, the findings provide insight into how firms construct ESG risk narratives and highlight the need for more transparent, consistent, and meaningful communication practices in response to growing regulatory demands.