Innovative forms of accountability in the Public Administration: Sustainability Reports

The need to support traditional annual financial statements with a sustainability report is a significant priority for public institutions, which need to explain and communicate the use of public resources to their citizens through governance processes, above all under the perspective of sustainable development. This work examines Italian experiences of sustainability reports in local public administrations. The paper analyses the characteristics and the state of the art of sustainability reporting in the Italian Public Administration. The examination of the experiences gained when implementing sustainability reports has enabled the sustainability practices to be organised. The comparative case study analysis in the conclusions discloses evidence and information concerning the principal methodological references adopted and the distribution level of sustainability reports throughout the country in relation to the different types of administration.