BACKGROUND: In today’s world of increased awareness regarding the concepts of
corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate governance (CG), many firms in
the developed countries consider noncompliance with CSR and CG standards as an
important source of risk to their reputations with stakeholders. OBJECTIVE: The aim
of this study is to investigate the relationship between the corporate social responsibility
disclosure (CSRD) index and corporate factors, namely, board size, board
independence, board meetings, CEO duality, a firm’s size, leverage, profitability and
age. This is the first known study in the case of Saudi Arabia to use the GRI 4th edition
indicators to construct the CSRD index and evaluate Saudi listed firms. Results: The
results show that profitability and size factor have positive and significant association
with CSR disclosure in listed Saudi firms. While CG characteristics have no impact on
CSR disclosure except board independence which has a negative impact. Conclusion:
The average of CSRD index among Saudi firms is too low, it is about 11% that means
Saudi firms disclose 11% of the information that they have to provide for stockholders
according to GRI guidelines. Furthermore, the study concludes that the most polluted
sectors “Ene
