Empowering Corporate Reporting With
eXtensible
Business Reporting Language to Elevate Sustainable Development: A Natural Resource and Dynamic Capabilities View
Dzakiyy Hadiyan Achyar ABSTRACT
This study examines the role of climate policy in shaping banks' contributions to sustainable development empowered by eXtensible Business Reporting Language (xBRL). Using a panel data set of banks from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia over the period 2011–2025, the xBRL‐enabled climate disclosures prove that digital reporting infrastructures can strengthen climate policy credibility and effectiveness in carbon‐intensive economies. The analysis is anchored in the institutional evolution of sustainability reporting, starting from the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) in 2011 and extending through the Indonesia and Saudi Arabia adoption of xBRL in 2015 and Malaysia's adoption of xBRL in 2019. Employing a staggered difference‐in‐difference model, the study investigates the impact of climate policy on banks' ESG financing while controlling for bank‐specific characteristics, including size, leverage, and profitability. The findings indicate that climate policy is positively associated with banks' ESG commitment, suggesting that regulatory pressure and policy stringency incentivize greater alignment with sustainable development objectives. Importantly, the interaction between climate policy and xBRL is positive and statistically significant, demonstrating that standardized and machine‐readable reporting systems amplify the effectiveness of climate policy in driving sustainability outcomes. For regulators, this study underscores the importance of integrating climate policy with interoperable digital reporting systems to improve policy traction and accountability. For standard setters, the findings support ongoing efforts to harmonize sustainability taxonomies and disclosure standards within xBRL‐based infrastructures. For financial institutions operating in emerging and resource‐dependent economies, the results highlight digital reporting not merely as a compliance tool, but as a strategic enabler for managing climate‐related financial risks and capturing sustainable investment opportunities.