Circular Economy Disclosure in Sustainability Reporting: The Effect of Firm Characteristics

Abstract

The circular economy is increasingly establishing itself as a model capable of overcoming the current linear economy of production and consumption recognized as unsustainable by society. Its relevance has also attracted the attention of academics, interested not only in the implementation methods of the circular economy, but also in the ways in which companies communicate information about them. However, although in recent years some scholars have begun to investigate the circular economy disclosure (CED), research on this topic is still in an embryonic state. In fact, in the academic literature there are only a few studies related to the CED and its drivers. This study aims to fill this gap by investigating, under the lens of stakeholder theory, the effect of firm characteristics on the level of CED. To this end, it firstly involves the use of a manual content analysis of the sustainability reports drawn up by 88 international companies to measure the level of CED and, secondly, a regression model to test the impact of the firm characteristics. Empirical results demonstrate a positive effect of firm size, financial leverage and firm profitability on the level of CED. The results have important practical implications for firms and policymakers.