Fatores Determinantes do Nível de Divulgação Ambiental nos Relatórios Contábeis das Companhias Listadas no Índice de Sustentabilidade Empresarial (ISE)

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This research aimed to investigate the factors that may influence the level of environmental disclosure in the accounting reports of companies that were part of the ISE portfolio in 13 editions. The disclosure theory was adopted as a theoretical framework and from this seven hypotheses were raised, which related the level of environmental disclosure with the participation in the Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE); size; profitability; indebtedness; nature of the activity; shareholding control; and, different levels of Corporate Governance. The study sample consisted of companies listed on the Brazil Bolsa Balcao (B3) Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE) over the past 13 years, resulting in 48 companies and totaling 624 observations. Data were collected from the Reuters® database, the Standardized Financial Statements, Reference Forms, Explanatory Notes, Management Reports, Sustainability Reports and the B3 website. The results showed that the variables participation in the Corporate Sustainability Index and size had a positive and significant influence on the level of environmental disclosure. In turn, the nature of the activity presented statistical significance and negative association. While the variables profitability, financial debt, shareholding control and different levels of corporate governance did not exert significant influence. These results partially converge with those found in some previous studies and are in line with some assumptions of the disclosure theory. KEYWORDS: Environmental Disclosure, Disclosure Theory, ISE.