How does Voluntary Carbon Disclosure (VCD) Induce Changes in Carbon Performance? With the Role of Management Capability

Abstract

While there a growing interest in Voluntary Carbon Disclosure (VCD), comparatively little is discussed whether the improved quality of voluntary carbon disclosure can lead to subsequent changes in a company’s carbon reduction performance. Drawing on companies under the Korean Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) with the contents analysis of their sustainable reports, the present research seeks to address the existing knowledge gaps in the current literature on environmental disclosure. Findings empirically show that an increase in the voluntary carbon disclosure score is positively transformed into changes in carbon performance and further develop that the effect of voluntary carbon disclosure on carbon performance varies depending on changes in management capability with the moderation effect.