The impact of audit committee characteristics, financial performance, and listing age on greenhouse gas emission disclosures of highly emitted industry in Indonesia

Abstract

Greenhouse gas or carbon emissions produced by manufacturing operations and other highly emitted industries are causes of global warming. Therefore, either in the sustainability reporting or in the corporate social and environmental reporting section, as stated in the annual report, the company usually discloses its activities related to carbon emission handling for sustainable business. In Indonesia, however, the extent of carbon emission disclosures is voluntary. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of audit committee characteristics, financial performance, and listing age on carbon emissions reporting of highly emitted companies in Indonesia. Audit committee characteristics were measured by the number of audit committee members and the number of audit committee meetings, while Altman financial distress model measured financial performance. A checklist based on the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) evaluated the greenhouse gas emissions disclosures. This study uses 99 companies of highly emitted industry listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. Results of multiple regression analysis indicate that the number of audit committee meetings positively affects the greenhouse gas emissions report. The result suggests that the more active the audit committee in the company in conducting meetings, the higher the company’s incentives to disclose carbon emission in the company’s annual report or the sustainability reporting. The study provides insight into the regulation released by the capital market authority agency regarding strengthening factors that may influence listed companies to report their carbon emission.