Voluntary carbon disclosure of Australia’s top 100 companies

Abstract

This paper examines disclosure practices of the top 100 Australian firms prior to the mandatory reporting of carbon practices. Specifically, the study investigates the relationship between voluntary carbon related disclosure and governance mechanisms, such as board and audit committee independence, audit committee financial expertise and the existence of a voluntary committee dedicated to environmental/climate change related matters. This paper utilises quantitative approach employing two regression based estimations. The results suggest that two governance-related variables, namely, audit committee financial expertise and the existence of a voluntary committee dedicated to environmental/ climate change strongly influences the level of voluntary carbon disclosure. This paper adds to the much needed research on carbon reporting and its implication for accounting.