Corporate Environmental Information Disclosure Research Articles

Evaluating the Impact of Low-Carbon Urban Policy on Corporate Green Innovation—Evidence from China’s National Low-Carbon City Strategy Program

Low-carbon urban policy (LCUP) and corporate green innovation are considered crucial strategies and methods for reducing urban carbon emissions, addressing climate change, and promoting urban environmental sustainability. This study constructed a quasi-natural experiment based on the low-carbon city strategy program implemented in China in 2010, utilizing data from Chinese prefecture-level cities and publicly listed companies from 2005 to 2020. Employing a multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) approach, this paper reveals that the establishment of low-carbon model cities effectively fosters green innovation in corporations. Further analysis demonstrates that this promotional effect is particularly significant in non-state-owned enterprises, enterprises with high media attention, those with a high level of digitalization, and enterprises located in cities with high levels of green finance and in the Eastern and Central regions of China. These conclusions withstood a series of robustness tests, confirming their validity. Meanwhile, the examination of policy mechanisms reveals that public environmental awareness, government environmental regulation, and corporate environmental information disclosure are three key policy transmission mechanisms through which LCUP affects corporate green innovation. The findings of this study provide significant empirical insights for addressing climate change and enhancing the sustainable capacity of urban environments.

Media pressure, internal control, and corporate environmental information disclosure

This article delves into the intricate connection between media pressure, corporate environmental information disclosure, and internal controls. It uncovers that media pressure and internal controls exert a substantial influence on corporate environmental information disclosure. Media pressure serves as a catalyst, compelling companies to bolster their environmental information disclosure in response to public concerns and market demands, thereby augmenting their reputation and image. Notably, online media pressure plays a particularly significant role in this regard. Conversely, a robust internal control system enhances the level of corporate environmental information disclosure. In the context of the relationship between media pressure and corporate environmental information disclosure, internal controls assume a mediating role.

Impact of Environmental Regulation on Corporate Green Technological Innovation: The Moderating Role of Corporate Governance and Environmental Information Disclosure

Environmental degradation is an important issue facing the world today. Microcosmically, green technical innovation is needed to decrease environmental pollution. Therefore, exploring the relationship between the two is of great significance for promoting environmental protection and sustainable development. Thus, this research elucidates the interaction between green innovation (GI) and environmental regulations (ERs). This study utilizes the fixed effects model to examine how government environmental protection subsidies (EPSs) in market-incentive ER and environmental management system certification (EMSC) in voluntary participatory ER affect GI among listed companies in China. The sample observation period is from 2012 to 2021. Additionally, the impact of corporate governance (CGL) and environmental information disclosure (EID) on the relationship between ERs and GI within businesses is investigated. The empirical results show that both government environmental protection subsidies and environmental management system certification positively affect green innovation, and both corporate governance and environmental information disclosure positively moderate the impact of government environmental protection subsidies and environmental management system certification on green innovation. The above empirical results are still valid after a robustness test and can guide the formulation of government ERs, as well as corporate strategies for environmental management and GI.

Collaborative governance: The role of common institutional ownership in corporate environmental information disclosure

Transparency regarding environmental practices is crucial not only for ethical corporate governance but also for empowering consumers and investors to make informed decisions. This study examines the impact of common institutional ownership (CInOwn) on the extent of environmental information disclosure (EnvInfoDis) by publicly traded Chinese companies from 2010 to 2020. Using robust empirical analysis, we demonstrate a positive relationship between CInOwn and EnvInfoDis, suggesting that firms with shared institutional investors are more likely to disclose environmental information, fostering public trust and aligning with government expectations. We further investigate the underlying mechanisms, revealing that CInOwn strengthens internal controls, promoting improved EnvInfoDis practices. Notably, the findings remain robust across various tests, including using different CInOwn thresholds. This study offers significant contributions to the ongoing debate on CInOwn implications, paving the way for policy and economic interventions to support Chinese firms in integrating EnvInfoDis practices, ultimately contributing to societal sustainability.

Research on the Functional Mechanism of EDI, Media Attention and Enterprise Development under the Background of "Double Carbon"

Building an ecologically civilized environment, building a green financial system, and improving corporate management are of great significance to the long-term development of the capital market and the country. This article starts from the perspective of corporate environmental information disclosure, introduces media attention, and conducts an empirical study on the operating performance of China's heavily polluting enterprises. The research results show that there is a negative correlation between environmental information disclosure (EDI) and corporate operating performance. When companies conduct environmental information disclosure (EDI), it will lead to a decrease in corporate operating performance, while increased media attention will improve corporate operating performance. At the end of the article, the article summarizes the research content of this article and puts forward relevant prospects to provide relevant ideas for other scholars' follow-up research.

Financing sustainability: How environmental disclosures shape bank lending decisions in emerging markets

AbstractAs global awareness of environmental responsibilities intensifies, the significance of corporate Environmental information disclosure (EID) in decision‐making becomes increasingly prominent. However, its influence on bank lending decisions, especially in emerging markets like China, remains debated. Using 27,095 firm‐year observations between 2008 and 2020, this study examines the impact of both voluntary and mandatory EID on bank lending decisions. Findings indicate that banks incorporate EID into their lending decisions, offering favorable bank loan terms, both in terms of size and costs to firms with strong EID. To mitigate endogeneity concerns, we employ propensity score matching and a difference‐in‐difference methodology grounded in China's newly amended Environmental Protection Law, with consistent results across both tests. Our research identifies two possible economic mechanisms to explain why EID influences bank loan features: EID's potential to reduce firm‐specific risks and its alignment with local governmental incentives for green finance. Furthermore, our research suggests that voluntary EID, previously overlooked, proves more valuable than mandatory EID. We also find that the effectiveness of EID relies on banks' evaluations of the firm's sincerity and incentives behind the disclosure. Banks show a preference for voluntary EID from firms with minimal adverse selection concerns and mandatory EID from those highly motivated to disclose voluntarily. Moreover, we identify a synergy between EID and bank loans in fostering green innovation. This research not only bridges gaps in the existing bank financing literature but also offers insights into how EID can drive sustainable economic activities in developing economies.

Corporate environmental information disclosure, managerial ownership and the cost of debt

There is still a dearth of literature on the subject of environmental information disclosure in debt finance with centralized managerial ownership. This study uses environmental information disclosure as a mediating variable to empirical study the impact of managerial ownership on corporate debt financing. Managers may inhibit environmental information disclosure for their own interests, resulting in information asymmetry and ‘over investment’ behaviors. Creditors face additional risks and require higher risk compensation, which increases the cost of debt. Based on a sample of listed heavy pollution firms in China between 2016 and 2020, the research results explore that managerial ownership increases debt cost through a company's environmental information disclosure. This study adds to the literature by demonstrating that managerial ownership both increases the debt cost and prevents environmental information disclosure, despite the literature's indication that managerial ownership will cause changes in the debt cost.

Individual investors’ online voice and corporate environmental information disclosure

This study explores the impact of individual investors’ online voice on corporate environmental information disclosure (EID). Using a sample of all Chinese A-share listed firms from 2009 to 2022, this study finds that individual investors’ online voice significantly improves corporate EID. This result remains robust through various robustness tests. It is further found that the positive effect of individual investors’ online voice on corporate EID is strengthened through external monitoring by institutional investors, analyst coverage, and media coverage. This positive effect is amplified in highly polluting industries. Additionally, individual investors' negative sentiment stimulates firms to disclose more environmental information.

Effect of the sci-tech finance pilot policy on corporate environmental information disclosure—moderating role of green credit

To balance economic development with environmental sustainability, the Chinese government has introduced various initiatives, including the sci-tech finance pilot policy and green credit policy. This study investigates the relationship between sci-tech finance pilot policy, corporate environmental information disclosure and green credit level based on data from China's A-share listed companies during 2008–2022. This research finds that: (1) the implementation of sci-tech finance pilot policy has a positive effect on promoting corporate environmental information disclosure; (2) green credit plays a crucial role in moderating this positive relationship; (3) the pilot policy has a more significant impact on the disclosure of companies in eastern regions and on state-owned enterprises. This research also provides insights for future steps in strengthening and deepening the development strategies for government, financial institutions, and companies.

Unpacking firm political dependence: how administrative hierarchical distance affects corporate environmental information disclosure

This article explores the diverse response strategies concerning environmental information disclosure (EID) among firms affiliated to different political hierarchies. Drawing on resource dependence theory (RDT), we hypothesize a U-shaped relationship between a firm’s administration hierarchical distance (AHD) and its EID. The relationship is also contingent on the scope of dependence, as reflected in two resource-based components: (i) firms with or without political connections, and (ii) varying levels of corporate innovation capability. Using data from Chinese listed companies in polluting industries, we document that firms with medium AHD have the weakest EID, while firms with shorter or longer AHD exhibit higher EID to maintain institutional or gain competitive resource, respectively. This pattern is stronger for non-politically connected and low-innovation firms. Our research not only enriches RDT on corporate political strategies by unpacking firm political dependency, but also contributes to the emerging work on the pluralistic perspective on government.

Research on the impact of green mergers and acquisitions of heavily polluting enterprises on the quality of environmental information disclosure: empirical evidence from listed companies in China

AbstractGreen mergers and acquisitions are an important means for heavily polluting enterprises to achieve green transformation. Previous studies have yielded inconsistent conclusions regarding the relationship between green mergers and acquisitions and the level of corporate environmental management, possibly due to the omission of considering the quality of corporate environmental information disclosure. Therefore, based on a sample of 908 observations of heavily polluting listed companies on the A-share market of Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2010 to 2019, Utilizing a fixed-effects model, this study empirically examines the relationship between green mergers and acquisitions and the quality of environmental information disclosure and further explores the boundary effects of government environmental regulation and property rights on this relationship. The results show that green mergers and acquisitions of heavily polluting enterprises have a significantly positive impact on the environmental information disclosure quality of acquiring firms, and government environmental regulation positively moderates the relationship between green mergers and acquisitions and environmental information disclosure quality. Through subgroup analysis based on different property rights, it is found that compared to non-state-owned enterprises, state-owned enterprises exhibit a stronger positive relationship between green mergers and acquisitions and the quality of environmental information disclosure. This study has further enriched the relevant literature on green M&A and environmental information disclosure, provided new ideas for heavy polluting enterprises to achieve green transformation, and provided a reference for the government and enterprises to take countermeasures and suggestions.

Does voluntary environmental information disclosure prevent stock price crash risk? – Comparative analysis of chaebol and non-chaebol in Korea

This research sheds light upon the relationship between Korean firms' voluntary carbon disclosure tendency, as measured in Environmental Information Disclosure (EID), and their stock price crash. We pay attention to whether firms' affiliation to the chaebols, unique conglomerates in the nation, and environmentally sensitive industry, play as decisive role in mitigating stock price crash. For analysis, we divide samples into two different categories – namely, chaebols and non-chaebols, and environmentally sensitive and non-environmentally sensitive firms. Our findings are as following. First, we find the negative relation between EID for Korean firms and price crash risk in general. Second, we prove a negative relationship between EID and stock price crash for non-chaebols, which implies that their effort for voluntary environmental information disclosure reduces information asymmetries, thereby mitigating firm risk. Lastly, we find the negative relationship between EID and stock price crash for firms in non-environmentally sensitive industries, implying that their effort for voluntary carbon disclosure is more rewarded by investors and capital market.

Norm spillover? How environmental regulation in downstream industries affects upstream corporate environmental disclosure

ABSTRACT Although firms nowadays widely adopt environmental information disclosure (EID) to respond to stakeholder pressures, their EID quality is quite different. In this study, we examine this EID variation from the perspective of spillover. We argue that EID regulation in downstream buying firms is likely to foster a ‘norm’ of high-quality EID. This norm is likely to spill over to the upstream supplying firms via the influence of buying firms. Using publicly listed firms in China’s stock exchanges during 2011–2020 as a sample, we find that firms are more likely to have high-quality EID when their key buying firms are located in EID regulated (heavy-polluting) industries. Further, media coverage of the supplying firms and the state ownership of buying firms are likely to exaggerate the norm spillover effect. The results still hold after several robustness tests. Additional analysis shows that interlocking directors between buying and supplying firms amplify the effect of buying firms’ EID regulation, which suggests the underlying mechanism of spillover. Finally, heterogeneity analysis shows that the effect of buying firms’ EID regulation varies across suppliers with different firm characteristics. Our findings contribute to the literature on both corporate EID quality and spillover effect in the supply chain settings.

Corporate environmental pictures information disclosure and investor market reaction: A new perspective from large-scale pictures feature mining

Considering the new perspective of pictures, this study uses the new method of large-scale image processing technology based on deep learning to analyze the corporate environmental information picture disclosure strategies and studies the new problem of the impact path of picture disclosure strategies on investor market reaction. Our results show that, among content, color, and channel disclosure strategies, the content of environmental awareness pictures has the highest proportion (35.01%), followed by renewable energy (19.92%) and environmental certification (19.56%). Among 11,035 sample pictures, white and blue pictures are the most used with 2886 and 2700, respectively, these mainly comprise the content of environmental facilities and renewable energy. Compared with social responsibility reports, enterprises prefer to disclose pictures on social media channels. The regression results show that the greater the content of environmental pictures, the wider the disclosure channels, and the more positive the investor market reaction. However, color does not elicit positive investor market reactions. Moreover, analyst attention plays an intermediary role between pictures environmental information disclosure and investor market reactions. In conclusion, this study provides a new perspective for the study of environmental information disclosure, enriches the existing research, and provides referable practical suggestions for the sustainable development of enterprises and the efficient operation of capital markets.

Current Situation and Consequences of Environmental Information Disclosure in China's Automobile Manufacturing Industry --Taking SAIC Motor Corporation Limited as an Example

A sincere commitment to establishing a community of human destiny is made through achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality. Following the pace of affluent nations, China has incorporated carbon peak and carbon neutrality into overall economic and social development. Environmental information disclosure is the most basic and major part of environmental accounting, following the sustainable development strategy because of daily accounting supervision and accounting. In this research, a case study of SAIC Group's environmental information disclosure in China from 2019 to 2022 is chosen, and analyzes SAIC Group's operating capacity, profitability, solvency and development capacity by combining information asymmetry theory and stakeholder theory. This paper investigates the roots of environmental information disclosure in the automobile manufacturing industry, chooses a representative SAIC Group to summarize its environmental information disclosure, assesses the current level of corporate environmental information disclosure, and provides relevant departments with pointers and relates for the development of an environmental information disclosure system for enterprises in this industry. Finally, optimization recommendations are offered for the growth of listed businesses' environmental information disclosure in China's vehicle manufacturing sector.

Environmental regulation tools and corporate environmental information disclosure: Evidence from a-share-listed companies in Shenzhen and Shanghai, China

Environmental accounting is not only a more comprehensive and effective accounting model but also a more beneficial monitoring model for ecological protection and social development. Environmental accounting enables companies to develop economic benefits while protecting and managing the environment and to assume corresponding social responsibilities and obligations. Based on the importance of environmental regulation, this study attempts to evaluate the role of environmental regulatory tools in corporate environmental information disclosure using the Environmental Information Disclosure Index (EIDI) as a proxy variable. The regression analysis conducted on a panel dataset encompassing all A-share listed companies in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets from 2007 to 2018 reveals a significant relationship between environmental regulatory tools and EIDI. Specifically, the Control command type, Public Participation Type, and Voluntary action-oriented Type have a positive and significant influence on corporate environmental information disclosure, whereas the Market Incentive Type has a negative and significant influence. This evidence suggests that the reasonable use of environmental regulatory tools is an important means of improving the quality of corporate environmental information disclosure.

The application of RAGA-PP model in environmental accounting information disclosure of enterprises in heavy pollution industries

The global concern for environmental protection has driven the demand for corporate environmental accounting information, especially in heavily polluting industries. Currently, there are deficiencies in China's research on environmental accounting information and its institutional development, and there is an urgent need for improved evaluation systems and models. The study proposes the RAGA-PP model, which is an environmental accounting information disclosure evaluation model that combines accelerated genetic algorithm and projection tracing algorithm. The model is based on 28 secondary evaluation indicators and aims to optimize the projection tracing through the accelerated genetic algorithm with real number coding to improve the stability and accuracy of data analysis. The experiment proves that the evaluation error value of the RAGA-PP model is 3.45 % on average, which is significantly lower compared to 9.55 % of the ant colony algorithm. The results show that the RAGA-PP model has significant advantages in accurately evaluating the quality of corporate environmental information disclosure, which confirms its application value in environmental accounting information disclosure in heavy pollution industries. The purpose of the study is to promote the improvement of the environmental accounting information disclosure system and to provide support for enhancing corporate environmental awareness and social responsibility.

How green credit affects corporate environmental information disclosure: evidence from new energy listed companies in China

IntroductionEnvironmental information disclosure is an important means to protect the ecological environment, and global climate change puts forward higher requirements for corporate environmental information disclosure. New energy companies play an important role in addressing climate change and environmental information disclosure, and should strengthen environmental information disclosure and actively participate in ecological environmental protection.MethodsThis paper selected Chinese new energy listed companies as the research sample to investigate the impact of green credit on corporate environmental information disclosure, and proposed and empirically tested the hypothesis on the mechanism of the effect of green credit on environmental information disclosure.ResultsThe regression results indicated that green credit can effectively improve the quality of corporate environmental information disclosure, and this conclusion is still significantly valid after robustness test; The impact mechanism tests showed that green credit can change the level of corporate environmental information disclosure by controlling company size. This paper also tested the heterogeneity and adjustment effects, showing that the relationship between green credit and environmental information disclosure are affected by multiple factors.DiscussionsCombining the research of this paper and previous research results, it is found that the positive impact of green credit on corporate environmental information disclosure has been confirmed by academic research and practical verification. However, the implementation effect of green credit policy will be affected by the economic level, regional differences, and the comprehensive impact from companies, financial institutions and government departments.

The impact of air pollution on corporate environmental information disclosure–Evidence from heavy pollution industries in China

This paper studies the relationship between air pollution and the quality of environmental information disclosure taking the A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2014 to 2020 as sample. The study found that: firstly, air pollution will reduce the quality of enterprise environmental information disclosure. The main reason is that senior executives living in air pollution areas are more likely to have negative emotions, and the negative emotions of senior executives will make them have a negative attitude towards environmental information disclosure, thus reducing the quality of environmental information disclosure of enterprises. Second, the nature of state-owned enterprises positively regulates the negative correlation between air pollution and enterprise environmental information disclosure, while senior executive shareholding weakens the relationship between air pollution and environmental information disclosure. Further analysis found that: first, air pollution reduces the level of non-monetary and monetary environmental information disclosure. The research provides empirical evidence that air quality changes affect micro-business behavior.

Environmental information disclosure and corporate performance: Evidence from Chinese listed companies

Corporate energy consumption and emissions are major contributors to pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, corporate energy conservation and emission reduction are essential for sustainable development and low-carbon transformation in China. With pressing global environmental issues and the mounting pressure for carbon neutrality, it is increasingly important for firms to disclose environmental information. However, research on the relationship and mechanisms between corporate environmental information disclosure (EID) and corporate performance is insufficient. This study examines the effect of EID on corporate environmental performance (EP) and financial performance (FP) using a two-way fixed-effect model. For this purpose, this study considers the panel data of 1125 Chinese A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2021. Additionally, we explore the underlying mechanisms using mediation models. The results reveal that EID can significantly improve corporate performance through green innovation (GI). Moreover, EID can enhance corporate GI, which improves the financial performance of high-polluting firms and the environmental performance of non-high-polluting firms. According to these results, it is imperative to continuously improve corporate EID systems and encourage GI in enterprises. Thus, firms should take the initiative to disclose environmental information. There is a pressing need to enhance the effectiveness of the capital market, therefore, firms with higher levels of EID and better environmental performance can gain greater benefits.