Corporate Environmental Initiatives Research Articles

The impact of women's empowerment and access to finance on greenhouse gas emissions: A framework for securing environmental tranquility

This study explores corporate environmental responsibility, which is an integral aspect of corporate social responsibility, through the lens of women's empowerment and their role in shaping eco-friendly policies. Examining 74 nations, the study reveals that women's influence significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions within an empowerment index of 67.5–75. However, we observe a decline in corporate environmental quality beyond the 82.5 threshold. In particular, loans and money supply exacerbate emissions, indicating that financial activities have an influence on environmental quality. Considering different financial indicators, the study underscores that women's empowerment is distinctly correlated with lowering emissions within the $3.77 million to $14.71 million range. This financial range signifies a critical zone in which women's impact is most pronounced. Environmental quality also improves above $31.59 million. This study emphasises the critical importance of integrating women into corporate environmental initiatives, showcasing the potential for advancing long-term benefits and a greener corporate image.

Does circular economy affect environmental performance? The mediating role of sustainable supply chain management: the case study in China.

Governments and professionals have recently tried to improve public environmental knowledge and laws in order to meet growing environmental concerns. As a result, most nations see corporate environmental initiatives like the circular economy and the green supply chain as important (GSCM) as the best ways to address environmental problems. As a result, this study tries to show how important GSCM and the circular economy are regarding the economy of China's relationship to environmental sustainability. This study uses the partial least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM) on data to obtain trustworthy results from 387 Chinese manufacturing companies. A favorable and statistically significant correlation between GSCM, environmental performance, and the circular economy was revealed using PLS-SEM analysis. To raise environmental standards, eco-friendly methods like buying and designing green items are widely regarded today. Imagine if manufacturing companies adopt green supply chain management, which would improve their economic performance and increase operational effectiveness. The secret to a successful corporation is having successful operations.

MAJOR CORPORATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY: EFFORTS IN REDUCING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT IN OIL EXPLORATION

This comprehensive study embarked on a critical journey to scrutinize and evaluate the effectiveness of corporate environmental initiatives implemented in recent years, particularly focusing on the oil sector. Utilizing a meticulous literature review strategy, the research analyzed various case studies and scholarly contributions to delineate the current state of environmental advocacy in the corporate sector and identify potential avenues for future research. The methodology encompassed a systematic data extraction and analysis approach, ensuring relevant and reliable data assimilation. The findings underscored a significant shift in the corporate sector towards fostering environmental sustainability through various initiatives spanning different industries. Environmental advocacy has emerged as a potent force urging the industry to adopt more sustainable and ethical practices, particularly in the oil sector. The study revealed a growing awareness and commitment to fostering a sustainable and environmentally responsible corporate sector, characterized by green innovation, sustainable practices, and corporate social responsibility. Based on the analysis, the study recommends developing and implementing robust regulatory frameworks to mandate adherence to sustainable practices, promoting green innovation, and fostering collaborative efforts among various stakeholders. These strategies are envisaged to propel the corporate sector as a significant player in global environmental conservation efforts. Looking ahead, the study identifies a promising trajectory for environmental advocacy, characterized by collaborative efforts, regulatory frameworks, and green innovation, setting a pathway towards a sustainable and environmentally responsible corporate sector.

How does corporate management affect green innovation via business environmental strategies?

Environmental issues are getting greater attention now that experts and authorities are paying attention to global warming. The industrial segment is mostly to blame for these environmental hitches, according to past research. The industrial sector is actively addressing the issues brought on by climate change. This study’s primary focus is on business environmental strategies in green innovation, which takes into account the company’s goals for sustainable development. This study also takes into account the importance of corporate management (CEO, ownership concentration, and gender diversity) for green innovation. This study evaluated fact by natural resource theory, resource dependency theory, agency theory and Porter hypothesis. Results from practical generalized least squares and generalized moments approaches provide various conclusions. The findings of this study demonstrated that companies with business environmental strategies as, environmental regulation, proactive environmental plans, corporate social responsibility, and board sustainable committees were more likely to implement green innovation practices. Additionally, corporate management (CEO, ownership concentration, and gender diversity) supports businesses’ efforts to innovate in the green sector. Importantly, our research showed that the importance of corporate management (CEO, ownership concentration, and gender diversity) in business environmental policies cannot be overstated (environmental regulations, proactive environmental strategies, corporate social responsibility, board sustainable committee, and green innovation). green innovation, as well. These findings significantly expand the scant amount of knowledge on corporate environmental initiatives and green innovation. In order to encourage green innovation for higher profitability while minimizing negative industrial consequences, this study also provides a number of suggestions and recommendations for stakeholders, including regulators, owners, and governments.

The ESG Disclosure and the Financial Performance of Norwegian Listed Firms

The world is constantly changing, and with an evolving global environmental crisis, there is a growing trend of Corporate Social Responsibility, and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure initiatives. The final report on the new E.U. taxonomy for sustainable activities was released in 2020, making ESG disclosure more relevant. This paper investigates the effects of ESG initiatives on the financial performance of Norwegian listed companies from 2010 to 2019. ESG is measured through the Thomson Reuters Eikon ESG disclosure score and financial performance through ROA and Tobin’s Q. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time this relationship has been investigated in Norway. Using panel data regression analysis and two proxies for the dependent variable (financial performance), the results of this study are mixed. In particular, findings suggest a strong significant relationship between ESG initiatives and financial performance. More specifically, the regression model, with ROA as the dependent variable, suggests that ESG initiatives have a clear negative impact. On the other hand, the variable Tobin’s Q increases when ESG increases. This could be explained by the different horizons of the measures and other factors affecting the business environment.

Does religious diversity play roles in corporate environmental decisions?

We examine whether religious diversity influences management decisions concerning the environment. Using a large U.S. sample, we document that the corporate environmental initiatives are positively associated with the religious diversity present in the counties within which that company’s headquarters resides. This positive association persists even after we control for firm characteristics and region demographic factors and after using a variety of robustness checks. In further analysis, we also show that companies in religiously diverse regions tend to support more initiatives that benefit the environment and attempt to resolve their negative impact on the environment. This paper contributes to the literature by examining the extent to which the characteristics of society shape firms’ environmental initiatives.

Environmental Management Accounting: Assist in Quantifying Corporate Environmental Information Disclosure

Environmental problem is a global issue which needs attention all over the world. India being a developing country where industrialization plays a prominent role in development of economy and at the same time causing environmental pollution, encouragescountry to move towards environmentally sustained economicgrowth. This made the business entity to adopting eco-friendly business behavior and such information should be disclosed accurately to the stakeholders. In India, Corporate Environmental Disclosure is a recent development andreports disclosed by the corporate are more of qualitative in nature which provides limited information of corporate environmental initiatives. In regarding to this matter, the study aims toexamine the issues related tocorporate environmental discloser by going through existing literatureand explore the concept of Environmental Management Accounting practices and techniques with rational of quantifying environmental information in the Corporate Environmental Reports. Environmental Management Accounting as a set of techniques to identify and allocate business environmental cost andexplaining the material effect ofsuch cost on thefinancial performance is viewed as an important practice that support disclosure of accurate, measurable and reliable corporate environmental aspects to the stakeholders because the credibility of the company depends uponthe quality of corporate environmental disclosure in present world, which emphasis more on sustained economic development.

Does Religious Diversity Play Roles in Corporate Environmental Decisions?

Drawing on the stewardship and dominion theories, this paper empirically investigates the association between local religious diversity within which firms are headquartered and corporate environmental initiatives. Using a large U.S. sample, we document that firms headquartered in high religiously diverse counties are more involved in corporate environmental initiatives. This positive association remains robust after using a variety of robustness checks. The findings support the hypothesis that local religious diversity is significantly associated with firms’ decisions concerning the environment. This paper contributes to the literature by examining the extent to which the characteristics of society shape firms’ environmental initiatives.

Environmental Opportunities, Risks, and Analyst Recommendations: Evidence from Twitter Accounts

We examine whether securities analysts differently view corporate environmental initiatives depending on whether they leverage environmental opportunities or address environmental risks. Building on stakeholder theory, specifically emerging work on the two-sidedness of firm-stakeholder relationships, we explore the question in the context of corporate Twitter accounts. By analyzing corporate environmental initiatives as mentioned in tweets and the validation they receive via retweets, we find that securities analysts favor environmental opportunity initiatives, while penalizing unnecessary investments to mitigate environmental risks. We further find that the results are amplified by analysts’ priors.

How do Environmental, Social and Governance Initiatives Affect Innovative Performance for Corporate Sustainability?

Corporate sustainability has been a long-established topic in the corporate operating process. Much research focuses on the internal relationships among environmental, social and economic dimensions of corporate sustainability, yet few studies have examined the topic from the perspective of environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives and innovative performance. Using insights from stakeholder theory, this study develops theoretical linkages between corporate ESG initiatives and innovative performance. It further considers whether these relationships still exist under different institutional development settings. Based on the samples of 433 observations which are listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, in China, from 2007 to 2017, empirical results using the method of hierarchical regression analysis have confirmed that corporate environmental initiatives, social initiatives and governance initiatives have direct positive impacts on innovative performance. Furthermore, in examining the interactive effect of individual dimensions of ESG initiatives, the results reveal that corporate governance initiatives play a moderating role in the relationship between environmental initiatives and innovative performance and in the relationship between social initiatives and innovative performance. Finally, the empirical analyses also show that institutional development influences the effectiveness of corporate governance initiatives. This research contributes to extending the prior literature and providing several recommendations for firms to achieve corporate sustainability.

Sustainable development of small companies: Investors' perspectives

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to explore the sustainability choices of a group of investors relating to corporate environmental initiatives and disclosures given a case‐based scenario. Obtaining such an understanding is important because, as per signaling theory, investors' preferences for sustainable development initiatives and disclosures are one of the contributory factors in determining the quality of environmental disclosures. A web‐based survey of a group of investors was conducted. The questionnaire includes a hypothetical case‐based scenario presenting environmental versus economic consequences of pollution prevention initiatives for a small mining company. The findings indicate that a majority (52%) of the respondents failed to choose a dominant proenvironmental or profinancial strategy. The findings imply that making a decision about a sustainable initiative is complex and requires consideration of a range of contextual factors. The findings support the view that given the resource limitations of a small company, compliance with existing regulation is preferred by the investors over competitive advantage and reputation for undertaking prosustainability initiatives. Hence, one implication is that the regulators should examine tightening the current sustainability regulation status for small companies regarding their environmental policies and disclosures.

Corporate environmental commitment and financial performance: Moderating effects of marketing and operations capabilities

Previous studies linking corporate environmental initiatives with financial performance primarily have focused on main effects and generated inconsistent findings, offering an incomplete understanding of this relationship and potential contingency factors. This study examines whether marketing and operations capabilities enhance the financial effects of corporate environmental commitment (CEC). Analyses of a large panel data sample reveal that CEC can improve both near-term profitability and forward-looking value for firms with strong marketing capability. In contrast, operations capability only moderates the impact of CEC on firm value. In addition, this study reveals a bidirectional relationship between CEC and firm performance and finds that a firm's slack resource (short-term profitability) and marketing capability serve as antecedents of CEC. These findings suggest unique implications for marketing managers, chief executives, investors, and policy makers.

Integration and organizational change towards sustainability

This interdisciplinary study examines why and how corporate leaders operationalize sustainability in organizational strategy, systems and activities. Through interviews with sustainability professionals using a cross-industry sample of multinational organizations recognized as top performers by multiple sources (Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Newsweek Green Rankings, GRI, and KLD), the research identified drivers, enablers, evaluation methods and change management practices for corporate social, environmental and financial initiatives. Using multiple coders, and an analysis of responses to structured interview questions, we determine how sustainability professionals influence the alignment of sustainability goals, mission and values at leading organizations. Scholarly contributions include insight into how top performing companies manage change involving social and environmental responsibility. Insights come from primary research with the individuals who anchor those corporate sustainability initiatives providing a foundation for further theory development and testing of propositions. The key findings include integration as a systems-based approach to sustainability, change management, innovation, and corporate strategy. Integration takes place through the alignment of performance metrics within and across business units and functions with a call for Integrated Bottom Line performance measurement throughout organizations and value chains to inform management decision-making, transparency, and external reporting. Predictions are that integration and change management are critical success factor for the advancement of strategic sustainability initiatives.

Corporate environmental initiatives in the Chinese context: Performance implications and contextual factors

Although a number of studies have been conducted on the relationship between environmental management and firm performance, most of them are conducted in the Western context. Due to the unique social and economic environments in China, the performance implications of environmental management might be quite different in the Chinese context. We examine the impact of corporate environmental initiatives (CEIs) on the market value of firms in China. We find that, in contrast to the findings in the Western context, Chinese investors react negatively to CEI announcements. The negative reaction is more significant when the announcements are related to processes rather than products, and for state-owned enterprises rather than privately-owned corporations. However, there is no difference whether the CEI is self-declared or third-party endorsed. Overall, our research indicates that Chinese investors consider CEIs to be in conflict with shareholder interest. In particular, CEIs in state-owned enterprises might be considered by investors as signals that firms need to sacrifice profits to shoulder more social responsibility.

Does low-carbon supply chain management reduce greenhouse gas emissions more effectively than existing environmental initiatives? An empirical analysis of Japanese manufacturing firms

The focus of corporate environmental initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has shifted from individual firms to supply chains, and to so-called low-carbon supply chain management (LCSCM). Because LCSCM is a more advanced environmental initiative than existing initiatives, this study empirically analyzes the influence of manufacturing firms’ LCSCM on their carbon productivity through GHG emissions reduction, with consideration given to the influence of environmental management systems (EMSs) as existing environmental initiatives. Our regression results using cross-sectional data on 139 Japanese manufacturing firms listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2011 suggest that although improved carbon productivity can only be achieved by firms implementing EMSs, those firms that also implement LCSCM could improve their carbon productivity further. It is also found that implementing LCSCM is not encouraged by EMSs, but rather by environmentally conscious interorganizational management control.

Corporate Environmental Initiatives in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises and Their Outcomes: A Longitudinal Study

AbstractThe impact from corporate business activities on the natural environment and society at large has been in focus for quite some time. The focus has often been on corporate environmental sustainability initiatives reflecting industry's response to concerns expressed by key stakeholders as well as the potential influence on the bottom line and the competitive situation. Much less investigated is the extent to which management itself perceives that corporate environmental initiatives actually lead to positive results. This is the very focus of this research, which is based on data collected by identical surveys of industrial companies in Denmark over a number of years. The results indicate a slightly increasing involvement over time, but also that the level of results achieved is lower than the level of initiatives taken. That is, the reactive attitude reported previously still seems to be prevailing. The results also seem to indicate that the size of the company may have a negative influence in some situations, since smaller companies seems to be better at achieving results compared with medium sized companies. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

The Effect of Corporate Environmental Initiatives on Firm Value: Evidence from Fortune 500 Firms

When do firms derive value from investing in environmental initiatives (CEIs)? We examine stock market responses to the announcements of 183 CEIs by 71 Fortune 500 firms during the period 2002 to 2008. We find that the stock market reacts positively to such announcements but does not react differently to CEIs concerning a firm’s inputs, throughputs, and outputs. We also find that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between the timing of a CEI and the abnormal stock market return following its announcement. Overall, this study shows that timing is a relevant explanatory factor for the value firms derive from investing in environmental action..

Influences on Student Intention and Behavior Toward Environmental Sustainability

As organizations place greater emphasis on environmental objectives, business educators must produce the next set of leaders who can champion corporate environmental sustainability initiatives. However, environmental sustainability represents a polarizing topic with some students dismissing its importance and legitimacy. Limited research exists to understand student behavioral influences on sustainability education, especially as it translates to environmental sustainability behavior in the workplace. This gap challenges our ability as educators to understand how to best teach environmental sustainability in order to reach diverse student mindsets. We apply the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to address this gap, investigating the influence of student attitudes, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control on environmental sustainability intention and behavior. A structural model tested with student survey data finds that student attitude represents the strongest influence on environmental sustainability intention. The model also validates that subjective norm affects sustainability intention with students considering professors along with business leaders and politicians as valid references for sustainability knowledge. To tie the results to effective educational interventions, we use the TPB to organize an extensive review of the sustainability pedagogy literature and identify specific teaching recommendations for increasing the effectiveness of environmental sustainability education.

Voluntary corporate environmental initiatives and shareholder wealth

Researchers debate whether environmental investments reduce firm value or actually improve financial performance. We provide some compelling evidence on shareholder wealth effects of membership in voluntary environmental programs (VEPs). Companies announcing membership in EPA's Climate Leaders, a program targeting reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, experience significantly negative abnormal stock returns. The price decline is larger in firms with poor corporate governance structures, and for high market-to-book (i.e., high growth) firms. However, firms joining Ceres, a program involving more general environmental commitments, have insignificant announcement returns, as do portfolios of industry rivals. Overall, corporate commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions appear to conflict with firm value maximization. This has important implications for policies that rely on voluntary initiatives to address climate change. Further, we find that firms facing climate-related shareholder resolutions or firms with weak corporate governance standards – giving managers the discretion to make such voluntary environmentally responsible investment decisions – are more likely to join Climate Leaders; decisions that may result in lower firm value.

An empirical investigation of environmental performance and the market value of the firm

This paper analyzes the shareholder value effects of environmental performance by measuring the stock market reaction associated with announcements of environmental performance. We examine the market reaction to two categories of environmental performance. The first category includes 417 announcements of Corporate Environmental Initiatives (CEIs) that provide information about self-reported corporate efforts to avoid, mitigate, or offset the environmental impacts of the firm's products, services, or processes. The second category includes 363 announcements of Environmental Awards and Certifications (EACs) that provide information about recognition granted by third-parties specifically for environmental performance. Although the market does not react significantly to the aggregated CEI and EAC announcements, we find statistically significant market reactions for certain CEI and EAC subcategories. Specifically, announcements of philanthropic gifts for environmental causes are associated with significant positive market reaction, voluntary emission reductions are associated with significant negative market reaction, and ISO 14001 certifications are associated with significant positive market reaction. The difference between the market reactions to the CEI and EAC categories is statistically insignificant. Overall, the market is selective in reacting to announcements of environmental performance with certain types of announcements even valued negatively.