Environmental Information Disclosure Research Articles

FinTech Adoption and Corporate Greenwashing: A Technology Affordance Perspective

AbstractAffordance theory suggests that technology offers certain opportunities or ‘affordances’ that can be exploited by users. In this context, we are exploring how FinTech adoption provides opportunities to address corporate greenwashing. Drawing on an affordance perspective, we assert that FinTech adoption effectively inhibits corporate greenwashing behaviour, primarily through facilitating green innovation and improving managerial efficiency. We also contend that the impact of FinTech adoption on reducing greenwashing behaviour is not uniform across all industries. It is more pronounced in heavy‐polluting industries, indicating that FinTech has a greater effect in encouraging accurate disclosure of environmental information in environmentally sensitive sectors. Conversely, its impact is weaker in high‐tech industries, which might already have strong environmental commitments. The findings contribute to the literature on sustainability, FinTech and governance.

Do Environmental Information Disclosure Discourage Foreign Direct Investment? Empirical from China

Do Environmental Information Disclosure Discourage Foreign Direct Investment? Empirical from China

Confucian Culture, Climate Risk, and Corporate Environmental Information Disclosure Quality: Evidence from China

Confucian Culture, Climate Risk, and Corporate Environmental Information Disclosure Quality: Evidence from China

Blockholders, Environmental Information Disclosure, and the Cost of Debt

ABSTRACT Debt financing is an essential source of external funds for Chinese-listed companies, but enterprises in heavily polluting industries face more severe financing difficulties due to the “financing penalty effect.” Solving the financing difficulties of heavy pollution enterprises has become a hot topic in academic and practical circles. This article applies heavily polluting listed companies from 2013 to 2022 in China as a sample to examine the impact of multiple blockholders (MB) on debt financing costs (DFC), considering the intermediary role of environmental information disclosure (EID). This article reveals that improved environmental information disclosure, driven by multiple blockholders, especially state-owned ones, can effectively reduce debt financing costs for heavily polluting enterprises compared to those dominated by a single major shareholder. These findings remain robust even after considering a series of checks, including the instrument variable method, propensity score matching (PSM), and alternative variables. In cases where the separation of ultimate control rights and cash flow rights is slight or the entity is state-owned, state-owned blockholders tend to exert a more effective governance role. Our research helps understand the role of multiple blockholders in corporate “green governance” and can provide a reference for alleviating the financing constraints of heavy-polluting enterprises.

Social credit scoring system and corporate pollution governance: Insights from China's Social Credit System Construction

This study examines the effect of China's Social Credit System (CSCS) construction as a quasi-natural experiment on corporate emissions. The System collects and shares credit information, including environmental credit for firms. Using 30,766 firm-year observations of Chinese non-financial listed firms from 2007 to 2021 and pilot programs in the construction of the CSCS in various cities, we document that firms located in cities with the CSCS system lower their emissions than those in cities without the CSCS system. Additional analysis suggests that the lower emission for the CSCS firms is due to enhancing environmental information disclosure, advancing technological progress, and alleviating financial constraints. The moderating analysis reveals that the impact of the CSCS on restraining corporate emissions is more salient when a firm: (1) belongs to a heavily polluting industry or is privately-owned; (2) has management myopia or lack of environmental awareness; or (3) has a weak internal and external monitoring.

Environmental supervision distance, government-enterprise collusion and corporate environmental information disclosure

Environmental supervision distance, government-enterprise collusion and corporate environmental information disclosure

Impact of mandatory environmental information disclosure on the capital cost: Evidence from listed companies in China

Mandatory environmental information disclosure is characterized by formal environmental regulation and that the content of the disclosure promotes public participation and oversight in the environmental field. This paper studies the impact of mandatory environmental information disclosure (EID) enforcement in China on corporate capital cost using a difference-in-difference model. The results indicate that mandatory EID increases debt capital cost, but has no significant impact on equity capital cost, which differs from mainstream research that suggest EID can reduce capital cost. Mechanism tests reveal that mandatory EID raises debt capital cost by deteriorating the financial performance of enterprises. Further research finds that the mandatory EID also reduce enterprise's total debt amount and restructure debt structure by increasing short-term liability and decreasing long-term liability. In addition, the increasing effect of mandatory EID on the debt capital cost is more pronounced among non-SOE corporations, small-scale corporations and recession corporations. This study provides new empirical evidence for the impact effectiveness of mandatory EID and suggests different research views in the related field.

The effect of environmental information disclosure on environmental rating divergence

This study examine the relationship between environmental information disclosure and environmental rating divergence by empirically analyzing China's A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2020. The findings reveal a positive correlation between environmental information disclosure and rating divergence. When regulatory authorities tighten the norms for environmental information disclosure, the impact of corporate environmental disclosure on rating divergence is significantly reduced. Heterogeneity analyses indicate that the variations in environmental information disclosure are less pronounced among large-scale firms and state-owned enterprises. Additionally, audits conducted by the Big Four and the professional board contribute to mitigating the divergence in environmental information disclosure.

Does Environmental Information Disclosure Affect Customer Stability?

Does Environmental Information Disclosure Affect Customer Stability?

Impact of environmental information disclosure on environmental regulation intensity: evidence from 113 cities in China

Presently, the driving factors for environmental regulatory intensity, especially environmental information disclosure, remain unclear. Exploring the causal relationship between the two has an important guiding value for governments to achieve sustainable development. This research empirically examines the impact of environmental information disclosure on environmental regulatory intensity, and the possible action mechanisms and boundary conditions based on panel data of 113 Chinese cities from 2010 to 2020 using fixed-effects model, quantile regression model, moderating effect model, and spatial econometric models. The conclusions suggest that, first, a 1% increase in environmental information disclosure promotes a positive increase in environmental regulatory intensity of about 0.171%. Second, The regression coefficients of environmental information disclosure in the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 90th quartiles are 0.489, 0.401, 0.443, 0.365 and 0.281 respectively, showing a decreasing trend. Third, transportation infrastructure and the resident’s education level exhibit positive interactions, with interaction term regression coefficients of 0.006 and 0.070, respectively; foreign direct investment exhibits a negative interaction, with coefficient of -0.029. Fourth, both environmental regulation intensity and environmental information disclosure show positive spatial correlations, with a 1% increase in environmental regulation intensity and environmental information disclosure in neighboring cities causing an increase in environmental regulation intensity of about 0.734% and 0.026% in this city. This research demonstrates the positive effects of adopting environmental information disclosure on the realization of sustainable development and provides empirical evidence for government policy formulation.

Research Dynamics and Frontiers of Environmental, Social, and Governance Disclosure: Bibliometric Visual Analysis Based on CiteSpace

Abstract: With the increasing global attention on sustainable development and corporate social responsibility, studying the dynamics and frontiers of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure is of great significance to academia, corporate practice, and policy-making. This study employs CiteSpace for bibliometric visual analysis, utilizing methods such as keyword co-occurrence analysis, cluster analysis, and research theme evolution analysis to comparatively analyze the differences in ESG research between domestic and international contexts. The study reveals the hotspots, trends, and development directions of ESG disclosure research. The findings indicate a steady growth in the number of publications in the ESG disclosure research field, with research themes shifting from singular environmental information disclosure to a more comprehensive focus on social responsibility and governance structures. This study not only provides researchers with new perspectives, expanding and deepening the themes of ESG research, but also offers references for companies to enhance ESG disclosure and for policy-making, thus holding significant theoretical and practical implications.

Is environmental information disclosure driving green energy development? Contextual evidence from Chinese city level data in the lens of sustainability

As an important supplement to mandatory environmental regulation, third-party participation in environmental regulation has become an important driving force for the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development. Environmental information disclosure (EID) has become a widely used form of third-party participation ecological regulation, and the study of its impact on green energy development (GED) is receiving more and more academic attention. However, the research on this issue is still insufficient in academia. Based on resource-based theory and information processing theory, with IPE project of pollution information survey in China as an exogenous impact, this paper analyzes the causal impact of EID for GED using panel data of 285 Chinese cities from 2000 to 2020. The findings revealed that EID is a strong driver of GED in the long run, further amplified by the smart city pilot program. Besides, industrial structure transformation (IST), substantive green technological innovation (SGTI), non-substantive green technological innovation (NOSGTI), and green finance development (GFD) are important mediating mechanisms through which EID facilitates the GED. Concerning resource endowments of different regions and cities, the heterogeneity test asserted that the promotion effect of EID for GED is best in resource-based cities and old industrial parks. These results emphasize the importance of public participation in urban sustainable development and provide new ideas for promoting green growth.

Punishment or reward? Environmental information disclosure in Chinese listed companies based on evolutionary game systems

AbstractIn February 2022, the Chinese government implemented a mandatory environmental information disclosure policy for publicly traded corporations. To assess the factors influencing environmental information disclosure, we developed a tripartite evolutionary game system model based on strategic interactions between the government, enterprises and the public. Afterwards, we conducted a simulation to examine the systemic interaction equilibrium among the parties involved. Additionally, we assessed critical factor changes in decision‐making for three stakeholders: initial strategy selection, related policy subsidies, regulatory penalties and public incentives. Incorporating Gaussian white noise into the evolutionary game model enhances the realism of simulations, allowing for a more accurate representation of how random disturbances affect decision‐making among the government, the public and enterprises. The study reveals that the active participation of the public in information disclosure activities has a certain degree of substitution effect on the government's choice to regulate high‐quality information disclosure by enterprises actively. The penalty mechanism is more effective than the subsidy mechanism. The public's decision‐making process is susceptible to the direct economic benefits that enterprises can gain from disclosing low‐quality environmental information.

The impact of economic policy uncertainty on corporate environmental information disclosure: the moderating role of media attention and financing constraints

Economic policy uncertainty (EPU) is a major source of risk that could affect corporate environmental behaviors. We investigated the impact of EPU on environmental information disclosure by using 15,308 firm-year observations from 2,316 Chinese manufacturing firms between 2010 and 2020. Our study shows that EPU can be an incentive for firms to disclose environmental information. This finding supports the voluntary disclosure theory that firms are prone to disclose more environmental efforts in times of high EPU. Furthermore, the results show that the positive relationship between EPU and corporate environmental information disclosure can be positively moderated by media attention and financing constraints. Firms in competitive industries and heavily polluting industries provided better environmental information disclosure when facing uncertainty. Our results provide implications that managers should emphasize the quality of disclosure and use environmental information disclosure as a key strategy to deal with EPU.

The Distribution of Burden of Proof in Environmental Civil Public Interest Litigation

Environmental problems, in the current society, have attracted the attention and attention of the society and the public. Relevant laws are applied under the research of legislators and the reference of foreign legal experience. With the development of environmental civil public interest litigation, a series of problems have gradually emerged with judicial practice, and the allocation of the burden of proof is somewhat unreasonable. Through to our country and outside the environment of civil public interest litigation laws and regulations, understand the environment of the characteristics of the burden of proof and analysis its can perfect, points out that should distinguish the application of public welfare and private benefit, refining the causal relationship responsibility distribution, improve the system of proof obstruction, environmental damage appraisal system and environmental information disclosure system and other related measures.

The Belt and Road Initiative: Industry Competition and Corporate Environmental Information Disclosure in China

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a significant Chinese strategic measure designed to construct a platform for multinational cooperation. The study investigates whether the BRI construction influences corporate environmental information disclosure (EID) and whether the industry competition moderates their relationship. Adopting the legitimacy theory, we assume that firms focus more on EID to differentiate themselves after the BRI construction, especially amongst fierce competition where firms apply the EID strategy more for higher legitimacy. Taking the BRI construction in 2014 as an exogenous shock, we use a difference-in-differences method (DID) and propensity score matching difference-in-differences method (PSM-DID) based on the panel data of 4099 A-share listed firms from 2008 to 2022 and take the parallel trend and placebo tests for the robustness. We reveal a significant improvement in the EID of firms within the BRI stock sector following its establishment, with the effect of the BRI construction being further strengthened by industry competition. Leveraging legitimacy theory, the paper sheds light on the motivations behind EID and how industry competition serves as a moderating factor of the EID-promoting effects brought by the BRI construction.

How Does a Green Supply Chain Improve Corporate Carbon Performance

Drawing from A-share listed companies’ data from the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets in China (2013–2022), this paper adopts the differential model to test the impact and mechanism of a green supply chain (GSC) pilot on pilot enterprises. The results show that the GSC pilot effectively improved the carbon performance of the pilot enterprises and passed a series of robustness tests. Mechanism analysis finds that green innovation, efficiency improvement, and environmental information disclosure (EID) can reduce the carbon emissions of enterprises. The moderating effect discovers that environmental regulation and environmental attention effectively strengthened the role of the GSC pilot in improving carbon performance. In addition, this paper finds that the pilot had a better carbon reduction effect on mature, technology-intensive, and non-state-owned enterprises. The above research conclusions provide strong support for the government to build a GSC and promote low-carbon development.

Executive green cognition and corporate ESG performance

This paper examines how executive green cognition influences corporate ESG performance using data from Chinese listed companies. The results indicate that higher level of executive green cognition substantially enhance ESG performance. Specially, this paper finds that this positive impact is achieved through advancements in green innovation and improvements in the quality of environmental information disclosure. Additionally, heterogeneity analysis reveals that the benefits of executive green cognition on ESG performance are more significant in industries with lower competition and among non-state-owned enterprises. This paper introduces a novel perspective on enhancing ESG performance, offering valuable insights for promoting sustainable development within enterprises.

Environmental and Social Disclosure of Brazilian Banking Financial Institutions from the Perspective of the Sustainable Development Goals

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the determining factors that influence the disclosure of environmental and social information by the Brazilian banking sector from the perspective of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with the aim of identifying which organizational characteristics impact the level of socio-environmental disclosure. Theoretical Framework: In this topic, the main concepts and theories that underpin the research are presented. The study is based on the Theory of Legitimacy, which provides theoretical elements for socio-environmental disclosure. This theory explains management’s motivation to disclose environmental information, recognizing that organizational survival depends not only on financial success but also on the ability to maintain a social contract with society. Method: The methodology adopted for this research comprises a quantitative approach based on content analysis of sustainability reports from Brazilian banks. Data collection was carried out through the analysis of corporate disclosure reports published between 2016 and 2020. The regression model with panel data was used to analyze the influence of organizational characteristics on the dissemination of socio-environmental information from the perspective of the SDGs. Results and Discussion: The results obtained revealed that the size of the company and public control are factors that influence the disclosure of socio-environmental information regarding the SDGs. Whether or not the company owns shares on the Stock Exchange and its profitability have little impact on the amount of information disclosed about the SDGs. In the discussion section, these results are contextualized based on the theoretical framework, highlighting the implications and relationships identified. Possible discrepancies and limitations of the study are also considered in this section. Research Implications: The practical and theoretical implications of this research are discussed, providing insights into how the results can be applied or influence practices in the field of socio-environmental disclosure. These implications could encompass the banking sector, regulatory bodies, and policymakers. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by deepening the knowledge about environmental disclosure in the banking sector, a topic still little explored in academic studies. The relevance and value of this research are evidenced by its potential to inform better practices and policies for socio-environmental disclosure in the banking industry.

The effect and mediating mechanism of environmental, social, and governance information disclosure on sustainable growth rate: evidence from China

The effect and mediating mechanism of environmental, social, and governance information disclosure on sustainable growth rate: evidence from China