Level Of Environmental Information Disclosure Research Articles

The Impact of Corporate Environmental Information Disclosure on Investor Attitudes in A Carbon Neutral Context

With the rapid development in the field of technology and production, the adverse consequences of energy-intensive industries have become impossible to ignore. The frequent occurrence of extreme weather, loss of biodiversity, and degradation of ecosystems across the globe has made the process of global environmental governance particularly urgent. In order to meet the needs of sustainable development strategies, many countries have begun to emphasize the fulfillment of corporate environmental responsibility and have put forward a series of requirements for environmental information disclosure. At the same time, the general public has also actively responded to the state's call to monitor corporate emissions behavior. This study focuses on individual investors in China's capital market, using a survey method of designing a scale, distributing a questionnaire, and analyzing it with SPSS to explore their attitudes toward environmental information disclosure of heavily polluting enterprises. The study finds that investors are more favorable to enterprises with higher levels of environmental information disclosure, especially in today's environmentally conscious world. Such disclosure not only increases public trust in the enterprise and enhances its image, but also helps investors to more accurately assess the long-term value and sustainable development prospects of the enterprise. This study aims to provide more targeted and effective disclosure strategies for enterprises to promote the realization of both economic and social benefits. This study provides important insights and guidance for Chinese heavy polluters in addressing environmental challenges and sustainable development.

Business strategy and environmental information disclosure from a Confucian cultural perspective: Evidence from China

AbstractBased on social contract theory, this study investigates the impact of business strategy on environmental information disclosure from an informal institutional perspective. Using empirical data from a panel of Chinese listed A‐share firms in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2010 to 2020, we demonstrate that firms following prospector strategies have higher levels of environmental information disclosure compared to those following defender strategies. Our findings also reveal that Confucian culture positively moderates the relationship between business strategy and environmental information disclosure. Specifically, we find that when environmental uncertainty increases, the moderating effect of Confucian culture weakens, while effective legal supervision strengthens the positive moderating effect of Confucian culture. Additionally, our results show that business strategy affects environmental information disclosure through the dual channels of economic benefits contract and social recognition contract. Overall, this research provides valuable insights for corporate sustainable development and effective government environmental governance.

Does the carbon emissions trading scheme improve the corporate environmental information disclosure level? Evidence from China

Recently, a great deal of literature has discussed the effects of the carbon emissions trading scheme (CETS) and the factors that affect the corporate environmental information disclosure (CEID) level. However, no researchers have studied how CETS affects the CEID level. Based on a difference-in-difference-in-differences model, we discover that CETS can improve the CEID level. The findings are robust and persistent even after testing for time lags and leads effects, changing the measure of the dependent variable, testing for enterprise relocation, adjusting the fixed effect method, testing for concurrent policies, and performing placebo tests. The reason is that CETS can encourage corporate green technology innovation and environmental protection investment, thus improving the CEID level. Further investigation reveals that the impact of CETS on promoting the CEID level is more significant when the following conditions are met: the enterprises are in provinces and cities in the east and northeast; they are state-owned; and they have strong political connections. This paper expands on the current field of research on the influence effects of CETS, broadens the understanding of the factors influencing the CEID level, and investigates the mechanism by which CETS improves the CEID level.

Application of environmental protection investment benefit model of coal enterprises in environmental protection construction of smart city

The purpose is to strengthen the construction and application of smart environmental protection cities and establish the benefits model of enterprise environmental protection investment (EPI). This paper introduces its related concepts based on EPI and financial performance theory. It analyzes the current situation and existing problems of EPI, environmental information disclosure level (EADI), and financial performance of the coal industry and enterprises. The raw coal output and growth rate in China from 2015 to 2021, the output of major coal-producing areas from 2018 to 2021, and the revenue and profit statistics of coal enterprises from 2017 to 2021 are collected and studied. The quantitative indicators (financial performance, EPI, and EADI) are selected to verify the results. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and moderating effect analysis are chosen to analyze the related explained, explanatory, intermediary, and control variables. Among them, there is an obvious positive correlation between the EPI and the EADI of coal enterprises, and the EPI of coal enterprises has a positive impact on financial performance. The EADI of coal enterprises plays a partial mediating effect on the impact of EPI on financial performance. Additionally, the correlation analysis determines the correlation between EPI, EADI, and the financial performance of coal enterprises. Finally, the regression analysis is carried out again by replacing variables. The regression results are consistent with the previous conclusions, increasing the empirical results' robustness. It is concluded that improving the EADI will give enterprises better future financial data.

Can Environmental Information Disclosure Enhance Firm Value?-An Analysis Based on Textual Characteristics of Annual Reports.

This study examines the impact of environmental information disclosure quality on firm value for Chinese listed companies in heavily polluting industries from 2010 to 2021. By controlling for the level of leverage, growth, and corporate governance, a fixed effects model is constructed to test this relationship. Furthermore, this study analyzes the moderating effects of annual report text features, such as length, similarity, and readability, on the relationship between environmental information disclosure and firm value and the heterogeneous impact of firm ownership on this relationship. The main findings of this study are as follows: There is a positive correlation between the level of environmental information disclosure and firm value for Chinese listed companies in heavily polluting industries. Annual report text length and readability positively moderate the relationship between environmental information disclosure and firm value. Annual report text similarity negatively moderates the relationship between environmental information disclosure and firm value performance. Compared with state-owned enterprises, the impact of environmental information disclosure quality on the firm value of no-state-owned enterprises is more significant.

Environmental awareness and environmental information disclosure: An empirical study based on energy industry.

Environmental protection and governance have become a topic of global concern. Sustainable development and green development are the unshakable ideas of China's social and economic development. Under this premise, the energy industry, as a pillar industry in China, has the disadvantages of high energy consumption and heavy pollution. Therefore, the quality of environmental information disclosure in energy industry needs to be improved urgently. This paper selects 66 samples from 22 energy companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets from 2018 to 2020 as the research object, establishes two potential variables and 13 observed variables of environmental awareness and environmental information disclosure respectively, and constructs structural equation model to study the impact of corporate environmental awareness on environmental information disclosure. The research shows that the environmental awareness of enterprises is positively related to the level of environmental information disclosure. The conclusion is helpful to improve the enthusiasm and consciousness of energy companies to disclose environmental information. A better role in supervising the quality of environmental information disclosure by the government, enterprises and the public can be played.

Do the host country’s environmental regulations inhibit the enterprises’ risk preference of multinational investment? Evidence from China

How to achieve a win-win situation between environment protection and economic development in the process of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) has always been a major issue of Chinese enterprises. In recent years, China has paid unprecedented attention to environmental protection, and issued relevant policies to encourage enterprises to abide by the host country’s environmental regulations and fulfil their environmental protection-related responsibilities in the process of going global. However, the influence of the host country’s environmental regulations on the enterprises’ risk preference of multinational investment (MIRP) has not received the attention it deserves. This article makes an empirical analysis on how the host country’s environmental regulations affect the MIRP by using the sample of China’s A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2019, and emphatically tests the mediating roles of enterprises' green technology innovation, environmental information disclosure and corporate environmental responsibility, and the moderating role of shareholder protection policies. It is found that, on the whole, the host country’s environmental regulations will inhibit the MIRP by accelerating enterprises' green technology innovation, increasing the level of environmental information disclosure and promoting environmental responsibility. Besides, the shareholder protection policies of the host countries can positively moderate the influence of the host country’s environmental regulations on the MIRP.

Digital Transformation of Enterprises, Operating Cash Flow and Environmental Information Disclosure

This paper takes Shanghai-Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2007 to 2020 as a research sample to explore the impact of digital transformation of enterprises on environmental information disclosure and its internal mechanism. The research results show that the digital transformation of enterprises can significantly suppress the level of environmental information disclosure and from the perspective of the action path, the digitalization of enterprises is suppressed by reducing the cash flow of operating activities. Considering financing constraints and executive equity incentive, we found that the financing constraints strengthen the inhibitory effect of enterprise digital transformation on environmental information disclosure, and the executive equity incentive weakens the inhibitory effect of enterprise digital transformation on environmental information disclosure. Finally, the results of the heterogeneity analysis show that enterprise digitization has a more obvious environmental information disclosure suppression effect in the samples which are state-owned and with a low level of marketization. The research in this paper expands the existing literature on the driving factors of environmental information disclosure and the value effect of enterprise digital transformation, questions the traditional view that enterprise digitalization enhances the level of environmental information disclosure, and provides an empirical basis for further deepening the research of enterprise environmental information disclosure in the digital situation.

Problems and Suggestions of Corporate Green Accounting Information Disclosure Under Low Carbon Economy

With the continuous deepening of the concept of sustainable development in modern society, the accounting requirements of agricultural and animal husbandry enterprises are increasing under the background of low carbon economic growth. In the face of the increasingly prominent environmental issues, it is imperative to focus on the development of green accounting and improve the accounting information disclosure level of agricultural and animal husbandry enterprises on the whole. Through analyzing the issues in green accounting information disclosure of agricultural and animal husbandry enterprises under the low carbon economy, we have a clearer understanding of the green accounting information disclosure of agricultural and animal husbandry enterprises, which is conducive to proposing countermeasures that can improve the level of environmental information disclosure from its roots.

Environmental Information Disclosure, Digital Transformation, and Total Factor Productivity: Evidence from Chinese Heavy Polluting Listed Companies.

Environmental information disclosure, as a new environmental regulatory model, is important for achieving collaborative environmental pollution management and sustainable socioeconomic development. Based on the data of listed firms in China’s A-share heavy pollution industry from 2009 to 2019, this paper empirically tested the impact of environmental information disclosure on the total factor productivity of enterprises and the contribution of digital transformation to this impact. An increase in the level of environmental information disclosure had a significant positive effect on the total factor productivity of enterprises. However, with the increase in digital transformation among enterprises, the effect of environmental information disclosure on total factor productivity improvement is gradually being replaced. The heterogeneity test results showed that the positive effect of environmental information disclosure on total factor productivity changed depending on property rights, firm size, and geographical location. The effect of environmental information disclosure was stronger for non-state firms, large firms, and firms located in the east-central region. Further mechanism tests showed that the effect was induced through innovation incentives and facilitated financing. The above results provide a valuable reference for a comprehensive understanding of the effect of environmental information disclosure on productivity and adjustment by the digital transformation of enterprises.

Does the resource-dependent motivation to disclose environmental information impact company financing? Evidence from renewable energy companies of China

Corporate environmental information disclosure systems are important for controlling pollution caused by corporate activities. However, different motives associated with environmental information disclosure have different influences on the financing of companies. This paper adopts renewable energy companies instead of high pollution industries as a research object. The study analyzes the resource-dependent disclosure motivation of renewable energy companies, and the impact of environmental information disclosure on the scale and cost of direct and indirect financing. The results show the following. First, renewable energy companies in China have a resource-dependent motivation to disclose environmental information, with a gap between the level of environmental information disclosure and their actual environmental performance. Second, renewable energy companies may obtain more direct financing amount and lower indirect financing costs, but cannot obtain lower direct financing costs and more indirect financing amount by improving the level of environmental information disclosure with the resource-dependent motivation. Third, there are differences in the specific incentives for environmental information disclosure among the Eastern, Middle, and Western regions of China. The government needs to standardize the detailed rules and standards of the corporate environmental information disclosure system, and improve the environmental protection awareness and the implementation of green credit in the Western region.

Environmental information disclosure and Labour investment efficiency

ABSTRACT This article examines the correlation between environmental information disclosure and labour investment efficiency (LIE) using a sample of 343 Chinese-listed companies from 2015 to 2019. Empirical results show that firms with a high level of environmental information disclosure (EID) have significantly higher LIE. Further analysis indicates that the higher LIE is achieved by resolving under-hiring problems rather than over-hiring problems. Our findings enrich the labour investment researches in the finance literature and the environment studies in corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature and provide additional evidence for firms to improve EID quality.

Disclosure of environmental information in corporate reports and investment attractiveness of Russian companies

The relationship between the disclosure of environmental information in corporate reports and the interest of investors is difficult to justify due to the subjective assessment of the data communicated. The article discusses how the depth of environmental information disclosure in Russian companies’ reports estimated using the authors’ dictionary (taxonomy)1 affects their investment attractiveness. Methodologically, the study rests on the concepts of green economy, behavioral finance and corporate social responsibility. The main research methods are textual and cluster analysis. Annual reports of 60 Russian listed companies for 10 years constitute the empirical base of the present work. The authors divide the period under examination (2015–2018) into two clusters. The first one is comprised companies with a high level of environmental information disclosure and relatively low investment attractiveness; the second cluster embraces companies with a low level of information disclosure, but high investment attractiveness. Despite the fact that the composition of the first cluster changes every year, it inalterably includes organizations engaged in chemical, metallurgical, energy and mining sectors. In each cluster, there is a constant increase in the level of environmental information disclosure, which may be caused by the tightening of legal requirements. However, no statistically significant relationship between the level of environmental information disclosure and the investment attractiveness of a company was found, which might be due to the absence of significant changes in investment attractiveness of companies in each cluster over time.

Local environmental information disclosure and environmental non-governmental organizations in Chinese prefecture-level cities

Many studies demonstrate that the booming number of environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) in China have substantially affected on the environmental issues. However, little research has paid attention to discern the different types of ENGOs' activities. Thus, this study aims to provide the first set of quantitative data analysis to demonstrate the effects of different types of ENGOs’ effects on the governance from two major perspectives, namely, top-down and grassroots. Both perspectives offer different assumptions of whether the effects of key ENGOs on promoting urban environmental governance are national or local. This paper collects unique data from the websites of several NGO list-collecting organizations, the urban statistical yearbooks published by the Chinese government, and the pollution information transparency index released by ENGOs annually, to accurately identify the characteristics and activities of ENGOs. By using the Ordinary Least Squares regression model in which the city fixed effects are included, this study analyzes the influences of ENGOs on the levels of environmental information disclosure among over 100 prefecture-level cities from 2008 to 2015. The results primarily support the grassroots perspective. Cities with more local ENGOs have better performance in terms of environmental information disclosure. In addition, although local ENGOs allying with national NGOs have certain influences in 2014–2015, they downgrade the effects of other local ENGOs. Taken together, the findings illustrate that, while national ENGOs have received great deal of attention, possessed more resources to align local ENGOs, and had extensive opportunities to connect with international ENGOs, local ENGOs within local contexts and activities play crucial roles in the local environmental governance. Furthermore, the results also imply that although the Chinese government has reinforced control over the civil society after 2012, local ENGOs still strengthen their influences on the environmental governance.

Impact of Environmental Information Disclosure on Certified Public Accountant Audit of Chinese Listed Companies in the Energy Industry

Abstract This paper sets up an individual fixed-effect model. Taking environmental information disclosure index and independent report as an alternative to environmental information disclosure, this paper studies the impact of environmental information disclosure on Certified Public Accountants’ audit fees and audit opinions. The results show that the environmental information disclosure level of the Chinese listed companies in the energy industry is positively correlated with the audit fees of CPA, and negatively correlated with the issuance of non-standard audit opinions, but whether the disclosure of independent reports has no significant impact on audit fees.

Configurational analysis of environmental information disclosure: Evidence from China's key pollutant-discharge listed companies

The environmental information disclosure system is regarded as an important environmental management tool for supervising the environmental behavior of listed companies in China. To explore what drives the environmental information disclosure, a configurational analysis targeted at 264 China's key pollutant-discharge listed companies was studied by fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fs/QCA). The results showed that there were three types of paths to drive the environmental information disclosure: “Strict regulation - low resources - weak capability”, “Strict regulation - low resources - strong capability” and “Strict regulation - high resources - strong capability”, and that strict environmental regulation played a greatly significant role for promoting the environmental information disclosure level. The research provides a theoretical basis for the effectiveness of environmental regulation on environmental information disclosure, and it charts the future direction for environmental management in China.

Environmental disclosure effects on returns and market value

This paper analyzes whether the environmental information disclosure level practiced by firms listed on the Brazilian Stock Market affects their profitability and value. The results show some disclosure by most of the sample firms, and significant differences in characteristics between firms that disclose and those that do not disclose environmental information. The paper contributes to the extant social responsibility and environmental disclosure literature by analyzing annual reports and standardized financial statements as a source of evidence, but especially for analyzing the relationship between the level of disclosure of environmental information and its lack of reflection on the profitability and value of firms. Results suggest the importance of both legitimacy theory and proprietary costs theory, each explaining part of the decision process regarding the disclosure of environmental information. Our results also demonstrate that environmental disclosure positively affects the value of publicly traded Brazilian companies.

Does Internal Control Contribute to a Firm’s Green Information Disclosure? Evidence from China

The literature shows that a firm’s environmental information disclosure is affected by internal and external factors. However, it is unclear whether internal control positively impacts a firm’s green information disclosure. We collected data from the period 2010–2016 from either environmental reports or the environmental section of social responsibility reports of A-share listed companies in the heaviest polluting industries of the Chinese capital market, 1603 companies in total, and established an evaluation index for measuring firm greenness. Our research indicates that the level of internal control was positively correlated to the firm’s greenness level, and deficiencies in internal control were negatively correlated to the firm’s greenness level, indicating that high-quality internal control improves company green information disclosure. Pertaining to property rights, the internal control of state-owned enterprises had a significant effect on improving the level of environmental information disclosure. Among five elements of internal control, the internal environment, information and communication elements had a significant positive impact on firm greenness. Compared with samples with uncorrected major deficiencies in internal control, rectified companies’ environmental information disclosure was greener. These findings provide empirical evidence for a comprehensive understanding of the non-financial reporting goals of firm internal control, and will become a useful reference for firm green governance decision-making.

The Determinants of Environmental Information Disclosure in Vietnam Listed Companies

Environmental pollution and climate change in Vietnam are now becoming a major concern. This situation is increasing the pressure on the companies to improve their social responsibility in production and business activities and disclose the environmental information to meet the requirements of stakeholders. This study investigates the internal and external factors of the company that affects the environmental information disclosure of listed companies on the Vietnam stock market as business sector, firm size, corporate manager perceptions, profitability, financial leverage, community pressure, pressures from stakeholders, government pressure influencing environmental information disclosure. Analytical data collected through the survey of 120 listed companies on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE). By testing Cronbach's Alpha, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and logistic regression analysis, the results of the study show that the level of environmental information disclosure of listed companies on the stock market in Vietnam depends heavily on government regulations, followed by the pressure from stakeholders, community pressure, views of business managers, companies size, business sector, and particularly profitability and financial leverage factors that have a negative relationship with environmental information disclosure.

Environmental Information Disclosure and Auditing of Listed Companies in Heavy Pollution Industries

Concentrating on environmental issues in financial statement auditing is the main way for auditors to fulfill their environmental protection responsibilities. By studying the impact of environmental information disclosure on audit fees and audit opinions, we can infer how closely the auditors focus on environmental matters to some extent. In this paper, listed companies with serious pollution in A-share market in China from 2014 to 2019 are selected as research samples to explore the correlation among environmental-related information disclosure, audit fees and audit opinions. Through empirical analysis, it is found that the level of environmental information disclosure of listed companies in heavily polluted industries is positively correlated with the audit fees, and negatively correlated with the publication of non-standard audit opinions.