We examine factors associated with the US S&P 500 fi rms' decisions to disclose information about the current and projected effects of climate change to institutional investors. Through the Carbon Disclosure Project, 315 institutional investors representing 41 trillion USD in assets asked the largest public fi rms to respond to a questionnaire about climate change. We explore whether fi rms' disclosures directed specifi cally to institutional investors are related to factors that have been found to explain voluntary disclosures to investors in general. In particular, we consider factors related to the level of scrutiny, since extant literature predicts that the cost of not disclosing increases with level of scrutiny. We fi nd that size, previous disclosures and foreign sales are related to whether fi rms disclose information about climate change requested by institutional investors through the Carbon Disclosure Project.

This paper examines voluntary disclosures about greenhouse gas emissions by the US S&P 500 firms to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). Trends in three disclosures (answering the questionnaire, disclosing emissions and disclosing accounting methodology for emissions) are examined from 2006 to 2008. The frequencies of all three disclosures increased over this period. The finding that many firms answer the questionnaire, but do not disclose their emission amounts or how they account for them, is consistent with a prediction from the legitimacy theory literature that firms will disclose the minimum to avoid scrutiny. Disclosure patterns are routine since previous disclosures are the most significant variable in explaining subsequent ones. The research contributes to the understanding of emission disclosures, in particular, and voluntary disclosures, in general, by highlighting the importance of considering previous disclosures in understanding subsequent ones. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

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