a b s t r a c tThis paper investigates the effect of the 2009 guidance of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs on greenhouse gas (GHG) disclosure. The sample comprises 215 companies from a population of London Stock Exchange FTSE 350 companies over four years (2008e2011). To quantify GHG disclosure, a research index methodology is employed, with information derived from several GHG reporting frameworks. The econometric model is estimated using panel fixed effects. Our findings suggest that the publication of the 2009 guidance has had a significant effect on the level of GHG disclosure, and that corporate governance mechanisms (board size, director ownership, and ownership concentration) also affect the extent of GHG information disclosure. The results also indicate that companies increased their disclosures prior to the 2009 guidance in anticipation of its publication. These results have important implications for the government, suggesting that non-mandatory guidance could increase disclosure as much as do mandatory requirements.

We explore the impact of gender diversity and environmental committees on greenhouse gas (GHG) voluntary disclosures utilising a sample of 215 firms, which are listed on the London Stock Exchange market. We provide strong evidence for a strong positive association between GHG voluntary disclosures and gender diversity, which constitutes an important input to the ongoing debate about the role of women in the boardroom. The governance mechanism of environmental committees is not found to significantly affect GHG disclosures. This adds to the growing empirical evidence in the literature that questions the effectiveness of the current board structures in serving the wider needs of stakeholders and in addressing the relevant issues on climate change. Overall, our results suggest that by being diverse and open to a mixed‐gender governance approach, a firm can better serve the demands of stakeholders and legitimise their green credentials, thus gaining more trust from a broad range of stakeholders other than their shareholders. The noneffectiveness of the environmental committees in enhancing GHG voluntary disclosures demonstrates that firms may not have to directly link the relevant governance mechanism to their disclosure decisions and practices.

The study sheds light on the extent to which various stakeholder pressures influence voluntary disclosure of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and how the impact is explained and moderated chief executive officer (CEO) characteristics of 215 FTSE 350 listed U.K. companies for the year 2011. The study developed a classification of GHG emission disclosure based on the guidelines of GHG Protocol, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Global Framework for Climate Risk Disclosure using content analysis. Evidence from the study suggests that some stakeholder pressure (regulatory, creditor, supplier, customer, and board control) positively impacts on GHG disclosure information by firms. We found that stakeholder pressure in the form of regulatory, mimetic, and shareholders pressure positively influenced the disclosure of GHG information. We also found that creditor pressure also had a significant negative relationship with GHG disclosure. Although CEO age had a direct negative effect on GHG voluntary disclosure, its moderation effect on stakeholder pressure influence on GHG disclosure was only significant on regulatory pressure.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate compliance with risk disclosure requirements under International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 7 by Malawian Stock Exchange-listed companies over a three-year period. Specifically, the paper examines the extent and determinants of risk disclosure compliance with IFRS 7. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses a mixed-method approach. The quantitative approach employs the research index methodology and uses panel data regression analysis to examine the relationship between proportion of non-executive directors (NEDs), size, gearing and profitability and the extent of risk disclosure compliance. The results of the panel data regression analysis are triangulated by the qualitative research approach in the form of personal interviews with company managers. Findings – The results indicate that over the three years, the extent of compliance with IFRS 7 is, on average, 40 per cent which is very low. The regression results suggest that NEDs, size and gearing are significantly and positively associated with the extent of risk disclosure compliance under IFRS 7. The results of qualitative approach are mixed since some support and whilst others contradict the regression results. Research limitations/implications – The sample size is very small which may affect the generalisability of the study. Originality/value – The use of a mixed-methods approach to examine the determinants of risk disclosure compliance provides additional insights not provided in prior studies. The contradicting results suggest that more research using the mixed approach is required to provide more robust evidence of the determinants of risk disclosure compliance.

Company specific determinants of greenhouse gas disclosures PurposeThe paper investigates the relationship between company specific factors and the extent of greenhouse gas (GHG) disclosures. Design/Methodology/ApproachThe study is based on a sample of 210 FTSE 350 companies and uses the disclosure index to quantify GHG disclosures made in the annual reports, sustainability reports and websites in 2011. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression is employed to model the relationship between the company specific factors and the extent of GHG disclosures. FindingsThe results indicate that company size, gearing, financial slack and two industries (consumer services and industrials) are significantly associated with GHG disclosures while profitability, liquidity and capital expenditure are not. When we disaggregate GHG disclosures into qualitative and quantitative, our results suggest that the effect of some company factors differ depending on the type of GHG disclosures. Research limitations/implicationsThe study is cross sectional. A longitudinal study is necessary to understand the dynamics of GHG disclosures as firms may change their disclosure policy as the importance of GHG increases. The results imply that policy makers need to take into account certain company specific factors when formulating policy aimed at improving GHG disclosures. Originality/ValueThe results add evidence to the growing body of research focussing on relationship between company specific factors and GHG disclosure. The study also provides evidence that the effect of some company specific factors on GHG disclosures differ depending on whether the GHG disclosures are quantitative or qualitative.