Does the Voluntary Adoption of Corporate Governance Mechanisms Improve Environmental Risk Disclosures? Evidence from Greenhouse Gas Emission Accounting

Peters, Gary F.; Romi, Andrea M.

doi:10.1007/s10551-013-1886-9

Cited by 279 publications

(273 citation statements)

References 91 publications

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“…There is growing evidence that firms are managing and reporting their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions voluntarily in a bid to signal their green credentials (Rankin et al, 2011;Peters and Romi, 2013). In view of such evidence, this paper investigates the extent to which UK listed companies disclose information relating to GHG gases.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Company specific determinants of greenhouse gases disclosures

Chithambo

Tauringana

2014

Journal of Applied Accounting Research

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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.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Company specific determinants of greenhouse gases disclosures

Chithambo

Tauringana

2014

Journal of Applied Accounting Research

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“…The existence of environmental committee at the board level encourages addressing the climate related issues, and evaluating and reporting quality and credible GHG information to the public (Peters & Romi 2012;Rankin, Windsor & Wahyuni 2011;Rupley, Brown & Marshall 2012). Peters and Romi (2012) find a positive association between the existence of an environmental committee probability and quality of GHG emission disclosure.…”

Section: Literature and Hypothesis Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, Rupley, Brown and Marshall (2012) and Rankin, Windsor and Wahyuni (2011) find no association between the presence of an environmental committee and voluntary GHG emission disclosure. Peters and Romi (2012) argue that the presence of environmental committee is purely voluntary and indicates a firm's committement to the firm's environmental issues and transparency. They further argue that environmental committee will take more proactive interest in a firm's sustainablilty strategies.…”

Section: Literature and Hypothesis Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Role of Voluntary Corporate Governance Mechanisms on Environmental Risk Disclosure: Australian Evidence

2017

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We examine the factors associated with the establishment of an environmental committee at the board level and its impact on the disclosure of environmental risks in an Australian context. Using a sample of Australian Stock Exchange firms disclosing their information to the Carbon Disclosure Project, we document a strong association between the existence of environmental committee and board independence, CEO duality, directors' share ownership, and institutional shareholding. Firms that belong to environmentally sensitive industries are more likely to have environmental committees. Furthermore, we find that firms with environmental committees are more likely to disclose environmental risk information and this leads to mitigation in information asymmetry between managers and stakeholders.

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“…Empirical evidence demonstrates that a positive relationship exists between voluntary disclosure and audit committee members (Peters & Romi 2014). Therefore, the following hypothesis is examined:…”

Section: Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%