Environmental reporting by the Malaysian local governments

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the environmental reporting (ER) practices of the local governments (LGs) in Malaysia. Specifically, it examines the driving motives for ER and also the underlying reasons for lack of disclosures in an array of reporting media. Design/methodology/approach A self-administered survey is conducted to all LGs in Peninsular Malaysia. The items in the questionnaire are based on the prior literature on social and environmental disclosures made by the public sector organisations (PSOs). Findings The results suggest that maintaining and/or improving the legitimacy status is the main driving motive for LGs to provide environmental disclosures in the absence of any regulatory requirements. On the other hand, a lack of skilled staff to handle ER is the primary reason contributing to the lack of environmental information being supplied to stakeholders. Originality/value The paper represents one of the few attempts made in examining the ER practices of the LGs within the perspective of a developing country. Insufficient research on this aspect contributes to a limited understanding on the development of ER practices in different economic stage and environment. The findings may be of interest to the relevant authorities in any policy changes that can further improve the extent and quality of environmental disclosures made by the LGs.

Non-financial reporting formats in public sector organizations: a structured literature review

“…Both Mazzara et al (2010) and Sangiorgi et al (2017) consider strategic plans, respectively in Italian and European LGs, and discover a low level of sustainability disclosure. Che Ku Kassim et al (2019) report that Malaysian LGs use environmental reporting as a legitimacy tool. However, the lack of skilled staff limits the production of environmental information.…”

“…Not surprisingly, SRs have obtained the greatest attention over the years, with 46 articles (out of 83) discussing this topic, followed by webpages and IR. The few articles discussing other kind of reports consider strategic plans (Mazzara et al , 2010; Sangiorgi et al , 2017), mission statements (Gigli and Tieghi, 2012; Lopez and Martin, 2018), annual reports (Schaffhauser-Linzatti and Ossmann, 2018) or very specific types of reports (Bae, 2014; Baldwin and Uhlmann, 2010; Che Ku Kassim et al , 2019).…”

“…Fifth, some reflections can be raised concerning the debate on voluntary versus mandatory disclosure of sustainability-related information (Bae, 2014; Guthrie and Farneti, 2008; Seibert and Macagnan, 2019). On the one hand, publishing SRs could be a source of legitimacy for PSOs (Brusca et al , 2018; Che Ku Kissam et al , 2019; Del Sordo et al , 2016; Monfardini et al , 2013). The wish to gain or maintain legitimacy may explain why PSOs voluntarily disclose SRs.…”

Sustainability accounting, accountability and reporting in the public sector

“…Furthermore, Che-Ku-Kassim et al (2019) conducted a survey to examine environmental reporting practices of Malaysian local governments and drivers of such practices using legitimacy theory. The authors reveal that the majority of Malaysian local governments report environmental information using more than one reporting media.…”

Environmental disclosures on local governments' websites: a Malaysian context

“…Prior research examining ED practices in the private sector is well documented in the literature (de Villiers and van Staden, 2006; Baalouch et al , 2019). However, little has been researched on ED practices of the public sector within the perspective of developing countries (Joseph and Taplin, 2011; Mir et al , 2015; Che Ku Kassim et al , 2019). To understand the ED practices, inputs from the public sectors in developing nations are significant as they represent two-fifths of all the economic activities (Pena and Jorge, 2019).…”