The signals of green governance on mitigation of climate change – evidence from Chinese firms

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to examines whether Chinese firms’ signals of green governance, including environmental management, green innovation, and greenhouse gas (GHG) and pollution emission, vary significantly with their ownership structure and aim of being environmentally sensitive. Design/methodology/approach – From corporate social responsibility (CSR)-China website and CNINFO, a total of 781 CSR reports released during 2008-2010 were collected. The collected data were coded and analyzed using content analysis. Findings – In overall disclosure of environmental protection information (TotalEP), no significant difference existed between state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and privately owned enterprises (POEs). Chinese environmentally sensitive industries (ESIs) have a tendency to disclose significantly more information about their actions of environmental protection than their counterparts. Moreover, SOEs and ESIs scored higher than their counterparts on energy saving and carbon reduction and development of circular economy. A steady increase was also observed in the disclosure ratio for CO2 emission. During 2008-2010, SOEs and ESIs were relatively more committed to the disclosure of SO2 emission as compared to other emission items. Practical implications – Managers should disclose signals of green governance actively to avoid adverse selection caused by information asymmetry which further lower their financing cost. Originality/value – There is still a lack of evidence as to whether Chinese firms are implementing actions to slow down climate change. This paper endeavours to provide an insight into Chinese firms’ compliance with the green governance requirements of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan. The study hopes to fill the current gap in understanding the environmental behaviours of Chinese firms under pressure to alleviate climate change.

Environmental policy and sustainable development: An empirical study on carbon reduction among Chinese enterprises

“…This is consistent with the research findings of previous studies (e.g. Kuo et al, 2015). In addition, the changes in enterprises' carbon reduction and sustainable development correlated negatively in some years (e.g.…”

“…However, the environmental expenditures between SOEs and POEs differed significantly, with the results of the different analyses implying that SOEs encountered considerable pressure for emission reductions compared with POEs. SOEs are pioneers in implementing government policies, such as the energy savings and carbon reduction policy in the 11th and 12th Five-Year Plans (Kuo et al, 2015). Table 4 lists the differences between high-carbon-emission industries (HCEIs) and non-high-carbon-emission industries (NHCEIs).…”

“…Previous studies related to CO 2 have investigated topics of the carbon reduction cycle (De Filippis & Ziegler, 1993;Latzko & Gibbs, 1969), and have conducted case studies on carbon reports (Wang et al, 2012), carbon reduction policies and emission reduction across various firm types (Bows & Anderson, 2007;Hickman, Ashiru, & Banister, 2010;Kolk & Levy, 2004;Kuo, Yu, & Chang, 2015;Liu, Zong, Zhao, Chen, & Wang, 2014). A number of other topics have included the following: carbon emission and financial/economic/environmental performance (Brzobohatý & Janský, 2010;Sariannidis, Zafeiriou, Giannarakis, & Arabatzis, 2013), CO 2 emission trading and firm profits and prices (Smale, Hartley, Hepburn, Ward, & Grubb, 2006), agricultural carbon emissions and agricultural economic development (Li, 2012;Xiong, Yang, Huo, & Zhao, 2016), as well as CO 2 emissions, energy consumption and economic development (Govindaraju & Tang, 2013;Halicioglu, 2009;Magazzino, 2016;Melike & Tahsin, 2016;Wang, Li, Fang, & Zhou, 2016).…”

The Drivers of Corporate Water Disclosure in Enhancing Information Transparency

“…In fact, water stewardship has become a critical aspect that investment institutions look at in the evaluation of a firm's performance [6]. Through engagement in water stewardship, which involves identification of weaknesses and disclosure of information on water-related risks and opportunities [8], businesses can achieve sustainable water use [17] and be better prepared for sustainable development [18].…”

Information Disclosure on Hazards from Industrial Water Pollution Incidents: Latent Resistance and Countermeasures in China

“…Nearly 40% of the sample listed companies in China failed to offer basic EID, and corporate EID was aimed to cater to the government's environmental concerns [41]. Chinese environmentally sensitive industries have a tendency to disclose more information about their environmental protection actions [42]. Some disclosed information appeared to be insufficient to reveal practical information and fulfill stakeholders' requirements [43].…”