Abstract
A review of relevant academic studies has yielded a range of environmental accounting disclosure determinants. This review aims to provide a comprehensive view of the determinants of environmental accounting disclosure. This paper reviews published environmental accounting disclosure studies to explore the effect of various factors on environmental disclosure. The findings show that the company’s environmental performance, size, and profitability play a critical role in the environmental disclosure process. This paper notes that the determinants of environmental disclosure are varied, changeable, and limitless. It is desired that this structured examination of the factors influencing the current and future status of environmental accounting disclosure will provide a sufficient overview of the critical issues and concerns that must be addressed in order to comprehend and advance the critical application of environmental accounting disclosure in social, economic, and environmental development. This article is expected to have an impact on future policies, which will help to improve the disclosure process. This paper contributes to the ongoing debate about the environmental disclosure mechanisms that lead to more disclosure of the determinants of environmental accounting disclosure and highlights the need for a new approach on these issues.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Gray, R., et al.: Social and environmental disclosure and corporate characteristics: a research note and extension. J. Bus. Financ. Account. 28(3–4), 327–356 (2001)
Agyemang, A.O., Yusheng, K., Twum, A.K., Ayamba, E.C., Kongkuah, M., Musah, M.: Trend and relationship between environmental accounting disclosure and environmental performance for mining companies listed in China. Environ. Dev. Sustain. 23(8), 12192–12216 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-01164-4
Nor, N.M., et al.: The effects of environmental disclosure on financial performance in Malaysia. Procedia Econ. Financ. 35, 117–126 (2016)
Maclaren, V.W.: Urban sustainability reporting. J. Am. Plann. Assoc. 62(2), 184–202 (1996)
Xiang, X., et al.: Confession or justification: the effects of environmental disclosure on corporate green innovation in China. Corp. Soc. Responsib. Environ. Manag. 27(6), 2735–2750 (2020)
Mikkilä, M., Toppinen, A.: Corporate responsibility reporting by large pulp and paper companies. Forest Policy Econ. 10(7–8), 500–506 (2008)
Albertini, E.: A descriptive analysis of environmental disclosure: a longitudinal study of French companies. J. Bus. Ethics 121(2), 233–254 (2014)
Boura, M., Tsouknidis, D.A., Lioukas, S.: The role of pro-social orientation and national context in corporate environmental disclosure. Eur. Manag. Rev. 17(4), 1027–1040 (2020)
Peattie, K., Ringer, A.: Management and the environment in the UK and Germany: a comparison. Eur. Manag. J. 12(2), 216–225 (1994)
Alam, R., Zhang, Z., Al Hazaima, H.: Impact of corporate social responsibility disclosures on financial performance (2018)
Hazaima, H., Low, M., Allen, J.: Impact of corporate social responsibility disclosures on financial performance–a Jordanian case study. Int. J. Crit. Account. 9(5–6), 433–459 (2017)
Lee, K.H., Cin, B.C., Lee, E.Y.: Environmental responsibility and firm performance: the application of an environmental, social and governance model. Bus. Strateg. Environ. 25(1), 40–53 (2016)
Weber, O.: Environmental, social and governance reporting in China. Bus. Strateg. Environ. 23(5), 303–317 (2014)
Kolk, A., Van Tulder, R.: International business, corporate social responsibility and sustainable development. Int. Bus. Rev. 19(2), 119–125 (2010)
Juhmani, O.: Determinants of corporate social and environmental disclosure on websites: the case of Bahrain. Univ. J. Account. Financ. 2(4), 77–87 (2014)
Murphy, D., McGrath, D.: ESG reporting-class actions, deterrence, and avoidance. Sustain. Account. Manag. Policy J. 4(2), 216–235 (2013)
Velte, P., Stawinoga, M.: Empirical research on corporate social responsibility assurance (CSRA): a literature review. J. Bus. Econ. 87(8), 1017–1066 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11573-016-0844-2
Dias, A., et al.: Corporate social responsibility disclosure in small and medium-sized entities and large companies. Soc. Responsib. J. 15(2), 137–154 (2018)
Cormier, D., Magnan, M.: The economic relevance of environmental disclosure and its impact on corporate legitimacy: an empirical investigation. Bus. Strateg. Environ. 24(6), 431–450 (2015)
Senn, J., Giordano-Spring, S.: The limits of environmental accounting disclosure: enforcement of regulations, standards and interpretative strategies. Account. Audit. Account. J. 33(6), 1367–1393 (2020)
Cormier, D., Magnan, M.: Corporate environmental disclosure strategies: determinants, costs and benefits. J. Account. Audit. Financ. 14(4), 429–451 (1999)
Campbell, D.: A longitudinal and cross-sectional analysis of environmental disclosure in UK companies—a research note. Br. Account. Rev. 36(1), 107–117 (2004)
Bellamy, M.A., Dhanorkar, S., Subramanian, R.: Administrative environmental innovations, supply network structure, and environmental disclosure. J. Oper. Manag. 66, 895–932 (2020)
Larrinaga, C., et al.: Accountability and accounting regulation: the case of the Spanish environmental disclosure standard. Eur. Account. Rev. 11(4), 723–740 (2002)
Baalouch, F., Ayadi, S.D., Hussainey, K.: A study of the determinants of environmental disclosure quality: evidence from French listed companies. J. Manag. Gov. 23(4), 939–971 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10997-019-09474-0
Freedman, M., Patten, D.M.: Evidence on the pernicious effect of financial report environmental disclosure. In: Accounting Forum. Elsevier (2004)
Fatima, A., Abdullah, N., Sulaiman, M.: Environmental disclosure quality: examining the impact of the stock exchange of Malaysia’s listing requirements. Soc. Responsib. J. 11, 904–922 (2015)
Huisingh, D., et al.: Recent advances in carbon emissions reduction: policies, technologies, monitoring, assessment and modeling. J. Clean. Prod. 103, 1–12 (2015)
Branco, M.C., Eugénio, T., Ribeiro, J.: Environmental disclosure in response to public perception of environmental threats: the case of co-incineration in Portugal. J. Commun. Manag. 12, 136–151 (2008)
Dahmash, F., et al.: The effect of a firm’s internal factors on its profitability: evidence from Jordan (2021)
Chaklader, B., Gulati, P.A.: A study of corporate environmental disclosure practices of companies doing business in India. Glob. Bus. Rev. 16(2), 321–335 (2015)
Lu, L.W., Taylor, M.E.: A study of the relationships among environmental performance, environmental disclosure, and financial performance. Asian Rev. Account. 26(1), 107–130 (2018)
Khlif, H., Guidara, A., Souissi, M.: Corporate social and environmental disclosure and corporate performance: evidence from South Africa and Morocco. J. Account. Emerg. Econ. 5(1), 51–69 (2015)
de Villiers, C., van Staden, C.: New Zealand shareholder attitudes towards corporate environmental disclosure. Pac. Account. Rev. 24, 186–210 (2012)
Burch, S.: Contrasting realities: corporate environmental disclosure and stakeholder-released information. Soc. Environ. Account. J. 34(2), 128–129 (2014)
Lu, Y., Abeysekera, I.: What do stakeholders care about? Investigating corporate social and environmental disclosure in China. J. Bus. Ethics 144(1), 169–184 (2017)
Tilt, C.A.: Linking environmental activity and environmental disclosure in an organisational change framework. J. Account. Organ. Change 2, 4–24 (2006)
Fernandes, S.M., Bornia, A.C.,. Nakamura, L.R.: The influence of boards of directors on environmental disclosure. Manag. Decis. 57(9), 2358–2382 (2018)
Clarkson, P.M., et al.: Revisiting the relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: an empirical analysis. Account. Organ. Soc. 33(4–5), 303–327 (2008)
van de Burgwal, D., Vieira, R.J.O.: Environmental disclosure determinants in Dutch listed companies. Revista Contabilidade & Finanças 25, 60–78 (2014)
da Silva Monteiro, S.M., Aibar-Guzmán, B.: Determinants of environmental disclosure in the annual reports of large companies operating in Portugal. Corp. Soc. Responsib. Environ. Manag. 17(4), 185–204 (2010)
Ananzeh, H., Alshurafat, H., Hussainey, K.: Do firm characteristics and ownership structure affect corporate philanthropic contributions in Jordan? J. Financ. Report. Account. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1108/JFRA-08-2020-0249
Mallin, C., Michelon, G., Raggi, D.: Monitoring intensity and stakeholders’ orientation: how does governance affect social and environmental disclosure? J. Bus. Ethics 114(1), 29–43 (2013)
Cormier, D., Magnan, M., Van Velthoven, B.: Environmental disclosure quality in large German companies: economic incentives, public pressures or institutional conditions? Eur. Account. Rev. 14(1), 3–39 (2005)
Lu, Y., Abeysekera, I.: Stakeholders’ power, corporate characteristics, and social and environmental disclosure: evidence from China. J. Clean. Prod. 64, 426–436 (2014)
Petticrew, M., Roberts, H.: Systematic Reviews in the Social Sciences: A Practical Guide. Wiley, New York (2008)
Prasad, M., Mishra, T., Kalro, A.D.: Environmental disclosure by Indian companies: an empirical study. Environ. Dev. Sustain. 19(5), 1999–2022 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-016-9840-5
Ananzeh, H., et al.: The impact of corporate governance on forward-looking CSR disclosure. J. Financ. Report. Account. (2022)
Hassan, A., Guo, X.: The relationships between reporting format, environmental disclosure and environmental performance: an empirical study. J. Appl. Account. Res. 18(4), 425–444 (2017)
Kansal, M., Joshi, M., Batra, G.S.: Determinants of corporate social responsibility disclosures: evidence from India. Adv. Account. 30(1), 217–229 (2014)
García-Sánchez, I.M., Martínez-Ferrero, J.: Independent directors and CSR disclosures: the moderating effects of proprietary costs. Corp. Soc. Responsib. Environ. Manag. 24(1), 28–43 (2017)
Liao, L., Luo, L., Tang, Q.: Gender diversity, board independence, environmental committee and greenhouse gas disclosure. Br. Account. Rev. 47(4), 409–424 (2015)
Deegan, C., Gordon, B.: A study of the environmental disclosure practices of Australian corporations. Account. Bus. Res. 26(3), 187–199 (1996)
Al-Tuwaijri, S.A., Christensen, T.E., Hughes II, K.: The relations among environmental disclosure, environmental performance, and economic performance: a simultaneous equations approach. Account. Organ. Soc. 29(5–6), 447–471 (2004)
Iatridis, G.E.: Environmental disclosure quality: evidence on environmental performance, corporate governance and value relevance. Emerg. Mark. Rev. 14, 55–75 (2013)
Radu, C., Francoeur, C.: Does innovation drive environmental disclosure? A new insight into sustainable development. Bus. Strateg. Environ. 26(7), 893–911 (2017)
Sutantoputra, A.W., Lindorff, M., Johnson, E.P.: The relationship between environmental performance and environmental disclosure. Australas. J. Environ. Manag. 19(1), 51–65 (2012)
Patten, D.M.: The relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: a research note. Account. Organ. Soc. 27(8), 763–773 (2002)
Lyon, T.P., Maxwell, J.W.: Greenwash: Corporate environmental disclosure under threat of audit. J. Econ. Manag. Strateg. 20(1), 3–41 (2011)
Guidry, R.P., Patten, D.M.: Voluntary disclosure theory and financial control variables: an assessment of recent environmental disclosure research. In: Accounting Forum. Elsevier (2012)
Fontana, S., et al.: Does environmental performance affect companies’ environmental disclosure? Meas. Bus. Excell. 19(3), 42–57 (2015)
Andrikopoulos, A., Kriklani, N.: Environmental disclosure and financial characteristics of the firm: the case of Denmark. Corp. Soc. Responsib. Environ. Manag. 20(1), 55–64 (2013)
Rabi, A.M.: Board characteristics and environmental disclosure: evidence from Jordan. Int. J. Bus. Manag. 14(2), 1–57 (2021)
Chandok, R.I.S., Singh, S.: Empirical study on determinants of environmental disclosure: approach of selected conglomerates. Manag. Audit. J. 32, 332–355 (2017)
Déjean, F., Martinez, I.: Environmental disclosure and the cost of equity: the French case. Account. Eur. 6(1), 57–80 (2009)
Ohidoa, T., Omokhudu, O.O., Oserogho, I.: Determinants of environmental disclosure. Int. J. Ad. Acad. Res. Soc. Manag. Sci. 2(8), 49–58 (2016)
Smith, M., Yahya, K., Amiruddin, A.M.: Environmental disclosure and performance reporting in Malaysia. Asian Rev. Account. 15, 185–199 (2007)
Aerts, W., Cormier, D., Magnan, M.: Corporate environmental disclosure, financial markets and the media: an international perspective. Ecol. Econ. 64(3), 643–659 (2008)
Wichianrak, J., et al.: Soft law, institutional signalling–Thai corporate environmental disclosures. Soc. Responsib. J. 18(2), 205–220 (2021)
D’Amico, E., et al.: Factors influencing corporate environmental disclosure. Bus. Strateg. Environ. 25(3), 178–192 (2016)
Raimo, N., de Nuccio, E., Vitolla, F.: Corporate governance and environmental disclosure through integrated reporting. Meas. Bus. Excell. (2021, ahead-of-print)
Rupley, K.H., Brown, D., Marshall, R.S.: Governance, media and the quality of environmental disclosure. J. Account. Public Policy 31(6), 610–640 (2012)
Gerged, A.M.: Factors affecting corporate environmental disclosure in emerging markets: the role of corporate governance structures. Bus. Strateg. Environ. 30(1), 609–629 (2021)
Brammer, S., Pavelin, S.: Factors influencing the quality of corporate environmental disclosure. Bus. Strateg. Environ. 17(2), 120–136 (2008)
Plumlee, M., et al.: Voluntary environmental disclosure quality and firm value: further evidence. J. Account. Public Policy 34(4), 336–361 (2015)
Abdullatif, M., Alhadab, M., Mansour, I.: Determinants of related party transactions in Jordan: financial and governance factors. Australas. Account. Bus. Financ. J. 13(1), 44–75 (2019)
Prado-Lorenzo, J.-M., Garcia-Sanchez, I.-M.: The role of the board of directors in disseminating relevant information on greenhouse gases. J. Bus. Ethics 97(3), 391–424 (2010)
Patten, D.M.: Media exposure, public policy pressure, and environmental disclosure: an examination of the impact of tri data availability. In: Accounting Forum. Taylor & Francis (2002)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Suileek, H.A., Alshurafat, H. (2023). The Determinants of Environmental Accounting Disclosure: A Review of the Literature. In: Alareeni, B., Hamdan, A. (eds) Explore Business, Technology Opportunities and Challenges After the Covid-19 Pandemic. ICBT 2022. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 495. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08954-1_42
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08954-1_42
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-08953-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-08954-1
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)