Abstract
We explore corporate environmental accountability by examining how carbon emissions affect voluntary climate-related information disclosure based on TCFD principles. Using computerized textual analysis to measure such climate-related disclosure, our results show that firms with higher levels of carbon emissions disclose more climate-related information. This relation is stronger in firms belonging to carbon-intensive industries, such as energy, materials, and utilities. We also examine this relationship at the category level for Governance, Strategy, Risk Management, and Metrics and Targets, finding that carbon emissions drive disclosure in all categories except in Governance. Overall, our findings indicate that high carbon emitting firms appear to discharge their corporate accountability by increasing climate-related disclosure, consistent with legitimizing their potentially unethical actions and submitting to stakeholder and societal pressure.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Alignments with other frameworks can be assessed at: https://www.tcfdhub.org/ignment/
Computerized textual analysis refers to the textual analysis technique which uses computing power to extract relevant texts from big data and convert the qualitative information into climate disclosure scores.
Specifically, the U.S. SEC issued the Commission Guidance Regarding Disclosure Related to Climate Change in 2010, which provides interpretive guidelines related to climate change for firms under the existing SEC disclosure requirements. UK is considered as highly polluting nation with severe environmental issues (Giannarakis et al., 2017; Liao et al., 2015). The UK government made updates to The Company Act Regulation 2013 and 2016 that listing firms are mandated to reveal nonfinancial information on future development and performance. The Financial Conduct Authority in UK also released a proposal for certain listed firms to state whether they made disclosures consistent with the TCFD recommendations in their annual financial reports. The Australian and Canadian governments have weighed in with new guidance on climate change disclosure in alignment with TCFD reporting framework. Therefore, firms from these four countries are pioneers in taking initiatives to respond to climate change issues.
For example, in line with the Paris Agreement, the UK and other EU members jointly acted to reduce GHG emissions by at least 40% by 2030 and at least 80% by 2050 relative to the 1990 level. Canada and Australia set a target of 30% and 28% GHG emission reduction by 2030 while the US agreed to a 28% target of reduction by 2025 compared to the 2005 level. Hence, among the developed countries, these four countries have made significant commitments to reduce GHG emissions.
Firms that do not disclose climate information (i.e., zero CCSS, see Climate-related Information Disclosure Measure: Step 2) are filtered out from the sample in a year.
The GHG Protocol defines Scope 1 as direct GHG emission from source owned or controlled by the company; Scope 2 as indirect GHG emission from the generation of purchased electricity consumed by the firm.
The number of emission types included in Scope 3 have maintained at constant 17 types since 2013 according to CDP database, as described: 1. Purchased goods and services; 2. Capital goods; 3. Fuel-and-energy-related activities (not included in Scope 1 or 2); 4. Upstream transportation and distribution; 5. Waste generated in operations; 6. Business travel; 7. Employee commuting; 8. Upstream leased assets; 9. Downstream transportation and distribution; 10. Processing of sold products; 11. Use of sold products; 12. End of life treatment of sold products; 13. Downstream leased assets; 14. Franchises; 15. Investments; 16. Other (upstream); 17. Other (downstream).
Alternatively, we assume firms without Scope 3 emission data (i.e., not reporting) have zero emission in a year. We calculate carbon emission as summation of Scope 1, 2 and 3 and redo all regressions in our paper. We find that our results do not alter. These results are not reported but will be available upon request.
We use annual reports, sustainability reports and stand-alone climate change reports to construct an enriched vocabulary. However, in each country sample, firm-level CCSS is estimated using only annual reports. The International Integrated Reporting Council (hereafter IIRC) encourages firms to adopt integrated reporting, which aims to present financial reporting and sustainability reporting in annual reports. More specifically, IIRC (2019a, 2019b) reports approximately 50% of the 200 largest Australian listed firms leverage the principles of integrated reporting in annual reports by including more sustainability information. Additionally, ASIC (2018) constructed a review of reports of Australian listed firms, including annual reports, sustainability reports and climate change reports and found over 40% of reports of ASX300 firms contain climate change information between 2011 and 2017, which is consistent with our findings. Moreover, the Companies Act 2006 Regulations 2013 mandates UK listed firms to issue a strategic report disclosing information on environmental matters and sustainability when material in their annual reports. We find supporting evidence of over 90% of firms in UK sample report climate change information in their annual (or integrated) reports. Our results also show that on average, 50% of firms in Canada disclose climate-related information in the annual reports, with the figure being 40% in US firms between 2010 and 2018. Therefore, it suggests to a certain extent an increasing proportion of annual reports are being integrated to incorporate more sustainability information. Overall, excluding sustainability reports might have little effect on the issue that we possibly omit the firms reporting climate change information only in sustainability reports. However, we also acknowledge this as a limitation that we do not include sustainability reports or stand-alone climate change reports in our sample.
It is not difficult for information extraction since TCFD supporters tend to disclose climate change information in line with four categories under a separate and structured section. In this study, we copy all textual climate-related information under each category and save them in the word files for text processing in the next step.
We set n to two and three as suggested by Gentzkow et al. (2019), which produces pairs of two and three consecutive words.
We consider the tokenized words by bigrams used to differentiate firms whether they report climate-related information or not. Compared with single-word terms that are insufficient to capture the textual patterns, the n-gram modeling can generate richer representations for climate change information and avoid capturing noised terms, such as ‘investment climate’ that are irrelevant to climate change information.
tf is calculated as the number of a word’s occurrence in a document; idf is a measurement of whether a word is common or not across all documents, calculated as the logarithm of the ratio of total documents to the number of documents containing a given word. f_(t,d) is the occurrence of term t in a document; N is the number of total documents; n_t is the number of documents containing term t.
\(Similarity score=cosine\left({tf\_idf}_{CCV},{tf\_idf}_{firm,i}\right)=\frac{\left({tf\_idf}_{CCV,j}\right)\left({tf\_idf}_{firm,i,j}\right)}{\left|{tf\_idf}_{CCV,j}\right|\left|{tf\_idf}_{firm,i,j}\right|},\) where, \({tf\_idf}_{CCV,j}\) is the \(tf\_idf\) of term j in CCV; \({tf\_idf}_{firm,i,j}\) is the \(tf\_idf\) of term j in firm \(i\)’s annual report. Hence, it ranges from zero to one.
FOG = 0.4 * [average sentence length + 100 * (the number of words with 3 syllables or more / the number of words)]; SMOG = 1.043 * sqrt(30*the number of words with 3 syllables or more / the number of sentence) + 3.1291.
We also use the carbon emission intensity variable of Luo (2019a, 2019b) for robustness, calculated as natural logarithm of the ratio of total emission to firm sales. Compared to other two carbon emission measures, using scaled carbon emission by sales does not alter our key finding regarding the relation between climate-related information disclosure and carbon emissions. The regression results are not reported in the paper but are available upon request.
We control for the effect of Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) by replacing country fixed effect with a ETS dummy variable in the regression model. We find that ETS has positive effect on climate change disclosure but presence of ETS dummy variable does not alter our regression results. The regression results are not reported in the manuscript but will be available upon request.
This finding is not conflicted with our main results since environmental performance, proxied by ENVSCORE from Datastream indicates relative rating of a company based on reported environmental information. It evaluates the effects of company activities regarding resource utilization on overall environment including air, land, and water usage.
We run additional regressions using one-year lagged carbon emission variables and the models from Tables 8, 9. The results obtained using one-year lagged carbon emission variables are highly consistent with the results obtained using contemporaneous carbon emission variables. The additional results are not presented in this manuscript and will be available upon request.
See Fig. 2 for carbon emissions in the four countries.
We also replace TCO2 with ADJTCO2 and rerun all regressions, presenting similar results. The additional results are not presented in this manuscript and will be available upon request.
Heckman stage 1 test results are not reported in this manuscript, but they are available upon request. Inverse Mills ratios (IMR) are estimated in Heckman stage 1 test and used as an independent variable in Heckman stage 2 test. A significant IMR indicates significant self-selection bias in the sample.
There is a distinction between Supporter dummy in Table 13 and SUPPORT dummy in Appendix 3. SUPPORT equals to 1 if the firm is a TCFD supporter in year t since SUPPORT dummy depends on the date when the firm pledges support for TCFD. For example, if the firm expresses their support in 2017-year, SUPPORT dummy will equal to 1 in 2017 and 2018 years only whereas Supporter dummy equals to 1 in all years between 2010 and 2018. Creating Supporter dummy for the difference-in-difference test is to avoid the technical issue that Supporter would be the same as the interaction variable, Supporter* Event, in the difference-in-difference test.
References
Al-Tuwaijri, S. A., Christensen, T. E., & Hughes Ii, K. (2004). The relations among environmental disclosure, environmental performance, and economic performance: a simultaneous equations approach. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 29, 447–471.
Al-Tuwaijri, et al. (2004). SA Al-Tuwaijri TE Christensen K Hughes Ii 2004 The relations among environmental disclosure, environmental performance, and economic performance: A simultaneous equations approach Accounting. Organizations and Society, 29(447), 471.
Ali, W., Frynas, J. G., & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Determinants of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in developed and developing countries: A literature review. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 24, 273–294.
Ali et al., 2017a W Ali JG Frynas Z Mahmood 2017a Determinants of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in developed and developing countries: A literature review Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 24 273 294
Alt, E., Díez-de-Castro, E. P. & Lloréns-Montes, F. J. J. J. o. B. E. 2015. Linking employee stakeholders to environmental performance: The role of proactive environmental strategies and shared vision. 128, 167-181.
Alt et al., 2015aE Alt EP Díez-de-Castro FJJJ Lloréns-Montes 2015a Linking employee stakeholders to environmental performance: The role of proactive environmental strategies and shared vision Journal of Business Ethics 128 167 181
Amihud, Y. (2002). Illiquidity and stock returns: cross-section and time-series effects. Journal of Financial Markets, 5, 31–56.
Amihud, 2002b Y Amihud 2002b Illiquidity and stock returns: Cross-section and time-series effects Journal of Financial Markets 5 31 56
Aragón-Correa, J. A., Marcus, A., & Hurtado-Torres, N. (2016). The natural environmental strategies of international firms: old controversies and new evidence on performance and disclosure. Academy of Management Perspectives, 30, 24–39.
Aragón-Correa et al., 2016 JA Aragón-Correa A Marcus N Hurtado-Torres 2016 The natural environmental strategies of international firms: Old controversies and new evidence on performance and disclosure Academy of Management Perspectives 30 24 39
ASIC 2018. Report 593 Climate risk disclosure by Australia’s listed companies (September 2018).
ASIC, 2018 ASIC 2018. Report 593 Climate risk disclosure by Australia’s listed companies (September 2018).
Bakaki, Z., & Bernauer, T. (2017). Do global climate summits influence public awareness and policy preferences concerning climate change? Environmental Politics, 26, 1–26.
Bakaki and Bernauer. (2017). Z Bakaki T Bernauer 2017 Do global climate summits influence public awareness and policy preferences concerning climate change? Environmental Politics, 26(1), 26.
Bansal, P. (2005). Evolving sustainably: A longitudinal study of corporate sustainable development. Strategic Management Journal, 26, 197–218.
Bansal, 2005b P Bansal 2005b Evolving sustainably: A longitudinal study of corporate sustainable development Strategic Management Journal 26 197 218
Ben-Amar, W., Chang, M., & McIlkenny, P. (2017). Board gender diversity and corporate response to sustainability initiatives: Evidence from the carbon disclosure project. Journal of Business Ethics, 142, 369–383.
Ben-Amar et al., 2017b W Ben-Amar M Chang P McIlkenny 2017b Board gender diversity and corporate response to sustainability initiatives: Evidence from the carbon disclosure project Journal of Business Ethics 142 369 383
Berkman, H., Jona, J. & Soderstrom, N. S. 2019. Firm-Specific Climate Risk and Market Valuation. Available at SSRN.
Berkman et al., 2019a Berkman, H., Jona, J. & Soderstrom, N. S. 2019a. Firm-Specific Climate Risk and Market Valuation. Available at SSRN.
Berrone, P., & Gomez-Mejia, L. R. (2009). Environmental performance and executive compensation: An integrated agency-institutional perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 52, 103–126.
Berrone and Gomez-Mejia, 2009 P Berrone LR Gomez-Mejia 2009 Environmental performance and executive compensation: An integrated agency-institutional perspective Academy of Management Journal 52 103 126
Besio, C. & Pronzini, A. J. J. o. B. E. 2014a. Morality, ethics, and values outside and inside organizations: An example of the discourse on climate change. 119, 287-300.
Besio, et al. (2014). Besio, C. & Pronzini, A. J. J. o. B. E. 2014. Morality, ethics, and values outside and inside organizations: An example of the discourse on climate change., 119, 287–300.
Bingler, J. A., Kraus, M. & Leippold, M. 2021. Cheap Talk and Cherry-Picking: What ClimateBert has to say on Corporate Climate Risk Disclosures. Available at SSRN.
Bingler et al., 2021a Bingler, J. A., Kraus, M. & Leippold, M. 2021a. Cheap Talk and Cherry-Picking: What ClimateBert has to say on Corporate Climate Risk Disclosures. Available at SSRN.
Buehlmaier, M. M., & Whited, T. M. (2018). Are financial constraints priced? Evidence from textual analysis. The Review of Financial Studies, 31, 2693–2728.
Buehlmaier and Whited. (2018). MM Buehlmaier TM Whited 2018 Are financial constraints priced? Evidence from textual analysis The Review of Financial Studies, 31(2693), 2728.
Bui, B., Houqe, M. N., & Zaman, M. (2020). Climate governance effects on carbon disclosure and performance. The British Accounting Review, 52, 100880.
Bui et al., 2020 B Bui MN Houqe M Zaman 2020 Climate governance effects on carbon disclosure and performance The British Accounting Review 52 100880
Busch, T., Johnson, M. & Pioch, T. 2020. Corporate carbon performance data: Quo vadis? Journal of Industrial Ecology, 1-14.
Busch et al., 2020a Busch, T., Johnson, M. & Pioch, T. 2020a. Corporate carbon performance data: Quo vadis? Journal of Industrial Ecology, 1–14.
Cannon, J. N., Ling, Z., Wang, Q., & Watanabe, O. V. (2020). 10-K Disclosure of Corporate Social Responsibility and Firms’ Competitive Advantages. European Accounting Review, 29, 85–113.
Cannon et al., 2020 JN Cannon Z Ling Q Wang OV Watanabe 2020 10-K Disclosure of Corporate Social Responsibility and Firms’ Competitive Advantages European Accounting Review 29 85 113
Carney, M. 2019a. TCFD: strengthening the foundations of sustainable finance. Proceedings of the TCFD Summit.
Carney, 2019b Carney, M. 2019b. TCFD: strengthening the foundations of sustainable finance. Proceedings of the TCFD Summit.
Carpenter, V. L., & Feroz, E. H. (2001). Institutional theory and accounting rule choice: an analysis of four US state governments’ decisions to adopt generally accepted accounting principles. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 26, 565–596.
Carpenter and Feroz. (2001). VL Carpenter EH Feroz 2001 Institutional theory and accounting rule choice: An analysis of four US state governments’ decisions to adopt generally accepted accounting principles Accounting. Organizations and Society, 26(565), 596.
Carroll, A. B. (1991). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders. Business Horizons, 34, 39–48.
Carroll, 1991b AB Carroll 1991b The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders Business Horizons 34 39 48
Chan, M. C., Watson, J., & Woodliff, D. (2014). Corporate governance quality and CSR disclosures. Journal of Business Ethics, 125, 59–73.
Chan et al., 2014a MC Chan J Watson D Woodliff 2014a Corporate governance quality and CSR disclosures Journal of Business Ethics 125 59 73
Chen, S., & Bouvain, P. (2009). Is corporate responsibility converging? A comparison of corporate responsibility reporting in the USA, UK, Australia, and Germany. Journal of Business Ethics, 87, 299–317.
Chen and Bouvain. (2009). S Chen P Bouvain 2009 Is corporate responsibility converging? A comparison of corporate responsibility reporting in the USA, UK, Australia, and Germany Journal of Business Ethics, 87(299), 317.
Chen, S., Miao, B. & Shevlin, T. J. J. o. A. R. 2015a. A new measure of disclosure quality: The level of disaggregation of accounting data in annual reports. 53, 1017-1054.
Chen, et al. (2015). Chen, S., Miao, B. & Shevlin, T. J. J. o. A. R. 2015. A new measure of disclosure quality: The level of disaggregation of accounting data in annual reports., 53, 1017–1054.
Cheng, E. C., & Courtenay, S. M. (2006). Board composition, regulatory regime and voluntary disclosure. The International Journal of Accounting, 41, 262–289.
Cheng and Courtenay, 2006b EC Cheng SM Courtenay 2006b Board composition, regulatory regime and voluntary disclosure The International Journal of Accounting 41 262 289
Choi, B. B., Lee, D. & Psaros, J. 2013. An analysis of Australian company carbon emission disclosures. Pacific Accounting Review.
Choi et al., 2013a Choi, B. B., Lee, D. & Psaros, J. 2013a. An analysis of Australian company carbon emission disclosures. Pacific Accounting Review.
Clarkson, P. M., Li, Y., Richardson, G. D., & Vasvari, F. P. (2008). Revisiting the relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: An empirical analysis. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 33, 303–327.
Clarkson, et al. (2008). PM Clarkson Y Li GD Richardson FP Vasvari 2008 Revisiting the relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: An empirical analysis Accounting. Organizations and Society, 33(303), 327.
Clarkson, P. M., Ponn, J., Richardson, G. D., Rudzicz, F., Tsang, A., & Wang, J. (2020). A textual analysis of US corporate social responsibility reports. Abacus, 56, 3–34.
Clarkson et al., 2020b PM Clarkson J Ponn GD Richardson F Rudzicz A Tsang J Wang 2020b A textual analysis of US corporate social responsibility reports Abacus 56 3 34
Daske, H., Hail, L., Leuz, C., & Verdi, R. (2008). Mandatory IFRS reporting around the world: Early evidence on the economic consequences. Journal of Accounting Research, 46, 1085–1142.
Daske et al., 2008 H Daske L Hail C Leuz R Verdi 2008 Mandatory IFRS reporting around the world: Early evidence on the economic consequences Journal of Accounting Research 46 1085 1142
Datt, R. R., Luo, L., & Tang, Q. (2019). Corporate voluntary carbon disclosure strategy and carbon performance in the USA. Accounting Research Journal, 32, 417–435.
Datt et al., 2019b RR Datt L Luo Q Tang 2019b Corporate voluntary carbon disclosure strategy and carbon performance in the USA Accounting Research Journal 32 417 435
Dawkins, C., & Fraas, J. W. (2011). Coming clean: The impact of environmental performance and visibility on corporate climate change disclosure. Journal of business ethics, 100, 303–322.
Dawkins and Fraas, 2011 C Dawkins JW Fraas 2011 Coming clean: The impact of environmental performance and visibility on corporate climate change disclosure Journal of Business Ethics 100 303 322
De Villiers, C., & Van Staden, C. J. (2006). Can less environmental disclosure have a legitimising effect? Evidence from Africa. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 31, 763–781.
Villiers and Staden. (2006). C Villiers De CJ Staden Van 2006 Can less environmental disclosure have a legitimising effect? Evidence from Africa Accounting, Organizations and Society, 31(763), 781.
De Villiers, C., & Van Staden, C. J. (2011). Where firms choose to disclose voluntary environmental information. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 30, 504–525.
Villiers and Staden, 2011b C Villiers De CJ Staden Van 2011b Where firms choose to disclose voluntary environmental information Journal of Accounting and Public Policy 30 504 525
Deegan, C. 2009a. Financial accounting theory (NS. North Ryde, Ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Deegan, 2009b Deegan, C. 2009b. Financial accounting theory (NS. North Ryde, Ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Deegan, C., & Rankin, M. (1997). The materiality of environmental information to users of annual reports. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 10, 562–583.
Deegan and Rankin. (1997). C Deegan M Rankin 1997 The materiality of environmental information to users of annual reports Accounting. Auditing & Accountability Journal, 10(562), 583.
Deegan, C., Rankin, M., & Voght, P. (2000). Firms’ Disclosure Reactions to Major Social Incidents: Australian Evidence. Accounting Forum, 24, 101–130.
Deegan et al., 2000 C Deegan M Rankin P Voght 2000 Firms' Disclosure Reactions to Major Social Incidents: Australian Evidence Accounting Forum 24 101 130
Depoers, F., Jeanjean, T., & Jérôme, T. (2016). Voluntary disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions: Contrasting the carbon disclosure project and corporate reports. Journal of Business Ethics, 134, 445–461.
Depoers et al., 2016a F Depoers T Jeanjean T Jérôme 2016a Voluntary disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions: Contrasting the carbon disclosure project and corporate reports Journal of Business Ethics 134 445 461
Dhaliwal, D. S., Radhakrishnan, S., Tsang, A., & Yang, Y. G. (2012). Nonfinancial disclosure and analyst forecast accuracy: International evidence on corporate social responsibility disclosure. The Accounting Review, 87, 723–759.
Dhaliwal et al., 2012a DS Dhaliwal S Radhakrishnan A Tsang YG Yang 2012a Nonfinancial disclosure and analyst forecast accuracy: International evidence on corporate social responsibility disclosure The Accounting Review 87 723 759
Doan, M. H., & Sassen, R. (2020). The relationship between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: A meta-analysis. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 24, 1140–1157.
Doan and Sassen, 2020b MH Doan R Sassen 2020b The relationship between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: A meta-analysis Journal of Industrial Ecology 24 1140 1157
Dragomir, V. D. (2010). Environmentally sensitive disclosures and financial performance in a European setting. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 6, 359–388.
Dragomir, 2010b VD Dragomir 2010b Environmentally sensitive disclosures and financial performance in a European setting Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change 6 359 388
Eberlein, B., & Matten, D. (2009). Business responses to climate change regulation in Canada and Germany: Lessons for MNCs from emerging economies. Journal of Business Ethics, 86, 241–255.
Eberlein and Matten, 2009 B Eberlein D Matten 2009 Business responses to climate change regulation in Canada and Germany: Lessons for MNCs from emerging economies Journal of Business Ethics 86 241 255
Eccles, R. G., Krzus, M. P. & Solano, C. 2019. A comparative analysis of integrated reporting in ten countries. Available at SSRN 3345590.
Eccles et al., 2019 Eccles, R. G., Krzus, M. P. & Solano, C. 2019. A comparative analysis of integrated reporting in ten countries. Available at SSRN 3345590.
Engle III, R. F., Giglio, S., Kelly, B. T., Lee, H. & Stroebel, J. 2019. Hedging climate change news. National Bureau of Economic Research.
Engle et al., 2019 Engle III, R. F., Giglio, S., Kelly, B. T., Lee, H. & Stroebel, J. 2019. Hedging climate change news. National Bureau of Economic Research.
Engle, R. F., Giglio, S., Kelly, B., Lee, H., & Stroebel, J. (2020). Hedging climate change news. The Review of Financial Studies, 33, 1184–1216.
Engle et al., 2020c RF Engle S Giglio B Kelly H Lee J Stroebel 2020c Hedging climate change news The Review of Financial Studies 33 1184 1216
Fernando, S., & Lawrence, S. (2014). A theoretical framework for CSR practices: Integrating legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory and institutional theory. Journal of Theoretical Accounting Research, 10, 149–178.
Fernando and Lawrence, 2014 S Fernando S Lawrence 2014 A theoretical framework for CSR practices: Integrating legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory and institutional theory Journal of Theoretical Accounting Research 10 149 178
Fontana, S., D’Amico, E., Coluccia, D., & Solimene, S. (2015). Does environmental performance affect companies’ environmental disclosure? Measuring Business Excellence, 19, 42–57.
Fontana, et al. (2015). S Fontana E D’Amico D Coluccia S Solimene 2015 Does environmental performance affect companies’ environmental disclosure? Measuring Business Excellence, 19(42), 57.
Freeman, R. E. (1984). Stakeholder management: a strategic approach (p. 46). Pitman.
Freeman, 1984b RE Freeman 1984b Stakeholder management: A strategic approach Pitman 46
Gentzkow, M., Kelly, B., & Taddy, M. (2019). Text as data. Journal of Economic Literature, 57, 535–74.
Gentzkow et al., 2019c M Gentzkow B Kelly M Taddy 2019c Text as data Journal of Economic Literature 57 535 574
Giannarakis, G., Zafeiriou, E., & Sariannidis, N. (2017). The impact of carbon performance on climate change disclosure. Business Strategy and the Environment, 26, 1078–1094.
Giannarakis et al., 2017 G Giannarakis E Zafeiriou N Sariannidis 2017 The impact of carbon performance on climate change disclosure Business Strategy and the Environment 26 1078 1094
Godfrey, C., Hoepner, A. G. F., Lin, M.-T. & Poon, S.-H. 2020. Women on boards and corporate social irresponsibility: evidence from a Granger style reverse causality minimisation procedure. The European Journal of Finance, 1-27.
Godfrey et al., 2020d Godfrey, C., Hoepner, A. G. F., Lin, M.-T. & Poon, S.-H. 2020d. Women on boards and corporate social irresponsibility: evidence from a Granger style reverse causality minimisation procedure. The European Journal of Finance, 1–27.
Godfrey, P. C., Merrill, C. B., & Hansen, J. M. (2009). The relationship between corporate social responsibility and shareholder value: An empirical test of the risk management hypothesis. Strategic Management Journal, 30, 425–445.
Godfrey et al., 2009 PC Godfrey CB Merrill JM Hansen 2009 The relationship between corporate social responsibility and shareholder value: An empirical test of the risk management hypothesis Strategic Management Journal 30 425 445
Guay, W., Samuels, D., & Taylor, D. (2016). Guiding through the fog: Financial statement complexity and voluntary disclosure. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 62, 234–269.
Guay et al., 2016b W Guay D Samuels D Taylor 2016b Guiding through the fog: Financial statement complexity and voluntary disclosure Journal of Accounting and Economics 62 234 269
Guthrie, J., Petty, R. & Ricceri, F. 2006. The voluntary reporting of intellectual capital: comparing evidence from Hong Kong and Australia. Journal of Intellectual Capital.
Guthrie et al., 2006 Guthrie, J., Petty, R. & Ricceri, F. 2006. The voluntary reporting of intellectual capital: comparing evidence from Hong Kong and Australia. Journal of Intellectual Capital.
Hahn, R., Reimsbach, D., & Schiemann, F. (2015). Organizations, climate change, and transparency: Reviewing the literature on carbon disclosure. Organization & Environment, 28, 80–102.
Hahn et al., 2015b R Hahn D Reimsbach F Schiemann 2015b Organizations, climate change, and transparency: Reviewing the literature on carbon disclosure Organization & Environment 28 80 102
Hansen, S., McMahon, M., & Prat, A. (2017). Transparency and deliberation within the FOMC: a computational linguistics approach. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 133, 801–870.
Hansen et al., 2017c S Hansen M McMahon A Prat 2017c Transparency and deliberation within the FOMC: A computational linguistics approach The Quarterly Journal of Economics 133 801 870
Heckman, J. J. 1979. Sample selection bias as a specification error. Econometrica: Journal of the econometric society, 153-161.
Heckman, 1979 Heckman, J. J. 1979. Sample selection bias as a specification error. Econometrica: Journal of the econometric society, 153–161.
Herold, D. M., Farr-Wharton, B., Lee, K. H., & Groschopf, W. (2019). The interaction between institutional and stakeholder pressures: Advancing a framework for categorising carbon disclosure strategies. Business Strategy & Development, 2, 77–90.
Herold et al., 2019d DM Herold B Farr-Wharton KH Lee W Groschopf 2019d The interaction between institutional and stakeholder pressures: Advancing a framework for categorising carbon disclosure strategies Business Strategy & Development 2 77 90
Howard-Grenville, J., Buckle, S. J., Hoskins, B. J. & George, G. J. A. o. m. j. 2014a. Climate change and management. 57, 615-623.
Howard-Grenville, et al. (2014). Howard-Grenville, J., Buckle, S. J., Hoskins, B. J. & George, G. J. A. o. m. j. 2014. Climate change and management., 57, 615–623.
Hughes, S. B., Anderson, A., & Golden, S. (2001). Corporate environmental disclosures: are they useful in determining environmental performance? Journal of accounting and public policy, 20, 217–240.
Hughes, et al. (2001). SB Hughes A Anderson S Golden 2001 Corporate environmental disclosures: Are they useful in determining environmental performance? Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 20(217), 240.
Huntingford, C., Jeffers, E. S., Bonsall, M. B., Christensen, H. M., Lees, T., & Yang, H. (2019). Machine learning and artificial intelligence to aid climate change research and preparedness. Environmental Research Letters, 14, 124007.
Huntingford et al., 2019e C Huntingford ES Jeffers MB Bonsall HM Christensen T Lees H Yang 2019e Machine learning and artificial intelligence to aid climate change research and preparedness Environmental Research Letters 14 124007
Hussain, N., Rigoni, U. & Orij, R. P. J. J. o. B. E. 2018a. Corporate governance and sustainability performance: Analysis of triple bottom line performance. 149, 411-432.
Hussain, et al. (2018). Hussain, N., Rigoni, U. & Orij, R. P. J. J. o. B. E. 2018. Corporate governance and sustainability performance: Analysis of triple bottom line performance., 149, 411–432.
Husted, B. W. (2005). Risk management, real options, corporate social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 60, 175–183.
Husted, 2005 BW Husted 2005 Risk management, real options, corporate social responsibility Journal of Business Ethics 60 175 183
Iatridis, G. E. (2013). Environmental disclosure quality: Evidence on environmental performance, corporate governance and value relevance. Emerging Markets Review, 14, 55–75.
Iatridis, 2013b GE Iatridis 2013b Environmental disclosure quality: Evidence on environmental performance, corporate governance and value relevance Emerging Markets Review 14 55 75
IIRC 2019a. Integrated Report 2018.
IIRC, 2019b IIRC 2019b. Integrated Report 2018.
Ingram, R. W. & Frazier, K. B. 1980a. Environmental performance and corporate disclosure. Journal of accounting research, 614-622.
Ingram and Frazier, 1980b Ingram, R. W. & Frazier, K. B. 1980b. Environmental performance and corporate disclosure. Journal of accounting research, 614–622.
Islam, M. A. & Deegan, C. 2008. Motivations for an organisation within a developing country to report social responsibility information: Evidence from Bangladesh. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal.
Islam and Deegan, 2008 Islam, M. A. & Deegan, C. 2008. Motivations for an organisation within a developing country to report social responsibility information: Evidence from Bangladesh. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal.
Jarzabkowski, P. (2005). Strategy as practice: An activity based approach. Sage.
Jarzabkowski, 2005b P Jarzabkowski 2005b Strategy as practice: An activity based approach Sage
Lennox, C. S., Francis, J. R., & Wang, Z. (2012). Selection models in accounting research. The accounting review, 87, 589–616.
Lennox et al., 2012b CS Lennox JR Francis Z Wang 2012b Selection models in accounting research The Accounting Review 87 589 616
Li, F. (2008). Annual report readability, current earnings, and earnings persistence. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 45, 221–247.
Li, 2008 F Li 2008 Annual report readability, current earnings, and earnings persistence Journal of Accounting and Economics 45 221 247
Li, X., & Yang, H. I. (2016). Mandatory financial reporting and voluntary disclosure: The effect of mandatory IFRS adoption on management forecasts. The Accounting Review, 91, 933–953.
Li and Yang, 2016 X Li HI Yang 2016 Mandatory financial reporting and voluntary disclosure: The effect of mandatory IFRS adoption on management forecasts The Accounting Review 91 933 953
Liao, L., Luo, L., & Tang, Q. (2015). Gender diversity, board independence, environmental committee and greenhouse gas disclosure. The British Accounting Review, 47, 409–424.
Liao et al., 2015c L Liao L Luo Q Tang 2015c Gender diversity, board independence, environmental committee and greenhouse gas disclosure The British Accounting Review 47 409 424
Liesen, A., Hoepner, A. G., Patten, D. M., & Figge, F. (2015). Does stakeholder pressure influence corporate GHG emissions reporting? Empirical evidence from Europe. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 28, 1047–1074.
Liesen, et al. (2015). A Liesen AG Hoepner DM Patten F Figge 2015 Does stakeholder pressure influence corporate GHG emissions reporting? Empirical evidence from Europe Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 28(1047), 1074.
Luo, L. (2019). The influence of institutional contexts on the relationship between voluntary carbon disclosure and carbon emission performance. Accounting & Finance, 59, 1235–1264.
Luo, 2019b L Luo 2019b The influence of institutional contexts on the relationship between voluntary carbon disclosure and carbon emission performance Accounting & Finance 59 1235 1264
Luo, L., & Tang, Q. (2014). Does voluntary carbon disclosure reflect underlying carbon performance? Journal of Contemporary Accounting & Economics, 10, 191–205.
Luo and Tang. (2014). L Luo Q Tang 2014 Does voluntary carbon disclosure reflect underlying carbon performance? Journal of Contemporary Accounting & Economics, 10(191), 205.
Luo, L., Tang, Q., & Lan, Y. C. (2013). Comparison of propensity for carbon disclosure between developing and developed countries: A resource constraint perspective. Accounting Research Journal, 26, 6–34.
Luo et al., 2013b L Luo Q Tang YC Lan 2013b Comparison of propensity for carbon disclosure between developing and developed countries: A resource constraint perspective Accounting Research Journal 26 6 34
Lyon, T. P., & Montgomery, A. W. (2015). The means and end of greenwash. Organization & Environment, 28, 223–249.
Lyon and Montgomery, 2015b TP Lyon AW Montgomery 2015b The means and end of greenwash Organization & Environment 28 223 249
Maddala, G. S. (1991). A perspective on the use of limited-dependent and qualitative variables models in accounting research. The Accounting Review, 66, 788–807.
Maddala, 1991b GS Maddala 1991b A perspective on the use of limited-dependent and qualitative variables models in accounting research The Accounting Review 66 788 807
Matsumura, E. M., Prakash, R., & Vera-Muñoz, S. C. (2013). Firm-value effects of carbon emissions and carbon disclosures. The Accounting Review, 89, 695–724.
Matsumura et al., 2013c EM Matsumura R Prakash SC Vera-Muñoz 2013c Firm-value effects of carbon emissions and carbon disclosures The Accounting Review 89 695 724
Meng, X. H., Zeng, S. X., Shi, J. J., Qi, G. Y., & Zhang, Z. B. (2014). The relationship between corporate environmental performance and environmental disclosure: An empirical study in China. Journal of Environmental Management, 145, 357–367.
Meng et al., 2014b XH Meng SX Zeng JJ Shi GY Qi ZB Zhang 2014b The relationship between corporate environmental performance and environmental disclosure: An empirical study in China Journal of Environmental Management 145 357 367
Mercer, M. (2005). The fleeting effects of disclosure forthcomingness on management’s reporting credibility. The Accounting Review, 80, 723–744.
Mercer, 2005b M Mercer 2005b The fleeting effects of disclosure forthcomingness on management's reporting credibility The Accounting Review 80 723 744
Merkley, K. J. (2013). Narrative disclosure and earnings performance: Evidence from R&D disclosures. The Accounting Review, 89, 725–757.
Merkley, 2013b KJ Merkley 2013b Narrative disclosure and earnings performance: Evidence from R&D disclosures The Accounting Review 89 725 757
Mobus, J. L. (2005). Mandatory environmental disclosures in a legitimacy theory context. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 18, 492–517.
Mobus,. (2005). JL Mobus 2005 Mandatory environmental disclosures in a legitimacy theory context Accounting. Auditing & Accountability Journal, 18(492), 517.
Nguyen, J. H. (2018). Carbon risk and firm performance: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment. Australian Journal of Management, 43, 65–90.
Nguyen, 2018b JH Nguyen 2018b Carbon risk and firm performance: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment Australian Journal of Management 43 65 90
O’Donovan, G. (2002). Environmental disclosures in the annual report: Extending the applicability and predictive power of legitimacy theory. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 15, 344–371.
O’Donovan,. (2002). G O’Donovan 2002 Environmental disclosures in the annual report: Extending the applicability and predictive power of legitimacy theory Accounting. Auditing & Accountability Journal, 15(344), 371.
Patten, D. M. (1991). Exposure, legitimacy, and social disclosure. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 10, 297–308.
Patten, 1991 DM Patten 1991 Exposure, legitimacy, and social disclosure Journal of Accounting and Public Policy 10 297 308
Patten, D. M. (2002). The relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: a research note. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 27, 763–773.
Patten,. (2002). DM Patten 2002 The relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: A research note Accounting. Organizations and Society, 27(763), 773.
Petersen, M. A. (2009). Estimating standard errors in finance panel data sets: Comparing approaches. The Review of Financial Studies, 22, 435–480.
Petersen, 2009b MA Petersen 2009b Estimating standard errors in finance panel data sets: Comparing approaches The Review of Financial Studies 22 435 480
Qian, W., & Schaltegger, S. (2017). Revisiting carbon disclosure and performance: Legitimacy and management views. The British Accounting Review, 49, 365–379.
Qian and Schaltegger, 2017b W Qian S Schaltegger 2017b Revisiting carbon disclosure and performance: Legitimacy and management views The British Accounting Review 49 365 379
Roberts, R. W. (1992). Determinants of corporate social responsibility disclosure: An application of stakeholder theory. Accounting, organizations and society, 17, 595–612.
Roberts,. (1992). RW Roberts 1992 Determinants of corporate social responsibility disclosure: An application of stakeholder theory Accounting. Organizations and Society, 17(595), 612.
Roszkowska-Menkes, M. T. 2018. Integrating strategic CSR and open innovation. Towards a conceptual framework. Social Responsibility Journal.
Roszkowska-Menkes, 2018 Roszkowska-Menkes, M. T. 2018. Integrating strategic CSR and open innovation. Towards a conceptual framework. Social Responsibility Journal.
Schiemann, F., & Sakhel, A. (2019). Carbon Disclosure, Contextual Factors, and Information Asymmetry: The Case of Physical Risk Reporting. European Accounting Review, 28, 791–818.
Schiemann and Sakhel. (2019). F Schiemann A Sakhel 2019 Carbon Disclosure, Contextual Factors, and Information Asymmetry: The Case of Physical Risk Reporting. European Accounting Review, 28(791), 818.
Sharp, Z., & Zaidman, N. (2010). Strategization of CSR. Journal of business ethics, 93, 51–71.
Sharp and Zaidman, 2010b Z Sharp N Zaidman 2010b Strategization of CSR Journal of Business Ethics 93 51 71
Slawinski, N., Pinkse, J., Busch, T., & Banerjee, S. B. J. B. (2017). & Society. The role of short-termism and uncertainty avoidance in organizational inaction on climate change: A multi-level framework., 56, 253–282.
Slawinski et al., 2017 N Slawinski J Pinkse T Busch SBJB Banerjee 2017 & Society The Role of Short-Termism and Uncertainty Avoidance in Organizational Inaction on Climate Change: A Multi-Level Framework. 56 253 282
Stanny, E., & Ely, K. (2008). Corporate environmental disclosures about the effects of climate change. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 15, 338–348.
Stanny and Ely, 2008 E Stanny K Ely 2008 Corporate environmental disclosures about the effects of climate change Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 15 338 348
Suchman, M. C. (1995). Managing legitimacy: Strategic and institutional approaches. Academy of Management Review, 20, 571–610.
Suchman, 1995b MC Suchman 1995b Managing legitimacy: Strategic and institutional approaches Academy of Management Review 20 571 610
Tadros, H., & Magnan, M. (2019). How does environmental performance map into environmental disclosure? A look at underlying economic incentives and legitimacy aims. Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 10, 62–96.
Tadros and Magnan. (2019). H Tadros M Magnan 2019 How does environmental performance map into environmental disclosure? A look at underlying economic incentives and legitimacy aims Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 10(62), 96.
TCFD 2021a. Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures: Status Report.
TCFD, 2021b TCFD 2021b. Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures: Status Report.
Te Liew, W., Adhitya, A., & Srinivasan, R. (2014). Sustainability trends in the process industries: A text mining-based analysis. Computers in Industry, 65, 393–400.
Liew et al., 2014c W Liew Te A Adhitya R Srinivasan 2014c Sustainability trends in the process industries: A text mining-based analysis Computers in Industry 65 393 400
Ullmann, A. A. (1985). Data in search of a theory: A critical examination of the relationships among social performance, social disclosure, and economic performance of US firms. Academy of Management Review, 10, 540–557.
Ullmann, 1985 AA Ullmann 1985 Data in search of a theory: A critical examination of the relationships among social performance, social disclosure, and economic performance of US firms Academy of Management Review 10 540 557
Unerman, J. 2008. Strategic reputation risk management and corporate social responsibility reporting. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal.
Unerman, 2008 Unerman, J. 2008. Strategic reputation risk management and corporate social responsibility reporting. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal.
Vatican 2016a. Encyclical letter Laudato Si’of the Holy Father Francis on Care for Our Common Home.
Vatican, 2016b Vatican 2016b. Encyclical letter Laudato Si’of the Holy Father Francis on Care for Our Common Home.
Velte, P., Stawinoga, M., & Lueg, R. (2020). Carbon performance and disclosure: A systematic review of governance-related determinants and financial consequences. Journal of Cleaner Production, 254, 120063.
Velte et al., 2020e P Velte M Stawinoga R Lueg 2020e Carbon performance and disclosure: A systematic review of governance-related determinants and financial consequences Journal of Cleaner Production 254 120063
Waheed, A. & Zhang, Q. 2020. Effect of CSR and ethical practices on sustainable competitive performance: A case of emerging markets from stakeholder theory perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 1-19.
Waheed and Zhang, 2020 Waheed, A. & Zhang, Q. 2020. Effect of CSR and ethical practices on sustainable competitive performance: A case of emerging markets from stakeholder theory perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 1–19.
Wartick, S. L., & Cochran, P. L. (1985). The evolution of the corporate social performance model. Academy of Management Review, 10, 758–769.
Wartick and Cochran, 1985b SL Wartick PL Cochran 1985b The evolution of the corporate social performance model Academy of Management Review 10 758 769
Waymire, G. 1985a. Earnings volatility and voluntary management forecast disclosure. Journal of Accounting Research, 268-295.
Waymire, 1985b Waymire, G. 1985b. Earnings volatility and voluntary management forecast disclosure. Journal of Accounting Research, 268–295.
Wedari, L. K., Jubb, C. & Moradi‐Motlagh, A. 2021. Corporate climate‐related voluntary disclosures: Does potential greenwash exist among Australian high emitters reports? Business Strategy and the Environment.
Wedari et al., 2021b Wedari, L. K., Jubb, C. & Moradi‐Motlagh, A. 2021b. Corporate climate‐related voluntary disclosures: Does potential greenwash exist among Australian high emitters reports? Business Strategy and the Environment.
Wiseman, J. (1982). An evaluation of environmental disclosures made in corporate annual reports. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 7, 53–63.
Wiseman,. (1982). J Wiseman 1982 An evaluation of environmental disclosures made in corporate annual reports Accounting. Organizations and Society, 7(53), 63.
Zhang, L., Shan, Y. G. & Chang, M. 2020. Can CSR Disclosure Protect Firm Reputation During Financial Restatements? Journal of Business Ethics, 1-28.
Zhang et al., 2020f Zhang, L., Shan, Y. G. & Chang, M. 2020f. Can CSR Disclosure Protect Firm Reputation During Financial Restatements? Journal of Business Ethics, 1–28.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no conflict of interest to declare that is relevant to the content of this article.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Ding, D., Liu, B. & Chang, M. Carbon Emissions and TCFD Aligned Climate-Related Information Disclosures. J Bus Ethics 182, 967–1001 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-022-05292-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-022-05292-x