scholarly journals Extent of environmental disclosures - a case of sensitive industries in Singapore and Malaysia

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 170-182
Author(s):  
Payal Harshad Bhatt ◽  
Jayalakshmy Ramachandran

The purpose of this comparative study is to examine the extent to which information is available to stakeholders on the environmental issues from the annual reports of listed companies in Singapore and Malaysia focusing on Sectors (Construction and manufacturing) that are environmentally sensitive. Many studies in the past had tried to capture the relationship between environmental reporting against financial performances, management motives and effects on share prices of the companies operating in respective countries. This study is striving to capture the extent of information on environmental aspects available to stakeholders in Malaysia and Singapore focusing only on Sectors (Construction and manufacturing) that are environmentally sensitive. The researchers used cross sectional content analysis based on the annual reports of companies listed in the Construction and manufacturing/ industrial sector for the year 2007. The companies were selected from Stock Exchange of Singapore (SGX) and Bursa Malaysia (KLSE). A framework developed by Adams & Frost (2007) identified seven parameters to perform content analysis and observed performance related disclosure among organizations in Australia against organizations in the U.K. This study also used similar framework with addition of just one more parameter. It was found that the extent of information disclosed by organizations in Singapore for both construction and Manufacturing /Industrial sector is lower compared to organizations in Malaysia in both the sectors. This alerts the analysts that while talking about green accounting, one could walk the talk better by disclosing more information and making environmental issues or concerns more transparent.

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 904-922 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.H. Fatima ◽  
Norhayati Abdullah ◽  
Maliah Sulaiman

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the environmental disclosure (ED) quality of public-listed companies (PLCs) in environmentally sensitive industries (ESI) in Malaysia in 2005 and 2009 (two years before and two years after the mandatory corporate social responsibility (CSR) requirement of Bursa Malaysia (BM)). BM (The Stock Exchange of Malaysia) has made CSR, including ED in annual reports mandatory since 2007. This study compares environmental reporting (ER) before and after the 2007 mandatory reporting requirement to determine if this command and control mechanism has had any effect on the quality of ED. Design/methodology/approach – The quality of ED was measured using a disclosure quality index adapted from various prior studies. The index consists of a total of 46 disclosure items grouped into 9 categories. Content analysis was utilized to extract data from the annual reports of 164 PLCs in ESI. Findings – Overall, the quality of ED improved in 2009 from that of 2005. More importantly, companies disclosed more quantitative environmental information in 2009 than in 2005. However, the average quality of ED was still low in 2009 compared to the overall potential score. Results provide some support for legitimacy as well as institutional theories. Research limitations/implications – The sample of the study consisted of listed companies in ESI only; the results cannot be generalized to other companies in non-environmentally sensitive sectors. Practical implications – Prior studies that used data before the mandatory CSR requirement by BM found ED in annual reports mainly declarative in nature, generally low on quality and with little quantifiable data. The results of the present study provide evidence of the positive impact of mandatory environmental reporting on ED quality. Originality/value – The use of a multi-theoretical perspective may offer a more meaningful explanation of ER behavior in Malaysia. The results of the study would provide the impetus for regulatory agencies in developing countries to perhaps consider legislating ER. The findings provide some evidence to support the influence of legitimacy and institutional factors behind improved ED of Malaysian PLCs. This outcome exhibits a positive influence on the government efforts in promoting sustainability. Finally, the study contributes to present a more up-to-date account of environmental commitment undertaken by Malaysian corporations through their environmental reporting, after the CSR mandatory listing requirement took effect in 2007.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jittima Wichianrak ◽  
Karen Wong ◽  
Tehmina Khan ◽  
Pavithra Siriwardhane ◽  
Steven Dellaportas

PurposeThis study aims to examine the impact of soft law and institutional signalling on voluntary reporting of environmentally sensitive companies in Thailand. Design/methodology/approachEnvironmental disclosures in annual reports and sustainability reports of 108 listed companies for the years 2010–2014 were analysed using a checklist of un-weighted scores combined with panel data modelling. FindingsThe results show increasing trends of voluntary reporting dominated by disclosures on emissions data. Thai sustainability reporting guidelines released in 2012 were found to have a significant effect on the amount of disclosures of companies in the agriculture and food sector only. Results show that the age of the company and media attention have a significant positive relationship with environmental disclosures. Profitability is found to have a negative relationship with the level of environmental disclosures. Research limitations/implicationsThis study adds to existing environmental reporting literature from the perspective of soft law and institutional signalling and their impact on environmental reporting in the context of an economically developing, environmentally sensitive and in a Buddhist cultural setting country, Thailand. Originality/valueThis paper looks at Thai environmental disclosures from the perspective of soft law and institutional signalling, which is an original and unique contribution to CSR literature, considered through the lens of institutional legitimacy.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 88
Author(s):  
Pappu Kumar Dey ◽  
Mohammad Nakib ◽  
Probal Dutta

This study examines the nature and extent of climate change disclosures in the corporate annual reports of the listed companies in Dhaka Stock Exchange, Bangladesh. For this purpose, annual reports related to the year 2014 of the sample 88 listed companies have been scrutinized. In regard to this study, content analysis approach has been conducted considering thirteen different disclosure issues regarding climate change. Our analysis provides the comprehension of below average climate change disclosure practices by the Bangladeshi companies, though 58 percent companies have reported at least one issue on climate change and global warming. ‘Energy saving & efficiency’ and ‘water management & pollution’ are mostly reported issues that are industry specific requirements in some case. From the viewpoint of industry, Banking industry and Cement industry have started to report some issues related to the climate change, where 4 industries out of selected 17 industries have not provided any climate change disclosure. Disseminating climate change disclosure within 10 sentences by most of the reported companies manifests the desideratum of in-depth disclosure practices.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ririn Breliastiti

Sustainability Report (SR) has become one of the main reports of the world's leading companies. In 2005, it was found that more than 250 top companies listed on the Fortune 500 had prepared SR separately from the Annual Report. The development of the number of SRs in each country varies. In the developed countries, awareness to compile and issue SR is supported by government regulations so that SR becomes mandatory. In developing countries, SR is still voluntary because there is still no regulation that requires companies to compile and issue SR. The Carrots & Sticks report, compiled and published by KPMG, United Nations Environment Program, Unit for Corporate Governance in Africa & the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), provided details on the development of mandatory and voluntary instruments in implementing Sustainability Reporting (SR) in various Countries throughout the world from 2006 to 2016. Therefore, this research aims to find out the development of the mandatory and voluntary instruments (government policies) related to SR in the world. This type of research is a literature review. The research instrument used consists of a tabulation containing the development of the mandatory and voluntary instruments (government policy) related to SR in the world, then the researcher conducted an analysis of these findings. The results show that there is an increasing enthusiasm for the application of SR throughout the world. There is an increase in commitment and efforts to achieve transparency and accountability. In countries that have an interest in SR, there has been a significant development, such as 19 countries in 2006, 32 countries in 2010, 45 countries and regions in 2013, and 71 countries and regions in 2016. Indonesia is one of the countries in the Asia Pacific region that has given attention to SR and has its regulations. SR regulations have grown from 180 in 2013 to 400 in 2016, with government regulations dominating 80% of all regulations. Mandatory instruments dominate more than voluntary instruments. Application of SR 30% is for large companies that have been listed on the stock exchange. SR reporting by public companies has covered all sectors on the stock exchange. This development was greatly influenced by the role of the government which encouraged companies to disclose information about sustainability in their annual reports. "Social" reporting instruments show a faster development than "environmental" reporting instruments. 


2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-68
Author(s):  
Collins Ngwakwe ◽  
Fortune Ganda ◽  
Oladele John Akinyomi

This paper examined the stance of independent directors on corporate sustainable development initiative in South Africa and Nigeria. This has become apposite considering the role of independent directors in corporate strategic decisions and performance. It is believed that independent boards strive to direct corporate decisions to protect the investors and thus improve financial performance. Given that sustainability initiative is currently occupying a vital strategic position in protecting firms against inherent and imminent climate change and financial risks, the paper undertakes a survey of South African and Nigerian companies to ascertain the role of independent directors on corporate sustainable development initiatives. Using a mix method of primary and secondary data analysis, the paper finds that independent boards in both countries of study understand the importance of sustainability; however a pragmatic stance on sustainability is more visible in South Africa where independent boards are members of and/or participate in nominating corporate sustainability committees. The paper suggests the need for improved detailed disclosure on sustainability in the Nigerian corporate annual reports; the Nigerian Stock Exchange may boost this initiative by establishing a social and environmental reporting index supported by an annual survey of company sustainability disclosure. It also suggests the need to include sustainability awareness and interest in the metrics that are used in the appointment of independent boards in Nigerian companies


Author(s):  
Md. Nazrul Islam ◽  
Mohammad Ashraful Ferdous Chowdhury ◽  
Mehedi Hasan Tuhin ◽  
Md. Masud Sarker

The study aimed to explore the social, environmental and governance (SEG) reporting practices of Banking sector of Bangladesh. In conducting the study, the longitudinal data has been used over the period 2000-2015 taking all the 30listed private commercial banks in Dhaka Stock Exchange Limited. Three separate reporting index for social, environmental and governance have been developed to measure reporting practices using the dichotomous method from the published annual reports of banks. The analysis found that corporate social, environmental and governance reporting has been increased over the study period. The statistical measure showed that social, governance and environmental reporting were made 46%, 49% and 1% respectively over the period while total SEGwas 39% over the period. The econometrics models using fixed effects showed that corporate profitability, size, age and leverage have positive impact on SEG reporting. The main cause of low SEG reporting could be due to the insufficient laws and framework of SEG reporting.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-146
Author(s):  
Rizky Windar Amelia ◽  
Aditya Pandu Wicaksana ◽  
Desi Zulvina ◽  
Syska Lady Sulistyowatie

This study aims to determine how the differences in environmental disclosure in conventional banking with Islamic banking using the GRI index. This study found that conventional banking has a higher environmental disclosure than Islamic banking. In addition, the results of this study state that the disclosure of the Islamic banking environment is more representative when using the ISR index when compared to the GRI index. The data used are in the form of annual reports and sustainability reporting of conventional banking companies and Islamic banking listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2019. The data analysis technique used in this study is content analysis and statistical tests to confirm the results. Keywords: environmental disclosure, GRI index, ISR index, Indonesian Banking


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-34
Author(s):  
Wiwi Hawin Sari ◽  
Henri Agustin ◽  
Erly Mulyani

This research aims to provide empirically the effect of good corporate governance and environmental performance on environmental disclosures. The population in this study are manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2013-2017. Environmental disclosure variables are measured by scores using the Indonesian Environmental Reporting Index (IER) which consists of 35 disclosure items. The sample in this study was determined by purposive sampling method. The type of data used is secondary data obtained from www.idx.co.id as well as company websites and other sites related to research. The analytical method used is Multiple Regression Analysis. The results of this study indicate that environmental performance has a significant positive effect on environmental disclosure, Institutional Ownership has no effect on environmental disclosure and the proportion of independent audit committees also has no effect on environmental disclosures


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 861-879
Author(s):  
Kishore Kanti Majumdar ◽  
Shuchi Pahuja

Environmental and sustainability issues have assumed significance, leading to social and legal pressures on the companies across the world to take steps to reduce and prevent adverse impact of their activities on the environment and to disclose this information to the concerned stakeholders. The present study aims at investigating the perceptions of executives from 26 listed Indian oil and gas companies on Corporate Environment Disclosures (CEDs)in the annual reports using a structured questionnaire.The questionnaire was constructed on the basis of eleven environmental indicators provided in international oil and gas industry guidelines for voluntary sustainability reporting framework. An attempt was made to determine whether the extent and type of environmental disclosures have correlation with executives’ position in the organization, their knowledge about the annual reports, their stock holdings in the company and the value stream to which the companies belonged. It was found thatthe responding executives were well aware of the environmental issues associated with activities across the value chain in the oil and gas industry. They agreed that these issues are material and must be disclosed in the annual reports, but had different perceptions on the importance of four environmental issues given in the questionnaire for disclosure in the reports. A significant statistical relationship was found between perceived corporate environmental disclosure index (PCEDI) and respondents’ positions in the company and their knowledge on the annual reports. It is suggested that a greater role to knowledgeable senior executives at key positions should be assigned to deal with sustainability disclosure affairs.


Author(s):  
Muttanachai Suttipun ◽  
Patricia Stanton

This study investigated the extent and content of environmental information disclosure provided in the annual reports of companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), and tested whether there were any relationships between the amount of environmental disclosure and a number of company characteristics used in previous studies conducted in more developed countries. By using a simple sampling method, 75 listed companies were selected for inclusion in the study based on their 2007 annual reports. The findings indicate that 62 companies (83%) provided environmental information in their annual reports. Companies in the resources industry group made the most disclosure of environmental information, while the least disclosure was made by companies in the agricultural and food industries group. The most common location of environmental reporting in annual reports was under the topic of corporate governance. The most common themes of disclosures were environmental policy, environmental activities, and waste management. There was a positive relationship between the amount of environmental disclosures and size of company.


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