Corporate Environmental Disclosures of Oil and Gas Companies in India: An Analysis of Executives’ Perceptions

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.

Tax Evasion, Corporate Social Responsibility and National Governance: A Country-Level Study

This study uses a sample of 25 OECD countries to examine the association between CSR, national governance and tax evasion at the country level. The interaction between country-level governance and CSR relative to tax avoidance is also explored. The findings suggest that neither the ESG dimensions nor the overall CSR measure are significant determinants of tax evasion at the country level. In contrast, national governance quality is significantly and negatively related to tax evasion. Significant support is also found for the mediating effect of national governance on the association between CSR and tax evasion: in countries with weak national governance, CSR and country-level governance are substitutes; in countries with strong national governance, CSR reporting (in particular, environmental disclosures) seems to be used as a cosmetic and compensatory tool for firms to mitigate the reputational risk and public concern arising from tax evasion activities. The findings are theoretically and practically relevant as they underscore not only the importance of national governance in mitigating tax evasion but also the relevance of the mediating effect of national governance on the relationship between CSR and tax evasion. The evidence highlights the need for policymakers in countries with strong national governance to design new/strong anti-tax avoidance regulations.

The influence of overseas study and work experience on corporate environmental disclosures: evidence from Vietnam

Purpose Drawing from Upper-Echelons Theory (UET), this paper aims to examine whether an increasing number of board members studying and working overseas, especially in Anglo countries, provides some impetus for increased corporate environmental disclosures (CED) in Vietnam. Design/methodology/approach This study used quantitative data collection and analysis. The data collection involved a content analysis of annual, sustainability and integrated reports to capture the quality and quantity of CED. The authors subsequently developed ordered probit models to quantitatively test the hypotheses. Findings The authors find that board members studying in Anglo countries positively impact firms’ levels of CED in emerging economies. However, overseas work experience is found to be an insignificant explanatory variable. Further, the findings suggest that, in Vietnam, Chairs appear to be more influential than chief executive officers in affecting CED levels. Practical implications Despite the positive influence of overseas study, the authors find overall levels of CED in Vietnam remain relatively low. This suggests the necessity of dialogue about potential reform in CED policies, which could involve the introduction of mandatory reporting requirements. In addition, to enhance sustainability disclosures, shareholders should appoint board members who possess international qualifications. Originality/value This study adds to the literature exploring the impacts of Anglo cultural traits of board members on CED levels, within an economy transitioning from a communist ideology to a market-oriented system context. The connection between international study and cultural norms, beliefs and traditions in these countries and their positive influence on directors’ values and attitudes towards CED have not yet been studied. The study also extends UET by examining the potential positive influence of different national contexts on board members’ education levels.

Sustainability in the food and beverage sector and its impact on the cost of equity

PurposeThe objective of this paper is to analyze in an international setting the relationship between environmental disclosures, carbon emissions and gender equality on the board of directors with the cost of equity (CoE) in the food and beverage sector.Design/methodology/approachThe study sample includes 142 listed firms and 1,562 firm-observations from 35 developed and developing countries between 2009 and 2019. The authors implement a fixed-effects regression model to contrast the impact of the three sustainable variables of interest on the CoE.FindingsThe results of this study indicate that firms in the food and beverage industry benefit from a lower CoE due to better environmental disclosures and gender equality. On the other hand, carbon intensive firms are penalized with higher equity costs.Originality/valueThis study expands prior research on the effects of sustainable behavior on the CoE in the food and beverage industry by taking into account additional sustainability variables and a greater number of observations, both from developed and from developing countries.

Exploring Sustainability Reports in The Indonesian Palm Oil Industry

The purpose of this study is to assess the quality and maturity of sustainability reports of palm oil companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). The findings indicate that there are few differences in the maturity levels of palm oil companies in implementing sustainability reporting based on GRI standards and the maturity sustainability reporting at a moderate level of relevant information. The majority of disclosure of sustainability reports is general disclosures and less present in economic and environmental disclosures. Companies need to improve the quality of their sustainability reporting and strengthen the validity of the measurement. Sustainability reports have the potential to improve the sustainability agenda by allowing management and shareholders to make more informed decisions about sustainability initiatives.

Soft law, institutional signalling – Thai corporate environmental disclosures

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.

Does Financial Performance Drive Environmental Disclosure and Environmental Cost? Evidence from Indonesia

This study examines whether financial performance affects environmental disclosures and environmental costs. Samples from mining and energy companies that are listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange from 2015 to 2019 were analyzed using the content analysis method and ordinary least square regression. This study finds that financial performance bears a positive relationship to environmental costs that indicates whether assets are efficiently used as a basis to engage in spending on environmental activities. There is a negative relationship between financial performance and environmental disclosure and a positive relationship between environmental cost and environmental disclosures. This study implies wider stakeholder understanding of how financial performance affects environmental cost and disclosure. The study implies a role of the cost element in the relationship between financial performance and environmental disclosure.