The effect of DEFRA guidance on greenhouse gas disclosure
The effect of DEFRA guidance on greenhouse gas disclosure
This paper investigates the effect of the 2009 guidance of the Department for Environment, Food \& Rural Affairs on greenhouse gas (GHG) disclosure. The sample comprises 215 companies from a population of London Stock Exchange FTSE 350 companies over four years (2008e 2011). To quantify GHG disclosure, a research index methodology is employed, with information derived from several GHG reporting frameworks. The econometric model is estimated using panel fixed effects. Our findings suggest that the publication of the 2009 guidance has had a significant effect on the level of GHG disclosure, and that corporate governance mechanisms (board size, director ownership, and ownership concentration) also affect the extent of GHG information disclosure. The results also indicate that companies increased their disclosures prior to the 2009 guidance in anticipation of its publication. These results have important implications for the government, suggesting that non-mandatory guidance could increase disclosure as much as do mandatory requirements.
Greenhouse gas disclosure, Corporate governance, Stakeholder-agency theory, DEFRA guidance 2009
425-444
Tauringana, Venancio
27634458-b041-4bc1-94da-3e031d777e4f
Chithambo, Lyton
773cbe33-07d5-4c33-8ed9-3ffea26b7286
December 2015
Tauringana, Venancio
27634458-b041-4bc1-94da-3e031d777e4f
Chithambo, Lyton
773cbe33-07d5-4c33-8ed9-3ffea26b7286
Tauringana, Venancio and Chithambo, Lyton
(2015)
The effect of DEFRA guidance on greenhouse gas disclosure.
British Accounting Review, 47 (4), .
(doi:10.1016/j.bar.2014.07.002).
Abstract
This paper investigates the effect of the 2009 guidance of the Department for Environment, Food \& Rural Affairs on greenhouse gas (GHG) disclosure. The sample comprises 215 companies from a population of London Stock Exchange FTSE 350 companies over four years (2008e 2011). To quantify GHG disclosure, a research index methodology is employed, with information derived from several GHG reporting frameworks. The econometric model is estimated using panel fixed effects. Our findings suggest that the publication of the 2009 guidance has had a significant effect on the level of GHG disclosure, and that corporate governance mechanisms (board size, director ownership, and ownership concentration) also affect the extent of GHG information disclosure. The results also indicate that companies increased their disclosures prior to the 2009 guidance in anticipation of its publication. These results have important implications for the government, suggesting that non-mandatory guidance could increase disclosure as much as do mandatory requirements.
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e-pub ahead of print date: 9 August 2014
Published date: December 2015
Keywords:
Greenhouse gas disclosure, Corporate governance, Stakeholder-agency theory, DEFRA guidance 2009
Organisations:
Southampton Business School
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 398217
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/398217
ISSN: 0890-8389
PURE UUID: 94fd2c6d-85e8-4b91-a719-1210c788b019
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Date deposited: 20 Jul 2016 15:42
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:31
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Author:
Lyton Chithambo
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