Environmental policy, sustainable development, governance mechanisms and environmental performance
Environmental policy, sustainable development, governance mechanisms and environmental performance
We investigate the effects of environmental policy (Climate Change Act – CCA), sustainable development frameworks (Global Reporting Initiative – GRI; UN Global Compact - UNGC) and corporate governance (CG) mechanisms on environmental performance (Carbon Reduction Initiatives – CRIs and Actual Carbon Performance – GHG emissions) of UK listed firms. We use generalised method of moments (GMM) estimation technique to analyse data consisting of 2,245 UK firm-year observations over the 2002-2014 period. First, we find that the CCA has a positive effect on CRIs, and this effect is stronger in better-governed firms. Second, we find that the GRI-based framework is positively associated with CRIs. Third, we find that firms with poor CG structures have lower actual carbon performance compared with their better-governed counterparts. Overall, our evidence suggests that firms can symbolically conform to environmental policy (CCA) and sustainable development frameworks (GRI, UNGC) by engaging in CRIs without necessarily improving actual environmental performance (GHG emissions) substantively.
Environmental policy, climate change act and GHG emissions, sustainable development and global reporting initiative, stakeholder engagement, corporate governance, institutional theory
415–435
Haque, Faizul
8153d83c-427a-4f73-860d-dd7e9460533d
Ntim, Collins
1f344edc-8005-4e96-8972-d56c4dade46b
7 March 2018
Haque, Faizul
8153d83c-427a-4f73-860d-dd7e9460533d
Ntim, Collins
1f344edc-8005-4e96-8972-d56c4dade46b
Haque, Faizul and Ntim, Collins
(2018)
Environmental policy, sustainable development, governance mechanisms and environmental performance.
Business Strategy and the Environment, 27, .
(doi:10.1002/bse.2007).
Abstract
We investigate the effects of environmental policy (Climate Change Act – CCA), sustainable development frameworks (Global Reporting Initiative – GRI; UN Global Compact - UNGC) and corporate governance (CG) mechanisms on environmental performance (Carbon Reduction Initiatives – CRIs and Actual Carbon Performance – GHG emissions) of UK listed firms. We use generalised method of moments (GMM) estimation technique to analyse data consisting of 2,245 UK firm-year observations over the 2002-2014 period. First, we find that the CCA has a positive effect on CRIs, and this effect is stronger in better-governed firms. Second, we find that the GRI-based framework is positively associated with CRIs. Third, we find that firms with poor CG structures have lower actual carbon performance compared with their better-governed counterparts. Overall, our evidence suggests that firms can symbolically conform to environmental policy (CCA) and sustainable development frameworks (GRI, UNGC) by engaging in CRIs without necessarily improving actual environmental performance (GHG emissions) substantively.
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Accepted/In Press date: 12 September 2017
e-pub ahead of print date: 12 December 2017
Published date: 7 March 2018
Keywords:
Environmental policy, climate change act and GHG emissions, sustainable development and global reporting initiative, stakeholder engagement, corporate governance, institutional theory
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 414037
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/414037
ISSN: 0964-4733
PURE UUID: eb42bc8c-dc8a-49b3-af61-3871275baba7
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Date deposited: 13 Sep 2017 16:31
Last modified: 06 Jun 2024 04:15
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