IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/bstrat/v27y2018i4p437-455.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Climate Change and Mandatory Carbon Reporting: Impacts on Business Process and Performance

Author

Listed:
  • Samuel Tang
  • David Demeritt

Abstract

As part of their annual directors' report, UK‐listed companies are now required to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and account publicly for their contributions to climate change. This paper uses this mandatory carbon reporting to explore wider debates about corporate social responsibility and the purpose, practice, and impacts of such non‐financial reporting. Empirically, it combines documentary analysis of the carbon reporting practices of 176 large firms listed in the FTSE100 and/or subject to the UK government's adaptation reporting power with 60 interviews with stakeholders involved in carbon reporting. Firms disclose their emissions in response to financial incentives, social pressure and/or regulatory compulsion. In turn, rationales shape whether and how carbon reporting influences internal business processes and performance. The importance of reporting to the bottom line varies by sector depending on two variables – energy intensity and economic regulator status – yet there is limited evidence that carbon reporting is driving substantial reductions in emissions. Findings suggest reasons for caution about hopes for ‘nudging’ firms to improve their environmental performance and social responsibility through disclosure requirements.

Suggested Citation

  • Samuel Tang & David Demeritt, 2018. "Climate Change and Mandatory Carbon Reporting: Impacts on Business Process and Performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(4), pages 437-455, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:27:y:2018:i:4:p:437-455
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.1985
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.1985
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/bse.1985?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lyon,Thomas P. & Maxwell,John W., 2004. "Corporate Environmentalism and Public Policy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521819473.
    2. Khosro Jahdi & Gaye Acikdilli, 2009. "Marketing Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Marriage of Convenience or Shotgun Wedding?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 88(1), pages 103-113, August.
    3. David L. Levy & Daniel Egan, 2003. "A Neo‐Gramscian Approach to Corporate Political Strategy: Conflict and Accommodation in the Climate Change Negotiations," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(4), pages 803-829, June.
    4. Haslam, Colin & Butlin, John & Andersson, Tord & Malamatenios, John & Lehman, Glen, 2014. "Accounting for carbon and reframing disclosure: A business model approach," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 200-211.
    5. Céline Kauffmann & Cristina Tébar Less & Dorothee Teichmann, 2012. "Corporate Greenhouse Gas Emission Reporting: A Stocktaking of Government Schemes," OECD Working Papers on International Investment 2012/1, OECD Publishing.
    6. Su‐Yol Lee, 2012. "Corporate Carbon Strategies in Responding to Climate Change," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(1), pages 33-48, January.
    7. Elizabeth Stanny & Kirsten Ely, 2008. "Corporate environmental disclosures about the effects of climate change," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(6), pages 338-348, November.
    8. Michaela Rankin & Carolyn Windsor & Dina Wahyuni, 2011. "An investigation of voluntary corporate greenhouse gas emissions reporting in a market governance system," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 24(8), pages 1037-1070, October.
    9. Kolk, Ans & Pinkse, Jonatan, 2004. "Market Strategies for Climate Change," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 304-314, June.
    10. Colin Haslam & John Butlin & Tord Andersson & John Malamatenios & Glen Lehman, 2014. "Accounting for carbon and reframing disclosure: A business model approach," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(3), pages 200-211, September.
    11. Ans Kolk & David Levy & Jonatan Pinkse, 2008. "Corporate Responses in an Emerging Climate Regime: The Institutionalization and Commensuration of Carbon Disclosure," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(4), pages 719-745.
    12. Azlan Amran & Say Keat Ooi & Cheng Yew Wong & Fathyah Hashim, 2016. "Business Strategy for Climate Change: An ASEAN Perspective," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(4), pages 213-227, July.
    13. Markus J. Milne & Suzana Grubnic, 2011. "Climate change accounting research: keeping it interesting and different," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 24(8), pages 948-977, October.
    14. Georg Weinhofer & Volker H. Hoffmann, 2010. "Mitigating climate change – how do corporate strategies differ?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(2), pages 77-89, February.
    15. Green Jessica F, 2010. "Private Standards in the Climate Regime: The Greenhouse Gas Protocol," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(3), pages 1-39, October.
    16. Burkard Eberlein & Dirk Matten, 2009. "Business Responses to Climate Change Regulation in Canada and Germany: Lessons for MNCs from Emerging Economies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 86(2), pages 241-255, March.
    17. Okereke, Chukwumerije, 2007. "An Exploration of Motivations, Drivers and Barriers to Carbon Management:: The UK FTSE 100," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 475-486, December.
    18. Chin Hee Hahn & Sang-Hyop Lee & Kyoung-Soo Yoon (ed.), 2012. "Responding to Climate Change," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14709.
    19. Thomas P. Lyon & John W. Maxwell, 2011. "Greenwash: Corporate Environmental Disclosure under Threat of Audit," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(1), pages 3-41, March.
    20. Jones, Charles A. & Levy, David L., 2007. "North American Business Strategies Towards Climate Change," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 428-440, December.
    21. Rory Sullivan & Andy Gouldson, 2017. "The Governance of Corporate Responses to Climate Change: An International Comparison," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 413-425, May.
    22. Levy, David L. & Kolk, Ans, 2002. "Strategic Responses to Global Climate Change: Conflicting Pressures on Multinationals in the Oil Industry," Business and Politics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 4(3), pages 275-300, November.
    23. Javier González‐Benito & Óscar González‐Benito, 2006. "A review of determinant factors of environmental proactivity," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(2), pages 87-102, March.
    24. Green, Jessica F., 2010. "Private Standards in the Climate Regime: The Greenhouse Gas Protocol," Business and Politics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(3), pages 1-37, October.
    25. Victor Caritte & Salvador Acha & Nilay Shah, 2015. "Enhancing Corporate Environmental Performance Through Reporting and Roadmaps," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(5), pages 289-308, July.
    26. Wendy Stubbs & Colin Higgins & Markus Milne, 2013. "Why Do Companies Not Produce Sustainability Reports?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(7), pages 456-470, November.
    27. Daniel C. Matisoff & Douglas S. Noonan & John J. O'Brien, 2013. "Convergence in Environmental Reporting: Assessing the Carbon Disclosure Project," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(5), pages 285-305, July.
    28. Cedric Dawkins & John Fraas, 2011. "Coming Clean: The Impact of Environmental Performance and Visibility on Corporate Climate Change Disclosure," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 100(2), pages 303-322, May.
    29. Olivier Boiral & Jean‐François Henri & David Talbot, 2012. "Modeling the Impacts of Corporate Commitment on Climate Change," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(8), pages 495-516, December.
    30. Levy David L. & Kolk Ans, 2002. "Strategic Responses to Global Climate Change: Conflicting Pressures on Multinationals in the Oil Industry," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 4(3), pages 1-27, November.
    31. Clarkson, Peter M. & Li, Yue & Richardson, Gordon D. & Vasvari, Florin P., 2008. "Revisiting the relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: An empirical analysis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(4-5), pages 303-327.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zahra Borghei, 2021. "Carbon disclosure: a systematic literature review," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(4), pages 5255-5280, December.
    2. Matthias Damert & Rupert J. Baumgartner, 2018. "External Pressures or Internal Governance – What Determines the Extent of Corporate Responses to Climate Change?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(4), pages 473-488, July.
    3. Matthew P. Johnson & Theresa S. Rötzel & Brigitte Frank, 2023. "Beyond conventional corporate responses to climate change towards deep decarbonization: a systematic literature review," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 73(2), pages 921-954, June.
    4. Konstantinos Evangelinos & Ioannis Nikolaou & Walter Leal Filho, 2015. "The Effects of Climate Change Policy on the Business Community: A Corporate Environmental Accounting Perspective," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(5), pages 257-270, September.
    5. Sanjay Patnaik, 2020. "Emissions permit allocation and strategic firm behavior: Evidence from the oil sector in the European Union emissions trading scheme," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 976-995, March.
    6. Jeremy Galbreath, 2011. "To What Extent is Business Responding to Climate Change? Evidence from a Global Wine Producer," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 104(3), pages 421-432, December.
    7. Matthias Damert & Rupert J. Baumgartner, 2018. "Intra‐Sectoral Differences in Climate Change Strategies: Evidence from the Global Automotive Industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 265-281, March.
    8. David Talbot & Olivier Boiral, 2015. "Strategies for Climate Change and Impression Management: A Case Study Among Canada’s Large Industrial Emitters," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(2), pages 329-346, December.
    9. Breeda Comyns, 2016. "Determinants of GHG Reporting: An Analysis of Global Oil and Gas Companies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(2), pages 349-369, June.
    10. Tiberio Daddi & Niccolò Maria Todaro & Maria Rosa De Giacomo & Marco Frey, 2018. "A Systematic Review of the Use of Organization and Management Theories in Climate Change Studies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(4), pages 456-474, May.
    11. Timo Busch & Marcel Richert & Matthew Johnson & Sven Lundie, 2020. "Climate inaction and managerial sensemaking: The case of renewable energy," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 2502-2514, November.
    12. Burkard Eberlein & Dirk Matten, 2009. "Business Responses to Climate Change Regulation in Canada and Germany: Lessons for MNCs from Emerging Economies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 86(2), pages 241-255, March.
    13. David Littlewood & Rachel Decelis & Carola Hillenbrand & Diane Holt, 2018. "Examining the drivers and outcomes of corporate commitment to climate change action in European high emitting industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1437-1449, December.
    14. Olivier Boiral & Jean‐François Henri & David Talbot, 2012. "Modeling the Impacts of Corporate Commitment on Climate Change," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(8), pages 495-516, December.
    15. Daniel Kouloukoui & Sônia Maria da Silva Gomes & Marcia Mara de Oliveira Marinho & Ednildo Andrade Torres & Asher Kiperstok & Pieter de Jong, 2018. "Disclosure of climate risk information by the world’s largest companies," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 23(8), pages 1251-1279, December.
    16. Su‐Yol Lee & Robert D. Klassen, 2016. "Firms’ Response to Climate Change: The Interplay of Business Uncertainty and Organizational Capabilities," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(8), pages 577-592, December.
    17. Markus J. Milne & Suzana Grubnic, 2011. "Climate change accounting research: keeping it interesting and different," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 24(8), pages 948-977, October.
    18. Ozgur Isil & Rose Sebastianelli, 2020. "Arcs of carbon awareness in the value chain and their antecedents," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 503-518, February.
    19. Binh Hoang Duc & Khang Do Ba, 2017. "Business responses to climate change: strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Vietnam," Asia Pacific Business Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(4), pages 596-620, August.
    20. Theodore Metaxas & Maria Tsavdaridou, 2017. "Environmental Policy and CSR in Petroleum Refining Companies in Greece: Content and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Analysis," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 19(03), pages 1-29, September.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:27:y:2018:i:4:p:437-455. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-0836 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.