IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i5p2714-d758759.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Establishment of Corporate Energy Management Systems and Voluntary Carbon Information Disclosure in Chinese Listed Companies: The Moderating Role of Corporate Leaders’ Low-Carbon Awareness

Author

Listed:
  • Erli Dan

    (School of Economics and Management, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China)

  • Jianfei Shen

    (School of Economics and Management, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China)

Abstract

The “Energy-Saving and Low-Carbon Action Implementation Plan for Ten Thousand Enterprises” urged Chinese energy users to establish an energy management system (EEM) that emphasizes energy conservation and emission reduction. This study applied the voluntary information disclosure theory, stakeholder theory, and legitimacy theory to construct a research framework for corporate voluntary carbon information disclosure (CID) under combined action of disclosure decision, EEM related to carbon information collection, and pressure to disclose. This study uses A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2017 as its research sample. Panel data regression analyses show that EEM positively affects CID in the high-carbon industry, and LLA positively affects CID in the low-carbon industry. In addition, ownership concentration has significant effects on CID. Moreover, the existence of state-owned shares positively affects CID of AH-share samples. The moderating effect test found that LLA has a negative moderating effect (a positive moderating effect) on the relationship between EEM and CID in the high-carbon industry (in AH-share samples). This study has verified the promoting effect of energy policies implementation related to carbon reduction and leaders’ carbon awareness on CID. It provided a strong basis for the significance of accelerating climate-change policies and promotion effects of international capital markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Erli Dan & Jianfei Shen, 2022. "Establishment of Corporate Energy Management Systems and Voluntary Carbon Information Disclosure in Chinese Listed Companies: The Moderating Role of Corporate Leaders’ Low-Carbon Awareness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-28, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:5:p:2714-:d:758759
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/5/2714/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/5/2714/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Martin Freedman & Dennis M Patten, 2004. "Evidence on the pernicious effect of financial report environmental disclosure," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 27-41, March.
    2. Ivan Faiella & Danila Malvolti, 2020. "The climate risk for the finance in Italy," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 545, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    3. Minetti, Raoul & Murro, Pierluigi & Paiella, Monica, 2015. "Ownership structure, governance, and innovation," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 165-193.
    4. Nan Sun & Aly Salama & Khaled Hussainey & Murya Habbash, 2010. "Corporate environmental disclosure, corporate governance and earnings management," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 25(7), pages 679-700, July.
    5. Florence Depoers & Thomas Jeanjean & Tiphaine Jérôme, 2016. "Voluntary Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Contrasting the Carbon Disclosure Project and Corporate Reports," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 445-461, March.
    6. Omran, Mohammed M. & Bolbol, Ali & Fatheldin, Ayten, 2008. "Corporate governance and firm performance in Arab equity markets: Does ownership concentration matter?," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 32-45, March.
    7. Lu, Zhiming & Gao, Yan & Xu, Chuanbo, 2021. "Evaluation of energy management system for regional integrated energy system under interval type-2 hesitant fuzzy environment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    8. Perera, Luckmika & Jubb, Christine & Gopalan, Sandeep, 2019. "A comparison of voluntary and mandated climate change-related disclosure," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 243-266.
    9. Pham, Hanh Song Thi & Tran, Hien Thi, 2020. "CSR disclosure and firm performance: The mediating role of corporate reputation and moderating role of CEO integrity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 127-136.
    10. Yu, Ellen Pei-yi & Luu, Bac Van & Chen, Catherine Huirong, 2020. "Greenwashing in environmental, social and governance disclosures," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    11. Cheng, Louis T.W. & Wang, Jacqueline Wenjie, 2021. "Equity ownership and corporate transparency: International evidence," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 143-165.
    12. Fan, Qingliang & Wang, Ting, 2017. "The impact of Shanghai–Hong Kong Stock Connect policy on A-H share price premium," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 222-227.
    13. Zhang, Dongyang, 2022. "Environmental regulation and firm product quality improvement: How does the greenwashing response?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    14. Zhang, Wei & Li, Yi & Zhang, Zuochao & Shen, Dehua, 2018. "The dynamic cross-correlations between foreign news, local news and stock returns," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 509(C), pages 861-872.
    15. Seo, Hojun, 2021. "Peer effects in corporate disclosure decisions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(1).
    16. Byun, Hae-Young & Hwang, Lee-Seok & Lee, Woo-Jong, 2011. "How does ownership concentration exacerbate information asymmetry among equity investors?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 511-534, November.
    17. Xu, Baoping & Zhou, Shaoxiang & Hao, Lin, 2015. "Approach and practices of district energy planning to achieve low carbon outcomes in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 109-122.
    18. Roberts, Robin W., 1992. "Determinants of corporate social responsibility disclosure: An application of stakeholder theory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 17(6), pages 595-612, August.
    19. Shenggang Ren & Duojun He & Tao Zhang & Xiaohong Chen, 2019. "Symbolic reactions or substantive pro‐environmental behaviour? An empirical study of corporate environmental performance under the government's environmental subsidy scheme," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 1148-1165, September.
    20. 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.
    21. Sadegh Zadeh, S.M., 2007. "An energy efficiency plan for the Iranian building sub-sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 1164-1171, February.
    22. Chen, Yi-Chun & Hung, Mingyi & Wang, Yongxiang, 2018. "The effect of mandatory CSR disclosure on firm profitability and social externalities: Evidence from China," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 169-190.
    23. Hasseldine, J. & Salama, A.I. & Toms, J.S., 2005. "Quantity versus quality: the impact of environmental disclosures on the reputations of UK Plcs," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 231-248.
    24. Deng, Lu & Liao, Mingqing & Luo, Rui & Sun, Jianfei & Xu, Chen, 2021. "Does corporate social responsibility reduce share price premium? Evidence from China's A- and H-shares," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    25. Olga Hawn & Aaron K. Chatterji & Will Mitchell, 2018. "Do investors actually value sustainability? New evidence from investor reactions to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI)," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(4), pages 949-976, April.
    26. Wang, Haifei & Guo, Ting & Tang, Qingliang, 2021. "The effect of national culture on corporate green proactivity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 140-150.
    27. Liu, John Zhuang & Zhang, Angela Huyue, 2019. "Ownership and political control: Evidence from charter amendments," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    28. Khalfan, Twahir M. & Wendt, Stefan, 2020. "The impact of ownership concentration on payout across Nordic firms," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pankaewta Lakkanawanit & Wilawan Dungtripop & Muttanachai Suttipun & Hisham Madi, 2022. "Energy Conservation and Firm Performance in Thailand: Comparison between Energy-Intensive and Non-Energy-Intensive Industries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-17, October.

    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. María Luisa Pajuelo Moreno & Teresa Duarte-Atoche, 2019. "Relationship between Sustainable Disclosure and Performance—An Extension of Ullmann’s Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-33, August.
    2. Le Luo & Qingliang Tang & Hanlu Fan & Jamie Ayers, 2023. "Corporate carbon assurance and the quality of carbon disclosure," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(1), pages 657-690, March.
    3. Jane Andrew & Max Baker, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting: The Last 40 Years and a Path to Sharing Future Insights," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 56(1), pages 35-65, March.
    4. Francesca Bernini & Fabio La Rosa, 2024. "Research in the greenwashing field: concepts, theories, and potential impacts on economic and social value," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 28(2), pages 405-444, June.
    5. Kentaro Azuma & Akira Higashida, 2024. "Climate change disclosure and evolving institutional investor salience: Roles of the Principles for Responsible Investment," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 3669-3686, May.
    6. Qiuyang Tu & Zhao Duan & Hong Zhou, 2024. "Performance gap and the timing of corporate social responsibility disclosure‐A trust repair perspective," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(5), pages 4878-4892, September.
    7. Birindelli, Giuliana & Chiappini, Helen & Jalal, Raja Nabeel-Ud-Din, 2024. "Greenwashing, bank financial performance and the moderating role of gender diversity," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    8. Cuadrado-Ballesteros, Beatriz & Rodríguez-Ariza, Lázaro & García-Sánchez, Isabel-María, 2015. "The role of independent directors at family firms in relation to corporate social responsibility disclosures," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 890-901.
    9. Linda Kusumaning Wedari & Amir Moradi‐Motlagh & Christine Jubb, 2023. "The moderating effect of innovation on the relationship between environmental and financial performance: Evidence from high emitters in Australia," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 654-672, January.
    10. Liu, Jianlei & Uchida, Konari & Bao, Chenyu, 2024. "Environmental regulation, corporate environmental disclosure, and firm performance: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    11. Zhang, Linhan & Tang, Qingliang & Huang, Robin Hui, 2021. "Mind the Gap: Is Water Disclosure a Missing Component of Corporate Social Responsibility?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(1).
    12. Dong Ding & Bin Liu & Millicent Chang, 2023. "Carbon Emissions and TCFD Aligned Climate-Related Information Disclosures," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(4), pages 967-1001, February.
    13. Florence Depoers & Tiphaine Jérôme, 2017. "Environmental expenditure disclosure strategies in a regulated context [Stratégies de publication des dépenses environnementales dans un cadre réglementaire]," Post-Print hal-01576195, HAL.
    14. Zhang, Guanglong, 2023. "Regulatory-driven corporate greenwashing: Evidence from “low-carbon city” pilot policy in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    15. Liu, Yang Stephanie & Zhou, Xiaoyan & Yang, Jessica Hong & Hoepner, Andreas G.F. & Kakabadse, Nada, 2023. "Carbon emissions, carbon disclosure and organizational performance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    16. Fawad Rauf & Cosmina Lelia Voinea & Hammad Bin Azam Hashmi & Cosmin Fratostiteanu, 2020. "Moderating Effect of Political Embeddedness on the Relationship between Resources Base and Quality of CSR Disclosure in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-19, April.
    17. Perera, Luckmika & Jubb, Christine & Gopalan, Sandeep, 2019. "A comparison of voluntary and mandated climate change-related disclosure," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 243-266.
    18. Jieun Chung & Charles H. Cho, 2018. "Current Trends within Social and Environmental Accounting Research: A Literature Review," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(2), pages 207-239, June.
    19. Abdalla Shwairef & Azlan Amran & Mohammad Iranmanesh & Noor Hazlina Ahmad, 2021. "The mediating effect of strategic posture on corporate governance and environmental reporting," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 349-378, February.
    20. Tesfaye T. Lemma & Martin Feedman & Mthokozisi Mlilo & Jin Dong Park, 2019. "Corporate carbon risk, voluntary disclosure, and cost of capital: South African evidence," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 111-126, January.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:5:p:2714-:d:758759. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.