Analyzing predictive value of voluntary carbon disclosure

UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY
Finance Department
Research Seminars in Finance

Profile picture of Stefan Trueck

Paper Title: Walking the walk or just talking the talk? Analyzing the predictive value of voluntary carbon disclosures

Speaker: Stefan Trueck, Macquarie University

Time and Date: 12:00 - 13:00, Wednesday 9th March 2022 (Australian Eastern Daylight Time)
 

 

Abstract: While corporate  social  reporting  (CSR) and  voluntary  carbon  disclosure  become more mainstream, research in the realm of discretionary carbon reporting mostly focusses on its determinants,  whereas  there  is  little-known  knowledge  on its informational  value  and its effects. Applying theoretical   lenses   from   the   management   and   legitimacy   view   of environmental  disclosure  as  well  as  insights  from  impression  management,  we  revisit  the relation  between  carbon  disclosure  and  performance,  extending  prior  studies  by  considering disclosure  quality. Based  on  a  global  sample  of  CDP  participants  from  2010  to  2019,  we examine  the  impact  of  carbon  disclosure  and  its  quality on  subsequent  changes  in  carbon performance, while  accounting for  the hard-to-quantify  nature  of  CSR  reports  by utilizing computer-based linguistic analysis to detect opportunistic reporting behavior. Evidencing that better carbon disclosure performance does not invoke reductions in carbon emission intensity, we  argue  that  disclosure  is  driven  by  legitimacy  reasons.  We  further find that  increased opportunistic  reporting  behavior  weakly  indicates  worse  future  performance, even more pronounced if companies are subject to less stakeholder pressure and regulations.

Moderator: Deborah Cotton, University of Technology Sydney

Date: Wednesday, 9th March 2022
Time: 12-1 pm (Australian Eastern Daylight Time)
Venue: On campus | Face-to-face seminar in room CB08.08.002

Seminar protocols:

  • The seminar will run for 45 minutes, followed by a 15 minute Q&A session.
  • There will be a moderator for each seminar event, who will facilitate communication and resolve any technical issues.
  • The moderator will alert the speaker at the appropriate times and either ask the questions raised or have the participant ask the question directly to the presenter.

Co-ordinator: Kenny Phua

Enquiries: Ray Alonso

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UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.