This paper examines the patterns in voluntary environmental disclosures made by a sample of large UK companies. The analysis distinguishes between the decision to make a voluntary environmental disclosure and decisions concerning the quality of such disclosures and examines how each type of decision is determined by firm and industry characteristics. We find that larger, less indebted companies with dispersed ownership characteristics are significantly more likely to make voluntary environmental disclosures, and that the quality of disclosures is positively associated with firm size and corporate environmental impact. We find significant cross-sector variation in the determinants of both the participation and quality decisions. Furthermore, the manner of this variation differs between the two.

Voluntary environmental disclosures by large UK companies

Purpose – This study aims to report the extent of voluntary carbon emission disclosures by major Australian companies during the years 2006 to 2008. This paper provides contemporary data and explanations about carbon emissions reporting in Australia. Additionally, the paper aims to determine the variables that explain the extent of carbon disclosures.Design/methodology/approach – The carbon disclosure score is measured directly from individual companies' annual reports and sustainability reports. A checklist is established to determine the breadth and depth of the information related to climate change and carbon emissions incorporated in these publicly available reports.Findings – The overall carbon disclosure score has increased significantly over the authors' research period. Furthermore, regression results show that larger firms with higher visibility tend to make more comprehensive carbon disclosures. Overall, the authors' results indicate that the legislation of the National Greenhouse and Energy Rep...

An analysis of Australian company carbon emission disclosures

Purpose – The present study aims to examine the influence of stakeholders on green marketing strategy (GMS). Marketing literature recognizes that stakeholders play a significant role in influencing organizations and markets, but has not targeted a single integrated approach to examine the relationship between stakeholder management and GMS.Design/methodology/approach – This research comprised several phases, including the development of a typology of GMS, an analysis of how managers prioritize stakeholders, a study of the influence of stakeholders on GMS, and an analysis of the influence of the organizational context on managers' perception of the stakeholders. The hypotheses were validated using multivariate correlational techniques.Findings – The study identified the stakeholders associated with GMS and their impact on the strategy adopted by the firms, and established how this is moderated by the firm's own economic sector and organizational characteristics.Research limitations/implications – Future st...

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Re‐evaluating green marketing strategy: a stakeholder perspective

This article presents a three-stage model of how isomorphic mechanisms have shaped corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting practices over time. In the first stage, defensive reporting, companies fail to meet stakeholder expectations due to a deficiency in firm performance. In this stage, the decision to report is driven by coercive isomorphism as firms sense pressure to close the expectational gap. In the second stage, proactive reporting, knowledge of CSR reporting spreads and the practice of CSR reporting becomes normatively sanctioned. In this stage, normative isomorphism leads other organizations to look to CSR reporting as a potential new opportunity for achieving the firm’s goals. In the third stage, imitative diffusion, the defensive reporters together with the proactive reporters create a critical mass of CSR reporters that reaches a threshold at which the benefits of CSR reporting begin to outweigh any costs due to mimetic isomorphism. The study finds support for the model in an examinati...

The Institutionalization of Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting

Environmental management intentions: An empirical investigation of Argentina's polluting firms

Comparative case studies, within a single industry context, induced a theoretical model identifying the influence of managerial issue interpretations, antecedent strategic leadership, and organizat...

Sanjay Sharma

Papers

A longitudinal investigation of environmental responsiveness strategies: antecedents and outcomes.