Search

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the trend of voluntary carbon disclosure (henceforth referred to as VCD) practices in Malaysia. It also intended to examine whether the pattern VCD practices are substantive or symbolic. Design/methodology/approach: A content analysis of annual reports was used to examine the quality of VCD against a checklist developed by Abd Rahman et al. (2019). The study sample comprised 1,675 annual reports of companies listed on Bursa Malaysia over a period of seven years from 2010 to 2016. Data were then analysed using the Friedman and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Findings: Findings show that the quality of VCD, both substantive and symbolic disclosure practices, had significantly increased during the study period. Moreover, current VCD practices are largely substantive in nature and is intended to reflect accountability. Research limitations/implications: The results can be merely interpreted only across the target samples, which covers a study period of seven years. Practical implications: Findings draw the attention of the manager to specific aspects of VCD that require improvement and provide an empirical basis for policy makers and regulators when developing future VCD regulatory guidelines. Originality/value: This study provides insights into the journey of VCD practices in Malaysia and contributes to the corpus of contemporary literature by examining substantive and symbolic disclosures in the context of developing countries. Keywords: Carbon Disclosure, substantive Disclosure, Longitudinal, symbolic Disclosure, Substantive or Symbolic, Introduction In light of evidence regarding man-made causes of climate change, businesses are increasingly under pressure to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. This seems to be particularly relevant to the [...]

Purpose: The main objective of this study is to examine the moderating role of corporate governance on the interaction between voluntary carbon reporting (VCR) quality and firm performance of 219 Malaysian public listed companies operated in carbon-intensive industries over 2010 to 2016.Design/methodology/approach: This study utilised content analysis to assess the VCR practices of these companies and used random effects regression method with panel data to test the interaction between the VCR and firm performance.Findings: The finding reveals that the VCR information is value-irrelevance, indicate that the VCR plays an insignificant signaling role of firm performance.Research limitations/implications: The result increases the understanding on the relationship between VCR, firm performance and corporate governance among practitioners and academia.Practical implications: This study provides an insight for the Malaysian Government in developing, implementing and evaluating climate change policies and strategies as well as for accounting regulatory body in formulating regulation for carbon reporting.Originality/value: The study used data from Malaysian market and provide the first empirical evidence on the investigation of the quality of the VCR using self-modified disclosure index, the value relevance of the VCR and the moderating effect of corporate governance on the VCR-firm performance relationship.Keywords: Carbon Reporting, MYCarbon GHG Reporting Guidelines, Firm Performance, Market Value, Value Relevance, IntroductionClimate change and carbon footprints have been recognised as an international concern. With the increasing acceptance of climate change as one of the most significant threats facing the world today, [...]