Effect of Environmental Information Disclosure on the Financing Efficiency of Enterprises—Evidence from China’s Listed Energy Companies

In recent years, China has made it clear that the whole society should constantly enhance its awareness of ecological and environmental protection and promote the development of public safety and health. For listed energy enterprises, it is the responsibility of the enterprise to disclose the extent of environmental pollution in the development process to the whole society. The environmental information disclosure of energy enterprises not only promotes social and environmental protection but also has an impact on the financing efficiency of the enterprises themselves. After screening all A-share listed energy enterprises in China and eliminating the non-adoptable samples, 182 listed energy enterprises were finally selected as the research samples. Based on the data samples of 182 A-share listed energy industry enterprises in China from 2012 to 2019, this paper empirically tests the relationship between environmental information disclosure and corporate financing efficiency. The study finds that the environmental information disclosure has a significant positive impact on corporate financing efficiency, and the mediating effect model is used to analyze the intermediary role of corporate social responsibility in the impact of corporate environmental information disclosure on financing efficiency. This study expands the economic impact of corporate environmental information disclosure, improves the research framework on corporate financing efficiency, and provides informative suggestions for energy enterprises to improve financing efficiency and long-term development. In addition, the research shows that the environmental information disclosure and corporate social responsibility of listed energy enterprises in China still need to be improved, and the government and regulatory authorities should strengthen relevant policy constraints.

[1]  Qi Zhang,et al.  Can environmental information disclosure improve total-factor energy efficiency? , 2023, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management.

[2]  K. Hussainey,et al.  Corporate transformation toward Industry 4.0 and financial performance: The influence of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) , 2022, Technological Forecasting and Social Change.

[3]  S. Kraus,et al.  Corporate social responsibility and environmental performance: The mediating role of environmental strategy and green innovation , 2020, Technological Forecasting and Social Change.

[4]  C. Cowton,et al.  Is corporate environmental disclosure associated with firm value? A multicountry study of Gulf Cooperation Council firms , 2020 .

[5]  Saeid Homayoun,et al.  Corporate Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability Performance Transformation through ESG Disclosure , 2020 .

[6]  Zongjun Wang,et al.  Can voluntary environmental regulation promote corporate technological innovation? , 2020, Business Strategy and the Environment.

[7]  Jing Wang,et al.  Does environmental information disclosure contribute to improve firm financial performance? An examination of the underlying mechanism. , 2020, The Science of the total environment.

[8]  A. Gerged,et al.  Is earnings management associated with corporate environmental disclosure? , 2020 .

[9]  Amal Hamrouni,et al.  Corporate social responsibility disclosure and debt financing , 2019, Journal of Applied Accounting Research.

[10]  A. Bhattacharyya,et al.  Mandatory CSR expenditure and firm performance , 2019, Journal of Contemporary Accounting & Economics.

[11]  Xiaodong Xu,et al.  The Impact of Mandatory CSR Disclosure on the Cost of Debt Financing: Evidence from China , 2019, Emerging Markets Finance and Trade.

[12]  Shihu Zhong,et al.  Environmental information disclosure quality, media attention and debt financing costs: Evidence from Chinese heavy polluting listed companies , 2019, Journal of Cleaner Production.

[13]  Marcel C. Minutolo,et al.  Exploring environmental, social, and governance disclosure effects on the S&P 500 financial performance , 2019, Business Strategy and the Environment.

[14]  Ngoc Tien Nguyen,et al.  The impact of corporate social responsibility on the cost of equity: an analysis of Vietnamese listed companies , 2019, Investment Management and Financial Innovations.

[15]  M. Fonseka,et al.  The Effects of Environmental Information Disclosure and Energy Types on the Cost of Equity: Evidence from the Energy Industry in China , 2019, Abacus.

[16]  Christian Favino,et al.  Impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance Information on Economic Performance: Evidence of a Corporate ‘Sustainability Advantage’ from Europe , 2019, Sustainability.

[17]  C. Chung,et al.  Study on the Relationship between CSR and Financial Performance , 2019, Sustainability.

[18]  S. Managi,et al.  Do environmental, social, and governance activities improve corporate financial performance? , 2018, Business Strategy and the Environment.

[19]  I. García‐Sánchez,et al.  Integrated information and the cost of capital , 2017 .

[20]  L. Koh,et al.  The impact of environmental, social, and governance disclosure on firm value: The role of CEO power , 2017 .

[21]  Wen Zhong-lin,et al.  Analyses of Mediating Effects: The Development of Methods and Models , 2014 .

[22]  Chendi Zhang,et al.  Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Risk: Theory and Empirical Evidence , 2012, Manag. Sci..

[23]  Benson Wier,et al.  Is Earnings Quality Associated with Corporate Social Responsibility? , 2011, Sustainability.

[24]  Ross L. Watts,et al.  Positive Accounting Theory: A Ten Year Perspective , 2006 .

[25]  P. Sengupta,et al.  Corporate Disclosure Quality and the Cost of Debt , 1998 .

[26]  Selena Aureli,et al.  The value relevance of environmental, social, and governance disclosure: Evidence from Dow Jones Sustainability World Index listed companies , 2019, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management.