The effect of company financial performance and company characteristics on Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission Disclosure

¹ Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics, Semarang State University, Semarang - Indonesia
² School of Business, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia - Australia

^* Corresponding author: i.fajarini@mail.unnes.ac.id

Abstract

This study aims to examine the effect of company financial performance (profitability), company characteristics (PROPER rating, firm size, and institutional ownership) on Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission disclosure using all listed companies in Indonesia Stock Exchange in from 2015 to 2017. The GHG emission disclosure variable is measured using the disclosure index approach. The result indicates that on average, the total number of companies disclose their GHG emission disclosure is increased from 30% in 2015 to 32% in 2017, even though the disclosure of GHG emissions is still relatively low. On average, in this study, companies as a sample are in a “blue” rating of PROPER rating (which have value 3 out of 4). The most disclosed item by companies is external verification with 92% in 3 years. The results point out that profitability, PROPER rating, and institutional ownership positively affect the GHG emission disclosure. However, the firm size was not indicated to affect GHG emission disclosure. This study also gives a contribution to the GHG emission disclosure literature by providing factors that affect companies’ GHG emission disclosure, particularly in Indonesia.