Environmental disclosure: does regulation solve the lack of compara- bility and objectivity?

Abstract

The main aim in this research was to investigate the impact of regulation on environmental disclosure (ED). Lack of objectivity and comparability have been indicated in earlier studies as the main limitations of companies’ ED and under standing how regulation can influence these limitations is fundamental for the advancement of discussions about the need to regulate these practices or not. Environmental information was analyzed in the annual reports for the year 2007 of 120 companies of equivalent size, from the oil and natural gas sector, in four countries with cultural similarities: the United States, Canada, England and Aus tralia. To classify the data, a scale was used that was adapted from two studies on environmental disclosure, the study by Clarkson et al (2008) and by Wiseman (1982). To analyze the regulatory differences, existing studies were used in which this survey was previously undertaken. The results showed that, in countless with more extensive and specific regulatory mechanisms with greater enforcement power, environmental disclosure practices are more objective and comparable, that is, regulation can be one of the solutions to improve companies’ environmen tal disclosure.