School of Economics and Management, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, People's Republic of China.
Center for Audit Research, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2022 Sep;29(42):62913-62940. doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-21620-0. Epub 2022 Jul 15.
Examining the coexisting policies for mandatory and voluntary disclosure of environmental information, this paper focuses on the unique background for such disclosure in the context of domestic companies in heavy pollution industries (EHPIs), a topic thus far overlooked by the literature. We aim to identify, in regard to compulsory environmental information disclosure in financial reports, whether adding further voluntary information disclosure to corporate social responsibility (CSR) results in an extra discount from investors during an equity financing. We evaluate a sample of 4390 A-share listed companies in EHPIs operating in China between 2010 and 2018. Specifically, linguistic analysis and image recognition are conducted with Python, and a regression model is applied to test our hypotheses. The positive impact of the following variables on the cost reduction in equity capital is thus demonstrated: (a) CSR disclosure, (b) higher quality CSR reports, (c) increased environmental information disclosure in CSR reports (CSR_E), (d) more accurate environmental investment information, and (e) additional graphs and text. Moreover, the degree of CSR_E disclosure's reduction in the cost of equity is 30 times that of CSR disclosure, while charts have specific positive effects that text does not. Therefore, we identify a new path for remitting information asymmetry in a financial market by extending information manipulation research, especially studies of nonfinancial information. Overall, information disclosure should be taken seriously by both firms and supervisors. Hence, this study offers guidelines for regulatory authorities to explore the coordination effect of mandatory and voluntary disclosure policies, i.e., to achieve environmental governance and the sustainable development of enterprises by improving corporate governance.
本文考察了强制性和自愿性环境信息披露的共存政策，重点关注重污染行业（EHPIs）国内公司在这种披露方面的独特背景，这是文献中迄今为止被忽视的主题。我们旨在确定在财务报告中强制性环境信息披露方面，向企业社会责任（CSR）中进一步自愿披露信息是否会导致投资者在股权融资期间对其额外折扣。我们评估了 2010 年至 2018 年间在中国运营的 4390 家 EHPIs 的 A 股上市公司样本。具体来说，我们使用 Python 进行语言分析和图像识别，并应用回归模型来检验我们的假设。以下变量对股权资本成本降低有积极影响：（a）CSR 披露，（b）更高质量的 CSR 报告，（c）CSR 报告中增加的环境信息披露（CSR_E），（d）更准确的环境投资信息，以及（e）更多的图表和文本。此外，CSR_E 披露对降低股权成本的程度是 CSR 披露的 30 倍，而图表具有文本所没有的特定积极影响。因此，我们通过扩展信息操纵研究，特别是非财务信息研究，为减轻金融市场信息不对称开辟了一条新途径。总体而言，信息披露应该得到公司和监管机构的重视。因此，本研究为监管机构提供了指导，以探索强制性和自愿性披露政策的协调效应，即通过改善公司治理实现环境治理和企业的可持续发展。
