Environmental Accounting Information Disclosure Driving Factors: The Case of Listed Firms in China

This study explores factors that drive environmental accounting information disclosure (EAID) among corporations in China. Using a sample of 200 A-shared listed firms, we apply a structural equation model (SEM) and multiple linear regressions to examine how, and to what extent, external pressure, corporate performance and corporate governance affects the EAID of corporations. The results show that external pressure and corporate performance can significantly and positively affect corporate EAID. Regarding external pressure, government regulations, media pressure and loans are the most important driving factors, whereas profitability and sales ability are the most important ones among corporate performance factors. However, we found that governance factors have no significant impact on EAID. This paper enriches research on environmental accounting information disclosure and provides important insights for Chinese regulators into effective ways of fostering disclosures of environmental accounting information and raising corporate awareness of CSR fulfillment to ensure sustainable development.