Unpacking carbon accounting numbers: A study of the commensurability and comparability of corporate greenhouse gas emission disclosures

The purpose of this study is to challenge the ability of carbon accounting to work as a commensuration process by exploring the ability of quantified greenhouse gas emissions data to communicate comparable and therefore highly commensurable-carbon performance information. Comparability and commensurability are examined through the case study of a major oil and gas firm, and an empirical comparability test of the greenhouse gases emissions reported by oil and gas facilities from 19 different corporations between 2004 and 2015. Comparability ratings between facilities are developed based on mandatorily reported emissions and production levels. We provide evidence of a lack of comparability, and therefore commensurability, in reported greenhouse gas emissions. Information related to corporate-level greenhouse gas emissions could potentially mislead users into believing the firm has lower regulatory costs and/or less regulatory risk than it actually has. This study suggests that the collection and consolidation of facility level direct greenhouse gas emissions estimation could fail to produce highly commensurable and hence meaningful greenhouse gas emissions reports. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.