Chinese Government as a Determinant of Corporate Environmental Reporting: A Study of Large Chinese Listed Companies

This study explores the extent and nature of environmental information disclosed in the annual reports of large Chinese listed companies, and the extent to which large Chinese listed companies adopt the use of corporate environmental reporting. The results show that environmental reporting in China is increasing but the average amount of disclosure is still low. Environmental content disclosed in annual reports tends to be general, declarative and positive in nature. Company characteristics including company size, profitability, industry and ownership are the determinants of environmental disclosure in China. Through examining environmental reporting in China, this study provides a better picture of environmental disclosure in China. The major contribution of this study is to reveal that, in a centralised economy, government plays an important role in influencing corporate environmental reporting practices.