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Greenhouse gas disclosures by Chinese power companies: trends, content and strategies

Mahmood Ahmed Momin (Faculty of Business, Law and Economics, The Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand)
Deryl Northcott (Faculty of Business, Law and Economics, The Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand)
Mohammed Hossain (Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics, Griffith University, Nathan, Australia)

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change

ISSN: 1832-5912

Article publication date: 4 September 2017

839

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the greenhouse gas (GHG)-related disclosure trends, content and strategies of the eight most high GHG-emitting Chinese power companies, over a period when government pressure to manage GHG emissions increased.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from the 2000-2009 annual reports, corporate social and environmental responsibility reports and websites of eight Chinese power companies. Content analysis results were supplemented with excerpts from documents written in English or Chinese. Legitimacy theory informed the interpretation of the findings.

Findings

GHG-related disclosures increased from 2002 when the Chinese Government ratified the Kyoto Protocol and promulgated stringent environmental regulations. However, some expected types of GHG-related disclosure were absent or rare. Disclosure practices were found to be underpinned by reputation management objectives and reflected a symbolic rather than substantive legitimation strategy.

Research limitations/implications

This study extends the literature on GHG-related disclosures by carbon-intensive firms and points to the need for future research to examine such disclosures in different countries to appreciate the variety in practice.

Practical implications

While the Chinese Government appears to have driven the emergence of GHG-related disclosure practices, companies can effect improvement by expanding the scope and content of what they disclose. Also, the growing emphasis on website disclosures may present challenges in ensuring the reliability and assurance of GHG disclosures.

Originality/value

This is the first study to examine GHG-related disclosure practices by Chinese power-generating companies, a sector crucial to managing the GHG effects of China’s significant economic growth.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Auckland University of Technology research grant that supported our data collection. The authors also thank: Sisi An for her research assistance; Dr Sabrina Chong for her help with the Chinese-English translations; Zhonggou (Kevin) Pan for allowing us to use Chinese annual report data from his Master’s thesis; participants at the International Management Accounting Conference (Bangi Putrajaya, Malaysia, 2-3 December 2014) for their feedback on an early version of this paper; and the two anonymous reviewers whose comments have contributed greatly to the development of this paper.

Citation

Momin, M.A., Northcott, D. and Hossain, M. (2017), "Greenhouse gas disclosures by Chinese power companies: trends, content and strategies", Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 331-358. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAOC-07-2015-0054

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited

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