Abstract:
Since this is an era of environmental degradation in the wake of continually depleting
the ozone layer, climate change & global warming, environmental consciousness in
entities’ activities has risen in recent years, promoting environmental communication.
Thus, environmental disclosures entail informing the public on how successful a firm
is in minimizing its negative impacts on the environment. This study aims to examine
the association between firm-specific attributes & environmental disclosures of Sri
Lankan listed companies. These objectives are addressed through investigating the
compliance with environmental aspects of GRI G.4.0 guidelines employing content
analysis in the annual reports of 254 companies covering 20 sectors for the year 2018.
Moreover, the association between firm-specific attributes and environmental
disclosure level are analyzed through the Ordinary Least Square regression model.
The study found that the overall level of environmental disclosures is lower in Sri
Lankan listed firms. Also, of the 20 sectors analysed, the plantation sector depicts the
highest level (19%), while the Investment trust sector depicts the lowest
environmental disclosure level (1%). Further, regression results imply that size &
ISO 14001 were found to be as significant in determining the level of environmental
disclosures. At the same time, there was no significant association between
shareholder power, creditor power, financial performance, firm age and
environmental disclosure level. The study will add value to the existing body of
literature on environmental disclosures, regulators, policymakers & stakeholders
highly involved in, interested in and affected by the environmental disclosures.
