Research On The Determinants Of Environmental Information Disclosure

With the rapid economic development around the world, a series of environmental problems bring out, such as global climate change, greenhouse production, the destruction of environmental resources. Human living space is in danger. December 2009 UN climate conference held in Copenhagen, the world continued to pay attention to the importance of environmental issue. Chinese have made a commitment. Before this, China is also clearly expressed to develop a low carbon economy. More and more people attach important to environmental protection. Thus, enterprises as the main group of environmental damage, the commitment to social responsibility is also increasingly important. Government, the public and attention of the whole society had made the enterprises to protect environment and disclose their own environmental protection action. Therefore, in recent years the study on the quality of environment information disclosure and action begin to research continually. The study is of great significance to the enterprise or the government.Any research can not be separated specific environment and context in one region or a country. The environmental information disclosure study also can not leave it. This study is also need to consider the special system environment of Chinese Listed Companies, such as unique ownership structure, capital market development imbalances and so on. We must also consider environmental protection in Chinese legal environment and regulations related to environmental protection. Therefore, in this context, the extent to which listed companies had to disclose environmental information? And what factors affect the environmental information disclosure of listed companies'action? This paper will use the method of theoretical and empirical system to study these issues.This paper is based to information asymmetric theory, social responsibility theory, transaction cost theory and other related theory and review literature of domestic and foreign scholars in the environmental information disclosure. Combining with our unique research background sums up the reasons, they conclude Chinese listed companies'size, financial leverage, profitability, ownership concentration and from government, public, internal, external pressure and select the appropriate variable. The research samples are 275 listed companies of heavy polluting industry in Shanghai Stock Exchange in the period of 2006-2008. Meantime, the paper will mark the level of listed company environmental information according to certain rules and standards and construct environmental information disclosure index. Then the paper will research various factors on the level of environmental information disclosure through multiple regression analysis.The results showed that company size, financial leverage, bank loans are obviously and positively related to the level of environmental information disclosures. The company's ultimate controller category is state-controlled are more inclined to disclose environmental information. If a company has an audit committee or a environment protection sector, it will has high environmental information disclosure level. While overseas listing, ROE, the first shareholder equity ratio did not show a significant effect relationship.Finally, according to previous research findings, combining with the characteristics of Chinese system, the paper will raise relevant policies'suggestions improve the level of environmental information disclosure of listed companies and note that the inadequacies of the paper to provide recommendations for future research.