Abstract:
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether corporate governance attributes such as
Board Size, Board Independence, Audit Committee Independence, and ESG Committee
impact carbon emission voluntary disclosures of environmentally sensitive listed companies
in Sri Lanka. The sample of the study consists of 29 listed companies of CSE industry groups
over the 2016 to 2020 period. Carbon emission disclosures were measured using the carbon
disclosure project index checklist developed by Choi et al. (2013). Later, the corporate
governance attributes that influence carbon disclosures were examined using panel data
regression models. The findings of the study suggested that entities with higher number of
directors on their boards were more likely to disclose carbon emission information and
Board Independence and Audit committee Independence did not have a significant impact on
reporting carbon emission information. Additionally, existence of the ESG Committee in
companies had a strong positive impact on the carbon emission reporting and the extent of
such disclosures. This study provides valuable insight which would be useful for
organizations and regulatory bodies. Such an understanding is crucial for specifying
necessary policies that will provide emission reduction practices and policies for entities.
