Voluntary Environmental Disclosure Practice in Bangladesh and its Determinants: Evidence from Listed Public Companies of DSE


Journal of Management Research

ISSN: 0972-5814 Online ISSN: 0974-455X

Voluntary Environmental Disclosure Practice in Bangladesh and its Determinants: Evidence from Listed Public Companies of DSE


Sazid Hasan Ruko


Abstract

This study is designed to investigate the nature of environmental disclosure and the extent to which it is practiced by public limited companies in Bangladesh. The sample of the study covers the annual reports (2017-18) of 98 listed companies from 12 industries on the Dhaka Stock Exchange. The study found that the average environmental disclosure score’s index (EDSI) of the sample is 0.157 out of 1.00, with a standard deviation of 0.09, implying significant difference in practice among industries. The study identified some corporate attributes as having a positive association with the level of disclosure. These are size (in terms of assets), industry (manufacturing), and MNCs (subsidiaries of multinational companies) and LTBL (Long Term Bank Loan). Besides, it is also found that profitability (in terms of Return on Assets and Net Profit Margin) and audit firm linkage (external audit firm’s link to big-4 audit firms) do not have any significant impact on the level of disclosure.