Corporate Environmental Disclosures on the Internet: an Empirical Analysis of Indian Companies

Abstract

The impact of industrialization, on natural resources, human health and environment was not 
clear till 1960s. Rachel Carson for the first time in 1962 raised important questions about hu
man impact on nature in her book, Silent Spring. With the growing awareness towards sustain
able development, industries and corporations have a major role in environmental degradation 
and protection thereof. In the past, accounting theories emphasized primarily on financial per
formance. This awareness on sustainable development is visible through varied environmental 
management mechanisms practiced amongst companies across the world. Environmental con
cerns are addressed by corporate giants through identification and estimation of environmental 
costs, benefits, investments, assets and liabilities into main stream accounting and reporting 
practices, for varied managerial decisions.  These focused environmental efforts have sharp
ened and improved the global reporting standards. In India, the incorporation of environmental 
costs and benefits into mainstream financial reporting is at its nascent stage at present - but it is 
certain to grow.  Indian companies have not yet developed a holistic approach to environmental 
reporting, as there is lack of environmental reporting guidelines. On the other hand environ
mental awareness among Indian stakeholders gets strengthened with advancement in communi
cation technology. High propensity of environmental awareness ensures a more cautious ap
proach among Indian corporations to be environmentally responsible.  With the advancement 
of information and communications technologies, global corporate information disclosures 
have been on rise through the medium of internet, as confirmed by various recent national and 
international surveys. This research has observed that Indian companies follow diverse report
ing practices on the internet viz., stand alone environmental reporting (satellite accounts) or 
reporting along with the Annual/Financial Reports, or Sustainability Reporting.