Environmental accounting and performance: empirical evidence from China

Environmental problems have become global issues in recent years. This has influenced some countries, including China, to enact environmental accounting disclosure decrees. To fill the literature gap, this study sought to assess the link among environmental accounting information disclosure (EAID), environmental performance index (EPI), board attributes, and profitability of publicly traded mining companies in China. Using a sample of fifty-one out of the sixty-six companies in the mining sector, the authors utilized secondary data from 2000 to 2020 and utilized the Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (CCEMG) estimation for the long-run analysis. The CCEMG estimator was employed because it deals with possible cross-sectional dependencies, heteroscedasticity, serial correlation, and endogeneity, thereby freeing the results from these issues. The findings revealed a mixed conclusion between board attributes and EAID. Moreover, the findings posit that both EADI and EPI have a positive slope connection with the profitability of the mining firms. Our findings offer a detailed understanding to stakeholders and highlight the beneficial impact on how environmental accounting can influence ecological and financial performance in the mining industry. Finally, the current study stimulates more theoretical and empirical work on environmental accounting and performance in the mining sector.

Automated summary

Environmental problems have become global issues, leading to the enactment of environmental accounting disclosure decrees in many countries, including China. This study examines the relationship between environmental accounting information disclosure (EAID), environmental performance index (EPI), board attributes, and profitability of publicly traded mining companies in China. The findings reveal mixed results regarding the correlation between board attributes and EAID, and suggest that both EAID and EPI positively influence the profitability of mining firms. The study provides valuable insights for stakeholders and highlights the positive impact of environmental accounting on ecological and financial performance in the mining industry.