TY - JOUR

T1 - Climate reporting quality following the recommendations of the task force on climate-related financial disclosures: A Focus on the German capital market

T2 - A Focus on the German Capital Market

AU - Braasch, Annabelle

AU - Velte, Patrick

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Sustainable Development published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

PY - 2023/4

Y1 - 2023/4

N2 - This paper investigates the quality of climate reporting by German DAX30 companiesbased on legitimacy theory. The study refers to a content analysis of climate-related corporate disclosures from 2018 to 2020, related to the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The results show that there is still considerable room for improvement among carbon-sensitive as well as less carbon-sensitive firms. In particular, the companies showed poor reporting rates in the corporate governance domain, indicating that they use climate reporting symbolically to present themselves in a favorable light and to gain legitimacy in society. Moreover, carbon-sensitive companies were more likely to report strategically relevant information on climate issues. The results are most relevant for researchers, business practice and regulatory bodies.

AB - This paper investigates the quality of climate reporting by German DAX30 companiesbased on legitimacy theory. The study refers to a content analysis of climate-related corporate disclosures from 2018 to 2020, related to the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The results show that there is still considerable room for improvement among carbon-sensitive as well as less carbon-sensitive firms. In particular, the companies showed poor reporting rates in the corporate governance domain, indicating that they use climate reporting symbolically to present themselves in a favorable light and to gain legitimacy in society. Moreover, carbon-sensitive companies were more likely to report strategically relevant information on climate issues. The results are most relevant for researchers, business practice and regulatory bodies.

KW - Management studies

KW - Sustainability Science

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/318546bd-f152-3878-a9eb-fbd8feb6befd/

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85145738543&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1002/sd.2430

DO - 10.1002/sd.2430

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 31

SP - 926

EP - 940

JO - Sustainable Development

JF - Sustainable Development

SN - 0968-0802

IS - 2

ER -