Corporate Social and Environmental Reporting Institutionalized

External Corporate Social and Environmental Reporting （CSER） finds its raison d＇etre in corporations＇ search for both a license to operate and accountability towards society. This suggests a relationship between corporations and society. In this study, that relationship is analyzed, specifically the relationship between levels of CSER and economic institutions. A strong link with institutions is an outcome of institutionalization. The economic institutions applied are economic freedom and legal origin as a proxy for national corporate governance systems. The results of this descriptive study show associations between CSER levels and economic freedom. CSER is also related to national corporate governance systems through legal origin. CSER appears to be institutionalized, or in any case, corporations seem to be aware of the economic institutionalization of CSER.

BASF Issues First Report on Economic,Environmental,and Social Performance

Seven key indicators standardize and integrate transparency BASF, the world’s leading chemical company, will enhance its transparency in Greater China by reporting annually on seven key financial, social and environmental indicators: sales, number of employees,

Environmental Disclosure of Chemical Industry:Evidencefrom Chinese A-Share Market

Environmental pollution and environmental reporting have increasingly drawn the attention of the countries around the world. The paper selects A-share listed companies of chemical industry in China. Using logistic model, we research the impact of financial performance of listed companies upon environmental reporting. The conclusion of the study shows that the total number of enterprises which disclosed environmental information (EI) has increased year by year, and EI content and volume disclosed by heavy pollution corporations have increased annually. And the more profitability the listed companies attain, the more EI they are inclined to disclose. Moreover, companies will have an ability to disclose EI so as to reduce the agency costs arising from informa-tion asymmetry. Furthermore, the development capability of com-panies is of negative correlation to environmental reporting, and the liabilities degree of listed companies is of negative correlation to environmental reporting, but it is not significant. This paper also offers policy recommendations that enhance EI transparency and regulate EI reporting of listed companies.

The Relationship Between Integrated Reporting and Financial Reporting

With globalized world, expectations about business＇ role in the society and the world have increased; rather than just calculating profit and recording it, business has taken a step further. Accordingly, the social responsibility reporting, sustainability reporting, and environmental reporting concepts have emerged. Financial reporting just focuses on a portion of the company＇s status and is unable to show the effects of environmental factors, climate changes on the companies. In addition, sustainability reporting was unable to show financial data which aims to see the risks and opportunities better, improves corporate reputation, and evaluates the performance of the company in accordance with the laws and norms. Investors need to establish a relationship between the financial and non-financial information in order to carry out risk analysis, as a result, the idea of integrated reporting has arised. Many companies have willingly started to prepare integrated reports in various formats and every report has been formed in accordance with the needs of readers and business properties. In addition, integrated reporting principles and guidelines have been published by the International Integrated Reporting Council, in order to provide guidance to report preparers. With the increasing importance and spread of integrated reporting, debates about the benefits and problems encountered in the preparation increased. In this study, the followings are explained： the terms of financial reporting, sustainability reporting, and financial reporting; emergence of these terms; benefits of integrated reporting and problems that may be encountered while preparation; and the relationship between financial reporting and integrated reporting.