This study investigated the relationship between corporate efficiency and corporate sustainability to determine whether firms concerned about environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues can also be efficient and profitable. We applied data envelopment analysis to estimate corporate efficiency and investigated the nonlinear relationship between corporate efficiency and ESG disclosure. Evidence shows that corporate transparency regarding ESG information has a positive association with corporate efficiency at the moderate disclosure level, rather than at the high or low disclosure level. Governance information disclosure has the strongest positive linkage with corporate efficiency, followed by social and environmental information disclosure. Moreover, we explored the relationship between particular ESG activities and corporate financial performance (CFP), including corporate efficiency, return on assets and market value. We found that most of the ESG activities reveal a non-negative relationship with CFP. These findings may provide evidence about voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy choices for enhancing corporate sustainability.

Recent empirical studies often support the positive relationship between corporate environmental performance (CEP) in terms of carbon dioxide (CO2) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and corporate financial performance (CFP). However, this depends on the measurements of CEP (the absolute and relative CEP) and CFP (accounting‐based and market‐based CFP). To understand the relationship structurally, based on the literature, this study proposes identity models that integrate CO2 and GHG emissions and financial factors. The models decompose CO2 (GHG) emissions into carbon intensity (GHG intensity), energy intensity, the cost‐to‐sales ratio, the total‐assets‐turnover ratio (TATR), leverage, and equity. The model of supply‐chain GHG emissions additionally adopts supply‐chain GHG intensity. As a decomposition method, this study uses the log‐mean Divisia index. As an application example of the CO2 model, this study targets Japanese manufacturing firms in 16 sectors from fiscal years (FY) 2011 to 2015. Results show that the change in CO2 emissions as of 2015 (−802.1 kilotonnes [kt]) is decomposed into 2922.5 kt for carbon intensity, −26036.3 kt for energy intensity, −6350.5 kt for the cost‐to‐sales ratio, −8495.6 kt for the TATR, −7912.3 kt for leverage, and 45070.1 kt for equity. Average values of relative contribution ratios are 20.6% for carbon intensity, 19.1% for energy intensity, and the remaining approximately 60% for financial factors. Among the 16 sectors, as of 2015, the change in total CO2 emission is statistically significantly positive for equity and significantly negative for the TATR and leverage.

In recent years, material flow cost accounting (MFCA) has gradually been recognized in Asia by the standardization of ISO 14051 and 14052 and by the project of dissemination undertaken by the Asian Productivity Organization (APO). However, MFCA is still not used across the board. This study analyzes the characteristics of material flow (MF) management to facilitate the expanded use of MFCA. The research framework of this study investigates the degree of MF management and the sequential relationships among financial factors, MF management, and waste performance, based on a questionnaire survey of non-financial listed companies in Thailand. Fifty-eight percent of the respondent firms answer that they are managing MF information (self-rating). Meanwhile, 50%, 49%, 29%, and 24% of the firms actually disclose the amounts of total waste, hazardous waste, raw materials consumed, and recycled waste, respectively. The results of this study show that respondent firms with MF management (self-rating) are more likely to manage/disclose total waste, hazardous waste, and raw materials consumed than those without it. In terms of financial factors, cost ratio and profitability are likely to affect firm decisions regarding whether to manage the MF. Additionally, MF management is likely to decrease the hazardous waste ratio. The series of results shows that firms in Thailand are more likely to be concerned about hazardous waste management than resource efficiency. Therefore, hazardous waste should probably be thoroughly managed, as a preliminary step in the promotion of MFCA.

No abstract

This study empirically examines the demographic determinants of car ownership in Japan between 1980 and 2009. Unique car cohort data, composed of the car age and 11 car types, at the prefectural level, is analyzed. The primary reason for examining the demographic determinants of car ownership in Japan is because Japan is projected to face radical demographic changes in the next few decades.These projected changes include depopulation and an aging population with diminishing household size. This study will be the first empirical study of the car cohort model with large countrywide observations in the recent literature. This study classifies the demographic determinants into five categories: (I) longitudinal factors, (II) economic factors, (III) natural factors, (IV) social factors, and (V) other transports. Although some tendencies vary among car types, this study finds the following tendencies of ordinary car ownership (compact four-wheel drive trucks and regular and compact passenger cars). Regarding the longitudinal factors, the long-run effect is much higher than average in the recent literature, whereas the semi elasticity of car age is approximately −7%. Regarding the economic factors, the elasticities of income and fuel price on car ownership tend to be less intense than in earlier studies. Regarding the natural factors of population increase, the elasticities of population and average household size on car ownership tend to be negative. This indicates that a decrease in population and household size in Japan will accelerate car ownership. In addition, the ratio of elderly people has various effects depending on car types. Regarding the social factors of population increase, car ownership tends to be encouraged by the concentration of population within prefecture, and increased and decreased for relatively new (aged 2-11) and old (aged 12+) cars, respectively, by the concentration of population across prefectures. The former is probably due to a composite effect in urban and rural areas, whereas the latter may be a quick update cycle due to an effect of urbanization. Regarding other transports, the degrees of train and bus use tend to be negatively associated with ordinary car ownership. However, these effects are considerably small and often insignificant as in the literature.