Corporate Environmental Reporting for Achieving Environmental Sustainability: Evidence from Real-estate, Engineering, and Automobiles Industry

Abstract

This study intends to investigate the companies' environmental reporting disclosure practices. To achieve the research aim, we have developed 'Environmental Risk Reporting Practices Index for Engineering Industry (ERRPIEI) which includes environmental, energy, waste, water, biodiversity, and supply chain management and design. Additionally, the 'Environmental Risk Reporting Practices Index for Services and Real Estate (ERRPISE)' has been developed by authors that include strategy and governance toward environmental sustainability, reduction, and optimization initiatives, communicating and joining the collective effort, different metrics, and environmental sustainability reporting. Simultaneously, these two indexes are made up of 114 index items. Data is accumulated from 46 companies operating in two different sectors namely engineering (automobile), services, and real estate for the year 2021-2022 from Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), Bangladesh. The study revealed that the overall scoring of index items is very petite, with companies providing very insufficient and inappropriate non-financial information, most of the companies scored zero in all our disclosure items. Furthermore, the services, and real estate industry is disclosing more index items on environmental issues than the engineering industry. This study will contribute to the standing literature on highlighting corporate environmental reporting aspects of annual reports as well as providing some insights on the environmental reporting and disclosures to the concerned policy-makers for taking efforts and initiatives for adapting to climate change and securing sustainable development which leads to achieving overall environmental sustainability.