Determinants of environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures of top 100 Standard and Poor’s Bombay Stock Exchange firms listed in India

Abstract

Corporate sustainability practices have become a proxy for a better management culture and good governance. As a result, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures are considered significant factors in the value creation procedures of the organisations. However, definitive guidelines on ESG reporting are still missing. Motivated by this research gap, the present study explores the types of industry-specific and firm-specific characteristics that motivate organisations to report on their ESG activities by utilizing a sample of top 100 Indian Standard and Poor’s Bombay stock exchange, (S&P BSE) firms for the period 2015-2019. Based on the multivariate-regression analysis, the findings of this examination indicate that the size of the firm, cross border listing, and the industry play a crucial role in defining a firm reporting on ESG parameters. However, the current study did not find any evidence to support that a firm’s book to market Value (BTMV), leverage, growth, age, Returns on the Capital Employed (ROCE), and ownership affect the ESG disclosures. But the Indian firms started emphasising the process of replacing their profit-maximising goals with sustainable ESG goals.