The effect of integrated reporting on corporate environmental disclosure

Abstract: This thesis investigates what effect adoption of the IR framework has on the quality on environmental reporting. A disclosure index was constructed, where environmental performance indicators were evaluated on seven quality criteria. The environmental information disclosed by adopting companies prior to and after implementation of the IR Framework was graded according to the disclosure index. The change over time for adopting companies was compared to the corresponding change for a sample of non-adopting companies. Furthermore, it was investigated whether the effect from adoption of the IR Framework differed with respect to legal origin and environmental sensitivity. The findings provide no evidence for any impact of the IR Framework on the quality of environmental reporting. The change in quality of environmental reporting did not differ between adopting and non-adopting companies over the time period studied. Finally, there is no difference in the effect on the quality of environmental reporting with respect to legal origin or environmental sensitivity.