Chapter 3: Governance, Accountability and Public Policy

Title: Corporate environmental disclosure: a literature review and a research agenda for developing countries

Reference: WORLD SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OUTLOOK 2006 pp. 79 - 89

Abstract/Summary: Although there has been an increase in the number of companies producing environmental disclosure, Corporate Environmental Disclosure (CED) in developing countries has lagged behind the practices of developed countries. Existing studies have, however, neglected both developing countries and smaller businesses and have generally failed to discuss underlying religious, cultural or political reasons for differences in levels of CED. It must also be observed that practice in Libya appears to be radically different from that in developed countries, in that there is no only a low level of disclosure generally but also a very low proportion of information reported which shows the company in a good light. A useful future research agenda would be to address the underlying cultural differences reflected in CED practices, to address the causes of accounting absence as well as accounting presence and to provide further information on CED practices in developing countries and smaller businesses.

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