Environmental Disclosure in China: An Examination of the Green Securities Policy

In 2008, China launched the Green Securities Policy to increase sustainability practices among companies listed on Chinese stock markets. An integral component of the policy is the environmental disclosure regulation, which directs publicly traded Chinese companies in 14 highly polluting industries to report required environmental information. This research explores the Green Securities Policy in two ways. First, it determines the compliance level with environmental disclosure requirements from 2008 to 2010 by companies covered under the Green Securities Policy. The findings indicate that about 60% of listed companies report the required environmental information at some level. Second, the research examines the dynamics underlying environmental disclosure by Chinese listed companies through the lens of ecological modernization theory. While China's ecological modernization has created an increasingly favorable environment for environmental disclosure regulation, the research highlights problems that have impeded the progress of environmental disclosure by listed companies.