Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting and Climate Change: Carbon Emissions Disclosures by Portuguese Companies

This article aims to investigate the extent of carbon emissions disclosures in Portuguese companies operating in environmentally sensitive industries, from 2008 to 2012. Additionally, the chapter aims to explore the factors that explain the extent of such disclosures. The research sample is based upon Portuguese companies that had been continuously integrating in the PNALE I and II, over the twelve-year period. A content analysis of their annual/sustainability reports was conducted to explore the carbon emissions- related disclosures. The study also uses a disclosure index to investigate the extent of disclosure and a panel data regression model was performed to determine the factors that influence carbon emissions reporting. The results show a relatively high level of disclosure and the influence of size, activity sector, concentration of capital and economic period on the level of disclosure presented