Voluntary Disclosures of Emissions by US Firms

This paper examines voluntary disclosures about greenhouse gas emissions by the US S&P 500 firms to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). Trends in three disclosures (answering the questionnaire, disclosing emissions and disclosing accounting methodology for emissions) are examined from 2006 to 2008. The frequencies of all three disclosures increased over this period. The finding that many firms answer the questionnaire, but do not disclose their emission amounts or how they account for them, is consistent with a prediction from the legitimacy theory literature that firms will disclose the minimum to avoid scrutiny. Disclosure patterns are routine since previous disclosures are the most significant variable in explaining subsequent ones. The research contributes to the understanding of emission disclosures, in particular, and voluntary disclosures, in general, by highlighting the importance of considering previous disclosures in understanding subsequent ones. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

信息化助推节能减排的思考与实践

低碳经济是减缓温室气体排放,应对全球气候变化的根本出路。南阳卷烟厂利用信息化手段推进节能减排技术创新、制度创新,抓好重点领域节能,强化重点污染源监管,推行清洁生产,建设资源节约型,环境友好型烟草企业。     

碳足迹及其评价准则

当前,为推动温室气体排放的透明化,开展积极有效的碳管理,碳足迹评价成为各国关注的一大重点,各国纷纷出台了一系列评价准则。文章从组织和产品两个层面对国际上较通用的碳足迹评价准则予以介绍,为相关企业及机构了解碳足迹评价知识、开展相关评价工作提供参考。     

The Value Relevance of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Allowances: An Exploratory Study in the Related United States SO2 Market

This paper examines the valuation implications of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions allowances. We posit that the value of a firm's bank of emission allowances has two components that are likely to be positively valued by the capital market: (1) an asset value component; and (2) a real option value component. Since the necessary data to examine this research hypothesis in the setting of GHG emission allowances is not yet available, we test our conjecture by examining the value relevance of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emission allowances held by US electric utilities. Empirical results reveal that the capital market assigns a positive price to a firm's bank of SO₂ emission allowances, consistent with the argument that emission allowances have, at least, an asset value component that is assigned a positive price by the market. We also find weak evidence consistent with the market assigning a real option value to the allowance banks.     

碳标识和环境标志

国际标准化组织环境管理标准化技术委员会（ISO/TC 207）自1998年以来先后发布了环境标志、生命周期评价等一系列有关环境管理的国际标准。近年来,为积极应对气候变化,该委员会又针对温室气体管理陆续制定了组织和项目层面温室气体排放以及产品碳足迹方面的国际标准。＂碳排放＂、＂碳标识＂、＂低碳技术＂和＂低碳发展＂等新概念、新政策正在成为世界各国环境管理专家和学者密切关注的议题。文章对环境标志和碳标识的内在关联进行了比较,分析了我国碳标识制度的发展趋势,并提出未来寻求环境标志和碳标识联合实施的策略和建议。     

Net-zero emission targets and the role of managerial environmental awareness,customer pressure,and regulatory control toward environmental performance

To avoid the worst effects of global warming, countries agreed to limit warming below 2.0°C and ideally to 1.5°C preindustrial level. This requires countries to drop half of their greenhouse gas emission by 2030 and reach net-zero emission by 2050. In this regard, current study explores the role of green production as a mediator in the impact of managerial environmental awareness, customer pressure, and regulatory control on environmental performance. The data collected from 381 managers was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. Results indicate that customer pressure, regulatory control, and managerial environmental awareness play a pivotal role toward green production, whereas only managerial environmental awareness among them directly influences environmental performance. Green production fully mediates the relationship from customer pressure and regulatory control to environmental performance. However, it partially mediates the relation between managerial environmental awareness and environmental performance. Similarly, the importance of green production for environmental performance is highlighted.     

我国企业参与清洁发展机制（CDM）情况及标准需求调查研究

由温室气体引起的地球气候变暖是人类社会在未来年代中所面临的最大挑战之一。因此为了应对全球气候变化,《京都议定书》允许发达国家通过清洁发展机制（CDM）项目从发展中国家购买碳减排量。本文对我国企业参与CDM项目的发展现状以及它们对标准和相关管理政策的需求进行了实际调研,旨在为相关的管理部门提供决策支持。     

国外发展低碳经济政策与实践对我国的启示

近年来,随着全球气候变化危机的加剧,与温室气体减排密切相关的低碳经济已逐渐成为各国重点研究和发展的新经济模式。本文在对英国、美国等发达国家和印度等发展中国家各自的低碳经济政策制定及实践进行分析的基础上,为我国发展低碳经济提供了一些路径和对策方面的建议。     

基于低碳家具标准化的构建分析

世界环境正面临着温室气体不断增多的威胁,全球气候变暖,灾难性气候频繁发生。控制温室气体排放,发展低碳经济,是避免灾难性气候发生,保持人类可持续性发展的重要途径。家具产业已经全面进入品牌化阶段,品牌就意味着品质,更意味着责任,家具产业要更快、更好地发展,走低碳之路势在必行。通过标准化活动推动节能减排,减少＂碳足迹＂,防止地球变暖,推动低碳家具的发展,是时代赋予标准化新的内涵。文章从家具的原材料选用到生产流通,再到循环利用等环节建立标准体系提出了几点设想。     

江苏和甘肃经济发展与大气环境保护状况比较分析

江苏是我国东部经济发达地区省份 ,甘肃是西部欠发达省份 ,两省具有不同的经济增长和环境保护特征 ,对其进行比较研究 ,可发现东部与西部地区各自的比较优势 ,为双方的协作互补和相互借鉴探索切合点。本文对两省工业废气排放总量、单位GDP工业废气排放量、工业SO2、工业烟尘和工业粉尘的排放量与去除量、工业废气污染治理投资、工业废气排放重点行业等指标进行了重点定量比较分析 ,得出了相应结论 ,提出了相应措施     

Do Greenhouse Gas Emissions Affect Financial Performance? – an Empirical Examination of Australian Public Firms

Previous studies that have attempted to relate corporate environmental performance to financial performance have generated conflicting results. This paper presents the findings of a study on the relationship between greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the financial performance of Australian corporations. Using multiple regression models and data from a sample of 69 Australian public companies, this paper finds a positive correlation between GHG emissions and corporate financial performance. By testing the statistical significance of GHG emission factors in determining company Tobin's q, this study finds that a stronger Tobin's q often correlates with higher GHG emissions across all industry sectors. This finding is contrary to evidence found in previous studies conducted in other countries. The positive correlation found in this study could be explained with reference to the unique economic structure and development of Australia, particularly its dominant mining industry. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Electoral system,corporate political donation,and carbon emission intensity: Cross-country evidence

We examine the association between a country's electoral system and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity of firms and explore whether this association is influenced by corporate political donation. The study draws on the neo-pluralist theory of power in society to examine how possible corporate influence in the electoral systems relates to corporate environmental performance. Using a cross-country panel dataset, we find that companies operating in countries using majoritarian electoral systems (MAJ), where corporations have a relatively low influence on election outcomes, are associated with lower GHG emission intensity than those in proportional electoral systems, after controlling for macro-economic factors and variations in firm characteristics. Further, our findings show that corporate political donation positively moderates the association between MAJ and GHG emission intensity. Our results suggest that corporations are likely to utilise political donations as a component of business strategy to ease the regulatory actions of the state on companies. The results are robust to alternative variable measurements and tests of sensitivity.     

不同工业化阶段环境库兹涅茨曲线研究——以广州、佛山与肇庆市为例

运用环境库兹涅茨曲线,对广州、佛山、肇庆三个处于不同工业化阶段城市的工业废水排放量、工业废气排放量、工业固废产生量与人均GDP的关系进行拟合,并运用灰色关联分析法分析其主要影响因素。三市不同污染指标的EKC形状各异,呈现出不同的经济发展与环境污染的关系;除广州市工业废水排放量和佛山市工业废气排放量外,其余各种污染均呈现不同程度的增长趋势;工业污染排放受多种因素影响,不同工业化阶段主要影响因素各不相同,但经济规模和经济结构对工业污染变化的影响始终是巨大的。     

全球变暖主要驱动因子温室气体变化研究

温室气体变化是全球变化研究的热点和焦点问题。温室气体浓度的变化增加了对逸出辐射的吸收,可能引起气候发生变化。     

碳市场:原理、实践和前景

全球气温变暖使得减少二氧化碳等温室气体的排放变得十分必要,由《京都议定书》催生出来的以交易温室气体排放权为主的国际碳市场就是解决这一问题的有益尝试。本文从经济理论出发,分析了国际碳市场的形成基础和运行条件,通过对该市场现状的研究,指出了其存在的问题和今后的发展前景,并对我国如何发展碳市场提出了相关建议。     

Examining the effect of managing GHG emissions on business performance

Unprecedented climate changes menace not only the planetary ecosystem, but also the stability of the global economy. The European Union has for years promoted the transition of the economy towards a model of sustainable development, stimulating companies to adopt a strategic approach based on quality and environmental efficiency, rather than on quantity and reduction of costs. The aim of this study is to analyze how greater attention to the environmental effects of a company's activities (environmental management) and monitoring and reduction of CO₂ emissions (emission management) can improve the company's economic performance. We analyze the financial data and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission figures for a sample of large Italian companies, searching for potential relations between increasing returns on capital invested and the reduction of pollutants. The results show that the companies examined are ever more attentive to environmental policies, and that those with a green vision achieve better operating performance. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

长株潭低碳城市群标准体系框架研究

城市群是城市化发展的主导模式,其低碳化发展,对解决温室气体排放造成的全球气候问题具有重要作用。标准体系是城市社会低碳发展各相关领域技术标准的有机整体,是指导、协调低碳技术标准化与各领域子标准体系建设的重要依据和蓝图,对系统地推进低碳发展具有重要意义。文章以长株潭城市群为例,提出区域低碳标准体系的基本构想、建设路径、重点和步骤、目标,并勾画了长株潭城市群低碳化发展的基本指标,为城市群管理和决策提供有效参考。     

Corporate Carbon Strategies and Greenhouse Gas Emission Assessments: The Implications of Scope 3 Emission Factor Selection

Scholars and practitioners acknowledge the benefits of organizations understanding their contribution to global warming and implementing carbon management strategies to address climate change concerns. A key element of a carbon management strategy is to reduce emissions, which requires an assessment of a firm's greenhouse gas emissions. For most organizations the indirect (scope 3) emissions represent the largest portion of their total carbon footprint. When facility‐specific data are not available, firms are encouraged to use standard emission factors to calculate scope 3 emissions. This paper investigates how sampled Australian organizations assess their scope 3 emissions with respect to the emission factors they are using to convert activity data into units of carbon dioxide equivalent emission (CO₂‐e), and the implications for producing an accurate emission assessment. The research study found that, where conversion information was not available in a recognized government publication, the use of varying conversion value sources resulted in wide discrepancies in reported emissions for like activities. This undermines the assessment quality, makes comparison of results across organizations difficult and can lead to inappropriate carbon management strategy choices and misallocation of resources. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Carbon Taxes and Carbon Emissions Trading

This paper surveys the literature on, and examples of current implementation of, carbon taxes and carbon emission permits. It sets out the theoretical basis for these instruments, with special reference to the revenue‐recycling and tax interaction effects. This theoretical work concludes that instruments which raise revenue which can be recycled so as to reduce pre‐existing distortionary taxes are significantly less costly than those which do not. The paper then reviews the sizable literature on the distributional effects of these instruments, especially with regard to industrial competitiveness and regressive effects on low‐income groups, evaluating attempts to mitigate these where they are perceived as unacceptable. The paper concludes that such efforts at mitigation, while possible, can substantially reduce the efficiency benefits of the instruments. The projected costs of carbon taxes depend on a wide range of assumptions. This is still a contested area, but the paper concludes that, on a range of plausible assumptions, these costs need not be high. Finally the paper notes that early evaluations of the environmental effectiveness of carbon taxes have been generally positive. This suggests that, if concern about anthropogenic climate change continues to increase, more countries will introduce carbon taxes and emission permits, with the latter increasingly auctioned.     

Purchasing's contribution to supply chain emission reduction

Does environmental purchasing and supplier management (EPSM) help to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the supply chain and, thereby, mitigate climate change? And, if so, under which conditions? Taking these two questions as a starting point, we hypothesize that heightened environmental protection efforts targeting the upstream value chain should lead to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the buying companies' supply chain. We continue to delineate three contingency factors that might affect the relationship between EPSM and supply chain GHG emissions: The power of the buying firm over supply chain partners, prior experience in EPSM, and materiality of environmental supply chain management in a certain industry. We collect longitudinal data from 260 companies and analyze them using hybrid panel data analysis. We find that the increase of EPSM leads to a significant reduction of the GHG emission intensity of buying firms’ supply chains and that this reduction is stronger for companies operating in industries where emission management is more material.