The Quantity and Quality of Environmental Reporting in Annual Report of Public Listed Companies in Malaysia

Abstract

Business organisations are facing the challenge of disseminating environmental information as the public concerns regarding these issues have increased. This study examines the environmental reporting practices in the annual reports of 243 companies listed on the Main Board of
Bursa Malaysia for the year 2005. Content analysis approach was utilized to determine the quantity and quality of the environmental information disclosure in annual reports. The results indicated that only 28% of the companies reported this information in their annual reports and merely five sentences were dedicated for these reports. It was also revealed that the average quality of environmental reporting per company is 3.24%. In addition, it was discovered that larger companies and companies in environmentally sensitive areas published more information as well as provided higher quality disclosure. Additionally, it was also revealed that companies with high level of quantity environmental reporting are also having high level of quality environmental reporting.