Environmental Financial Information: differences in disclosure levels among Brazilian companies

Abstract

Issues related to the environment and sustainability have motivated interests of the academic community and organizations. The current model of society is permeated by excessive production and consumption, which is exacerbating man's relationship with nature. It is a fact that, to subsist, society needs the manufacturing of products and delivery of services, but it is also known that manufacturing products and providing services impact the environment. The impact also differs according to the activity that is developed. In Brazil, Law No. 10.165/2000 determines on the National Environmental Policy and ranks companies according to the environmental impact they cause. This research analyzed the voluntary disclosure of environmental financial information in Brazilian companies, classified into sectors with different environmental impacts. Therefore, we investigated the Standardized Financial Statements of the companies that make up the IBRX-50 index, in its portfolio from May to August 2014, in the years 2011, 2012 and 2013. The measure ranked the environmental financial information, distributing the data into seven categories and 30 subcategories. The most evidenced category relates to environmental investments, with 58% of the information disclosed. The highest amount presented was in the category of environmental liabilities and contingencies, with R$259.84 billion. The results show that there is a difference in the disclosure of environmental financial information compared to the amount of sentences disclosed without the number of subcategories evidenced. The nonparametric test and content analysis showed that, in the years analyzed, companies with high environmental impact disclose more environmental financial information.

Keywords

• Informações financeiras ambientais
• Disclosure
• Empresas brasileiras.