Mandatory Corporate Carbon Disclosures and the Path to Net Zero

21 Pages Posted: 25 Oct 2021 Last revised: 26 Oct 2021

See all articles by Patrick Bolton

Patrick Bolton

Imperial College London; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Marcin T. Kacperczyk

Imperial College London - Accounting, Finance, and Macroeconomics; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Christian Leuz

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI); Leibniz Institute SAFE; CESifo Research Network; Center for Financial Studies (CFS)

Gaizka Ormazabal

University of Navarra, IESE Business School; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Stefan Reichelstein

Stanford University - Graduate School of Business

Dirk Schoenmaker

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University; Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: October 4, 2021

Abstract

The overwhelming majority of publicly listed companies around the world still does not disclose their carbon emissions, and even fewer privately held companies do so. We argue that mandatory carbon disclosures for public and private companies can make an elementary but essential contribution to the global drive towards a net zero economy. They deliver much of what policy makers and asset managers need to manage carbon transition risk, and perhaps more importantly, are likely to accelerate the pace of future carbon emission reductions. For this, it is important that mandatory carbon disclosures are kept simple and straightforward to interpret, and that such a mandate be enforced.

Keywords: Climate change, Nonfinancial information, ESG reporting, sustainability, Reporting mandates, Carbon emissions

JEL Classification: G11, G32, M41, M48, K22, Q38, Q48, Q54

Suggested Citation

Bolton, Patrick and Kacperczyk, Marcin T. and Leuz, Christian and Ormazabal, Gaizka and Reichelstein, Stefan and Schoenmaker, Dirk, Mandatory Corporate Carbon Disclosures and the Path to Net Zero (October 4, 2021). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3946031 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3946031

Patrick Bolton

Imperial College London ( email )

South Kensington Campus
Exhibition Road
London, Greater London SW7 2AZ
United Kingdom

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
Rue Ducale 1 Hertogsstraat
1000 Brussels
Belgium

HOME PAGE: http://www.ecgi.org

Marcin T. Kacperczyk

Imperial College London - Accounting, Finance, and Macroeconomics ( email )

South Kensington campus
London SW7 2AZ
United Kingdom

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

London
United Kingdom

Christian Leuz (Contact Author)

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business ( email )

5807 S. Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
United States
773-834-1996 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/christian.leuz/

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.nber.org

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

London
United Kingdom

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Brussels
Belgium

HOME PAGE: http://www.ecgi.org

Leibniz Institute SAFE ( email )

(http://www.safe-frankfurt.de)
Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 3
Frankfurt am Main, 60323
Germany

CESifo Research Network

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

Center for Financial Studies (CFS) ( email )

Grüneburgplatz 1
Frankfurt am Main, 60323
Germany

Gaizka Ormazabal

University of Navarra, IESE Business School ( email )

Avenida Pearson 21
Barcelona, 08034
Spain

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) ( email )

c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
Rue Ducale 1 Hertogsstraat
1000 Brussels
Belgium

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

London
United Kingdom

Stefan Reichelstein

Stanford University - Graduate School of Business ( email )

Stanford, CA 94305
United States

Dirk Schoenmaker

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University ( email )

P.O. Box 1738
Room T08-21
3000 DR Rotterdam
Netherlands

HOME PAGE: http://www.rsm.nl/people/dirk-schoenmaker/

Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM) ( email )

P.O. Box 1738
3000 DR Rotterdam
Netherlands

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

London
United Kingdom

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