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Going Beyond Climate Change Risk Management: Insights from the World’s Largest Most Sustainable Corporations

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  • Evangeline O. Elijido-Ten

    (Swinburne University of Technology)

  • Peter Clarkson

    (The University of Queensland
    Simon Fraser University)

Abstract

In this study, we investigate whether firms recognised as superior sustainability performers respond differently to climate change regulatory, physical and other risks/opportunities and examine whether such differences predict sustainability performance in subsequent years. Further, we seek to gain insights from climate change programs and strategies of both superior and inferior sustainability performers. Adopting mixed methods, we use a merged sample from the Top500 world’s largest firms and the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations. Our quantitative analyses show that greater awareness of physical and other climate change opportunities is what sets superior performers apart, and that superior future sustainability performance is related to a firm’s stated awareness of these two types of opportunities. Qualitative content analysis of narrative disclosures confirm that superior performers provide more detailed description of climate change strategies that go beyond managing climate change risks. Our study contributes to the limited amount of research highlighting the value of proactively seeking opportunities rather than merely focussing on risk management.

Suggested Citation

  • Evangeline O. Elijido-Ten & Peter Clarkson, 2019. "Going Beyond Climate Change Risk Management: Insights from the World’s Largest Most Sustainable Corporations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(4), pages 1067-1089, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:157:y:2019:i:4:d:10.1007_s10551-017-3611-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-017-3611-6
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    2. Jiang, Yan & Luo, Le & Xu, JianFeng & Shao, XiaoRui, 2021. "The value relevance of corporate voluntary carbon disclosure: Evidence from the United States and BRIC countries," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(3).
    3. Rong He & Le Luo & Abul Shamsuddin & Qingliang Tang, 2022. "Corporate carbon accounting: a literature review of carbon accounting research from the Kyoto Protocol to the Paris Agreement," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(1), pages 261-298, March.
    4. Francesco Gangi & Antonio Meles & Eugenio D'Angelo & Lucia Michela Daniele, 2019. "Sustainable development and corporate governance in the financial system: Are environmentally friendly banks less risky?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(3), pages 529-547, May.
    5. Ligorio, Lorenzo & Caputo, Fabio & Venturelli, Andrea, 2022. "Sustainability disclosure and reporting by municipally owned water utilities," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    6. Christofer Adrian & Mukesh Garg & Anh Viet Pham & Soon-Yeow Phang & Cameron Truong, 2023. "Do Natural Disasters Affect Corporate Tax Avoidance? The Case of Drought," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(1), pages 105-135, August.
    7. Frank Goedertier & Bert Weijters & Pieter Vanpaemel, 2023. "The Longitudinal Effect of Digitally Administered Feedback on the Eco-Driving Behavior of Company Car Drivers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-16, December.
    8. Katrina Lintukangas & Heli Arminen & Anni-Kaisa Kähkönen & Elina Karttunen, 2023. "Determinants of Supply Chain Engagement in Carbon Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(1), pages 87-104, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Climate change risks and opportunities; World’s largest firms; Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations; Carbon Disclosure Project; Mixed methods;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • Q51 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Valuation of Environmental Effects
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

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