IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/corsem/v30y2023i3p1070-1081.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Water usage reduction and CSR committees: Taiwan evidence

Author

Listed:
  • Yu‐Lin Chen
  • Mei‐Chu Huang

Abstract

Although board‐level corporate social responsibility (CSR) committees have been discussed extensively, we know relatively little about how CSR committees affect companies' water conservation and the contingencies that influence this relationship, specifically in emerging markets. In Taiwan, industrial water conservation is an imperative climate change adaptation given the elevating incidence of floods and droughts brought on by climate change. This study extensively hand‐collects data on water usage, the existence of CSR committees from CSR reports, and the annual reports of companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and Taipei Exchange companies during 2017–2020. Our findings support the stakeholder theory that the existence of CSR committees likely set water use reduction targets and facilitated water usage reduction. Moreover, this relationship is stronger in water consumption industries. In summary, the memberships in water consumption industries and CSR committees are complements rather than substitutes.

Suggested Citation

  • Yu‐Lin Chen & Mei‐Chu Huang, 2023. "Water usage reduction and CSR committees: Taiwan evidence," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1070-1081, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:30:y:2023:i:3:p:1070-1081
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.2404
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2404
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/csr.2404?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pascual Berrone & Andrea Fosfuri & Liliana Gelabert, 2017. "Does Greenwashing Pay Off? Understanding the Relationship Between Environmental Actions and Environmental Legitimacy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(2), pages 363-379, August.
    2. Michelle Rodrigue & Michel Magnan & Charles Cho, 2013. "Is Environmental Governance Substantive or Symbolic? An Empirical Investigation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(1), pages 107-129, April.
    3. Blake E. Ashforth & Barrie W. Gibbs, 1990. "The Double-Edge of Organizational Legitimation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 1(2), pages 177-194, May.
    4. repec:eme:par000:par-12-2017-0107 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Hong, Harrison & Kostovetsky, Leonard, 2012. "Red and blue investing: Values and finance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(1), pages 1-19.
    6. Amama Shaukat & Yan Qiu & Grzegorz Trojanowski, 2016. "Board Attributes, Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy, and Corporate Environmental and Social Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 135(3), pages 569-585, May.
    7. Elisa Baraibar‐Diez & María D. Odriozola & José Luis Fernández Sánchez, 2019. "Sustainable compensation policies and its effect on environmental, social, and governance scores," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(6), pages 1457-1472, November.
    8. Pallab Kumar Biswas & Mansi Mansi & Rakesh Pandey, 2018. "Board composition, sustainability committee and corporate social and environmental performance in Australia," Pacific Accounting Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 30(4), pages 517-540, November.
    9. Zhang, Linhan & Tang, Qingliang & Huang, Robin Hui, 2021. "Mind the Gap: Is Water Disclosure a Missing Component of Corporate Social Responsibility?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(1).
    10. Gary F. Peters & Andrea M. Romi & Juan Manuel Sanchez, 2019. "The Influence of Corporate Sustainability Officers on Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(4), pages 1065-1087, November.
    11. Muhammad Nadeem, 2021. "Corporate Governance and Supplemental Environmental Projects: A Restorative Justice Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 173(2), pages 261-280, October.
    12. Rao, Sandeep & Koirala, Santosh & Thapa, Chandra & Neupane, Suman, 2022. "When rain matters! Investments and value relevance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    13. Igor Álvarez Etxeberria & Eduardo Ortas & Stefan Schaltegger & Katherine L. Christ & Roger L. Burritt, 2017. "What Constitutes Contemporary Corporate Water Accounting? A Review from a Management Perspective," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(2), pages 138-149, March.
    14. Diane-Laure Arjaliès & Julia Mundy, 2013. "The use of management control systems to manage CSR strategy: A levers of control perspective," Post-Print hal-00980329, HAL.
    15. Dietrich H. Earnhart & Madhu Khanna & Thomas P. Lyon, 2014. "Corporate Environmental Strategies in Emerging Economies," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 8(2), pages 164-185.
    16. Asif Saeed & Umara Noreen & Akbar Azam & Muhammad Sohail Tahir, 2021. "Does CSR Governance Improve Social Sustainability and Reduce the Carbon Footprint: International Evidence from the Energy Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-16, March.
    17. Charles Cho & Dennis Patten & Robin Roberts, 2006. "Corporate Political Strategy: An Examination of the Relation between Political Expenditures, Environmental Performance, and Environmental Disclosure," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(2), pages 139-154, August.
    18. Matthew Egan, 2015. "Driving Water Management Change Where Economic Incentive is Limited," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(1), pages 73-90, November.
    19. Azlan Amran & Shiau Ping Lee & S. Susela Devi, 2014. "The Influence of Governance Structure and Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility Toward Sustainability Reporting Quality," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(4), pages 217-235, May.
    20. Massimiliano Agovino & Massimiliano Cerciello & Antonio Garofalo & Loris Landriani & Luigi Lepore, 2021. "Corporate governance and sustainability in water utilities. The effects of decorporatisation in the city of Naples, Italy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 874-890, February.
    21. Elisa Baraibar-Diez & María D. Odriozola, 2019. "CSR Committees and Their Effect on ESG Performance in UK, France, Germany, and Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-20, September.
    22. Giuliana Birindelli & Stefano Dell’Atti & Antonia Patrizia Iannuzzi & Marco Savioli, 2018. "Composition and Activity of the Board of Directors: Impact on ESG Performance in the Banking System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-20, December.
    23. Judith L. Walls & Pascual Berrone & Phillip H. Phan, 2012. "Corporate governance and environmental performance: is there really a link?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(8), pages 885-913, August.
    24. Nazim Hussain & Ugo Rigoni & René P. Orij, 2018. "Corporate Governance and Sustainability Performance: Analysis of Triple Bottom Line Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 411-432, May.
    25. Walid Ben‐Amar & Mohamed Chelli, 2018. "What drives voluntary corporate water disclosures? The effect of country‐level institutions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1609-1622, December.
    26. Frederik Dahlmann & Layla Branicki & Stephen Brammer, 2019. "Managing Carbon Aspirations: The Influence of Corporate Climate Change Targets on Environmental Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 1-24, August.
    27. Giovanni-Battista Derchi & Laura Zoni & Andrea Dossi, 2021. "Corporate Social Responsibility Performance, Incentives, and Learning Effects," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 173(3), pages 617-641, October.
    28. Robert G. Eccles & Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim, 2014. "The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Processes and Performance," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(11), pages 2835-2857, November.
    29. Francesca Gennari, 2019. "How to Lead the Board of Directors to a Sustainable Development of Business with the CSR Committees," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-17, December.
    30. Heather R. Dixon-Fowler & Alan E. Ellstrand & Jonathan L. Johnson, 2017. "The Role of Board Environmental Committees in Corporate Environmental Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(3), pages 423-438, February.
    31. Habiba Al-Shaer & Mahbub Zaman, 2019. "CEO Compensation and Sustainability Reporting Assurance: Evidence from the UK," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 233-252, August.
    32. Liao, Lin & Luo, Le & Tang, Qingliang, 2015. "Gender diversity, board independence, environmental committee and greenhouse gas disclosure," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 409-424.
    33. Camélia Radu & Nadia Smaili, 2021. "Corporate performance patterns of Canadian listed firms: Balancing financial and corporate social responsibility outcomes," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(7), pages 3344-3359, November.
    34. Gary Peters & Andrea Romi, 2014. "Does the Voluntary Adoption of Corporate Governance Mechanisms Improve Environmental Risk Disclosures? Evidence from Greenhouse Gas Emission Accounting," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(4), pages 637-666, December.
    35. Christine A. Mallin & Giovanna Michelon, 2011. "Board reputation attributes and corporate social performance: an empirical investigation of the US Best Corporate Citizens," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(2), pages 119-144, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Patrick Velte & Martin Stawinoga, 2020. "Do chief sustainability officers and CSR committees influence CSR-related outcomes? A structured literature review based on empirical-quantitative research findings," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 31(4), pages 333-377, December.
    2. Camélia Radu & Nadia Smaili, 2022. "Alignment Versus Monitoring: An Examination of the Effect of the CSR Committee and CSR-Linked Executive Compensation on CSR Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 145-163, September.
    3. Nurlan Orazalin, 2020. "Do board sustainability committees contribute to corporate environmental and social performance? The mediating role of corporate social responsibility strategy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 140-153, January.
    4. Ginesti, Gianluca & Campa, Domenico & Spano’, Rosanna & Allini, Alessandra & Maffei, Marco, 2023. "The role of CSR committee characteristics on R&D investments," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(5).
    5. Ammar Ali Gull & Nazim Hussain & Sana Akbar Khan & Zaheer Khan & Asif Saeed, 2023. "Governing Corporate Social Responsibility Decoupling: The Effect of the Governance Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility Decoupling," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 185(2), pages 349-374, June.
    6. Bradbury, Michael & Jia, Jing & Li, Zhongtian, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility committees and the use of corporate social responsibility assurance services," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(2).
    7. Francesca Gennari, 2019. "How to Lead the Board of Directors to a Sustainable Development of Business with the CSR Committees," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-17, December.
    8. Yinglin Huang & Claude Francoeur & Stephen Brammer, 2022. "What drives and curbs brownwashing?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2518-2532, July.
    9. Camélia Radu & Nadia Smaili, 2021. "Corporate performance patterns of Canadian listed firms: Balancing financial and corporate social responsibility outcomes," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(7), pages 3344-3359, November.
    10. Renata Konadu & Gabriel Sam Ahinful & Samuel Owusu-Agyei, 2021. "Corporate governance pillars and business sustainability: does stakeholder engagement matter?," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(3), pages 269-289, September.
    11. María‐Florencia Amorelli & Isabel‐María García‐Sánchez, 2021. "Trends in the dynamic evolution of board gender diversity and corporate social responsibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 537-554, March.
    12. Fornasari, Tommaso, 2020. "Il ruolo dei comitati di responsabilità sociale nella corporate governance [The Role of CSR Committees in Corporate Governance]," MPRA Paper 111192, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Elisa Baraibar-Diez & María D. Odriozola, 2019. "CSR Committees and Their Effect on ESG Performance in UK, France, Germany, and Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-20, September.
    14. Francesca Gennari & Daniela M. Salvioni, 2019. "CSR committees on boards: the impact of the external country level factors," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 23(3), pages 759-785, September.
    15. Nebedum Ekene Ebele & Seong Mi Bae & Jong Dae Kim, 2023. "The Impact of Chief Sustainability Officers on Environmental Performance of Korean Listed Companies: The Mediating Role of Corporate Sustainability Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-17, October.
    16. Kim, Daehyun & Marin, Michael J. & Richardson, Gordon D. & Salterio, Steven E. & Tsang, Albert, 2023. "Modeling board governance, environmental expertise, and social engagement effects on firm environmental performance: Panel data evidence," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(2).
    17. Nurlan Orazalin & Mady Baydauletov, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility strategy and corporate environmental and social performance: The moderating role of board gender diversity," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1664-1676, July.
    18. Tantawy Moussa & Amir Allam & Said Elbanna & Ahmed Bani‐Mustafa, 2020. "Can board environmental orientation improve U.S. firms' carbon performance? The mediating role of carbon strategy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 72-86, January.
    19. Giuliana Birindelli & Stefano Dell’Atti & Antonia Patrizia Iannuzzi & Marco Savioli, 2018. "Composition and Activity of the Board of Directors: Impact on ESG Performance in the Banking System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-20, December.
    20. Akrum Helfaya & Tantawy Moussa, 2017. "Do Board's Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy and Orientation Influence Environmental Sustainability Disclosure? UK Evidence," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(8), pages 1061-1077, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:30:y:2023:i:3:p:1070-1081. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1535-3966 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.