IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/bracre/v57y2025i2s0890838924002713.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The role of science-based targets on carbon mitigation: Addressing the tension between net zero anxiety and economic growth

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Jingduan
  • Peng, Xuhui
  • Zhang, Huan

Abstract

Despite the growing importance of science-based targets (SBTs), our knowledge of their impact on corporate decarbonisation commitment is extremely limited due to inadequate research. To address this gap, we investigate the relationship between SBTs and corporate carbon reduction. Our empirical results reveal the following insights: First, the adoption of an SBT leads to significant subsequent carbon reduction in our sample companies. Second, decarbonisation does not occur until SBTs have been adopted for several years. Third, our findings show that the adoption of SBTs does not harm these companies’ profitability. Overall, our results suggest that SBTs are long-term investments that do not generate immediate but long-term and more sustainable outcomes. In sum, SBTs seem to be a strategy that can help management achieve a win-win situation: achieving a carbon reduction target without reducing economic growth. This justifies the need to study SBTs in future research in the field of carbon-accounting.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Jingduan & Peng, Xuhui & Zhang, Huan, 2025. "The role of science-based targets on carbon mitigation: Addressing the tension between net zero anxiety and economic growth," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 57(2).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:bracre:v:57:y:2025:i:2:s0890838924002713
    DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2024.101491
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890838924002713
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.bar.2024.101491?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jiaxing You & Xiting Wu & Le Luo & Hongtao Shen & Xiaoping Tan, 2021. "New business as a bargaining factor in audit pricing: evidence from emission trading schemes," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(6-7), pages 800-823, November.
    2. 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.
    3. Ragini Rina Datt & Le Luo & Qingliang Tang, 2019. "Corporate voluntary carbon disclosure strategy and carbon performance in the USA," Accounting Research Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 32(3), pages 417-435, September.
    4. François Maon & Valérie Swaen & Kenneth de Roeck, 2021. "Coporate branding and corporate social responsibility: Toward a multi-stakeholder interpretive perspective," Post-Print hal-03275858, HAL.
    5. Choi, Bobae & Luo, Le, 2021. "Does the market value greenhouse gas emissions? Evidence from multi-country firm data," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(1).
    6. Rui Guo & Lan Tao & Caroline Bingxin Li & Tao Wang, 2017. "A Path Analysis of Greenwashing in a Trust Crisis Among Chinese Energy Companies: The Role of Brand Legitimacy and Brand Loyalty," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(3), pages 523-536, February.
    7. Cheung, Adrian (Waikong) & Pok, Wee Ching, 2019. "Corporate social responsibility and provision of trade credit," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(3).
    8. Benedikt Downar & Jürgen Ernstberger & Stefan Reichelstein & Sebastian Schwenen & Aleksandar Zaklan, 2021. "The impact of carbon disclosure mandates on emissions and financial operating performance," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1137-1175, September.
    9. Amrou Awaysheh & Randall A. Heron & Tod Perry & Jared I. Wilson, 2020. "On the relation between corporate social responsibility and financial performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(6), pages 965-987, June.
    10. Le Luo & Qingliang Tang & Juan Peng, 2018. "The direct and moderating effects of power distance on carbon transparency: An international investigation of cultural value and corporate social responsibility," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1546-1557, December.
    11. Erica E. Harris & Daniel G. Neely & Gregory D. Saxton, 2023. "Social media, signaling, and donations: testing the financial returns on nonprofits’ social media investment," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 658-688, June.
    12. Wu, Xiting & Luo, Le & You, Jiaxing, 2023. "Actions speak louder than words: Environmental law enforcement externalities and access to bank loans," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    13. Sandy Edward Green Jr & Yuan Li, 2011. "Rhetorical Institutionalism: Language, Agency, and Structure in Institutional Theory since Alvesson 1993," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(7), pages 1662-1697, November.
    14. Fan, Hanlu & Tang, Qingliang & Pan, Lipeng, 2021. "An international study of carbon information asymmetry and independent carbon assurance," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(1).
    15. Matthew Serfling, 2016. "Firing Costs and Capital Structure Decisions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 71(5), pages 2239-2286, October.
    16. Shen, Hongtao & Yang, Qing & Luo, Le & Huang, Nan, 2023. "Market reactions to a cross-border carbon policy: Evidence from listed Chinese companies," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(1).
    17. Manuel Branco & Lúcia Rodrigues, 2006. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Resource-Based Perspectives," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 69(2), pages 111-132, December.
    18. Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Hakkon Kim & Kwangwoo Park, 2018. "Corporate Environmental Responsibility and the Cost of Capital: International Evidence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 335-361, May.
    19. repec:osf:osfxxx:5x6sy_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. 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.
    21. Qingliang Tang & Le Luo, 2016. "Corporate ecological transparency: theories and empirical evidence," Asian Review of Accounting, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 24(4), pages 498-524, December.
    22. Tsang, Albert & Frost, Tracie & Cao, Huijuan, 2023. "Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure: A literature review," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(1).
    23. John Ferguson & Thereza Raquel Sales de Aguiar & Anne Fearfull, 2016. "Corporate response to climate change: language, power and symbolic construction," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 29(2), pages 278-304, February.
    24. Peter Fiechter & Jörg‐Markus Hitz & Nico Lehmann, 2022. "Real Effects of a Widespread CSR Reporting Mandate: Evidence from the European Union's CSR Directive," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 60(4), pages 1499-1549, September.
    25. Federica Balluchi & Arianna Lazzini & Riccardo Torelli, 2020. "CSR and Greenwashing: A Matter of Perception in the Search of Legitimacy," CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance, in: Mara Del Baldo & Jesse Dillard & Maria-Gabriella Baldarelli & Massimo Ciambotti (ed.), Accounting, Accountability and Society, pages 151-166, Springer.
    26. María‐Florencia Amorelli & Isabel‐María García‐Sánchez, 2020. "Critical mass of female directors, human capital, and stakeholder engagement by corporate social reporting," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 204-221, January.
    27. Zhang, Guiling & Wang, Linjiang & Guo, Fei & Yang, Guochao, 2021. "Does corporate internationalization affect corporate social responsibility? Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    28. Le Luo & Qingliang Tang, 2022. "National culture and corporate carbon performance," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 47(3), pages 503-538, August.
    29. Jayme Walenta, 2020. "Climate risk assessments and science‐based targets: A review of emerging private sector climate action tools," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(2), March.
    30. de Villiers, Charl & van Staden, Chris J., 2006. "Can less environmental disclosure have a legitimising effect? Evidence from Africa," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(8), pages 763-781, November.
    31. Paul A. Griffin & David H. Lont & Estelle Y. Sun, 2017. "The Relevance to Investors of Greenhouse Gas Emission Disclosures," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 34(2), pages 1265-1297, June.
    32. Jane Lister, 2018. "The Policy Role of Corporate Carbon Management: Co‐regulating Ecological Effectiveness," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 9(4), pages 538-548, November.
    33. Shuwen (Wendy) Cai & Jayne M. Godfrey & Robyn Moroney, 2017. "Impact of Segment†level Natural Resource Operational Risk Reporting on Earnings Predictions," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 53(4), pages 431-449, December.
    34. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-09-2013-1465 is not listed on IDEAS
    35. Oskar Krabbe & Giel Linthorst & Kornelis Blok & Wina Crijns-Graus & Detlef P. van Vuuren & Niklas Höhne & Pedro Faria & Nate Aden & Alberto Carrillo Pineda, 2015. "Aligning corporate greenhouse-gas emissions targets with climate goals," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 5(12), pages 1057-1060, December.
    36. Bobae Choi & Le Luo & Pramila Shrestha, 2021. "The value relevance of carbon emissions information from Australian-listed companies," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 46(1), pages 3-23, February.
    37. Gull, Ammar Ali & Atif, Muhammad & Hussain, Nazim, 2023. "Board gender composition and waste management: Cross-country evidence," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(1).
    38. Maon, Francois & Swaen, Valérie & De Roeck, Kenneth, 2021. "Coporate branding and corporate social responsibility: Toward a multi-stakeholder interpretive perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 64-77.
    39. Belen Fernandez-Feijoo & Silvia Romero & Silvia Ruiz, 2014. "Effect of Stakeholders’ Pressure on Transparency of Sustainability Reports within the GRI Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(1), pages 53-63, June.
    40. Liu, Jing-Yue & Zhang, Yue-Jun, 2021. "Has carbon emissions trading system promoted non-fossil energy development in China?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    41. Rim Makni & Claude Francoeur & François Bellavance, 2009. "Causality Between Corporate Social Performance and Financial Performance: Evidence from Canadian Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 89(3), pages 409-422, October.
    42. Eshani Beddewela & Jenny Fairbrass, 2016. "Seeking Legitimacy Through CSR: Institutional Pressures and Corporate Responses of Multinationals in Sri Lanka," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(3), pages 503-522, July.
    43. Clarkson, Peter M. & Li, Yue & Richardson, Gordon D. & Vasvari, Florin P., 2008. "Revisiting the relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: An empirical analysis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(4-5), pages 303-327.
    44. Turhan Kaymak & Eralp Bektas, 2017. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Governance: Information Disclosure in Multinational Corporations," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(6), pages 555-569, November.
    45. 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.
    46. Nooraisah Katmon & Zam Zuriyati Mohamad & Norlia Mat Norwani & Omar Al Farooque, 2019. "Comprehensive Board Diversity and Quality of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: Evidence from an Emerging Market," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(2), pages 447-481, June.
    47. John Ferguson & Thereza Raquel Sales de Aguiar & Anne Fearfull, 2016. "Corporate response to climate change: language, power and symbolic construction," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 29(2), pages 278-304, February.
    48. Balluchi, Federica & Lazzini, Arianna & Torelli, Riccardo, 2020. "CSR and Greenwashing: A Matter of Perception in the Search of Legitimacy," OSF Preprints 5x6sy, Center for Open Science.
    49. Riccardo Torelli & Federica Balluchi & Arianna Lazzini, 2020. "Greenwashing and environmental communication: Effects on stakeholders' perceptions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 407-421, February.
    50. Xuhui Peng & Tian Qi & Gang Wang, 2022. "Board Gender Diversity, Corporate Social Disclosures, and National Culture," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(4), pages 21582440221, October.
    51. Xuhui Peng & Yi-Chen Lan & Jingduan Li & Hanlu Fan, 2023. "Board gender diversity, national culture, and water disclosure of multinational corporations," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(14), pages 1581-1602, March.
    52. Hsiang-Lin Chih & Chung-Hua Shen & Feng-Ching Kang, 2008. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Investor Protection, and Earnings Management: Some International Evidence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 79(1), pages 179-198, April.
    53. Wang, Haifei & Guo, Ting & Tang, Qingliang, 2021. "The effect of national culture on corporate green proactivity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 140-150.
    54. Grisard, Claudine & Annisette, Marcia & Graham, Cameron, 2020. "Performative agency and incremental change in a CSR context," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    55. Le Luo, 2019. "The influence of institutional contexts on the relationship between voluntary carbon disclosure and carbon emission performance," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 59(2), pages 1235-1264, June.
    56. Yankun Zhou & Le Luo & Hongtao Shen, 2022. "Community pressure, regulatory pressure and corporate environmental performance," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 47(2), pages 368-392, May.
    57. Cheng-Li Huang & Fan-Hua Kung, 2010. "Drivers of Environmental Disclosure and Stakeholder Expectation: Evidence from Taiwan," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(3), pages 435-451, October.
    58. Ding Wang & Jiang Wei & Niels Noorderhaven & Yang Liu, 2023. "Signaling Effects of CSR Performance on Cross-border Alliance Formation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(4), pages 831-850, September.
    59. Mark Trexler & Auden Schendler, 2015. "Science-Based Carbon Targets for the Corporate World: The Ultimate Sustainability Commitment, or a Costly Distraction?," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 19(6), pages 931-933, December.
    60. M. López & Arminda Garcia & Lazaro Rodriguez, 2007. "Sustainable Development and Corporate Performance: A Study Based on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 75(3), pages 285-300, October.
    61. Ray Ball & Xi Li & Lakshmanan Shivakumar, 2015. "Contractibility and Transparency of Financial Statement Information Prepared Under IFRS: Evidence from Debt Contracts Around IFRS Adoption," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 53(5), pages 915-963, December.
    62. Valentina Marano & Tatiana Kostova, 2016. "Unpacking the Institutional Complexity in Adoption of CSR Practices in Multinational Enterprises," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1), pages 28-54, January.
    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. Xuhui Peng & Jingduan Li & Qingliang Tang & Yi‐Chen Lan & Xinjian Cui, 2024. "Do environmental scores become multinational corporations' strategic “greenwashing” tool for window‐dressing carbon reduction? A cross‐cultural analysis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 2084-2115, March.
    2. Jiang, Yan & Luo, Le & Tsang, Albert & Zhang, Yueheng, 2025. "Carbon emission trading scheme and carbon performance: The role of carbon management system," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 57(3).
    3. Le Luo & Qingliang Tang & Hanlu Fan & Jamie Ayers, 2023. "Corporate carbon assurance and the quality of carbon disclosure," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(1), pages 657-690, March.
    4. Xuhui Peng & Tian Qi & Gang Wang, 2022. "Board Gender Diversity, Corporate Social Disclosures, and National Culture," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(4), pages 21582440221, October.
    5. Le Luo & Qingliang Tang, 2021. "Corporate governance and carbon performance: role of carbon strategy and awareness of climate risk," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(2), pages 2891-2934, June.
    6. Hasan, Mostafa Monzur & Bhuiyan, Md Borhan Uddin & Taylor, Grantley, 2025. "Reprint of: Corporate culture and carbon emission performance," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 57(1).
    7. Aline Grahn, 2025. "Greenhouse Gas Disclosure: Evidence from Private Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 197(1), pages 177-194, February.
    8. Dong Ding & Bin Liu & Millicent Chang, 2023. "Carbon Emissions and TCFD Aligned Climate-Related Information Disclosures," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(4), pages 967-1001, February.
    9. Provaty, Sagira Sultana & Hasan, Mostafa Monzur & Luo, Le, 2024. "Organization capital and GHG emissions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    10. Mohamed Toukabri & Lamia Kalai, 2024. "How does sustainability leadership improve climate change reporting? The choices associated with a sustainable board- A management perspective," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 29(7), pages 1-48, October.
    11. Luo, Le & Zhang, Junru & Zheng, Chen, 2025. "Carbon management ability and climate risk exposure: An international investigation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    12. Choi, Bobae & Luo, Le, 2021. "Does the market value greenhouse gas emissions? Evidence from multi-country firm data," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(1).
    13. 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).
    14. 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.
    15. Elsayih, Jibriel & Amraaiyid, Abdelmuttalab & Bugshan, Abdullah, 2025. "Economic growth and carbon disclosure: Does board composition matter?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(PA).
    16. Francesca Bernini & Fabio La Rosa, 2024. "Research in the greenwashing field: concepts, theories, and potential impacts on economic and social value," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 28(2), pages 405-444, June.
    17. Driss, Hamdi & Drobetz, Wolfgang & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane, 2024. "The Sustainability committee and environmental disclosure: International evidence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 602-625.
    18. María Luisa Pajuelo Moreno & Teresa Duarte-Atoche, 2019. "Relationship between Sustainable Disclosure and Performance—An Extension of Ullmann’s Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-33, August.
    19. Al-Fakir Al Rabab’a, Eltayyeb & Rashid, Afzalur & Shams, Syed & Bose, Sudipta, 2024. "Corporate carbon performance and firm risk: Evidence from Asia-Pacific countries," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(2).
    20. Florackis, Chris & Muktadir-Al-Mukit, Dewan & Sainani, Sushil & Zhang, Ziyang (John), 2025. "Stock market reaction to mandatory carbon disclosure announcements: The role of institutional investors," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:eee:bracre:v:57:y:2025:i:2:s0890838924002713. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/the-british-accounting-review .

    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.