Environmental reporting by the Malaysian local governments

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the environmental reporting (ER) practices of the local governments (LGs) in Malaysia. Specifically, it examines the driving motives for ER and also the underlying reasons for lack of disclosures in an array of reporting media. Design/methodology/approach - A self-administered survey is conducted to all LGs in Peninsular Malaysia. The items in the questionnaire are based on the prior literature on social and environmental disclosures made by the public sector organisations (PSOs). Findings - The results suggest that maintaining and/or improving the legitimacy status is the main driving motive for LGs to provide environmental disclosures in the absence of any regulatory requirements. On the other hand, a lack of skilled staff to handle ER is the primary reason contributing to the lack of environmental information being supplied to stakeholders. Originality/value - The paper represents one of the few attempts made in examining the ER practices of the LGs within the perspective of a developing country. Insufficient research on this aspect contributes to a limited understanding on the development of ER practices in different economic stage and environment. The findings may be of interest to the relevant authorities in any policy changes that can further improve the extent and quality of environmental disclosures made by the LGs.