Corporate board attributes, institutional strength and energy disclosure practices for controlling greenhouse gas emission in Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract The use of non-renewable energy by firms in Nigeria seriously affects biodiversity and the general well-being of the populace. The consequences led the country to be among the top pollution producers globally. However, Nigeria was among the parties that unanimously agreed on the Glasgow Climate Change Conference 2021, under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate, to tackle greenhouse gas emissions resulting from non-renewable energy sources. The study is a pioneer in examining how board attributes influence quality and quantity disclosure of energy consumed by the listed non-financial firms for the period of 5 years (2016 – 2020). The study aims at providing empirical evidence on how institutional strength influences the relationship between board attributes and firms' energy in reducing emission discharges and achieving sustainable development goals on world climate policy. The study obtained data from a sample of 78 listed non-financial firms, content analysis technique was employed to compute energy disclosure indexes using Global Reporting Initiatives standards. The study runs a generalized method of movement (GMM) to regulate the impending endogeneity of the selected listed companies in Nigeria. The study also conducted several to robust the findings. The overall results found that board independence, meeting, gender and ownership were significantly related to energy disclosure. The study found an insignificant association between ownership and energy disclosure. Institutional strength has not influenced the relationship between independence, meetings, size and gender on energy disclosure. Institutional strength has positively influenced the relationship between ownership and energy disclosure. Thus, the United Nation should set up a strong committee to evaluate the effectiveness and weaknesses of Global Reporting Initiatives standards as the most widely used Environmental, Social and Governance globally. This will expose the peculiarities of most developing nations like Nigeria in adopting the standards and way forwards to attain Sustainable Development Goals 13.