Impacts of Climate Change Disclosure on Financial Performance of Listed Companies in Vietnam

Abstract

Vietnam currently faces significant challenges due to environmental pollution and climate change. This has intensified pressure on companies to enhance their social responsibility practices throughout their production and business activities. As a result, the need to disclose environmental information transparently has become paramount to meet stakeholder expectations. The aim of the study is to assess the impacts of information disclosure on financial performance of companies in Viet Nam. For that purpose, the author has selected 130 companies listed on the stock market at the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange. This research is based on climate change disclosures made on sustainability and annual reports by the 130 companies. The author found a subtle positive correlation – companies with more transparent climate practices (higher disclosure index) tend to experience some financial benefits. Firm age is also positively related to financial performance while leverage has negative correlation with profitability. This study contributes to a series of empirical studies on environmental disclosure in Vietnam – an issue of great concern to the Vietnamese government for Vietnam’s sustainable and green economic development