The effect of firms reporting to the carbon disclosure project on their CO2 emissions: Application on industrial sector

Abstract

In this article we investigate the impact of the Carbon Disclosure Project, as one of the binding reporting standards on a firms' emissions. In particular, we focus on firms from the industrial sector and analyse whether reporting to Carbon Disclosure Project has a positive effect and leads the firm to reduce their CO2 emissions. In order to evaluate this effect we use a relatively new method called 'synthetic control approach', which allows us not only to measure the impact of the firms' policy, but also to evaluate the significance of our estimates. Based on a unique database we constructed, we found that with the exception of three firms, there was no significant effect on the firms' emissions.