Air Pollution Reporting Practices in High-Emitting Sectors

This research paper investigates the air pollution reporting practices of 1,000 publicly listed organizations across eight emissions-intensive sectors. The objective is to assess how these companies quantify and disclose air pollutants, particularly in relation to the Global Reporting Initiative's GRI 305: Emissions 2016 Disclosure 305-7 framework. The study employs a combination of quantitative text analysis and qualitative coding of sustainability and annual reports from the 2023-2024 reporting year. It distinguishes between mere mentions of pollutants and actual disclosures that include emissions values. The findings indicate that nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides are the most frequently reported pollutants, while others like particulate matter and volatile organic compounds are less common. The analysis also reveals that adherence to GRI positively influences the quality of disclosures, with firms formally using GRI reporting more likely to provide comprehensive data. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings, limitations, and suggestions for future research.