Abstract
This study investigates the influence of compensation on companies' decision to undertake carbon assurance. Using a sample of 1326 firm-year observations from the United Kingdom between 2010 and 2018, this study finds that firms that include corporate sustainability incentive terms in executive compensation packages, firms that have higher director compensation and firms that have been involved in compensation controversies are more likely to undertake voluntary carbon assurance. Additional analyses show that the United Kingdom's mandatory greenhouse gas emissions reporting mandate, industry and gender diversity of the board of directors play significant moderating roles in the relationship between compensation and voluntary carbon assurance. The results of this study will help investors, managers and regulators better understand the factors that influence the growing carbon assurance market.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 307-327 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | International Journal of Auditing |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 17 Sept 2023 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Apr 2024 |
Bibliographical note
© 2023 The Authors. International Journal of Auditing published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.Keywords
- carbon emissions
- climate change
- compensation
- voluntary carbon assurance