Quality over quantity? Using corporations’ climate change-related disclosure for risk assessment
Nonfinancial corporations provide sustainability reports, mainly based on recommendations and market standards, to address the increasing demand from financial market participants for climate change risk (CCR)-related information. This paper analyzes how and to which extent companies disclose CCR information from a credit risk assessment perspective. To study the CCR information in a structured manner, we developed a template and analyzed the sustainability reports of 91 Austrian nonfinancial corporations. In summary, we find that the defined analyses aspects risk awareness, actions planned and/or taken and target setting are broadly disclosed. However, partial shortcomings in the disclosure quality are identified, also revealing differences between physical risks and transition risks. Notably, companies with higher disclosure quality are more likely to show a downward trend in their carbon emissions. In a sector comparison, the energy sector is a forerunner in CCR disclosure.
