The contribution of corporate reports to CO2 reduction

The first work package "Status quo of climate reporting" examines whether and to what extent voluntary and mandatory reporting are related to the reduction of CO2 emissions by companies and how the capital market reacts to the publication of climate information.

Building on this, the second work package ("Corporate climate data in the investment process") examines the content dimension of climate reporting from an investor's perspective. Through their influence on companies, for example in the context of "Socially Responsible Investment", investors are relevant players in sustainable business. However, it is unclear how sustainability-oriented and other investors use and process climate data. This question is to be verified as part of a qualitative study. The findings will help to better understand the importance of climate reporting in investment processes and to make recommendations in this regard.

The third work package "Reporting and management decisions" examines the influence of alternative forms of climate reporting on management decisions. Aspects such as voluntary vs. mandatory reports, sustainability reports, third-party reports or the validation of information by external parties play a role here. Managers make climate-relevant decisions here. The aim is to identify characteristics of climate reporting that encourage managers to make CO2-reducing investments in order to minimize the carbon footprint of companies.

When the results are utilized, "policy briefs" are prepared for relevant decision-makers in politics and civil society, thus providing relevant impetus for the further development of climate reporting. Companies and investors receive information via management summaries. All groups are involved in stakeholder workshops.

The project will run from October 2018 to September 2021 and is coordinated by the University of Düsseldorf. Other cooperation partners are the University of Hamburg, Radboud University in the Netherlands, Forum Nachhaltige Geldanlagen e.V. (FNG) and WWF Germany.

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Christian Klein
University of Kassel
Department of Corporate Finance
Phone: +49 561 804-7565
E-mail: klein[at]uni-kassel[dot]de