投資人評價環境資訊嗎？

Do Investors Value Environmental Information?

本研究探討投資人是否評價永續（企業社會責任）報告書中各種類型的環境相關揭露（包括質性、歷史性財務、預測性財務等三種環境相關資訊），以2017-2020年的台灣上市櫃公司為樣本，分析結果顯示：(1)從公司評價的角度來看，投資人對單獨揭露的預測性財務資訊會給予較為負面的評價，然而報告書中若同時揭露歷史性與預測性兩類財務資訊，則投資人會給予公司較為正面的評價；(2)對於那些已發生環境相關負面事件的公司而言，其報告書中若同時涵蓋有歷史性及預測性財務之環境資訊，則能發揮類保險效果，減輕負面事件帶來的不利市場反應。另外，本研究對自願編製報告書的公司重新執行上述兩項議題的檢測，實證發現與上述全樣本之分析結果略有不同。明確來說，投資人對自願編製公司單獨揭露的預測性財務資訊會給予正面的評價，且在發生負面事件時，無論所揭露的內容為歷史性、預測性，抑或兩者同時揭露，均具有類保險效果。最後，本研究亦提供環境揭露與後續環境績效的初步證據，俾做為後續探究兩者是否脫鉤（即漂綠）的基礎。

This study investigates whether investors value various types of environment-related disclosures (qualitative information, historical financial information, and estimated financial information) in sustainability (environmental, social, and governance [ESG]/corporate social responsibility [CSR]) reports. We examine a sample of Taiwanese firms that published ESG/CSR reports between 2017 and 2020 and report the following results. First, in terms of firm valuation, the disclosure of solely forward-looking financial data is negatively associated with firm value; however, this negative association is mitigated when historical financial data is disclosed alongside the forward-looking data. Second, for companies with environmental misconduct, the simultaneous disclosure of both historical and forward-looking financial data has an insurance-like effect that recues negative market reactions to this record of misconduct. Furthermore, our analysis of voluntary ESG/CSR report issuers reveals results that slightly differ from those observed in the full sample. Specifically, for voluntary issuers, the disclosure of solely forward-looking financial data is positively associated with firm value. Additionally, for these issuers with environmental misconduct events, the disclosure of financial information, regardless of whether it includes historical data, forward-looking data, or both, induces an insurance-like effect. Finally, this study provides preliminary evidence of a relationship between environmental disclosure and subsequent environmental performance, which can serve as a foundation for future research on the potential decoupling between disclosed environmental information and actual environmental performance, commonly referred to as greenwashing.