Environmental regulatory stringency and corporate reporting quality: Evidence from waste, emissions, water, and energy regulations in Vietnamese firms

Countries around the world are taking further steps toward transparency and corporate sustainability. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting will be required for all firms listed on European exchanges as of 2026 according to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. Meanwhile, the companies’ rate in Vietnam reporting and disclosing ESG information is still limited. There is an empirical gap between the theory and practices of ESG reporting in Vietnam. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the determinants affecting the readiness for ESG reporting in Vietnamese enterprises. Survey questionnaires and quantitative analysis are employed based on the structural models using SmartPLS4 software to analyze the sample of 169 manufacturing, commercial, and service enterprises in Vietnam. The findings show that accountant qualifications, management processes, women on management boards, and information technology systems positively affect Vietnamese firms’ readiness to report ESG. The relationship between business executives’ ESG awareness, public media pressure, governmental guidelines, and the readiness for ESG reporting is not statistically supported. Based on the research results, Vietnamese enterprises should increase women’s participation on management boards, facilitate professional development and training for accountants, invest in information technology systems, and improve management processes to enhance the adoption of ESG reporting in Vietnam.

Concerns for the environment and sustainability require entities to contribute to societal development toward sustainable advancement. There is also an increasing demand for high-quality and reliable reports on sustainability-related matters. The study aims to highlight the impact of sustainability reporting initiatives on financial performance through the GRI reporting framework and four determinants of financial performance – return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and basic and diluted earnings per share (EPS). Conducting random effects generalized least square (GLS) regression, this paper examines 127 firm-year observations from 47 Philippine listed entities covering 2019–2021. The results show a significant negative relationship between the total sustainability reporting initiative index score and financial performance, represented by return on equity (coefficient = –0.4690, z-value = –1.68). Moreover, there is a positive significant relationship between economic reporting and financial performance, particularly return on assets, basic earnings per share, and diluted earnings per share (coefficients = 0.1590, 12.6200, 12.6500; z-values = 3.11, 1.72, 1.73). A negative significant relationship exists between social reporting and financial performance, particularly return on equity and basic and diluted earnings per share (coefficients = –0.5530, –14.1600, –14.1400; z-values = –2.04, –2.65, –2.65). This study pioneers an investigation into the nascent implementation of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sustainability reporting and the implications of sustainability initiatives on corporate performance in the Philippines. The results shed light on the dynamics of sustainability initiatives and financial outcomes to encourage firms to harmonize economic success with environmental preservation and societal advancement toward value creation.

The establishment of a company cannot be separated from its environmental and social factors. Sustainability reports start from those applied to current companies because there are forms of corporate accountability to stakeholders and community considerations of the company to provide social responsibility. This study finds out and empirically proves that there are differences in each Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G4 indicator in the company’s sustainability report in each industry classification. The authors investigate the dominant indicators in each industry classification based on sustainability reports. The data are obtained from 28 GRI G4-based company sustainability reports in 2016 and 2017. The analytical method in the study is the K-means clustering analysis. The results of study indicate the differences in GRI G4 in 2016 and 2017. The researchers find out that the dominant indicator expressed in the financial industry is an economic indicator. Meanwhile, in the mining, transportation and infrastructure industries, basic and chemical industries etc. the dominant indicators to be disclosed are environmental indicators. This research provides a theoretical basis for sustainability and environmental reporting, particularly in the context of developing countries. It is expected that this study should also inform business practitioners as well as policymakers vis-à-vis sustainability reporting in practice.