Análise multinível da divulgação das informações ambientais de empresas brasileiras e alemãs

Abstract

The companies in their practices are influenced by the macro level, represented by the National Business System (NBS), by the middle level that refers to the sectors where the companies operate and by the micro level formed by variables that represent the firms. According to the NBS approach, the countries institutional environment is formed by the systems: Financial; Political; Education and Labor; and Cultural and Economic. The study objective is to analyze the multilevel influence on the disclosure of environmental practices of companies listed on the Frankfurt, Germany, and B3, Brazil, stock exchanges of industries considered environmentally sensitive. The study is characterized as descriptive, with a quantitative approach and the use of secondary data extracted from the sustainability reports and the financial statements of companies from aviation, energy, timber, paper, chemical and textile industries during the period from 2014 to 2016. Descriptive statistics, panel data analysis and the hierarchical linear model (HLM) were used. At the macro level, the results indicate a relationship between the level of companies’ environmental disclosure and the financial, labor and economic systems. The variables of the cultural system Uncertainty Avoidance, Power Distance and Individualism vs. Collectivism presented relation with the level of environmental disclosure. At the medium level, the sector in which the company operates has to be a strong influence factor on environmental disclosure. In this respect, the sectors exerted a greater influence in Brazil than in Germany, a fact that seems to demonstrate that the regulatory environment in Brazil presents greater demands regarding practices related to the environment. Finally, the characteristics of the micro level relative to the size and profitability of the companies have proved to be the factors that most strongly influence the dissemination of environmental information. The paper concludes that the endogenous characteristics of the company are determinant of its level of environmental disclosure and that its exogenous characteristics influence however, with less force.