Environmental engagements through the lens of disclosure practices : A Malaysian story

Purpose – The objective of this paper is to examine environmental disclosure practices among Malaysian public‐listed companies in an attempt to interpret corporate motivations for their environmental engagements and commitments. Design/methodology/approach – This paper investigates corporate motivations using content analysis by examining the corporate annual reports. Discourse analysis was used to analyse and then interpret the environmental information. In particular, the reasons that have inspired companies in Malaysia to engage in environmental matters are the focus of the research. Findings – The results revealed high levels of information in environmental disclosures concerning current environmental engagements and future environmental plans/strategies. The environmental information was found to contain messages that revealed the corporate motives of certain environmental engagements. Three key motivating factors were found to be: “stakeholders' concern”, “self‐environmental concern” and “operational improvements”. Research limitations/implications – The paper advocates interpretation of the discourse of environmental information to determine the comprehensive scope on corporate environmental reporting. Originality/value – Disclosure practices (through the use of language) are utilised by business corporations to articulate messages concerning their environmental engagements and the motives behind such engagements. Furthermore, the paper offers some insights into current environmental reporting practices in a developing country.