International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy | 2021
AN ASSESSMENT OF SUSTAINABILITY DISCLOSURES IN OIL AND GAS LISTED COMPANIES IN NIGERIA
Abstract
The paper aims to evaluate the extent of sustainability disclosure in the annual report’s oil and gas industries. The study retrieves secondary data on \nsustainability disclosure for 10 years (2010 - 2019) from eight oil and gas industries listed in the Nigerian stock exchange through a desktop approach \nand content analysis methodology. Content analysis of the sustainability disclosure is to identify items of sustainability disclosed in the annual reports. \nThe paper assesses the extent of disclosure by adopting the global reporting initiative’s scoring index. Findings from the analysis indicate a very lowlevel \nclimate change and environmental pollution disclosure. Only 13.8% of the companies disclosed their impact on climate change and environmental \npollution. On the contrary, all the companies revealed their community investment, which this paper regards as legitimizing smokescreen ecological \npollution. The paper contributes to the literature by connecting the legitimacy theory to the decoying sustainability disclosure of oil and gas companies \nin Nigeria. In conclusion, the study recommends more stringent sustainability disclosure policies for the oil and gas to provide more information for \nenvironmental and climate change advocates and investors in censuring the companies, which might instill improved environmental compliance.