The Impact of Board of Directors on the Disclosure of Sustainable Development of Listed Firms

Abstract

Vietnam is a developing country with many remarkable achievements. However, in recent years, economic and social development in Vietnam still relies heavily on the exploitation of natural resources; labor productivity is still low; production technology and consumption models still use a lot of energy and raw materials and emit a lot of waste. Vietnam's development process is facing many severe challenges, with potential risks of unsustainable development such as climate change, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, etc. Therefore, Vietnamese firms need to be aware that economic development is always associated with environmental protection activities and social responsibility. This study is conducted to investigate the impact level of the disclosure of sustainable development of Vietnamese listed firms. The study determines the impact of board of directors on the level of sustainable development information disclosure of these firms. Data was collected from annual reports, corporate sustainability reports, management reports, and financial reports of 345 firms in 2023. The results reveal that the level of disclosure of sustainable development of Vietnamese listed firms is low, no firm discloses 100% fully, some firms do not publish sustainable development information. The findings also show that the level of mandatory disclosure of sustainable development is higher than the level of voluntary disclosure of sustainable development. The research results show that The board of directors factors do not impact the level of mandatory disclosure of sustainable development. There are four determinants related to the board of directors that impact the level of voluntary disclosure of sustainable development, including board size, board independence, the proportion of foreign BOD members, the chairman-cum-CEO have a positive impact (in the same direction) on the level of disclosure of sustainable development. Based on the findings, several recommendations are proposed for promoting the disclosure of sustainable development information on the side of Vietnamese listed firms.