Making or Not Making Environmental Disclosures in Thailand
Muttanachai Suttipun, Patricia Stanton

Abstract
This study investigated why companies make or do not make environmental disclosures and whether stakeholder theory can explain voluntary environmental reporting practice in Thailand. A questionnaire was used, divided into three sections: reasons for making disclosures of environmental information, reasons for not making such disclosures, and demographic details. A five-point Likert scale and closed-ended questions were used in the questionnaire. The highest rated reasons for disclosing environmental information were meeting legal obligations, increasing customer loyalty and competitive advantage, customer concerns, and investors’ right to information. The highest rated reasons for not disclosing environmental information were that companies had no environmental impact, and that there were no environmental regulations or standards in Thailand. This study may not have covered all possible reasons for making or not making environmental disclosures since the respondents could not state their own reasons. The results suggest that many companies in Thailand will only undertake environmental reporting when it is mandatory but that stakeholder theory can be used to explain environmental reporting in developing countries as well as in developed countries. The study provides valuable information about companies’ reasons for making or not making environmental disclosures and compares the results with those from studies undertaken elsewhere.

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