Corporate Sustainability Disclosure in China

To prevent further environmental degradation, Chinese companies need to clean up their act—and fast. On the surface, much seems to be happening in China to improve corporate sustainability performance: numerous new standards and guidelines, rising numbers of corporate social responsibility reports, increased citizen activism opposing controversial building plans, and much government rhetoric on increasing commitment to environmental protection and social welfare protection. But underneath this surface of seemingly positive activity, not much quantifiable evidence is available to shed light on either how substantial progress has been or how committed Chinese companies really are to more sustainable business practices.