BOARD CHARACTERISTICS AND CARBON EMISSION DISCLOSURE: EVIDENCE FROM LISTED MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN NIGERIA

The increasing global concern over climate change have heightened demands for business transparency on greenhouse gas emissions. The disclosure of carbon emissions has become increasingly important, but research on the governance elements that influence such disclosure is still scarce in emerging economies, especially in Nigeria. This study explores the effect of board characteristics on the level of carbon emission disclosure of listed manufacturing companies in Nigeria. Specifically, this study examines the effect of board independence, board gender diversity, board nationality, board commitment, and sustainability/environmental committee on carbon emission disclosure practices. Leveraging Agency Theory, Stakeholder Theory, and Resource Dependence Theory to underpin the study. The study adopts ex-post facto research design and utilizes a balanced panel dataset of 45 manufacturing companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) from 2015 to 2024. Data were collected from the annual and sustainability reports of the sampled firms. The data was analysed using a Panel-Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE) regression. Findings show that board gender diversity, board nationality, and existence of sustainability/environmental committees have considerable favourable results on carbon emission disclosure. The findings give empirical support for Stakeholders Theory and Resource Dependence Theory. The report recommends that manufacturing companies should increase the representation of female and foreigners on corporate board, adopt ISO 14001 environmental management systems more widely, and introduce mandatory carbon emission disclosure requirements in line with evolving global sustainability reporting standards.