Abstract

Extant literature has noted that traditional paper-based reporting is becoming less timely and less useful to decision makers. Stakeholder pressure is making companies use communication channels other than paper-based reporting, such as the Internet. This article seeks to contribute to the literature by analyzing the extent to which firms are using the Internet to communicate their corporate environmental reporting as a transparency information policy to manage corporate legitimacy. Because utility and resource industries are considered sensitive industries with regard to their impact on the natural environment, these firms are expected to offer corporate environmental reporting on the Web to cope with prevailing stakeholders pressures. This article also explores the environmental online disclosures made by Spanish publicly listed companies. Although sample firms practice corporate environmental reporting on the Web, results indicate differences between sample industries' Internet disclosures and the lack of a standardized framework for corporate environmental reporting