Present situation of environmental accounting information disclosure in the United States

The United States is one of the first countries to disclose environmental accounting information. After nearly 20 years of development, with the promulgation and implementation of a large number of environmental laws, the number of enterprises and the scope of disclosure of environmental accounting information are also increasing, mainly due to the requirements of laws and regulations and the pressure of capital market. Because the United States has specific requirements for the disclosure of corporate environmental accounting information, most American companies will disclose information about environmental accounting, especially listed companies. American listed companies can explain environmental affairs through news, bulletin boards, press conferences, annual reports and separate environmental reports. In their annual reports, they disclose environmental accounting as follows:

1. Orientation of environmental information disclosure.

American listed companies mainly disclose environmental information in the discussion and analysis part of annual report management.

2, the content of environmental information.

From the perspective of influencing corporate finance, American listed companies mainly consider environmental policies, environmental costs and environmental liabilities. First of all, American listed companies disclose their environmental policy objectives, as long as they disclose some accounting policies related to environmental liabilities and costs, and some companies also disclose the government's encouragement to environmental protection measures. Second, the disclosure of environmental costs. Listed companies in the United States disclose their environmental costs, list environmental investment and environmental costs respectively, and describe research, reuse and environmental health management to some extent. American listed companies disclose their environmental liabilities, and make quantitative disclosure of possible environmental-related liabilities, such as the number of superfund sites and estimated clean-up costs; Explain the potential debt caused by increasingly strict future regulations; Disclosure of bonds and amounts related to the environment. Environmental-related reports fully disclose environmental information.

3. The specific form of disclosure.

American listed companies mainly disclose environmental information in quantitative form, supplemented by qualitative description.

4. The importance attached by the company's management to environmental information disclosure.

American listed companies have fully disclosed environmental information in their annual reports for three consecutive years.