Corporate environmental policy and shareholder value: Following the smart money

Authors Fernando, Sharfman and Uysal
Journal Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis
Year 2017
Type Published Paper
Abstract We examine the value consequences of corporate social responsibility through the lens of institutional shareholders. We find a sharp asymmetry between corporate policies that mitigate the firm's exposure to environmental risk and those that enhance its perceived environmental friendliness ("greenness"). Institutional investors shun stocks with high environmental risk exposure, which we show have lower valuations, as predicted by risk management theory. These findings suggest that corporate environmental policies that mitigate environmental risk exposure create shareholder value. In contrast, firms that increase greenness do not create shareholder value and are also shunned by institutional investors.
Keywords Corporate environmental policy, CSR, shareholder value, institutional investors, firm value
URL https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022109017000680
Tags Archival Empirical  |   Asset Pricing, Trading Volume and Market Efficiency  |   Investment Decisions (Institutional)  |   Manager / Firm Behavior