Measuring Environmental Sub-Pillar Disclosure Consistency in Indonesian Listed Firms: A Panel Analysis Using the Disclosure Consistency Index (DCI)

Abstract

Although environmental sustainability reports by companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) have increased since Financial Services Authority (Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK)) Regulation No. 51/2017, the internal balance of disclosure content across Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) environmental sub-pillars remains understudied. This study measures multidimensional consistency in disclosures across five GRI environmental pillars: energy (GRI 302), water (GRI 303), biodiversity (GRI 304), carbon emissions (GRI 305), and waste (GRI 306). It introduces the Disclosure Consistency Index (DCI), based on the inverse coefficient of variation, to measure and validate multidimensional disclosure balance. Using a longitudinal dataset of 83 IDX-listed companies and 314 firm-year observations (2020–2023), the study applies trend analysis, Pearson correlation, Kruskal–Wallis tests by sector, and K-means clustering to identify disclosure patterns. Results show an average DCI of 0.3704 (median = 0.3552), indicating moderate-to-low consistency and a trend toward selective disclosure; DCI approaches 1 for balanced disclosers and approaches 0 for extreme selective disclosers. Biodiversity (GRI 304) recorded the lowest score and slowest growth, while Carbon (GRI 305) and Waste (GRI 306) performed relatively better. Bivariate K-means clustering (k = 3) identified three disclosure types: low consistency (Infrastructure & Transport), moderate consistency (Consumer Goods/Agriculture, Property & Real Estate), and high consistency (Energy & Mining, Basic Materials), with statistically significant sectoral gaps across 8 industry classifications. These findings suggest that POJK 51's expanded regulatory scope increased disclosure volume without improving multidimensional consistency, supporting the hypothesis of legitimacy-based selective disclosure. The DCI offers a practical screening tool for regulators, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investors, and sustainability researchers in emerging markets.