How are Italian energy companies responding to the challenge of decarbonisation? In a world increasingly focused on sustainability, businesses must comply with strict regulations and respond to growing societal pressure to reduce their environmental impact.
The study conducted by E. De Camillis, T. Izzo, and D. Mancini examines how major Italian listed companies in the energy sector measure, manage, and report their greenhouse gas emissions. What strategies are they adopting? How are they integrating sustainability into their business models? And most importantly, how transparent are they in their environmental reporting?

Abstract

Due to the worldwide regulatory developments on the carbon-related issue, companies are increasingly pressured to adopt targeted reduction actions and improve their performance on carbon emissions. Corporate emission reporting is becoming a highly required practice especially for those organizations operating in carbon-intensive industries such as the energy sector. However, how companies measure and self-report their efforts regarding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions remains highly heterogeneous. Therefore, to ensure a rapid, effective, and lasting corporate response to climate change, it is crucial to investigate and understand, through the voluntary and mandatory dissemination of information, why companies pursue carbon reduction strategies and how corporate behaviors can be interpreted along these pathways. Using a content analysis approach, this paper aims to underscore the GHG-related disclosure trends, content and strategies adopted by Italian listed companies operating in the energy sector. The aim of this study is two-fold. First, it examines the extent to which oil and gas utilities disclose GHG information and clarify their total carbon footprint. Second, it investigates whether these organizations use regulatory information not only for external reporting purposes, but also for internal decision-making by integrating decarbonization into their control and performance measurement systems. This paper provides valuable insights, for scholars and practitioners, into the environmental reporting practices for decarbonization, and the carbon management system of Italian energy companies. Keywords: Società italiane quotate, GHG emission, Report di sostenibilità,, sistemi di misurazione e controllo, strategie di decarbonizzazione, content analysis.

Keywords: Italian listed companies, GHG emission, sustainability reporting, measurement and control systems, decarbonisation strategies, content analysis.

Authors: E. De Camillis, T. Izzo, D. Mancini