Title: Corporate director skill diversity and environmental disclosure

Authors: Anju P. Tom; Sudershan Kuntluru; Ajit Dayanandan

Addresses: Finance, Accounting, and Control Area, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode, IIMK Campus PO, Kozhikode, 673570, Kerala, India ' Finance, Accounting, and Control Area, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode, IIMK Campus PO, Kozhikode, 673570, Kerala, India ' College of Business and Public Policy, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 99508, USA

Abstract: The study investigates whether corporate director skill diversity impacts environmental disclosure in India. In 2020, the capital market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), introduced regulations under the SEBI (listing obligations and disclosure requirements) framework, mandating companies to report the skill sets of each director of the board in their annual reports. We hand-collected directors' skill data from the annual reports for the period 2019-2020 to 2021-2022. First, we compiled a comprehensive list of all skills reported by the companies, eliminating duplicates and consolidating similar categories, resulting in 17 unique skill categories. Using a dataset of 348 Indian companies from 2020 to 2022, the period following the mandatory directors' skill disclosure requirement, we find that director skill diversity exhibits a significant positive impact on environmental disclosures in India. The research findings provide direct evidence for improving environmental disclosures and achieving sustainable development.

Keywords: director skill set; board skill set; board diversity; environmental disclosure; India.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCG.2025.149621

International Journal of Corporate Governance, 2025 Vol.15 No.4, pp.335 - 354

Received: 06 Feb 2025
Accepted: 11 May 2025
Published online: 07 Nov 2025 *

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