Green accounting and financial performance: evidence from the ceramic industry in Bangladesh

The study investigated the relationship between green accounting disclosure (GAD) and financial performance in the ceramic industry in Bangladesh, using a 20-year panel dataset (2005–2024) of all five listed firms. A replicable 10-item GAD index was constructed from audited annual reports and estimated pooled and fixed-effects panel models with small-N robust inference (firm-clustered SE, PCSE, and Driscoll-Kraay checks). No statistically significant evidence was found that GAD improved profitability, measured by return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). The estimated effects were consistently positive but statistically indistinguishable from zero for both ROA and ROE. The study suggests that, under a voluntary and low-assurance reporting environment, disclosure alone may remain symbolic and may not translate into short-run profitability benefits. This research contributes (i) a transparent, auditable GAD measurement protocol for emerging markets, (ii) sector-specific longitudinal evidence for Bangladesh, and (iii) policy implications on minimum disclosure requirements and assurance to improve decision-usefulness. However, the small number of listed ceramic firms limited statistical power, coefficient stability, and generalisability. Therefore, the findings should be interpreted as evidence of no detectable short-run profitability benefit rather than proof of no relationship