This research investigated the current situation of water-related information disclosure in 50 major Chinese companies (SSE 50), which were listed on the Shanghai Exchange Market. More specifically, this research involved the development of a unique disclosure index to measure water-related information disclosed within annual reports and the corporate social responsibility reports. Therefore, an effective and a comprehensive disclosure index will be introduced in this research paper.

The objective of this specific research was to provide a more comprehensive understanding regarding the status quo of water information disclosure in Chinese companies. Thus, an introduction in regards to water-related issues will be discussed at the beginning. In the following section, past literature in the area of water accountability and water-related issues will be reviewed. Meanwhile, the content analysis will be undertaken as the research method in terms of ensuring the quality and comprehensiveness of the index development and other results.

The findings are significant in terms of revealing the current situation of water-related information disclosure within SSE 50 Chinese companies. It also found few factors which showed a significant correlation in relation to the disclosure score. Therefore, the result provided a clear indication that the significance of water resource, and also the issues in relation to such a resource, have not been comprehensively disclosed, and the levels of understanding in regards to the importance of water resource was different among each industry. However, this specific disclosure index, which I developed in this research project, may potentially enhance the comprehensiveness of water-related information disclosure in a range of industries, in terms of disclosing their water-related issues. Furthermore, the lack of knowledge in terms of reporting water-related information is crucial, since water is an essential element in every area. Thus, this research may also enrich the knowledge of water accountability in regards to relevant information disclosure and reporting.