Environmental Disclosure and Performance in the Airline Industry: Evidence from Bloomberg ESG Data

This thesis examines the relationship between environmental disclosure and measurable environmental performance in the airline industry. Drawing on theories of legitimacy, stakeholder engagement, and signalling, the study investigates whether airlines’ sustainability communication aligns with their actual environmental outcomes or whether discrepancies consistent with potential greenwashing can be observed. Using an exploratory quantitative approach, the analysis is based on Bloomberg ESG data and firm-level operational metrics for a sample of 27 publicly listed airlines between 2005 and 2025. Environmental disclosure indicators, including ESG environmental disclosure scores, GRI compliance, emissions reduction initiatives, and internal carbon pricing, are compared with performance-based measures such as Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions, NOx emissions, and fuel intensity normalized by available seat kilometres (ASK). The results reveal industry-wide trends shaped by structural growth and the COVID-19 shock, while also highlighting variation across disclosure categories. The findings provide exploratory evidence on whether higher levels of sustainability communication systematically correspond to superior environmental performance and contribute to the broader debate on greenwashing risks in carbon-intensive industries.