Carbon footprint and stock market performance in an emerging context: Evidence from Moroccan listed companies

Abstract

Abstract

Purpose: This paper examines whether improvements in environmental performance, measured through reductions in carbon dioxide emissions, are associated with stock market performance in an emerging economy context.

Design and methodology: The study adopts an exploratory quantitative approach using secondary data extracted from corporate annual reports and market information for three Moroccan listed companies over the period 2020 to 2023. Environmental performance is captured by changes in carbon dioxide emissions, and stock market performance is captured by annual share price variation. The analysis combines correlation analysis and an association test to evaluate the relationship between the two variables.

Findings: The empirical results do not show a statistically significant association between reductions in carbon dioxide emissions and stock market performance in the studied sample. The observed relationships vary across firms and remain unstable when tested at the pooled level.

Practical implications: These results suggest that, in this context, investors may not systematically incorporate environmental performance signals into pricing decisions, and stock price movements may be driven more strongly by financial and market factors.

Originality and contribution: The paper provides exploratory evidence from Morocco, a setting that remains underrepresented in empirical research on environmental performance and capital markets, and highlights the need for broader samples and longer time horizons to strengthen inference.

Keywords: Environmental performance; Carbon dioxide emissions; Stock market performance; Emerging markets; Morocco; Investor reaction