Search

This paper takes the establishment of the Green Financial Reform and Innovation Pilot Zone (GFPZ) in 2017 as a natural experiment, adopts the data of a-share industrial listed enterprises in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2010 to 2020, and utilizes the difference-in-differences (DID) method to carry out empirical tests. The results show that (1) GFPZ policy significantly improves the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance of enterprises, and the positive effect is mainly realized by improving the external financing ability and green-technology innovation level of enterprises. (2) There is heterogeneity in the impact of GFPZ policy on the ESG performance of firms with different equity natures and internal control levels. (3) Green finance promotes active corporate social responsibility, and it can further improve environmental governance in the regions where it operates. This paper provides a useful supplement to the comprehensive understanding of green-finance policy effects and ESG impact factors, and it is of great significance in mitigating the negative environmental and social externalities caused by the excessive pursuit of economic benefits by enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facing the double constraints of the "double carbon" target and high-quality economic development, carbon trading policy is an important tool for realizing the emission reduction commitment; based on the perspective of microenterprises, the specific mechanism and spatial effect of carbon trading policy still need to be evaluated. Taking China's carbon emissions trading pilot as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper empirically investigates the impact of carbon trading policy on the carbon emission intensity of pilot enterprises and its mechanism of action, and its impact on the carbon emission intensity of neighboring enterprises, based on the multi-temporal double-difference model, moderating effect model, and spatial Durbin model with the A-sharelisted enterprises in the period of 2009-2019 as the samples. It is found that: 1) Carbon trading policy will reduce the carbon emission intensity of enterprises to different degrees, and there are significant differences under different ownership types, degrees of marketization and the level of digitization. 2) Under the influence of environmental uncertainty, ESG disclosure will weaken the effectiveness of carbon emission reduction in the pre-pilot stage of the policy; with the gradual improvement of the carbon trading policy and ESG disclosure mechanism, ESG ratings will positively regulate the inhibitory effect of the carbon trading policy on the carbon emission intensity of enterprises through multiple paths. 3) Carbon trading policy effectively reduces multiple negative spillovers through the demonstration effect and competition effect of neighboring enterprises, driving the carbon emission reduction behavior of non-pilot enterprise. The research in this paper enriches the research paradigm of carbon emission intensity influencing factors, provides reference suggestions for the government to improve its policies, and better contributes to the realization of the "dual-carbon" vision in China as soon as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper investigates the relationship between stock prices, credit ratings, and ESG scores for banks internationally. First, it describes stock prices and ESG scores at an annual frequency, as well as stock price and credit risk at a daily frequency. The relationships between (a) stock price and credit rating returns with ESG score returns and (b) among ESG scores are examined by pairwise annual correlation, and daily correlations are examined between price and credit rating returns. Furthermore, Granger causality is used to examine the relationships between the following: (a) price and ESG score annual returns; (b) price and credit rating daily returns; and (c) total and pillar annual ESG scores. This study makes a significant contribution to the literature by providing a detailed temporal analysis using both annual and daily data frequencies, which is relatively rare in the field. There is evidence of statistically and empirically important relations in the form of pairwise correlations. The regressions reveal a low significance of few ESG score changes in explaining credit rating changes. A unique aspect of this paper is the comprehensive analysis of 16 granular ESG scores, including overall scores, pillar scores, and sub-scores, allowing for a multi-faceted understanding of how specific ESG factors impact financial metrics. We found evidence of the significance of COVID-19 in all research questions. Additionally, this paper highlights the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the relationships between ESG scores, credit ratings, and stock prices, offering timely insights into the heightened importance and volatility of ESG factors during crisis periods. Future research needs to shed more light on this relationship, however. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dominant practice governing sustainability reporting in the private sector is that of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or Environmental Social Governance (ESG) reporting. CSR has its roots in philanthropy and charitable initiatives, while ESG aims to integrate environmental, social, and governance factors into business practices and decision-making. This paper analyses the transition in sustainability worldviews revealed in corporate sustainability reporting from 2016 to 2021. It uses a longitudinal content analysis methodology applied to a sample of ten multinational companies listed on the South African JSE/FTSE top 40 index. The period for the longitudinal study is framed from when the companies started reporting on ESG. The JSE/FTSE was chosen as the companies listed in the top 40 represent 80% of the value on the JSE (JSE 2020). The qualitative content analysis makes use of the five stages of corporate sustainability model to position companies' sustainability reports within these five stages (Landrum & Ohsowski, 2018a). The key finding of this paper is that multinational companies have been slow to transition their sustainability reporting practices. The current reports reflect a business-as-usual mindset that is driven by compliance with reporting regulations. There is an absence of reporting that reflects a view of embedding business operations within bounded science-based ecological and social environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amidst growing environmental challenges linked to coal dependence, fostering green innovation in new energy enterprises is vital for sustainable development in China. Although there have been studies on green innovation of new energy enterprises in recent years, few studies have been conducted from the perspective of ESG, whether informal environmental regulation represented by ESG can stimulate the green innovation of new energy enterprises is of great significance to China's construction of a low-carbon and secure energy system. In this paper, from the perspective of informal environmental regulation, based on the ESG ratings of SynTaoGreen Finance's first public newenergy listed companies as an exogenous shock, and taking A-share new energy listed companies as a sample from 2010 to 2021, we empirically verified the effect and mechanism of ESG ratings on the green innovation of new energy companies in terms of the quantity and quality of green innovations by utilizing the Staggered Difference-indifference (DID) model. The findings demonstrate that new energy enterprises' green patent numbers and quality are greatly enhanced by ESG grading. However, there is clear heterogeneity in this green innovation effect, which is particularly visible in new energy firms with state-owned enterprise and greater enterprise scales and a higher level of digitization. The Mechanistic findings suggest that ESG ratings drive green innovation by alleviating financial constraints, reducing agency risk, and boosting R&D, thus providing empirical evidence for the development of a green innovation ecosystem in the new energy industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainability-linked discussion has gained international importance, with the banking sector being an essential pillar of the new economy, particularly through channeling financial resources to environmentally friendly economic activities. It is, however, still unclear if ESG is profitable, both for the economy and banks. This paper aims at filling this gap by presenting, from a macroeconomic perspective, the impact of ESG efforts and the banking sector's contribution to a sustainable economy. Using panel regression models with fixed effects, the study investigates the impact of ESG factors and banking activity on economic growth. The results show a negative relationship between country-level ESG scores and economic growth, both in the short and long run, while increased financial intermediation by the banking sector, used as a proxy of potential green lending activity, does not necessarily enhance economic growth. Through delving into the interplay between the ESG score, economic development, and banking activity, this research could serve as a discussion point for economists, bankers, and policymakers when designing the economic and financial strategies for transitioning to a green economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper presents a comprehensive review of the literature on microgrid development in the UAE, focusing on the socio-economic costs and benefits, policy frameworks, market dynamics, and environmental implications. The analysis encompasses publications from 2011 to 2021, with a particular emphasis on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. A total of 33 papers were identified and classified, revealing gaps in comprehensive valuation models, consideration of environmental and social governance factors, and research informing policy and investment decisions. The findings highlight the significance of microgrid technology in the UAE, its limited adoption and commercialization, and its predominant usage in remote areas and academic testbeds. The paper underscores the UAE's vision for net-zero emissions by 2050 and the potential of microgrids in supporting its realization. Recommendations include the development of a comprehensive valuation framework to drive effective investments in microgrid technology, aligning with the UAE's sustainable energy goals. The study contributes to the understanding of microgrid development in the UAE, offering insights into its socio-economic, policy, market, and environmental dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the state of the art in the cryptocurrency literature, with a special emphasis on the links between financial dimensions and ESG features. The study uses bibliometric analysis to illustrate the history of cryptocurrency publication activity, focusing on the most popular subjects and research trends. Between 2014 and 2021, 1442 papers on cryptocurrencies were published in the Web of Science core collection, the most authoritative database, although only a tiny percentage evaluated ESG factors. One of the most common criticisms of cryptocurrencies is the pollution derived from energy consumption in their mining process and their use for illicit purposes due to the absence of effective regulation. The study allows us to suggest future research directions that may be beneficial in illustrating the environmental effect, studying financial behavior, identifying the long-term sustainability of cryptocurrencies, and evaluating their financial success. This study provides an in-depth examination of current research trends in the field of cryptocurrencies, identifying prospective future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs bibliometric analysis to investigate the landscape of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors and their relationship with performance. Drawing from a dataset of 634 papers retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) database and analysed using Biblioshiny, the research explores academic interest trends, temporal dynamics, and citation impacts. Results indicate a surge in scholarly attention since 2010, peaking notably in 2022, reflecting the growing importance of ESG research. Prominent institutions such as Stanford and Bocconi emerge as collaborative hubs, with China leading in scientific production. Key themes include financial performance, governance, risk, responsibility, and management, reflecting comprehensive explorations of sustainable business practices and effective corporate governance. Thematic maps highlight essential elements in ESG and performance studies, with clusters like "impact" emphasizing critical factors such as "governance" and "financial performance." Future research directions could explore the integration of emerging technologies into ESG reporting procedures or sectorspecific discrepancies in ESG effects on performance. The study acknowledges limitations inherent in bibliometric analysis and underscores the importance of triangulating findings with additional data sources for a comprehensive understanding of the scholarly landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing prominence of climate and energy issues, enterprises, as the micro-subjects of economic activities, need to pay attention to environmental responsibility to promote sustainable and high-quality economic development. However, one of the crucial controversies is whether enterprises will sacrifice efficiency to fulfill their environmental responsibilities. To try our best to answer the controversy, this paper explores the impact of ESG on total factor productivity and its mechanism. The research conclusion shows that Chinese enterprises fulfilling ESG responsibilities can improve staff efficiency, reduce financing costs, ease financing constraints, and increase innovation investment, thus effectively improving total factor productivity. Compared to non-state-owned enterprises, this effect is more significant in state-owned enterprises. In addition, the promotion of ESG construction on the total factor productivity of enterprises also presents specific acceleration characteristics. This shows that in the socialist market economy environment, there is an obvious "social responsibility dividend" in the implementation of the ESG concept by Chinese enterprises, which is helpful to enhance their long-term value and realize a win-win of social value and commercial value. The conclusions of this study help deal correctly with the relationship between business value and social value of enterprises and provide inspiration for promoting healthy and sustainable economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is to explore the association between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) dimensions and corporate innovative activities. Given that existing literature in the relationship between ESG and firm performance to date offers no clearly consistent empirical results and large-scale sample studies based on global companies remain scarce, this paper aims to offer a fresh and noteworthy insight about relationship between the ESG and innovation in recent times when ESG has been considered as important tenets of management because of the ESG's enormous significance for corporate solid performance and sound development of capital markets. To test the hypotheses derived from the theoretical reasoning, this paper selected ESG indicators and financial data of global companies from 1999 to 2009 based on the relationship between ESG activities and corporate innovation, and the effects on corporate innovative product development performance are analyzed according to detailed ESG activities by logistic regression analysis. The study found that positive environmental and social activities appear to enhance innovation outputs by firms in various industries. These results indicate that the firms challenged by environmental issues respond with assertive innovative activities and the firms' efforts to stimulate certain types of social activities are reflected in a higher level of innovation. Supporting the complex relationship between ESG activities and corporate innovation performance, the findings will help firms' decision-makers, stakeholders, as well as academics, to improve their awareness of the impact of ESG activities on the innovation performance of the firm, both as a comprehensive factor and individually by pillar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research background: The sustainable development and innovation economics theory and related literature place a lot of emphasis on the relationship between environment, society, and governance (ESG) and green innovation. Purpose of the article: The purpose of this paper is to understand what the factors are that influence green innovation and why there is a big disparity in green innovation capabilities between nations. In addition, this paper aims to investigate the impact of ESG performance of green innovation by using unbalanced panel data covering 118 sample countries during the period of 1999-2019. Methods: Panel fixed effect model; Instrumental variable (IV) method; First-differencing (FD) method; Kinky least-squares (KLS) approach. Findings & value added: ESG performance provides evidence for its positive and significant impact on such innovation. Among the ESG factors, governance seems to have the most important influence on green innovation. Moreover, the positive influence of ESG performance is more evident in higher income and wealthy nations. Furthermore, we also conclude that ESG performance can affect green innovation through FDI, human capital, financial development and trade openness. These conclusions hold up after a number of robustness tests and taking into account any potential endogenous issues. Overall, policymakers should pay close attention to the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the oil and gas sector because of its direct exposure to the complete range of ESG challenges, as well as strong pressure to change business models due to the energy transition. We investigate the ESG scores of a sample of global companies in this sector and their relationship to stock market performance and to the ESG intensity of corporate reports. As an original contribution, we incorporate the intensity of corporate discourse on technology-related sustainability topics for the first time in the literature. Our findings reveal that investors examine both sustainability discourse and results when determining a company's value and validate the role of ESG scores and rankings in providing investors with an accurate and meaningful assessment of companies' sustainability actions. Moreover, companies' disclosure of their sustainable actions and technological developments related to sustainability is positively related to stock returns. This implies that a focus on sustainable practices and constant communication with investors might result in higher market performance. Furthermore, encouraging companies, particularly those in sectors and industries sensitive to ESG factors, to invest in ESG initiatives, is accompanied by improved performance, which makes them more attractive and better positioned to attract financing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to investigate the impact of influential ESG factors on risk, focusing on debt risk and liquidity risk. The influence on a sample of companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange belonging to the NYSE index is analyzed over a 10-year period, 2012–2021. The quantitative framework covers a multitude of indicators regarding debt, liquidity, corporate governance, the environment, CEO characteristics, performance, and other variables, and the research methodology uses the method of least squares to highlight their impact, using regression models with fixed and random effects, both linear and nonlinear. By estimating regression models, the empirical results confirm the hypotheses found in the existing knowledge stage that debt risk and liquidity risk are significantly influenced by asset profitability, the CEO duality significantly influences debt, while CEO gender diversity has a negative influence on corporate risk, specifically debt and liquidity risk. Additionally, it is shown that the emergence of COVID-19 brings significant changes to company autonomy and their financial performance, the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively influenced corporate risk through restrictions, economic uncertainty, and the amplification of risks. These research results are crucial for practitioners by the necessity of integrating ESG criteria into the risk assessment process and decision-making. Furthermore, concerning policy decision-makers, they help promote sustainability and a responsible approach. Therefore, ESG factors can impact companies' financial performance and influence how they are perceived by investors. By understanding and correctly evaluating these ESG factors, one can identify and manage risks more efficiently, achieve better long-term returns, make appropriate decisions, and promote sustainability in the business environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental governance in the mining sector, focusing on the case of CODELCO, a Chilean copper mining company. The study examines the factors that triggered changes in CSR strategies and the types of organizational changes that were introduced. The article argues that CSR strategies in the mining sector are influenced by a combination of national and subnational factors, including tightening environmental regulations, social conflicts, and reputational crises. The paper contributes to the literature on CSR and environmental governance by providing empirical evidence and proposing a three-level institutional framework to analyze the evolution of CSR. [Extracted from the article]

Against the background of sustainable development policies, the ESG performance of Chinese manufacturing enterprises is still generally poor. As the leading enterprises in the manufacturing industry, state-owned enterprises should take the lead in responding to the national call for sustainable development and actively explore the path to improve their ESG performance. This study aims to explore whether and how state-owned manufacturing enterprises can improve their poor ESG performance through digital transformation in the digital economy. This study takes Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share state-owned listed manufacturing enterprises as the research sample and constructs an unbalanced panel. OLS regression analysis is used to empirically test the impact of digital transformation on the ESG performance of the sample firms. Further attempts are made to discuss the influence mechanism of digital transformation from the perspectives of dynamic capabilities and the institutional environment through stepwise and hierarchical regression methods, respectively. The study shows that, firstly, digital transformation is an important influencing factor in promoting the improvement of enterprises' ESG performance, and at the same time, there are significant structural differences in this influence. Second, under the dynamic capability perspective, digital transformation can improve corporate ESG performance through an absorptive feedback mechanism, matching response mechanism, and innovation efficiency enhancement mechanism. Third, from the perspective of the institutional environment, the informal system has a significant positive moderating effect on the relationship between digital transformation and ESG performance, i.e., the informal system and digital transformation have a synergistic governance effect on corporate ESG performance. The moderating effect of the formal institutional environment on digital transformation and ESG performance is not significant. The findings of the study clarify the controversy over the relationship between digital transformation and ESG performance of manufacturing state-owned enterprises and enrich the research on the influencing factors of corporate ESG performance. It also provides a theoretical foundation and empirical evidence for manufacturing SOEs to improve ESG performance and lead to sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research aims to investigate the impact of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risk on firm value and analyse the disclosure of materiality as a moderation variable. Methodology/Approach: We select research data through purposive sampling. We obtain ESG risk scores from Sustainalytics. Content analysis measures the materiality of sustainability disclosures. We processed 204 company data sets in Indonesia using moderated regression analysis techniques between 2020 and 2022. Findings: Empirical results show that greater environmental, social, and governance risks will lower firm value. Furthermore, the disclosure of materiality in the sustainability report can moderate the negative impact of ESG risk on the firm's value. Research Limitation/implication: This research's implications are essential for standard-makers and governments to increase corporate attention to environmental, social, and governance risk aspects. The company's operations pose ESG risk, which negatively impacts market value as investors rely on this information for their decision-making. Furthermore, this research also implies that management understands the importance of materiality in sustainability reports. Originality/Value of paper: This research enriches existing literature on corporate risk, focusing on environmental, social, and governance risks. This paper also adds references to materiality disclosure in sustainability reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the Mainland-Hong Kong Stock (MHKS) Connect Program is used as a quasi-natural experience to study the relationship between foreign institutional investors and environmental innovation. Using the sample of the Chinese mainland A-Share market industrial firms from 2012 to 2019 and Difference-In-Difference model, we find a promoting effect of the foreign institutional investors on the mainland firms' environmental innovation. The mediating effect tests prove that foreign institutional investors inspire environmental innovation through monitoring channel (supervising the environmental innovation), insurance channel (tolerating innovation failures) and knowledge spillover channel. It is noteworthy that only firms in the regions of high innovation capacity benefit from the knowledge spillover channel. Our study implies that environmental innovation can benefit from the opening-up of the stock market if it can attract foreign institutional investors who fulfill the roles of monitoring, insurance and knowledge spillover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU is aware that advancement of sustainability via the multi-stakeholder model is feasible only with the active involvement of all stakeholders, including European consumers. Consequently, the EU policy and law pendulum has swung from the state, government and businesses to consumers, i.e. the information about the sustainability of businesses and their products cannot be reduced only to CSR and ESG reports, but has to be conveyed, with an appropriate content and in appropriate format, to consumers. Since a European consumer should be not only homo economicus and consumus but as well homo responsabilus, the European Commission has brought forth four legislative proposals changing the business-consumer landscape. This quartet targets product passports, empowering consumers for green transition, right on the repair of goods, and green claims and is to be applied to all European businesses. The aim of this paper is (i) to anchor this quartet in the light of the given six priorities, European green deal strategies and the B2C regime in the EU and (ii) to map how it evolves to contribute to the transformation of the consumer in the homo responsabilus. This points to new legislative trends and provides guidance to businesses to modify accordingly their product and customer approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to provide the main contents of the revision of the 2023 OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and suggest implications for the Korean government and multinational enterprises. Design/methodology/approach: Following the brief history of the revision of OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, this study reviews and evaluates major substantive and procedural revisions of the 2023 OECD Guidelines, and then suggests countermeasures for Korean government and businesses. Findings: The most significant substantive change of the 2023 revision is that expectations for environmental due diligence and disclosure obligations, including climate change and biodiversity, for multinational enterprises have been expanded and strengthened. Regarding procedural changes, the biggest change is the introduction of a basis rule for the National Contact Points for Responsible Business Conduct (NCPs for RBC) to judge each issue and a rule that the final statement must include follow-up details and deadlines, which is expected to strengthen the effectiveness of the NCP dispute resolution mechanism. Originality/value: This study is the first academic paper to introduce major substantive and procedural revisions to the 2023 OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises in Korea. This study also provides implications for the Korean government and companies following the 2023 revised OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises as follows. First, the Korean government must establish a public–private partnership to closely communicate to prevent Korean companies from being harmed by failing to meet strengthening international Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) standards. In addition, Korean government should actively participate in ESG-related international forums, including the OECD, and strive to reflect the needs and interests of Korean companies. Second, the Korean NCP should strengthen its activities to prevent potential damage by expanding education and promotions for Korean businesses on related overseas legislative trends and NCP dispute case studies so that Korean companies can effectively deal with the strengthened ESG standards. Third, Korean multinational enterprises should preemptively establish an advanced ESG management system to seize new opportunities in the global supply chain previously concentrated in China and India in the process of reorganizing global supply chains according to the trend of strengthening ESG standards and the US value alliance strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reveals the impact of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores on systematic and downside risks in the Russian stock market. We analyze the influence of a broad set of ESG factors controlling for stock liquidity, financial indicators of companies, and macroeconomic indicators. The period under consideration is from 2013 to 2021. The methodology of our research is based on regression analysis with multiplicative variables to reveal the changes induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. We obtain several novel results. Social responsibility is one of the most significant non-fundamental factors influencing both systematic and downside risks. The most important environment-related component is the measure of a company's propensity to environmental innovations. Some dimensions of stock liquidity are also significant. For some factors, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and debt burden, we find an unexpected direction of influence on liquidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: The growing importance of ESG in the international economy makes the analysed issues extremely interesting. More and more studies show the growing role of ESG performance on company financial and market results as well as analyse the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the financial market. The study of rate of return and the relationship between the largest company companies in European Union Member States is of key importance considering the investment portfolio risk. Aim: The main aim of the article is impact assessment of ESG performance of the firm (proxied by ESG scoring by Refinitiv) on the rate of return of commodity sector companies listed on financial markets of European Union Member States. The second goal of the paper is to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the rate of return of the analysed companies. The third and final goal is to assess the impact of sector leader Results: ESG disclosure by the surveyed companies and ESG scoring had negative impact on the rate of return, while E, S and G scorings did not affect rate of return at all. Sector leaders were less negatively impacted by the COVID-19 economic crisis than the rest of the sector, however sector leadership status was not statistically significant. COVID-19 pandemic positively influenced the rate of return of analysed companies. In case of commodities stock companies, the economic crisis caused by the pandemic brought about higher levels of uncertainty in the financial markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to study whether adoption of sustainability policies by firms makes their stock market performance resilient to the downside risk during the crisis period. Design/methodology/approach: The paper empirically examines the relationship between environmental, social and governance (ESG) and stock market performance for Indian companies that have consistently been a part of Refinitiv Eikon ESG database. Further, the study examines whether there exist significant differences in stock market performance of high ESG and low ESG-compliant firms during crisis period. The sample was made up of 70 Indian firms studied over the period 2016–2019 defined as "normal period" as well as for the declared COVID-19 crisis period, i.e. January–March 2020, and full year 2020. The authors used multivariate panel data regression, robust least square multivariate regression, pooled OLS model and two-stage least square regression method. Findings: The study extends the existing literature by investigating the impact of ESG performance on market value of firms during the crisis period. Based on the stakeholder and "flight to safety" theory, the authors hypothesized that ESG would have significant positive effect on the stock market performance during crisis period; however, the results provide robust evidence that in a well-specified model capturing the effect of accounting-based measures of performance, Size, Growth, Risk and Dividend yield, ESG had no explanatory power over the stock market performance of ESG-compliant firms during crisis period. Furthermore, no significant difference in stock market performance indicators between high and low ESG-compliant firms was observed during the crisis period of 1Q2020 as well as for full year 2020. On contrary, the study finds dividend yield to be statistically significant in determining stock market performance of Indian firms during crisis period. The study extends the existing literature by coining the term, "ESG irrelevance" during crisis period. Research limitations/implications: The main limitation of this study is its limited sample size because there are very few Indian firms that have secured consistent ESG rating. The study focuses on consistently rated firms to avoid the impact of "greenwashing". Further, the study is focused on India, which limits the generalizability of our findings to other emerging countries. Originality/value: To the best of our knowledge, this is among the first few studies that examines sustainability and stock market performance of Indian firms during COVID-19-led crisis period. Our findings highlight no significant difference between stock market performance of high ESG firms and low ESG firms indicating that investors who wish to create wealth by investing in ESG-compliant stocks in India can do so without worrying about the companies' ESG rating scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ESG scores of corporations is a crucial manifestation of their long-term strategic goals, attracting significant attention from society. The impact and underlying mechanisms of the enhancement of the social credit atmosphere on the ESG performance of corporations remain unclear. This study utilizes a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2020, employing the Difference-in-Differences (DID) methodology to investigate the relationship of the establishment of the social credit system on company ESG scores. This study reveals that the establishment of the social credit system significantly advances corporate ESG scores. Heterogeneity results indicate that the positive effect is more pronounced in state-owned enterprises or companies having substantial institutional shareholding. Furthermore, the implementation of the social credit system amplifies corporate ESG scores through three key mechanisms: fostering green technology innovation, cultivating ethical and moral corporate cultures, and optimizing the overall business environment. This paper enriches the informal institutional researches about the driving factors of corporate ESG scores, providing valuable insights for policymakers and corporate decision-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examines the return performance and resilience to market volatility of the recently introduced environment, social/sustainable, and governance (ESG) weight-tilted Hang Seng index compared to its parent, the Hang Seng index. The ESG-infused index has a higher mean return and lower return volatility than the parent index, although the differences are statistically and economically insignificant, a result consistent with the high correlation between the two index returns. Most importantly, the ESG weight-tilted index is more resilient to volatility spikes than the parent index and, therefore, has lower downside risks. The overall results show that stocks with high ESG ratings are less susceptible to trading pressures triggered by volatility-induced turnovers. The paper contributes to the literature by providing significant incremental information on the emerging market for ESG-related equity products in Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2016, the People's Bank of China (PBC) together with multiple departments issued the Guidance on Building a Green Financial System (the Guidance), which marked a great breakthrough in China's green finance policy. Aiming to clarify the actual impact and underlying mechanisms of green finance policy on Chinese listed companies' ESG disclosure quality, this study employs the difference-in-differences (DID) model and examines the impact of the Guidance on ESG disclosure practices of A-share listed companies on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) during the period 2006 to 2022. This study reveals a positive correlation between the Guidance and listed companies' ESG disclosure. Upon further examination, it becomes evident that the Guidance has a more noticeable positive impact on the quality of ESG disclosure among listed companies that operate in industries with high levels of pollution, state-owned enterprises, and regions that exhibit greater levels of economic development. This paper provides essential insights to policymakers, facilitating a deeper understanding and more thorough assessment of the economic implications of green finance policies. Additionally, it acts as a strategic resource for listed companies, guiding the enhancement of corporate ESG disclosures and the implementation of ESG strategies influenced by green finance policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While ESG thrives, labor rights are being left behind. Environmental, social, and governance standards largely ignore workers' rights to organize a union. American labor law has not kept pace with the technology that enables employers to engage in old-school and modern union-busting. Companies like Starbucks, Amazon, and Apple trimipet sustainability while using intimidation, surveillance, and coercion to quash their employees' attempts to unionize. As the SEC and EU begin to mandate workforce-related disclosures for publicly traded companies, it's time to revise ESG standards to prioritize sustainable labor rights. This paper is the first to propose changes to the ESG regime to fill critical gaps in legal protections for union organizing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the complex framing of the agricultural fields, related to the corporate social responsibility (CSR), the general objective of this paper is to assess the impacts of environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials of CSR and human capital features on the financial performance of agricultural companies. The data consists of a sample of 412 public companies from the Thomson Reuters Eikon database, with data for 2020, operating in 17 agricultural areas with headquarters allocated around the world. The methodological endeavor embeds two econometric procedures, multifactorial models of robust regression and structural equation modelling (SEM). The research results bring new evidence to underline the risks related to the sustainability of the financial performance of agricultural companies and the decisive role played by the ESG dimensions to counteract these risks, particularly by the environmental pillar, along with CSR specific strategies and human capital characteristics (management board and employees). We propose several strategies for companies operating in agricultural fields in order to enhance profitability by CSR measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing requirement for businesses to disclose sustainability information digitally has prompted significant changes in the content and format of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosures. However, companies mandated to adapt to these changes face technological and information challenges regarding 'what' and 'how' to report. For European filers, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and its requirements, the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), along with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS S1 and S2), propose the use of the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) as the anticipated technical solution for the digital data structure. The objective of this paper is to provide a methodological framework for effectively navigating the complex and interrelated concepts relevant to stakeholders. Rather than relying on cumbersome textual guides, this framework leverages an examination of existing taxonomies to offer readers insights into the essential glossary of disclosures and metrics considered crucial by official regulatory sources. Furthermore, the research discusses the emphasis on qualitative and narrative disclosures in ESG reporting and their feasibility of comparable results. Employing this methodology facilitates the implementation of corporate case studies and enables the analysis of mass amounts of future annual reports for comprehensive sustainability performance measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, SDG standards are mapped to the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) pillars through Triple-Bottom Line (TBL) groupings based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines and accounting items, which allow SDG standards to be harmonised with the ESG pillars. Two methodologies developed in the literature for classifying SDG standards into TBL groupings were also used to create a ranking scheme. This scheme can help companies determine which SDG standards are most important for their sustainability reporting. Companies report on the steps they have taken towards sustainability and the sustainability aspects of their operations in their ESG sustainability reports. In many cases, their reporting includes information on SDGs, which, like ESG reporting, does not have a standard disclosure methodology, so announcements are made with different information, in different formats, by different companies. To make SDG reporting more consistent, harmonisation with existing ESG reporting methodologies could be identified as a forward step in this field because it would help to produce more informed, consistent SDG reporting. In addition to integrating SDGs into ESG reporting methodologies, SDGs also could be integrated into ESG scoring methodologies, which would be more relevant to stakeholders and the stock market. The paper will review ESG reporting and scoring methodologies, with a particular focus on which methodology is most appropriate for harmonisation. By defining the integration methodology, the study contributes to the public policy discussion about sustainable reporting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mining operations leave behind quarries with inhospitable conditions, characterized by steep drop-offs, deep water, flooding and poor drainage, and in some cases, abandoned industrial waste. Increasingly, innovations in mine closure and ecological restoration are integrating human activities into post-project land uses. Drawing from the Bamburi Haller Park, a former limestone quarry, this study demonstrates that with suitable environmental practices and policy interventions, mine closure can lead to positive projects that spur economic and social benefits. As a policy tool, this paper examines cultural ecosystem services (CES) as part of best practices in mine closure and mine restoration. Visitation data and revenue records were collected covering the period from 2014 to December 2018. Results show that over 566 hectares are now under various land uses with 56.51 per cent of the quarry having been ecologically rehabilitated. The site attracted over 181,000 visitors annually with an average annual revenue of US$330,745 from CES, including ecotourism, recreation and sports and environmental and conservation education. CES can form a strong foundation for promoting ecosystems restoration, biodiversity conservation and sustainable land use activities while showcasing best practices in environmental social governance. The resulting ecosystem is a unique model and showcase for sustainable and responsible mine closure in the extractive industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of digitalization, market dynamics are ever more intense, prompting firms to accelerate their innovation efforts. This paper analyzes the relationships between industrial internet platform firms' ESG performance, digital leadership, inter-firm relational trust, inter-firm digital trust, and user firms' innovation performance through questionnaire surveys carried out with multiple industrial internet platform users' managers and utilizing empirical analysis methods. We have discovered several important conclusions through our research. Firstly, platform firms' ESG performance and digital leadership positively influence inter-firm relational trust and digital trust. Secondly, inter-firm relational trust and digital trust both have a significant positive impact on user firms' innovation performance, with digital trust exerting a more pronounced impact. Thirdly, inter-firm relational trust and digital trust play a mediating role between platform firms' ESG performance and user firms' innovation performance, as well as between platform firms' digital leadership and user firms' innovation performance. This study expands the existing body of research on inter-firm trust, elucidates the underlying mechanisms linking platform firms' ESG performance, digital leadership, and user firms' innovation performance, and offers valuable insights for enhancing platform firms' ESG performance, inter-firm trust, and user firms' innovation performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, sustainable development goals (SDGs) have gained significant importance due to the uncertain environmental and economic condition that needs researchers' attention. Therefore, the present paper aims to scrutinize the effect of environmental and social responsibilities and corporate governance on the achievement of SDGs of logistic firms in Malaysia. The present research also examines the mediating impact of innovative culture among the linkage of environmental and social responsibilities, corporate governance, and achievement of SDGs of logistic firms in Malaysia. The current article has applied the questionnaire method to gather the primary data from selected respondents. The present research also applied the Smart-PLS to analyze the primary data using measurement and structural model assessment. The results indicated that environmental and social responsibilities have a positive linkage with the achievement of SDGs of logistic firms in Malaysia. The findings also exposed that innovative culture significantly mediates the relationship between environmental and social responsibilities and the achievement of SDGs of logistic firms in Malaysia. The present article has provided the guidelines to the policymakers while formulating the regulations and policies related to the achievement of SDGs in the organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Bait Al-Mashura Journal is the property of Bait Al-Mashura Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The ESG literature suggests that the relationship between a firm's environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and a firm's financial performance is positive, but the causal link between these two variables is ambiguous. The results in this study mirrored that sentiment of the ESG literature; thus, the purpose of this article is to frame the causal ambiguity in ESG research that accounts for ambiguous conclusions in ESG literature. This study found that firms with complete Bloomberg ESG ratings had higher abnormal returns than firms without complete ESG ratings, but the actual rating did not correlate with abnormal returns. Similarly, this study found that firms with higher ESG disclosure scores (regardless of whether the disclosures were good or bad) were associated with higher abnormal returns, which further illustrates the ambiguity and suggests transparency as a clarifying factor. While much of the literature notes challenges in ESG research, this study is one of the first that frames the confusing causal link between ESG performance and financial performance as the key conclusion of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses a two-way fixed-effect model to analyze the impact of ESG performance on corporate value based on the quarterly data of Chinese A-share listed sports companies from 2018 to 2022. The results prove that (1) The ESG performance of sports enterprises positively affects corporate value: the higher the ESG score is, the higher the corporate value is. (2) Mechanism analysis shows that financing constraints play a partially mediating role in the relationship between ESG performance and corporate value. (3) Heterogeneity analysis shows that corporate political relations will weaken the facilitating effect of ESG performance on corporate value. The stronger the political relations are, the weaker the facilitating effect of ESG performance on corporate value. Compared with that during the bear market, the performance of ESG in the bull market has a greater facilitating effect on corporate value. Compared with sports service enterprises, sports goods enterprises' ESG performance has a stronger facilitating effect on corporate value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the global state of the current economy we can notice a slowdown across both developed and developing countries, most of them facing the risk of recession. This paper aims to explore the intersection of ESG, and the pressing challenges confronting the global economy. The article will emphasize the significance and urgency of addressing these challenges to foster sustainable growth and resilience. The study seeks to analyze potential benefits that the integration of ESG norms can bring to the global economy and highlight the reasons why it has become so crucial. The research methods employed provide an overview of the key issues with the greatest impact that are shaping the present global economy as well as how ESG - Environmental, Social, and Governance factors have emerged as catalysts for change by mitigating risks, capitalizing on opportunities, and driving long-term value. The findings of this study serve as a foundation for developing more viable and resilient practices, enabling informed decision-making, and ensuring the long-term sustainable growth of the global economy overall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, investors have evaluated the organizations through environmental, social and governance criteria and assessing firms. However, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks affect business processes and controls, increase financial risk, and threaten the firm's survival. This paper examines whether the employer's negative environmental, social, and governance reputation is related to audit effort and quality. For this purpose, data from 107 firms is collected from 2015 to 2020. The analyses show a positive and significant relationship between ESG criteria and delays in the audit report; auditors increase audit efforts by spending long days auditing financial statements in response to poor ESG credits. Because auditors work harder, the financial statements of such firms are less likely to be reviewed. There is a positive and significant relationship between ESG criteria and the restatement of financial statements: the greater the negative reputation resulting from ESG criteria, the greater the likelihood of financial statement restatement and the higher the quality of the audit due to the auditors' scrutiny. Furthermore, there is no significant relationship between ESG criteria and financial statement reform. The paper also studies the interactive effect of the negative clients' ESG reputation and the delay of the audit report. The results show that delays in the audit report have a significant inverse effect on the relationship between ESG criteria and the presentation of financial statements and adjustment of financial statements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Businesses embracing green innovation can encourage high-quality green economic development in addition to reducing emissions. In this paper, we use the Difference-in-Differences (DID) to investigate the influence of green investor behavior on the green innovation of companies, using the first-ever green investor investment in a company as a quasi-natural experiment. According to research, green investors have the power to accelerate corporate green innovation greatly. Three key strategies that green investors can use to do this include raising institutional investment levels, enhancing the green perception of executives, and bringing in top talent. Heterogeneity analysis shows that non-high-polluting, big, and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are more likely to benefit from green investors' green innovation effects. Further analysis reveals that (ⅰ) green investors' influence on an enterprise's level of green innovation can help it improve its ESG ratings; (ii) green investors can encourage green innovation in source control but have little effect on green innovation in end-of-pipe treatment; (ⅲ) green investors can support both non-green and green innovation in enterprises, but have a greater influence on green innovation. This study strengthens the micro relationship between green investors and corporate green innovation. It also supports the theoretical underpinnings of corporate green innovation, which is significant for advancing green innovation, environmental protection, and high-quality economic development in emerging economies. • This paper explores the relationship between green investor behavior and corporate green innovation. • Green investors have the power to accelerate corporate green innovation greatly. • Green investors significantly accelerate corporate green innovation mainly through raising institutional investment levels, enhancing the green perception of executives, and bringing in top talent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between digital transformation(DT) and environmental, social, and governance(ESG) greenwashing using Chinese listed companies as a sample from 2012 to 2022. Furthermore, it analyzes the enterprise and regional heterogeneity as well as the influencing mechanisms on this relationship. The research results indicate that corporate digital transformation significantly inhibits ESG greenwashing, with a more pronounced effect on companies in non-high-pollution industries, high-tech industries, and the eastern region. In addition, mechanism tests reveal that internal control and financing constraints play a partial mediating role. Digital transformation suppresses ESG greenwashing by enhancing the quality of internal control and alleviating financing constraints. The primary contribution of this paper lies in demonstrating that digital transformation can serve as a strategic tool to mitigate ESG greenwashing. This enriches the research on the outcomes of digital transformation as well as the factors influencing ESG greenwashing. The conclusions of this paper provide theoretical foundations and policy recommendations for better ESG development by enterprises and governments in emerging markets. At the same time, this paper has a certain guiding role for the introduction and implementation of policies to encourage digital transformation. • This study examines the relationship between digital transformation (DT) and corporate greenwashing behavior in the context of ESG. • The study reveals that corporate digital transformation significantly inhibits greenwashing behavior in the ESG domain. • The inhibitory effect of digital transformation is more pronounced in non-polluting enterprises, high-tech enterprises, and companies located in the central-western region. • The internal control level and financing constraints of enterprises play a partial mediating role, indicating that digital transformation suppresses greenwashing by enhancing internal control and alleviating financing constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Rect@: Revista Electrónica de Comunicaciones y Trabajos de ASEPUMA is the property of ASEPUMA Asociacion Espanola de Profesores Universitarios de Matematicas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: The paper aims to study the relationship between market capitalisation and environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings of the companies in the European Union (EU). Methodology: The authors analysed a sample of 1,456 companies over five years, from 2016 to 2020. The ESG combined score and market capitalisation of the companies were observed. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to determine the relationship between the observed variables. The companies from twenty-one EU Member States have been analysed due to data availability. Results: The results showed that a negative correlation is statistically significant, which confirms the results obtained in previous research. Since the ESG scores are measured on a scale where a higher value means a lower rating, the results can be interpreted as valid, and they show that higher ESG ratings positively correlate with the company's market capitalisation. Conclusion: According to the analysis results, the correlation between ESG ratings and market capitalisation has improved over the years. In the first two years of the analysis, the correlation was weak, while it became stronger in the last three years of analysis. It is crucial for companies to understand this information since it gives them recommendations for future actions. ESG reporting can improve their market position. Since ESG reporting is still voluntary, companies which incorporate ESG reporting into their business strategy can become market leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, the research focus on Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) is mainly on the economic consequences of ESG performance, and research on the influencing factors of ESG overall performance is lacking. The top management team plays a decisive role in the decision of ESG investment. To improve ESG performance and promote sustainable development of enterprises. This research explores the influence of different types of top management team faultlines on the ESG performance by using the panel fixed effects model from 2015 to 2019 for the samples of 347 listed enterprises in China, and tests the moderating effect of management incentives. Results show that the relationship-type top management team faultlines is positively correlated with the ESG performance, whereas the task-type faultlines is negatively correlated with the ESG performance. Management compensation incentive will weaken the positive effect of the relationship-type faultlines on the ESG performance, and the moderating effect of the task-type faultlines on the ESG performance is insignificant. Management equity incentive will strengthen the positive effect of the relationship-type faultlines on the ESG performance and weaken the negative effect of the task-type faultlines. Our findings provide a new perspective for how to improve the ESG performance of listed companies by the optimization of corporate governance structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research continues to uncover gaps in shareholders' consideration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in investment decision‐making. With no one theory able to explain this process, this paper offers three inter‐related perspectives. First, from a valuation viewpoint, it is not clear how ESG factors are incorporated into earnings forecasts. Second, referencing agency and signalling theories, ESG may reduce information asymmetry between management–agents and shareholder–principals. Third, stakeholder and institutional theories situate ESG in a complex multi‐actor, multi‐interest, environment. Further research may reveal the conditions under which ESG information provides signals that augment shareholder assessment of long‐term firm value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature seeking to explain why firms conduct environmental, social and governance (ESG) activity is substantial and growing but remains underdeveloped. This paper offers a holistic and multi‐disciplinary theoretical framework to situate ESG activity as integral to firm performance. Drawing on established theories of the firm, these theories together assist the firm identify salient stakeholders, and how their contributions and claims may be integrated into firm activity. This approach places ESG considerations as an important element of firm activity in terms of developing and maintaining a firm's social licence, the way it manages risks, and building competitive advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) contribute greatly to sustainable development through microlending. This paper establishes a bridge between political stakeholder theory, social responsive theory, and institutional theory as applied to the functioning of MFIs. By establishing a nexus between these theoretical concepts, we investigate whether country‐level socio‐economic freedom, human development, and environmental issues affect the engagement and integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activities by MFIs. Using a sample of 2,064 MFIs from 94 countries for the period 2007 to 2018, we find that MFIs from countries with higher socio‐economic freedom, coupled with higher human development, may adhere to superior ESG policies. We posit that this is due to pressure from stakeholders to incorporate the triple bottom line objectives of 'profit, people, and the planet'. ESG integration is in line with institutional theory and enriched by political stakeholder theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 21st Century, societal welfare has captured global imagination and companies are encouraged to participate in this process. The paper aims to study how professional acculturation and appropriate capital is leading to the advance agenda of sustainability through the actions and initiatives of corporates considering the ESG initiatives and gauge the effectiveness of resulting responsible actions by all social actors through an assessment based on national ranking system for ESG disclosures and sustainability in Indian context. Reliance industries Limited (RIL) has been chosen to study system approach because it has been aligning its initiatives with regulations on ESG and such investments made by the companies attract socially conscious investors and create value within their portfolios. Systems approach has been adopted to highlight environmental and socially responsible initiatives undertaken by Reliance Industries, a large Indian multinational. Considering the ESG structure as a processing framework, we have tried to propose how an initiative( input) can be turned as an outcome( output) to benefit the society at large, through a case study. We propose system input and output methodology through efficient strategies to conquer good health, education, development, safety, energy, environment and climate protection. RIL has undertaken various ESG initiatives such as energy and water conservation, upliftment of community and initializing educational programs, adhering to various legal compliance and health and safety measures. On comparing RIL performance with top ten companies highlights that RIL has to go a long way in terms of environmental performance. Adopting system approach using ESG structures will serve RIL as a potential benchmark to the Indian corporate sector and emerging world towards spreading awareness and achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assets managed under sustainable investment criteria have been massively growing during the recent years. Among the criteria, environmental, social and governance (ESG) score leads the group as an important indicator of non-financial quality of a firm, which may reflect value to investors either through higher expected profit or lower risk. In this paper, we focus on the latter by exploring whether ESG score has linkage to the credit rating of firms due to the risk mitigation effect. Ordered logistic regressions are applied on a panel dataset of listed companies in Shanghai Stock Exchange and Tokyo Stock Exchange from 2009 to 2018. The results suggest that only in Japan, having ESG coverage is greatly associated with being awarded higher credit rating. However, only the environmental and governance pillars positively link to the Japanese firms' credit ratings, while the social pillar shows negative correlation. The finding of heterogeneous effects translates to an important implication that investment in ESG should be taken with care as the impact of ESG may depend on different nature or culture of markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measurement quality of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rating is important, considering the increasing interest in socially responsible investment. This paper examines the measurement quality of four ESG ratings. Comprehensive analysis of the ratings, including its dimensionality, reliability, and validity suggests that they have significantly different measurement construct and measurement concerns, despite some commonalities. This study also presents a novel approach to examine the convergence of ESG ratings by assessing the level of agreement. The results of interrater reliability analysis suggest that while the agreement between ESG scores is low, there is evidence of a low to moderate agreement of ESG rankings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]