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With the acceleration of urbanization, the sustainability of urban water infrastructure projects has become pivotal to social development. This research aims to construct a comprehensive sustainability assessment model for urban water public‐private partnership (PPP) projects based on the environmental, social, and governance criteria. First, a multi‐level assessment indicator system is established considering the economic, social, ecological, and governance sustainability dimensions. Then, the extended analytic hierarchy process is utilized to determine the weights of indicators based on expert scoring. To address the ambiguity of qualitative linguistic variables, the interval‐valued intuitionistic fuzzy set method is applied to aggregate expert assessments. An empirical case study of an urban water project verifies the feasibility of the proposed approach. Results demonstrate that experts emphasize economic sustainability, while social sustainability is an overlooked dimension that requires improvement. The research contributes to the field by developing an applied, industry‐specific sustainability evaluation model for urban water PPP projects using advanced decision‐making techniques. This model provides practical tools for stakeholders to enhance the sustainable performance of urban water infrastructure projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compliance with green requirements is becoming increasingly important in assessing the performance of companies. The new CSRD legislation requires a wider range of companies to produce sustainability reports and their content is influenced by the EU's taxonomy regulation setting out the framework for sustainable finance. The disclosure of information affects the perception of companies' sustainability performance, which will affect their access to financial resources and development opportunities. The main question is, both in theory and in practice, how companies can comply with the legislation in the future. It is essential for the competitiveness of Hungary's food industry to keep pace with future environmental sustainability requirements, so we examined the sustainability reporting practices of the sector's key companies in terms of their contribution to the environmental objectives set out in the taxonomy regulation. The research fits well with the EU's overall green transition regulatory procedure and our study is gap-filling at macro-regional and sectoral levels. The sustainability reports were assessed by content analysis using a scoring method. The results show that the sustainability reporting practices of food processing companies in Hungary differ significantly. Furthermore, greater emphasis must be placed on reporting and the credibility of the reports to meet future expectations. Foreign-owned companies and companies with more than 500 employees attribute greater importance to reporting. In the food processing sector, the disclosure of information and data under the taxonomy objectives of mitigation of climate change, sustainable use of water and marine resources, and transition to a circular economy was most common. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management 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.)

This article embarks on a crucial exploration of the implementation and integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria within the energy sector of European countries, with the ultimate objective of refining the energy legislation in Ukraine. The research delves into the evolving role of ESG standards as a cornerstone in corporate strategy and investment, transitioned from its roots in socially responsible investing to a comprehensive framework that intertwines ethical, environmental, and governance considerations with financial analysis. The main thrust of the study is the following: firstly, it provides a panoramic overview of ESG applications within European energy projects, underscoring pivotal policies, strategies, and instances of successful ESG standard incorporation. Secondly, it benchmarks and compares ESG practices across Europe's energy sector to distill best practices and their consequential trends and impacts. Lastly, this study converges these European insights to forge pragmatic recommendations for Ukraine's energy legislation, aiming for an elevated integration of ESG standards that are in step with European benchmarks. The anticipated outcomes offer recommendations for enhancing Ukraine's energy sector with robust ESG standards, proposing steps that align with the country's newly adopted Energy Strategy 2050 and international sustainability goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An effective way to promote energy transition while tackling climate change involves redefining cities from being part of the problem to integral parts of the solution. Positive energy districts and climate positive circular communities are excellent examples of how this is feasible. But how do we understand which are the multiple benefits that these projects can bring to the local territory and relative community? This article aims to answer this question by developing a specific engagement and evaluation methodology. Our approach involves consulting with project partners to explore the multiple benefits of each case study. Subsequently, it plans to engage the stakeholders through the submission of a questionnaire to gather information regarding the relative importance of different benefits as perceived by each stakeholder. The questionnaire is based on the best–worst scaling method, which is a survey technique for determining people's priorities. The preliminary findings of the study conducted on project partners of two European projects, ARV and ProLight, indicate a strong alignment with current European policy priorities. The involvement of other stakeholders in the study will serve to assess whether bottom-up priorities coincide with broader perspectives or whether adaptations to project strategies and dissemination approaches are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strengthening of such factors as urbanisation, aggravation of the ecological situation, the need to create safe living conditions, increase in building areas, high differentiation in the cost of housing and increase in the scale of social construction, etc. actualises the need to search for innovative forms of corporate investment strategies in housing construction. The purpose of article is to analyse modern trends in the development of investment processes in housing construction. The use of methods of generalisation and system analysis allowed to define the main directions of development of socially responsible investment in the sphere of housing construction; with the help of the method of system-structural analysis the strategy of using BIM-technologies was investigated in detail: essence, stages of implementation, peculiarities of use in different countries. The development of the housing construction industry is under the increasing influence of such external factors as safety, ecology, urbanisation and digitalisation. Corporate investment strategies in the residential construction industry are diversifying: Fix-and-Flip strategy, crowdfunding, investment in property investment funds. New flexible financial mechanisms are emerging, expanding the possibilities of attracting new resources. Modern digital tools make it possible to synthesise the imperatives of greening and smartisation on the basis of BIM (Building Information Modeling) technologies. The advantages of using BIM-technologies are: optimisation of the management and control process, reduction of construction and operation costs, increased coordination of all project participants, reduction of errors and mistakes in project documentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing interest of investors in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues has prompted asset managers to develop new approaches to strategic asset allocation that can effectively integrate ESG factors into the optimization process. This study reviews the main techniques of the most recent ESG‐efficient portfolio optimization models. Furthermore, this study conducts an empirical investigation to identify the impact of ESG constraints on mean–variance efficient allocations, and extends existing approaches by incorporating a downside risk framework. Our findings reveal that social and combined ESG ratings mitigate the negative skewness of portfolio returns, and that ESG rating, environmental rating, social rating, and combined ESG rating allow the sustainable investor to incur lower transaction costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the challenge of decarbonizing the steel industry, a pillar of the global economy but also a major carbon emitter. Analyzing current decarbonization strategies, their effectiveness, and the role of corporate commitment and risk management offers insights needed to identify development paths in the current environment characterized by pressure driven by stringent environmental standards and fierce competition. An empirical approach, including a survey model and simulation, is used to answer prominent research questions. Aspects such as the influence of environmental and governance criteria, specific initiatives that can be undertaken, the importance of corporate commitment, and the integration of risk management into strategic planning are examined. Simulations suggest that the probability of meeting the 2030 goals range from 65.08 to 75.98 percent and the delta between low and high commitment ranges from 4.917 to 4.133 percent according to the share of renewables in the energy mix decarbonization. The influence of the energy mix is also included in the analysis. The research highlights the need for greater coordination and commitment across the industry to improve decarbonization efforts. It emphasizes the critical role of government policies and market dynamics in shaping industry actions toward achieving decarbonization goals. The findings contribute to understanding decarbonization processes, offering insights and guidance for the steel sector's transition to a low-carbon economy.

Sluggish market demand can deteriorate the financial situation of a company and affect a shareholder's decision to adopt environmental, social, and governance criteria (ESG). According to the socioemotional wealth theory, family firms place significant emphasis on sustainable development and long-term orientation, but this emphasis can be either internally or externally driven according to the type of involvement chosen by the owning family. Therefore, this study uses listed family firms to explore the relationship between different types of family involvement (i.e., family ownership and control, the influence of market competition, and the institutionalisation level of the environment in which a firm decides to pursue ESG criteria). We performed a multivariate regression analysis on a sample of 1,151 Chinese companies to test these relationships and found that both family ownership and control are positively related to ESG scores. Market competition negatively moderates the influence of both family ownership and control on the adoption of ESG criteria. Moreover, the influence of family control is negatively moderated by the institutional environment. Thus, types of family involvement seem to be relevant for the firm's engagement with ESG criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global environmental concerns have garnered significant attention in recent times. Concerns about encouraging more ecologically friendly production to lessen the effects of pollution have been raised by industrial operations that cause environmental pollution. The adoption of an environmental management system in Malaysian firms, however, has received little attention. This paper explores the mediating effect of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) framework on the relationship between ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) and ESG performance of Malaysian companies. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS 4 was employed to assess the relationship through a conceptual model developed for this purpose. A total of 86 completed responses were collected from the targeted respondents in Malaysia of different industries. With ESG framework as a mediator, ISO 14001 EMS has an insignificant relationship with ESG performance, and the R2 value of ESG performance is 0.243. When the ESG framework is removed, ISO 14001 EMS has a significant relationship with ESG performance, and the f-square value is 0.176. This effect size is considered medium. The results provide an empirical proof for Malaysian companies to adopt the ISO 14001 EMS as a business tool, with ESG framework as a mediator in order to enhance their ESG performance. The study's conclusions highlight the implications of using ISO 14001 EMS as a tool for businesses in Malaysia to improve ESG performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista E-mercatoria is the property of Universidad Externado de Colombia, Departamento de Derecho Comercial 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.)

Modern society is developing in the direction of redistributing capital flows as part of the global trend towards decarbonization, developing environmental standards and increasing the social responsibility of business and the economy as a whole. Investors are actively increasing their investments in companies that support sustainable development strategies, as changes related to ESG principles are taking place around the world and are seen by most participants as a promising opportunity for development and revenue generation. The current challenge facing society and business is to study the ESG agenda, implement it into operations and develop appropriate recommendations to promote ESG principles to improve the environment and wellbeing of the global community. In order to address inequality and stimulate economic growth, the UN adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015 and launched a plan to ensure sustainability for present and future generations, reduce poverty and improve the lives of people around the world. Governments and business communities in various countries are realizing the adverse impacts of climate change, which affects the well-being and economic status of the nation, and building a more sustainable global economy contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. Priority tasks of the global community are multifunctionality and demand for the development and implementation of specific mechanisms for achieving sustainable development goals based on the integrated solution of economic, environmental and social problems and harmonization of long-term interests of the state, business and civil society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article embarks on a crucial exploration of the implementation and integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria within the energy sector of European countries, with the ultimate objective of refining the energy legislation in Ukraine. The research delves into the evolving role of ESG standards as a cornerstone in corporate strategy and investment, transitioned from its roots in socially responsible investing to a comprehensive framework that intertwines ethical, environmental, and governance considerations with financial analysis. The main thrust of the study is the following: firstly, it provides a panoramic overview of ESG applications within European energy projects, underscoring pivotal policies, strategies, and instances of successful ESG standard incorporation. Secondly, it benchmarks and compares ESG practices across Europe’s energy sector to distill best practices and their consequential trends and impacts. Lastly, this study converges these European insights to forge pragmatic recommendations for Ukraine’s energy legislation, aiming for an elevated integration of ESG standards that are in step with European benchmarks. The anticipated outcomes offer recommendations for enhancing Ukraine’s energy sector with robust ESG standards, proposing steps that align with the country’s newly adopted Energy Strategy 2050 and international sustainability goals.

This article examines the concept of integrated sustainability management and its relationship with corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG). Although CSR is a normative concept that requires companies to be responsible for their participation in society from an ethical perspective, ESG helps measure and quantify these efforts, primarily through investment criteria. The paper identifies that sustainability reporting (SDR) can bring financial, reputational, risk management and strategic benefits to companies, and more companies recognize the importance of sustainability reporting and making it a priority in their business practices. This study presented grouped classifications of the benefits of ESG disclosure in corporate reporting. The main problems faced by Ukrainian companies during the implementation of ESG criteria in their activities are highlighted, in particular: limited awareness and lack of understanding of ESG issues, lack of standardized ESG reporting, improper disclosure of ESG information, weak compliance with existing regulations, insufficient coverage of ESG issues in mass media information, etc. This article also suggests some measures that should be taken to solve the mentioned problems. The paper highlights the relationship between sustainability and financial performance, a widely debated topic. Some argue that implementing sustainability practices can have a positive impact on a company's financial performance in the long term, while others argue that sustainability practices can have a negative short-term impact on financial performance. In addition, the analysis of major meta-reviews that analyze and summarize research findings on the relationship between ESG reporting and financial performance is highlighted. These meta-reviews show that there is indeed a positive relationship between these metrics, although the strength of the relationship may vary depending on a number of factors, including industry, geographic location, and company size.

In the conditions of post-war recovery of Ukraine, the tasks of consulting companies that will be serving the processes of foreign investment of the economy will become much more complicated. The article is aimed at defining the current approaches to qualitative modernization of provision of consulting services to foreign investors and domestic recipients of funds on the basis of observance of the principles of sustainable development and technological innovations. In the process of research, general scientific research methods were used: generalization, abstraction, structural-system method, classification. Qualitative modernization of modern consulting services for participants in the process of foreign investment involves improving the quality of services taking into account the conception of sustainable development, the use of novel technologies, the introduction of compliance control into the activities of companies and the formation of a special (integrated) package of services. According to the current requirements on the part of foreign investors, compliance should be an obligatory component of corporate governance in their partner companies – being an effective instrument to combat dishonesty and comply with standards in three areas – E (environmental), S (social), G (governance), or ESG. Digitalization of consulting companies raises the quality and variety of services to a new level, providing increased productivity of consultants; providing the ability to operate with large amounts of information, solve previously inaccessible tasks; creating conditions for communication between investment project participants in real time, etc. An additional factor in ensuring the quality of services to foreign investors is the real possibility of communication and work with documentation in the native language of a foreign customer, taking into account the specifics of its linguistic and cultural environment. In further research, it is advisable to study in detail the experience of using the conception of ESG and compliance in the activities of foreign companies and its implementation in the activities of Ukrainian companies.

This article is based on recent research and debates on the development and investment models of the Real Estate sector encouraged by the new policies and action programs of the European Union, and primarily the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals-SDGs of the 2030 Agenda. In particular, the research emphasizes evaluating the effects of Italian Residential Real Estate investments on the three dimensions of sustainability conceptualized through the ESG - Environmental Social Governance criteria. In this context, the authors experiment with identifying a set of indicators according to ESG criteria helpful in describing the incidence of activities in Real Estate processes (along the entire life cycle of the asset) and, therefore, to guide residential market investors in choices with a high sustainable impact. The methodology of this work has firstly identified the European and Italian regulatory framework relating to the ESG sphere by studying the indicators already in use or developed for measuring sustainable performance particularly for real estate sector, like gaps in literature about proper methodologies to measure performance while involving process’ actors. Then, the proposed participatory methodology has been built by taking as reference a real case study - reuse of a building complex in the city of Milan for residential purposes- to identify with a panel of experts and involved actors the phases and sub-phases listed as work-breakdown structure, which may be subject to performance and impact measurement. Furthermore, ESG impacts in terms of beneficiaries from the project and key performance indicators has been assessed and ranked, resulting in an economic and social sustainability criteria priority in involved actors’ sake. Therefore, this research work provides the foundations for a replicable evaluation system for measuring sustainability standards in the residential Real Estate market considering innovatively co-participative decision-making processes along the project life-cycle. However, the methodology can be reinforced in the future with sensitivity methods on involved actors’ primary choices in the multi-criteria process and the enlargement of Panel experts’ profiles or, even, addressed to other targets more than the residential one. Il presente articolo si ispira a recenti ricerche e studi sui modelli di investimento nel settore immobiliare promossi dalle nuove politiche e dai programmi d’azione dell’Unione Europea e, principalmente, dai diciassette Obiettivi di Sviluppo Sostenibile – OSS – dell’Agenda 2030. In particolare, la ricerca si concentra sulla valuta- zione della sostenibilità delle scelte progettuali secondo le tre dimensioni (ambientale, economica e sociale) concettualizzate nei criteri ESG - Environmental Social Governance. In questo contesto, gli autori sperimentano l’identificazione di un set di indicatori derivati dai criteri ESG utili agli operatori del mercato immobiliare nella scelta di soluzioni progettuali sostenibili. In una prima fase lo studio ha analizzato il quadro normativo europeo e italiano relativo ai criteri ESG, analizzando quali sono gli indicatori definiti per la misura- zione delle performance di sostenibilità e come questi si possono applicare in ambito immobiliare. Successivamente, prendendo a riferimento un caso di studio reale relativo al recupero – a fini residenziali – di un complesso edilizio a Milano – è stato selezionato un Panel di esperti e di attori coinvolti nel progetto al quale è stato chiesto di indicare quali sono gli aspetti e i criteri significativi per operare scelte sostenibili e di determinarne l’importanza (peso). L’obiettivo è quello di definire un sistema di valutazione della sostenibilità degli interventi in ambito immobiliare, con particolare riferimento al segmento residenziale, considerando gli effetti generati dalle scelte progettuali lungo tutto il ciclo di vita del progetto, dalla fase di ideazione a quella di costruzione e gestione. I risultati ottenuti evidenziano che gli aspetti di sostenibilità maggiormente significativi sono quelli legati alla sostenibilità economica e al benessere degli utenti e dei fruitori dell’intervento; l’applicabilità della metodologia – e la significatività dei risultati – dovranno essere ulteriormente verificati attraverso l’ampliamento dei profili dei componenti del Panel di esperti e la sperimentazione su altre tipologie di intervento e di destinazioni d’uso.

The article emphasizes the challenges facing Ukraine's energy sector, in particular, the energy crisis caused by Russian strikes on critical infrastructure facilities and their wear and tear. To overcome them, Ukraine needs significant investments in the energy sector to restore, modernize and expand this infrastructure, developing new energy sources and implementing energy-efficient measures. By disclosing ESG criteria and aligning their activities with the Sustainable Development Goals in their reports, companies can demonstrate their commitment to sustainability initiatives, the achievement of global goals and responsible business conduct, thereby increasing their own investment attractiveness and attracting more investment for the energy sector. The work also emphasizes the importance of energy efficiency and green energy for increasing Ukraine’s energy independence and reducing dependence on imports, which can be achieved with the help of the proposals of the UN General Assembly and the Marshall Plan for post-war recovery of Ukraine. The peculiarities, advantages and disadvantages of the methodologies of scientists are considered, in particular: Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE). Transparency and commitment to sustainable development at the corporate level is covered by various ratings. The methodologies of Energy Transparency Index 2021 (II international edition), DJSI, MSCI ESG Ratings, FTSE4Good Index and Corporate Knights’ index 100 most sustainable corporations were analyzed. The article highlights the differences in approaches and sets of criteria used by different rating agencies, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. A multi-criteria metric system is proposed for evaluating the activity of energy companies in Ukraine taking into account ESG criteria and the stages of development of such a system are outlined, namely the selection of research objects, criteria for analysis, data collection, scoring of companies, comparison of indices, consideration of quality factors, analysis, verification and generalization of research results.

At a time when gender equality is a key priority of all international organizations, this paper can be considered a remarkable contribution to the role of women executives in firms' performance. More specifically, this study focuses on the effect of women holding positions of responsibility on firms' performance worldwide. For the purposes of our research, we applied cross-sectional and panel data analysis for all sectors at an international level from 2019, the year preceding the breakout of the pandemic crisis, to 2021, while the indicators used to measure the participation of women in executive positions are classified as ESG indices. The empirical analysis findings end up showing that the participation of women in executive positions positively affects firms' performance over time, while there is no material change observed before and during the COVID-19 pandemic period. More specifically, when the percent of women processing job positions of responsibility increases by 10%, then the index of profitability will increase from 1.4% to 1.8%, regardless of the measurement of female participation in executive positions used. The results of this study constitute a remarkable contribution to the promotion of the creative economy, the progress of societies, and sustainable development. The research's outcome can be primarily used by policymakers drawing up policies for achieving gender equality in the labor market and workplaces and by shareholders and firms' managers in order to trust females in executive positions in favor of their firms' financial performance. The current study is unique in that it focuses on the period before and during the COVID-19 period, as a period of high volatility in economic activity worldwide, while the sample includes firms from large and mid-cap companies belonging to developed and emerging markets. The above approach will contribute to providing more credible information related to the role of women executives in firms' performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years have been characterized by considerable growth of the green bond market in Europe, particularly in the domain of social bond issuance. Considering the recent pandemic, it is also a stylized fact that this growth is positively correlated with the concept of health-related uncertainty, as the green bond market aims to acquire financing in order to allow the development of projects that comply with the so-called environmental (E), social (S) and governance (G) criteria. This study then applies a dynamic spatial econometric analysis and several robustness checks to assess the extent to which each E, S and G criterion contributes to the societal dynamics of health-related uncertainty. The analysis takes advantage of available data on the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 to measure health-related uncertainty at the municipal level, so that a higher (lower) number of confirmed cases constitutes a proxy for a greater (smaller) degree of uncertainty, respectively. To reinforce the need to evaluate impacts in a context characterized by health-related uncertainty, the time span covers the first wave of COVID-19, which is the period when uncertainty reached its highest peak. Additionally, the geographical scope is mainland Portugal since this country has become a breeding ground for startups and new ideas, being currently one of the world leaders in hosting businesses that reached Unicorn status. The main result of this research is that only the social dimension has a significant, positive and permanent impact on health-related uncertainty. Therefore, this study empirically confirms that the European green bond market has been and can be further leveraged by the need to finance projects with a social scope.

The relevance of the topic of the article is due to the importance of the concept of sustainable development for the successful functioning of enterprises in the new reality. The purpose of the article is to analyze the concept of sustainable development in the projection of modern transformational trends. Tasks: to consider the evolution of the conceptual provisions of sustainable development; perform an analysis of the UN sustainable development goals in the context of the formation of the “green” agenda; assess the impact of the digital transformation trend on sustainable development goals; identify new opportunities for implementing the concept in a new reality; identify ESG transformation risks and digital transformation risks. Methods. System approach, logical analysis, synthesis. Results. In modern conditions of the functioning of economic systems, sustainable development goals are a guideline for developing strategies not only at the state level, but also at the level of individual companies; ESG transformation is a new vector of business development. As a result of the development of globalization and the strengthening of the influence of transnational corporations, the focus of the concept of sustainable development has shifted from the national level to the corporate one. The general direction of the ESG approach to managing the development of economic systems at all levels will be set by international trends. To the greatest extent, the UN Sustainable Development Goals correlate with the social criterion (11 goals), while the environmental criterion and the criterion of corporate governance account for 8 goals each. Full coincidence in all ESG criteria is observed for two goals (“Industrialization, innovation and infrastructure; “Responsible consumption and production”). The most significant for companies in the short term are environmental and social risks; in the long term, the most significant criterion is “assessment of climate risks at the asset level”. When developing and implementing corporate strategies, it is necessary to take into account ESG risks, as well as possible threats to economic security (resource substitution, growth of intellectual property, cyberattacks, industrial espionage). Findings. The updated concept of sustainable development makes it possible to ensure economic growth when it is balanced with the needs of society to improve the quality of life, prevent degradation of the natural environment, but subject to ensuring safety and security.

The evaluation and prioritization of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors are critical for green finance investment strategies. However, ESG criteria are complex and varied concepts that call for a systematic and reliable ranking system to handle ambiguity and uncertainty in decision-makers' preferences and assessments. The objective of this study was to examine and prioritize environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors and investment strategies for the development of green finance. Although ESG criteria have gained importance recently, some research gaps still need to be filled. For this purpose, evaluating ESG criteria and integrating them with green finance investment strategies is imperative. This study employed the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method to assess and rank ESG criteria and sub-criteria and the fuzzy weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS) method to assess and prioritize the key investment strategies for the development of green finance. According to the fuzzy AHP findings, governance and social factors are secondary to environmental considerations in the creation of green finance. Green bonds, ESG integration, and renewable energy funds are essential to green finance methods, according to the fuzzy WASPAS data. This research provides information on creating sustainable and ethical investment strategies for green finance and successfully including ESG factors in investment decision-making processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years have been characterized by considerable growth of the green bond market in Europe, particularly in the domain of social bond issuance. Considering the recent pandemic, it is also a stylized fact that this growth is positively correlated with the concept of health-related uncertainty, as the green bond market aims to acquire financing in order to allow the development of projects that comply with the so-called environmental (E), social (S) and governance (G) criteria. This study then applies a dynamic spatial econometric analysis and several robustness checks to assess the extent to which each E, S and G criterion contributes to the societal dynamics of health-related uncertainty. The analysis takes advantage of available data on the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 to measure health-related uncertainty at the municipal level, so that a higher (lower) number of confirmed cases constitutes a proxy for a greater (smaller) degree of uncertainty, respectively. To reinforce the need to evaluate impacts in a context characterized by health-related uncertainty, the time span covers the first wave of COVID-19, which is the period when uncertainty reached its highest peak. Additionally, the geographical scope is mainland Portugal since this country has become a breeding ground for startups and new ideas, being currently one of the world leaders in hosting businesses that reached Unicorn status. The main result of this research is that only the social dimension has a significant, positive and permanent impact on health-related uncertainty. Therefore, this study empirically confirms that the European green bond market has been and can be further leveraged by the need to finance projects with a social scope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Valori e Valutazioni is the property of Societa Italiana di Estimo e Valutazione (SIEV) 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.)

This paper investigates the impact of multinational banks (MNBs) implementing socially sustainable practices on financial inclusion in developing countries. We argue that the specific characteristics of the MNBs, when combined with socially sustainable practices, contribute to building trust and reducing risks in developing countries where they operate. This positive externality causes improvements for the underprivileged in three dimensions of financial inclusion: their demand for bank accounts, their propensity to save, and their access to credit. A sample of 152 multinational banks in 32 developing countries and 37,952 individuals proves the positive effect of sustainable practices. [Display omitted] • Socially sustainable practices of MNBs positively impact access to 1) a bank account, 2) credit, and 3) savings among the lowest-income groups in developing countries. • When MNBs combine socially sustainable practices with their business model, they build trust and reduce risks in the developing countries where they operate. • A sample of 152 multinational banks in 32 developing countries and 37,952 individuals proves the positive effect of sustainable practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern investors and financiers are increasingly considering a wide range of non-financial factors when making investment decisions. ESG investment (investing), which considers environmental (E), social (S) and governance (G) aspects of companies activities, has been gaining momentum for quite a while. At the same time there is no clear definition or understanding of the boundaries of ESG investing now. That explains the relevance of the research with its purpose to examine the essence of the ESG investment concept and the basic features distinguishing it from other kinds of investing. This purpose is fulfilled through the methodology of system analysis, methods of historical and comparative analysis. As a result, the authors concluded that, despite its comprehensive nature and growing relevance, ESG investing cannot be considered an umbrella term for all types of values-based investment. This is due to the concepts semantic emphasis on the three groups of ESG factors, ESG risks and their impact on financial results. Arguably, the growing use of the similar terms ESG investing, sustainable investing and responsible investing reflects the interest of various stakeholders in the characteristic features of these concepts.

The objective of this study is to examine, over the last 20 years, the short-run and long-run effect on global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of the stock returns, exchange rates and consumer confidence. Stock markets contribute to environmental degradation; as a result, we employed, for the first time, Dow Jones Sustainability World Index to use stock returns of socially responsible companies. The euro to US dollar exchange rate is used, as the forex market is the largest financial market and considers it as the largest major pair. The Consumer Sentiment Index is used as a proxy to consumer confidence, since consumer behavior is, also, considered as a major factor linked to environmental degradation. The basic testing procedures employed include the Augmented Dickey–Fuller stationarity test, cointegration analysis and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). The results establish that stock returns of companies listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index exert a significant negative (positive) impact on the global CO2 emissions in the short (long) term. The inverse, i.e., a significant positive (negative) impact on the short (long) run holds for the both other variables, i.e., US consumers' confidence and euro to US dollar exchange rates. From the outcomes obtained, policy initiatives that could assist companies to mitigate environmental degradation are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Russian economy is currently undergoing transformation against the backdrop of sanctions pressure, the global financial crisis, and severe turbulence. Under these conditions, the problem of prioritizing the directions of economic development becomes actual. As recent data show, the trend of greening production, the transition to a circular economy, not only has not lost its relevance, but has also acquired particular significance in view of the limited resources and the narrowing of sales markets for Russian enterprises. Thus, we can conclude that the transition of the Russian economy to the concept of sustainable development not only does not stop, but continues at an accelerated pace. In this regard, there is a growing need to standardize the disclosure of non-financial information for the assessment and assignment of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance) criteria to Russian enterprises. To date, existing international rating agencies have withdrawn the ratings of Russian companies, but, nevertheless, world experience can be used to develop internal assessment methodologies. In Russia, there are no uniform criteria for assessing and assigning ESG ratings to companies, as well as mandatory non-financial reporting. However, there are recommendations from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, as well as prerequisites for the fact that such reporting, along with financial reporting, will soon become mandatory for enterprises. In this regard, the analysis and search for uniform standards for such reporting is being updated, on the basis of which it is possible to assess the effectiveness of enterprises in terms of the ESG concept. The purpose of the study is to determine the role of disclosure of non-financial information for assessing the ESG criteria of Russian enterprises. Research objectives: to determine the main international standards for disclosing non-financial reporting of companies for ESG ratings; to identify the main goals of ESG ratings assessment; to classify methods for evaluating criteria by Russian verifiers; to propose an econometric model for maximizing the market value of an enterprise, taking into account the restrictions imposed by the ESG concept. To achieve this goal, the authors identified the most relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the development of the Russian economy; analyzed the volume, composition and cost of green capital attracted by Russian companies; performed a comparative analysis of the existing international standards for the disclosure of non-financial information, as well as methodologies for evaluating the ESG criteria of verified Russian rating agencies. The results of the study consist in identifying the main problems of standardizing the disclosure of non-financial information of Russian companies, as well as identifying priority areas for development in the field of evaluating ESG criteria. The team of authors proposed an econometric model that allows maximizing the market value of manufacturing enterprises, their products and investment projects being implemented, taking into account the existing resource, assortment and other restrictions imposed by the ESG concept.

Copyright of Journal of Management for Global Sustainability is the property of Ateneo de Manila University 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.)

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria are now considered significant, global non-financial evaluating factors of corporate value. However, no attention is given to what influences the integration of ESG information by individual investors in their investment decisions. This study first identifies different types of information investors use to make investment decisions. Risks identified in information integration in investment decision making is reviewed. Next, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model is used to identify individual investors' investment tendencies and the factors affecting integration of ESG information into investment decisions. Each of four categories for UTAUT innovation adoption factors (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influences, and facilitating conditions) are discussed in relation to how they affect individual investors' integration of ESG information. Standardization of ESG reporting and evaluation frameworks would reduce efforts to adopt ESG information and could build a strong foundation for facilitating ESG information integration. Corporates' efforts to further communicate their ESG management through their investor relations and active governmental well as non-governmental organizations' participation are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria are now considered significant, global non-financial evaluating factors of corporate value. However, no attention is given to what influences the integration of ESG information by individual investors in their investment decisions. This study first identifies different types of information investors use to make investment decisions. Risks identified in information integration in investment decision making is reviewed. Next, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model is used to identify individual investors’ investment tendencies and the factors affecting integration of ESG information into investment decisions. Each of four categories for UTAUT innovation adoption factors (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influences, and facilitating conditions) are discussed in relation to how they affect individual investors’ integration of ESG information. Standardization of ESG reporting and evaluation frameworks would reduce efforts to adopt ESG information and could build a strong foundation for facilitating ESG information integration. Corporates’ efforts to further communicate their ESG management through their investor relations and active governmental well as non-governmental organizations’ participation are recommended.

The evolution of financial instruments improves investment decision-making. Modern society requires additional information about companies' activities: standard financial statements and financial indicators no longer satisfy its needs. Environmental degradation, global warming, and the fight against poverty amid growing prosperity in developed countries — all these factors promote the development of new financial instruments and criteria. ESG provides the answer to these modern demands and can help evaluate companies' activities related to investment in sustainable development. Moreover, the application of these criteria enables companies to reduce risks and to create reputation, and helps investment funds make quality investment decisions. This trend, which has emerged and strengthened in developed foreign countries over the past 50 years, is penetrating emerging markets as well. This article investigates the role of ESG criteria in making investment decisions based on foreign experience. The leaders in socially responsible investment are the economies of developed countries: the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, and Australia. As Russian companies seek international financing, they will have to compete for investors in foreign financial markets on their terms. Therefore, it makes sense to focus on following ESG criteria in their activities right now. Currently, there are a number of barriers to the implementation of ESG criteria in Russia: lack of understanding of the importance of socially responsible investments, lack of state standards in the disclosure of non-financial information, lack of large domestic investors (lack of competition on the pension insurance market as well), and the focus of Russian companies only on medium-term profits.

Purpose. The aim of the article is to study the role of public investment policy in financing sustainable development and the concepts of responsible investment as an applied tool and mechanism for implementing this policy. Methodology / approach. The role of the public investment policy in financing sustainable development was investigated within the structural-and-functional analysis, which allowed investigating it by sectors and directions of financial flows and stages of the investment chain, directions of interventions, as well as bodies implementing this policy. Results. The article explores the concepts of responsible investing as an applied tool and mechanism for implementing public investment policy. The relationship between ESGs – investment decision criteria and sustainable finance categories – is identified. The relationship between investment resources, the direction of financial flows and stages of the investment chain, and the role of public investment policy within the financial system of sustainable development by economic sectors and its key directions are determined. Originality / scientific novelty. Aspects and measures of the public investment policy according to the Sustainable Development Goals are analysed. Based on this, a two-level theoretical and methodological approach to determining the role of public investment policy and the place of responsible investing mechanism in the formation of a financial system oriented towards the achievement of these goals is developed. The identified areas of public investment policy are first and foremost consistent with the priority directions of reforming the financial systems of the countries of the world on the principles of sustainable development, and associated with certain entities of the investment chain in view of their relevance and priority, as well as the lack within the national financial infrastructure and regulatory framework. Practical value / implications. The most priority directions of the public investment policy in the context of the responsible mechanism of its implementation, the most relevant for responsible investors Sustainable Development Goals and ESG – criteria are offered. These measures can be used to improve public investment policy by its regulators.

The term socially responsible investing (SRI) is now firmly used by both institutional and private investors around the world. Socially responsible investment means investing capital not only for the purpose of generating a return on invested capital, but also for achieving positive social and environmental impact. Against the background of an increase in the number of man-made environmental disasters, the trend of socially responsible investment began to threaten the economic efficiency of innovatively active industrial enterprises, the type of activity of which is traditionally accompanied by increased natural and environmental risks. The adherents of the SRI concept choose companies with good ESG ratings, regardless of their financial statements, which has the opposite effect for "dirty" industries - a drop in their market value. The article analyzes the impact of SRI on the cost of innovatively active industrial enterprises in the mining and oil and gas sectors of Russia. Based on a comparative analysis of indicators of "green" and comparable classical instruments of the stock market in Russia and abroad, it was revealed that the securities of enterprises with high ESG ratings have increased investment attractiveness among socially responsible investors, the number of which is constantly growing. Based on the results of the analysis, the authors revealed that for innovatively active industrial enterprises, taking into account SRI trends is most relevant, since it creates challenges simultaneously with new development prospects. The article defines the concept of a "green" premium or discount in relation to the cost of capital of innovatively active industrial enterprises, provides a methodology for assessing the "green premium", and also substantiates that, due to the increased interest of socially responsible investors, the size of the "green" premium may exceed the costs on the "greenness" of companies, thereby creating a positive added "green" value. A model of the cost of an innovative-active industrial enterprise is formulated, taking into account the "green" award. It is substantiated that the value of companies with high ESG criteria is growing at an outstripping pace, despite the growth in costs for meeting these criteria.

This paper presents an approach for socially responsible investment portfolio selection through the incorporation of esg criteria: environment (A), social (S) and of good governance (G); to the Markowitz's mean-variance (MV) model. For that, different formulations of the MV optimization problem are revised, as well as its adjustment to incorporate these indicators in the construction and optimization of the portfolio. This new approach, known as the MV-esg model, allows the construction of a complete set of feasible optimal portfolios based on the three relationships: return, risk and the esg score; resulting in an efficient surface (ES) on a three-dimensional space. Results show that the achievement of an increasingly higher esg indicator not only reduces the performance of the portfolio with respect to the MV portfolio, but also reduces its risk diversification capacity. However, the fact that the incorporation of esg criteria allows investors to incorporate their preferences to minimize the social and environmental impact of their investments is highlighted, since the optimal esg portfolio generates better indicators than any portfolio that pursue only the optimal risk-return ratio, in addition to outperforming the benchmark. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The objective of the article is to indicate the degree and correctness of the implementation of guidelines in the field of publication of non-financial data. Design/methodology/approach: The publication has been based on the technique of desk research of a wide selection of domestic and foreign pieces of literature, the analysis of secondary data, the analysis of the content of the press releases and official documents of selected economic entities. Findings: As a result of the conducted research, the attributes of the entities obliged to publish non-financial data have been identified and the environmental factors, the factors of social responsibility and corporate governance, affecting the effectiveness of the way of informing the capital market, have been indicated. This has become the basis for the presentation of the dynamics of changes in terms of publishing non-financial information by the companies listed on WSE over the last six years. Research limitations/implications: It is assumed that the indicated legal changes (Directive 2014/95/EU) have contributed to an increase in transparency of the companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Originality/value: The article presents the latest data on the degree of implementation of legal regulations regarding the disclosure of non-financial information by some large entities and groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate sustainability implies a broad perspective that suggests the creation of value for stakeholders and requires developing some commitments at the economic, social, environmental and governance levels. Measurement of the level of corporate sustainability occurs via different tools, with sustainable rankings being one of the most popular instruments. However, the impact of these indicators on the market value is controversial. Consequently, our aim is to analyse the influence of the level of sustainability on the market value of a set of companies. To do so, we isolate the impact of the sustainability factor from other series of effects related to the general evolution of financial markets. We have used the information contained in a sustainable ranking: the medal display table provided by RobecoSAM. Our results reveal that investors do not equivalently value the different movements and marks derived from participation in a sustainability ranking.

This is a case-study of an organized Israeli effort to disengage the issue of corporations in the Palestinian Occupied Territories from the global CSR framework of human rights. At the centre of the study are three international CSR conferences which took place in Israel, hosting players in the global industry of corporate risk-management indices. The study underscores the importance of studying the micro-politics of producing and implementing human rights norms across the globe; designating micro-politics as the sum of informal exchanges among players who share a common platform of expertise. We find that the Israeli conveners leveraged the CSR conferences to (1) promote a campaign against BDS among CSR players, (2) invoke BDS as a trope for dissociating the human rights framework of CSR from corporate activities in the OPT, and (3) frame the activities of corporations in the OPT in terms of labour opportunities and economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]