IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i22p15979-d1280968.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Taxonomy and Indicators for ESG Investments

Author

Listed:
  • Francesco Sica

    (Department of Architecture and Design, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Roma, Italy)

  • Francesco Tajani

    (Department of Architecture and Design, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Roma, Italy)

  • Mª Paz Sáez-Pérez

    (Building Constructions Department, Advanced Technical School for Building Engineering, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain)

  • José Marín-Nicolás

    (International School for Postgraduate Studies, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain)

Abstract

Instead of the well-known three-pillar model of economic, social, and environmental sustainability, the shift in valuation paradigm to the sustainable realm needs a fundamental methodological and operational modification, with a focus on determining and describing metrics, criteria, and performance indicators that can be used to support Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG)-based valuation practices. As of now (2023), there is significant language and semantic heterogeneity in the indicators, standards, and operational methods to be used while conducting ESG assessments and analyses. The primary objective of this contribution is to analyze the current ESG criteria/indicators that can be found in relevant scientific publications. A scoping review of the recent ESG literature (2015–2023) as well as a content study of the reports from the most influential worldwide rating agencies—which are now utilized as models in the usage of criteria, indicators, and ESG metric applications—have been both carried out. A total of 182 indicators (78 environmental, 64 social, and 40 governance) have been gathered as a result of the investigation. In the endeavor to design and apply ESG-focused valuation and analytical practice, sets of Key Performance Indicators for the three dimensions have been found using cluster analysis and text mining, and a reference taxonomy has been provided based on them.

Suggested Citation

  • Francesco Sica & Francesco Tajani & Mª Paz Sáez-Pérez & José Marín-Nicolás, 2023. "Taxonomy and Indicators for ESG Investments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-15, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:22:p:15979-:d:1280968
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/22/15979/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/22/15979/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Steven Scalet & Thomas Kelly, 2010. "CSR Rating Agencies: What is Their Global Impact?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(1), pages 69-88, June.
    2. Thomas Berry & Joan Junkus, 2013. "Socially Responsible Investing: An Investor Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(4), pages 707-720, February.
    3. Daron Acemoglu & Ufuk Akcigit & Douglas Hanley & William Kerr, 2016. "Transition to Clean Technology," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 124(1), pages 52-104.
    4. Luluk Widyawati, 2020. "A systematic literature review of socially responsible investment and environmental social governance metrics," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 619-637, February.
    5. Yaghoub Abdi & Xiaoni Li & Xavier Càmara-Turull, 2022. "Exploring the impact of sustainability (ESG) disclosure on firm value and financial performance (FP) in airline industry: the moderating role of size and age," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 5052-5079, April.
    6. Aaron K. Chatterji & Rodolphe Durand & David I. Levine & Samuel Touboul, 2016. "Do ratings of firms converge? Implications for managers, investors and strategy researchers," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(8), pages 1597-1614, August.
    7. Halkos, George & Gkampoura, Eleni-Christina, 2021. "Where do we stand on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals? An overview on progress," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 94-122.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Vincenzo Pacelli & Francesca Pampurini & Anna Grazia Quaranta, 2023. "Environmental, Social and Governance investing: Does rating matter?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 30-41, January.
    2. Marzhan Beisenbina & Laura Fabregat‐Aibar & Maria‐Glòria Barberà‐Mariné & Maria‐Teresa Sorrosal‐Forradellas, 2023. "The burgeoning field of sustainable investment: Past, present and future," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(2), pages 649-667, April.
    3. Luluk Widyawati, 2021. "Measurement concerns and agreement of environmental social governance ratings," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(S1), pages 1589-1623, April.
    4. Marta Szczepańczyk & Paweł Nowodziński & Adam Sikorski, 2023. "ESG Strategy and Financial Aspects Using the Example of an Oil and Gas Midstream Company: The UNIMOT Group," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-24, September.
    5. Elbasha, Tamim & Avetisyan, Emma, 2018. "A framework to study strategizing activities at the field level: The example of CSR rating agencies," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 38-46.
    6. Francesco Cesarone & Lorenzo Lampariello & Davide Merolla & Jacopo Maria Ricci & Simone Sagratella & Valerio Giuseppe Sasso, 2023. "A bilevel approach to ESG multi-portfolio selection," Computational Management Science, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 1-23, December.
    7. Falko Paetzold & Timo Busch & Sebastian Utz & Anne Kellers, 2022. "Between impact and returns: Private investors and the sustainable development goals," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 3182-3197, November.
    8. Lestari, Jenjang Sri & Frömmel, Michael, 2024. "Socially responsible investments: doing good while doing well in developed versus emerging markets?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    9. Arthur Hughes & Michael A. Urban & Dariusz Wójcik, 2021. "Alternative ESG Ratings: How Technological Innovation Is Reshaping Sustainable Investment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-23, March.
    10. Céline LOUCHE & Guillaume DELAUTRE & Gabriela BALVEDI PIMENTEL, 2023. "Assessing companies' decent work practices: An analysis of ESG rating methodologies," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 162(1), pages 69-97, March.
    11. Wang, Haijun & Jiao, Shuaipeng & Ge, Chen & Sun, Guanglin, 2024. "Corporate ESG rating divergence and excess stock returns," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    12. Simona Cosma & Paolo Cucurachi & Vincenzo Gentile & Giuseppe Rimo, 2024. "Sustainable finance disclosure regulation insights: Unveiling socially responsible funds performance during COVID‐19 pandemic and Russia–Ukraine war," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 3242-3257, May.
    13. Garg, Aashish & Goel, Pooja & Sharma, Anuj & Rana, Nripendra P., 2022. "As you sow, so shall you reap: Assessing drivers of socially responsible investment attitude and intention," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    14. Koenigsmarck, Markus & Geissdoerfer, Martin, 2023. "Shifting the Focus to Measurement: A Review of Socially Responsible Investing and Sustainability Indicators," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 136617, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    15. Caterina Lucarelli & Sabrina Severini, 2024. "Anatomy of the chimera: Environmental, Social, and Governance ratings beyond the myth," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(5), pages 4198-4217, July.
    16. Zhang, Dongyang & Meng, Li & Zhang, Jintao, 2023. "Environmental subsidy disruption, skill premiums and ESG performance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    17. Ting-Ting Li & Kai Wang & Toshiyuki Sueyoshi & Derek D. Wang, 2021. "ESG: Research Progress and Future Prospects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-28, October.
    18. Gallucci, Carmen & Santulli, Rosalia & Lagasio, Valentina, 2022. "The conceptualization of environmental, social and governance risks in portfolio studies A systematic literature review," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    19. Frederic Läger & Yassin Denis Bouzzine & Rainer Lueg, 2022. "The relationship between firm complexity and corporate social responsibility: International evidence from 2010–2019," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(3), pages 549-560, May.
    20. Wang, Xue & Liu, Qingyuan, 2024. "Information disclosure and ESG rating disagreement: Evidence from green bond issuance in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:22:p:15979-:d:1280968. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.