Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Integrated Reporting

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainable development address the relationship between business and society. In the 1980s, the Brundtland Report by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED, Our common future (Burdtland Report). Retrieved from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/5987our-common-future.pdf , 1987) coined the term sustainable development and its principle of sustainability for economic prosperity. These were reinforced by the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the blueprint for a more sustainable future. In parallel, CSR has received increased attention in practice and in theory, and has been defined by the European Commission as “the responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society” (A renewed European Union Strategy 2011–2014 for Corporate Social Responsibility, 2011, p. 6). Calls for CSR have been framed through a mix of voluntary and law mandated corporate actions which have led to conflicting results. In a twenty-first century bedevilled by challenges and macro systems’ disruptions (e.g. social institutions, natural resources and technologies), environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors represent risks and opportunities that are strategically relevant and increasingly inform how businesses are run and investment decisions made. To reach their full potential, ESG need to be measured, included in managerial and investment decision-making and accounted for in integrated reporting.